Accountant regarding business start up.
- Thread starter J55NI
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jcooke@blackoakca.co.uk
Email Joanne chum. She was doing my accounts. Very friendly and quick to reply.
Email Joanne chum. She was doing my accounts. Very friendly and quick to reply.
Graham
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I do all my own book keeping and self-assessment. It's not that difficult for a small one-man-band.
zafturbo
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Certainly has its benefits doing it yourself .
Audi_TTS
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get yourself a Xero.com subscription - this is a fantastic tool for invoicing, vat if you need to, expenses, payroll etc - there is a monthly cost but more than worth it. PM me if you want more info regards sole trader / ltd etc - my wifes an accountant who has worked with startups and ive heard all the woes and mistakes!
That said - If you want to save money avoide a retainer wiht an accountant. I called my old one one day to ask a very basic question that took 3 minutes of his time and he billed me £80+vat for the pleasure. was the last bill he sent me - Xero about £30 a month or less if you dont need payroll
That said - If you want to save money avoide a retainer wiht an accountant. I called my old one one day to ask a very basic question that took 3 minutes of his time and he billed me £80+vat for the pleasure. was the last bill he sent me - Xero about £30 a month or less if you dont need payroll
pobmk4
RMS Regular
There are probably quite a few of us on here that are self employed, sole traders or otherwise. I'm sure some of us may be able to help you with the basics.
As already said Xero or quickbooks are great tools for small businesses at little cost.
As already said Xero or quickbooks are great tools for small businesses at little cost.
Set up as a sole trader
Register as a sole trader with HM Revenue and Customs - your legal responsibilities if you run a business as a self-employed sole trader.
this link might help
- Thread Starter
- #9
Thanks all for the above. I've had a read on the gov website and still wanted to just clarify what the exact process was for going as a sole trader. It will be mainly and online company re selling goods so would this affect the rates on the current house i am in? Apart from register with hmrc for self assessment is there anything else critical I must do before starting?
gpaevo
RMS Regular
Sign up for the 'go for it' programme. It's free of charge, they did my business plan. accounts, financial projections for the next 3 years. There are also free workshops on finances, advertising etc etc. I'm employed full time and this was for my little sideline business. They were so helpful.
Audi_TTS
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Register the company as a limited company. all it takes is one large order to go belly up, your client to demand a refund that you dont agree with, they start legal action and then your personal belongings including your home and car become part of the business and any potential settlement. Protect yourself - It costs £12 to register as a limited company and that £12 gives you comeplete protection. I cant stress this enough
- Thread Starter
- #12
Thanks, Any other advice regarding starting up? I was thinking of starting as a sole trader to test the water and then transfer to Ltd company but maybe starting as a Ltd company would be best after all.
Audi_TTS
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Honestly start as you mean to go on - you wouldnt think to put a condom on half way through the big cuddle!! It offers you total protection. In business you never know what you might wonder in to. A well known restaurant in belfast used a copyrighted name a few years ago and cost him £80k in legal fees for both sides. If youre a limited company with no assets in the company you simply strike the company off and you are free from any company debt. It's not me telling you ways to be fly, im just saying you never know!
Other advise would be. Keep good records. It's a pain in the hoop but not only gives you your position at any given time but if HMRC come knocking (they rarely do) but if they do you are prepared. ohh and expense the bejesus out of everything!!
- Thread Starter
- #14
If it's an online business based at home will this affect the rates of the house? If going down the Ltd company route would getting an accountant on board be the best option then for setting it up correctly and making sure everything is above board and legal.
From reading online there's no real advantage for vat registration untill I would be near the limit for registration from what I can see.
if I have stock already purchased in my own name now how can this then be sold through the ltd company once its setup?
Audi_TTS
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there are benefits from trading from a home "office" you can claim a percentage of the elec and heating and also % on the mortgage interest if you have one. Weirdly you can also claime for dogs dog food, vet bills as seen as "Security" weird but fact - Regards your rates - it's worth making a phone call in confidence but i dont think it will impact. you can probably get away without mentioning it but if you want to be 100% best to have the chat. VAT is a pain and until youre T/O is above i think £87k (or projected - For example you sell £10k in a month your projected to go over the threshold) you dont need to worry about it. But if you have to pay VAT youre doing OK so it becomes less of an issue. if you're buying a lot of VAT product it might be an idea to register anyway even below the threshold.
If you use one of the accounting software packages Xero etc you can probably avoid an accountant bar once a year to do final accounts. If you're using Xero as you should, your accountant can log in and file accounts with no hassle. Should also be more cost effective for you.
Regards the stock - You just buy it from you. The company writes you a chq or an IOU and it becomes the companies stock
Jbridges522
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As an accountant working in audit this definitely is not the area that i work in, but I definitely wouldn’t rush in to being a Ltd company straight away, it has its benefits and its disadvantages, it really depends on what sort of business you are setting up, for example if you anticipate having large borrowings and/or credit with suppliers, then id say go ltd to offer protection over ur personal assets, but if for example your going to sell something you grow, your unlikely to have very much risk so the extra hassle of being a ltd company doesn’t really offer you much.
Thing to remember is as a sole trader you are taxed on your profits, but if you run a ltd company you are taxed on anything you pay yourself in the same way my company pays me, as you and the company are 2 separate entities, and then the company is taxed on any profits left over after all costs have been deducted. Its not a straight forward answer or question unfortunately.
Thing to remember is as a sole trader you are taxed on your profits, but if you run a ltd company you are taxed on anything you pay yourself in the same way my company pays me, as you and the company are 2 separate entities, and then the company is taxed on any profits left over after all costs have been deducted. Its not a straight forward answer or question unfortunately.
The glorious dividend rate must be considered for cash extraction.
Audi_TTS
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Id have thought you register by submitting a tax return in time registering as a sole trader?? Could be wrong - Regads the Dividend extraction... it's not as seexy as it once was!
File your Self Assessment tax return online
Sign in and send your Self Assessment tax return online.
'Register by 5 October in your business’s second tax year. You could be fined if you do not.'
Thats the deadline for registration, but anyone I know, would generally register from the date they start to 'trade'.
- Thread Starter
- #22
File your Self Assessment tax return online
Sign in and send your Self Assessment tax return online.www.gov.uk
'Register by 5 October in your business’s second tax year. You could be fined if you do not.'
Thats the deadline for registration, but anyone I know, would generally register from the date they start to 'trade'.
Was talking to accountant yesterday and they said within 3 months would be fine but would plan to do so straight away. Trying to pick a trading name which is free and not going to cause any issue down the line is the decision at the moment.
- Thread Starter
- #23
Regarding a name to trade under for a sole trader. How strict are they on something similar to a Ltd company already registered on company house? The status of the company is 999 dormant on the sic code.
The name I want to use is the same first word then second word I have cut short as it doesn't need to be the full word. Am I likely to get into any hassle over this? Could add on a third word I guess to make it totally different if needs be. Any advice welcome.
The name I want to use is the same first word then second word I have cut short as it doesn't need to be the full word. Am I likely to get into any hassle over this? Could add on a third word I guess to make it totally different if needs be. Any advice welcome.