You’ve thought long and hard, and decided to go out on your own.

But if this is your first business venture, you may not realise that there are many things to do, decisions to be made, and these are not always obvious.

It is very important that you start out on the right foot as a bad decision, or a key element ignored, is likely to come back and haunt you.

Professional advice

We strongly suggest that you talk to us when you have decided to start your business, but before you actually start trading. Get it right now, and you’ll save money and grief.

Choosing the right accountant is important—you need one you can work with, and who will positively help you as you grow, and take the burden of admin work off your hands

The initial discussion with us is free and without commitment: If you decide to use our services, we promise that we’ll tell you how much our input will cost before you commit to using us.

We want you to succeed, and we won’t make you feel like a small fish in a big pond.

More than that, we’re brimming with ideas that to save you time and money

Decisions, decisions

The area of company startups is far too complex to discuss briefly here, but—before you look at our Business start-up section, here are just a few considerations:

Deciding the best trading status is important: whether as sole trader, partnership, or limited company. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.

As a sole trader, to start up there’s not much more to do than tell the HMRC that you’ve commenced trading. Life can get complicated with tax though, and you need to keep your business and private finances carefully separated. There’s a long delay, perhaps a year, before you pay any tax on your profits. So unless you budget for tax as you go, getting walloped with massive bills every six months can be painful.

Ah, partnerships… Lawyers love these. If it’s a husband and wife partnership, and there’s a divorce, unscrambling the business affairs can be particularly painful. You need to be sure your personal relationship is rock solid before forming a business partnership with your wife or personal partner.

Friends who share a great idea, and go into business on a 50/50 ownership of the business, frequently fall out. Strange how one person will often feel that they are doing all the work, while the other is enjoying expensive holidays…

Limited companies legally have a life of their own, separate from the individuals who form them. You’re likely to draw a salary from the payroll. What’s the most tax-efficient way to do this, and how should you draw dividends to keep your tax bill down? Oh well, at least with PAYE, you’ll be paying tax and National Insurance as you go. But don’t forget that you’ll be writing a cheque for Corporation Tax on January 1…

Help!

As you succeed you’ll need people to help you: Hiring and employing staff, firing them if needs be, is another interesting area. Sick pay, paid-for pregnancy leave, a minefield even for experts.

But to keep it as simple as possible, call us now, and we’ll (figuratively!) hold your hand through the entire process. Calling us ‘accountants’ really understates how much, and in how many ways, we can help you start and run your business for success.

And we can take burdens like the preparation of PAYE and VAT returns off your shoulders, leaving you with the utmost time to run and build your business.

We look forward to your call!