Budget Updates, hot off the PRESS!THE 3 MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What do I have to do to become self employed?
One of the best things about becoming self employed is how easy it is to get started. There are a number of steps you must or should take to get it right first time.
1. Register with the Revenue & Customs. This can be done online with HMRC and you must do it within 90 days of starting trading so best to get it out of the way straight away. CLICK HERE to go the HMRC to register now.
2. Open a Business Bank Account. You need to keep your business dealings separate from your personal life, and avoid unnecessary Accountant’s fees in the process, so shop around and see who will give you the best deal. All banks should be giving you 18 months free banking and some even do 2 years now. Don’t forget - In Business, everything is negotiable.
3. Sort out what Business Insurance you need to protect you, your business and your customers. We have an arrangements with our Insurance partner, Simply Business, to do this for you. You will definitely need Public Liability insurance, if you have staff you must have Employers Liability Insurance and if you give advice you will need to protect yourself with Professional Indemnity Insurance to name just 3, and there are many more! - so CLICK HERE to go to the relevant page.
4. Think about registering for VAT straight away. If your business is targeting corporate customers then voluntarily registering for VAT will enable you to compete on a level playing field and help with your credibility. If your target customers are ‘Joe Public’ then you can wait till your reach the VAT threshold. CLICK HERE to find out about compulsory registration and/or Register online.
5. In the 21st century every business needs to have a web site. Have you registered your domain name? No, well go to to get it done now, before someone else takes it first. You should also think about registering as a Limited Company to protect your business name as well. The company does not have to trade, it can just sit in the background (dormant) but the name would then be yours. Check if the name is available with our partner, Duport Associates, then buy it. ONE WORD OF ADVICE, BUY THE DOMAIN NAME FIRST AND THE LTD COMPANY SECOND. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO TRAWL THE COMPANIES HOUSE INDEX FOR NEWLY REGISTERED COMPANIES THEN LOOK TO SEE IF A DOMAIN NAME HAS BEEN PURCHASED. IF IT HASN’T THEY WILL QUICKLY BUY IT AND THEN, WHEN YOU COME TO BUY, YOU WILL FIND THAT IT IS NOT AVAILABLE AND, WORSE STILL, YOU WILL HAVE TO BUY IT AT A MUCH HIGHER PRICE FROM SOMEONE ELSE.
How do I go about registering the name of a Limited Company?
Don’t make life difficult for yourself, there are lots of Company Formation Agents available who can do all the necessary paperwork for you. However you want someone who will give you a quick and professional service at a good price and we know just the people. CLICK HERE to go to the services of our partner, Duport Associates, a very well respected Company Formation Agent who will give you excellent customer service.
How important is choosing the right name for my Business?
One of the first important things you need to do when becoming self employed is to think about a suitable name for your business. This is an important step as it is the first thing that your customers see and your name will say a lot about your business. Often heard comments like, ‘keep it short’, ‘make it memorable’, ‘ensure it says something about the type of business’ etc are all useful and relevant comments. Don’t forget that your business will grow and you may either change direction or just expand into other business sectors so think about the name from that perspective. What relevance will your chosen name have in the future?
You also need to bear in mind what you cannot do and you definitely need to check to see if the name is already in use. A ‘must do’ would be to check with Companies House to see if there is a Company already trading with that name, and check their rules for what words you can and, more importantly, cannot use. Similarly look in the local Directory (e.g. Yellow Pages) to see whether there is another business already using your favoured name. You mustn’t pass yourself off as someone else!
Another point is to think about the domain name as you will want a web site for your business. Try and ensure you buy all the Top level Domains for your business, .com, .co.uk and .net. This will help protect your business. Go to our partner to deal with this but check the name at Companies House as well. One further point is to try and keep your domain name as short as possible.