Starting a business

Hey all,
I thought I would get some opinions from people here about how to start a business. I've been doing some math, and I think I can manage to put together an OK business plan, starting off after hours until I can support myself then going full time. It's PC building and repair.

I haven't looked into how to actually start a business yet so I have a couple of questions:

Is it easy?
Cost?
Tax levels in the UK on businesses?
Any kind of general recommendations on who to go to for advice, what to do before starting, etc.

Thanks in advance.

Rack

Others probably have more specific recommendations, but I'd consider getting some investment, even if you don't actually need it, because the people giving you the investment will often also help out with all of those kinds of questions. So check out some banks (they fall over themselves to help start up businesses), local universities, DTI, citizens advice, other government sources, etc.

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Originally Posted by kalniel

Others probably have more specific recommendations, but I'd consider getting some investment, even if you don't actually need it, because the people giving you the investment will often also help out with all of those kinds of questions. So check out some banks (they fall over themselves to help start up businesses), local universities, DTI, citizens advice, other government sources, etc.

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The other/additional possibility is to go and see an Accountant, tell him what you are planning to do, and they should run through the tax implications etc :)

Dave

you have to pay for that tho dave!!!

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Originally Posted by Rack

Is it easy?

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no. you'll need to work 27 hour days for the next five years or so before things start to ease off

I don't think he was asking if running a business was easy, just the actual process of starting one up legally.

Ultimately, yes it is. Taking odd job orders for build and repair is what a lot of gee^H^H^H IT literate people do in spare time anyway, and that is a business. The only thing you have to do is make sure you pay tax on your income once it hits the threshold for taxable earnings. It's only when you get to certain levels of income that you actually need to worry about becoming a plc etc. and that's where you'll need the advice.

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Originally Posted by directhex

no. you'll need to work 27 hour days for the next five years or so before things start to ease off

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Yeah, my dad ran a mechanic workshop in Aus for 15 years, it was 6 1/2 days a week of 15 hour days, so I get that.
I was reffering to the starting a business, thanks Kaniel.

I wonder if the gov't has a site for small businesses... *googles*
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg...esslink.gov.uk
Ahh... some reading.

before you start, try and think what your selling point will be. you won't be able to undercut people (trust me, bloke who own computer shops are not normally very rich) - so what can you give that others cant? that'll be where you make money and be successful. Down here theres a fairly successful company called geeks on wheels, and they come round to your house to fix stuff. they reduce overheads (no office etc) and are more convinient.. thats why they're successful

kalniel ? a plc? are you joking ?

the process is easy you can get an accountant to set up a limited company for a small fee (sometimes its free)

what you need to think about as the business owner is how u will get customers, what is different about your service, and how you will market your service to the general public. As regards to the official stuff... limited company or sole trader etc, and the tax implications (which are barely worth worrying about until you have some actual custom) an accountant can sort all that out for you. i'd reccomend finding someone super cheap working from a spare room or somethin similar. they have less overheads so tend to be cheap

i'd think about whether there is any market for a pc builder/repairer in your area. lets face it its far from an original idea and chances are the gap is already filled and dominated by established companies, who you will probaly find it hard to compete effectively with

Insult Removed by admins. If you dont have anything nice to say , don't say anything

Look up business link :)

DO'h you've already found it! They have centres around the country irrc and you can go and get advice in person (misses did, so did me mam) they will take you thru the whole process, hand in hand if you like. :)

how old are you rack ?

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Originally Posted by Rack

I've been doing some math, and I think I can manage to put together an OK business plan

Is it easy?
Cost?
Tax levels in the UK on businesses?
Any kind of general recommendations on who to go to for advice, what to do before starting, etc.

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No it's not easy, not by a long shot. Anyone who says it is is talking out of their rear. You'll have to really put the work in just to stand still. An OK business plan isn't good enough. Your business plan has to be 100% water tight projecting future revenues and how you're going to go about earning those revenues. A bank manager or business advisor should be able to help you out here (some are d!cks but some are very helpful. YMMV.) They'll also be able to advise you on tax issues although talking to accountant could save you a LOT of grief. UK tax is a nightmare to negotiate.

You'll have to advertise and market yourself like mad to bring in the business. Work hard, enjoy yourself and lots of luck!

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Originally Posted by ikonia

how old are you rack ?

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26.

I'm an electronics engineer, but the pay is pretty crap for professional type work and it's a slow business really. When I see the numbers behind it all (company sells products at hundreds of percent margin at millions a year), it gets me very down about who's making the money.

I was thinking that I could also design some products in line with my business if I can see what's missing in the market, as I have some of the knowhow and some contacts, though I doubt I'd have the time. If I can do that it all changes, and I would really need funding. Initally it's just to get working for myself instead of a boss/company who's taking the piss.

you seem a little bit naive/ out of your depth

if you are going to go alone it needs careful planning and perfect execution.

also dont be so sure they are taking the piss.. have you taken into account overheads?

even if you can find a gap in the market, you still have to actually take it to market, which is a whole new arena. what would probaly be best, if you can think of something original and a true 'gap' , would be to search for investment from someone experienced in that area. or... apply for dragons den ;)

Naive/out of my depth? I dont want to go into figures, but the company I work for is doing insanely well, and I have seen most of the figures involved. I am aware of what it costs them to run the business here, and there are no issues for the owner. I'm talking about 30-40% sales growth year on year over 50 years, and profit figures to make most people gibber, but they have an effective HR department - keeping employment costs low.

I'm enquiring and looking into it. I have a good idea what it takes to be successful, and at the moment I'm missing some things, I'll grant you that, but I haven't even started yet, sheesh... It's an idea at the moment, I'm just doing the figures and was looking for some advice.

TBH i'd rather not go into too much details about what I'm doing, I am aware that being the local PC repair guy is not going to be something great, nor will it go far, I am trying to come up with a way to do something different, but for now I'm just trying to get an idea about what's involved with starting up.

I'm aware that it's difficult, I was hoping for some more UK specific advice about small businesses (both my sister and my dad have had businesses in Australia, so I know what it's about personally).

i didnt mean to be rude

im just saying that you may not be aware of all the hard work going on behind the scenes with marketing etc.

maybe you should supply more information on what it is you actually do, and what you feel the success of your employers is based on, and how you would replicate that if you go it alone

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Originally Posted by Rack

TBH i'd rather not go into too much details about what I'm doing, I am aware that being the local PC repair guy is not going to be something great, nor will it go far, I am trying to come up with a way to do something different, but for now I'm just trying to get an idea about what's involved with starting up.

I'm aware that it's difficult, I was hoping for some more UK specific advice about small businesses (both my sister and my dad have had businesses in Australia, so I know what it's about personally).

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depends on the type of business you want to run, and the legal liabilities you want to assume.

if you just want to go into business, then you can do it - it's called being a sole trader. however, you're liable for everything you own in the event of legal procedings against your company (because you *are* the company). you can add more people and become a private unlimited partnership, where the same rules apply.

you need to register with companies house if you want to become "limited" (i.e. separate company assets from your own personal assets), and that's fairly complex

also consider that above a certain annual turnover you need to become VAT registered. and there are concerns over trademark registration & trademark protection.

above all, get a good accountant.

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Originally Posted by Rack

Is it easy?
Cost?
Tax levels in the UK on businesses?
Any kind of general recommendations on who to go to for advice, what to do before starting, etc.

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Easy? To start a business, yes. To make it successful? Hell, no.

Cost? How much does a new car cost? Anything from about £6000 to ..... well, Bugatti Veyron is what? £800,000?

The cost depends on what you want. You can start a business self-employed with zero cost. A limited company will cost you from about £40, upwards. Exactly how much it costs will depend on how you go about it. Forming a company has an absolute minimum cost of about £30, consisting of fees to Companies House, etc, which are absolutely unavoidable. For about £35-40, you can get a "pack" from a formation agent that will include those fees, and have the basic forms filled out for you. But you'll have to finish off things like the Memorandum and Articles of Association yourself, and provide the Registrar of Shareholders, minutes book, etc. You also then need a registered office which must have a plaque stating the company name outside, and you'll have to compete and file the appropriate forms resigning the formation directors and company secretary, and appointing the replacements, as well as changing the registered office, unless it was initially done using an address you supplied.

Oh, and you CAN'T form a limited company on your own. It requires a minimum of either two directors, or a sole director and a different company secretary. You can certainly pay someone to do that latter job, but it is a job that has duties attached, such as filing annual returns to Companies House (and you have to pay a nominal fee to do that, too). And, there are several hundred criminal offences only a company director can commit. Being a director is not all privilege and money.

So the first question you need to ask is whether you want a limited company, or to trade as self-employed. The costs are different, the tax implications (personal income tax, PAYE and NI, and Corporation Tax) are different and your personal legal liability is VERY different.

Then you need to think about what insurances you might need. Public liability insurance? Employees insurance? And so on.

And, of course, if you aren't familiar with bookkeeping, you'll want to at the very least, consult with an accountant to learn what records you need to keep, and for how long (6 years, IIRC), what expenses you can claim against tax (and what expenses you can't), what forms you need to complete for the Inland Revenue, when you need to actually pay any tax due, and so forth.

Oh, and if you decide to go self-employed, you MUST notify the Revenue (within, IIRC, 90 days of starting) or there'll be an automatic fine applied ..... as there is if you are late with tax returns, tax payments, annual Companies House (for limited companies) returns, and so forth.

And consider ..... what I have said here is just a very brief overview that actually barely scratches the surface.

Who should you consult? An accountant, for a start. Try to find a good one, because not all are even competent, let alone good. If you get very cheap, it may prove expensive in the long run. For instance, if you let your accountant prepare your tax return, YOU are still liable for penalties if they screw up, and good luck getting compensation off them.

Also, consult your local small business groups. A business advisor at your bank should be able to start you off in the right direction, but unlike some posts here have suggested, don't assume your bank will be fighting to lend you money. They know just how risky small businesses are, so won't be keen to do that unless it's a personal loan and your credit (and ability to repay) are good enough to convince them they'll get their money back whether the business succeeds or fails ..... and statistically, the odds are on the latter.

One final point. There's about a gazillion people running or wanting to run small businesses building or repairing PCs. What can you offer that they can't? How will you get customers? How will you ensure that you don't get blamed for something else that goes wrong with a PC you repaired, after you returned it? Will you charge by the hour, or by the completed job? Will people pay an hourly rate, because how long you spend will depend on your competence, and they won't know how good you are? How will you avoid providing lifetime 24/7 tech support after you've done a small job? If your initial customers are family, friends and neighbours, will you feel able to charge them? And charge them again when something else goes wrong? A high percentage of PC problems are down to viruses, incorrect user settings, and so forth. Do you have the tact to tell people they've been idiots, without annoying them in the process? When you clean a virus off, and two weeks later, some plonker has managed to put it back on, how will you go about telling them they have to pay again?

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Originally Posted by Saracen

Oh, and you CAN'T form a limited company on your own. It requires a minimum of either two directors, or a sole director and a different company secretary

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What usually happens here is that you are the sole director and your accountant is the company secretary. This is a very common arrangement particularly amongst contractors. If you're bringing in the cash then a limited company is a good idea as you can reduce the tax you pay by a significant amount.

Wow, keep it coming.

It is the last points I have already thought a lot about. I have built more than a few PC's for friends, and normally I try to keep it economical for both parties - so far successfully - but as soon as they go somewhere else it's expensive in comparison. If I had a business, I would be able to set hourly rates, etc, and be a bit harder with friends. I normally just get favours for favours from friends, but in business it's different - I wouldn't do it that way, nor give much in the way of discounts.

I have been doing a couple of PC's for friends of friends now, and that has also been going well. I have offered them 30 days free service (ie I'll help them out for free with any initial issues that are related to the PC and setup, and charge for parts only), and that hasn't been an issue - one callout because of a rookie error on an early PC, but nothing since.

I have been investigating the competition as well to see what is standard in pricing, what small and big business is doing - what I can offer different, and that is the tricky part, I can really see that. I don't want to be a me-too.

What I'm finding more interesting here is the liability information, and what's involved getting started on the different company types. Thanks for the info, that's great.

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Originally Posted by Rack

What I'm finding more interesting here is the liability information, and what's involved getting started on the different company types. Thanks for the info, that's great.

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then you should become an accountant ;)

as complicated as it all sounds it is stuff your accountant will deal with and you not need worry about, except for keeping your books in order and returning forms on time. your concern should be how you will create a viable business that has long term sustainability. for it to be worth saving tax you have to be paying it. If your earning enough there are ways of paying no tax at all! (yes, really). For now your primary concern should be how your business will operate efficiently and be profitable. I would go in as a sole trader, it makes the most sense. You can always change to a limited company later, but again, u need to speak to an accountant. im actually in a room full of accountants so if u have any quick questions i'll try and get them answered for you.

lol, thanks ben. I'll have a think this afternoon. I really should get back to work before I end up in emergency self employment.

I've seen some people self employed paying <10% tax with decent accountants, so I'm sure I can find out about that, but would be nice to know how now ;-) , um, other than that, I guess I can find out a few initial numbers online or when I eventually see an accountant. If I think of anything, I'll let you know.

It is very interesting though, I've started working with outside design & manufacture houses for some products, and while there is a lot of initial cost to get going the work load isn't as bad as I thought. It's then just good funding, distribution and most importantly marketing. Maybe I should go back to uni first... anyone got an MBA? Are they just CV padding?

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Originally Posted by Bluecube

What usually happens here is that you are the sole director and your accountant is the company secretary. This is a very common arrangement particularly amongst contractors. If you're bringing in the cash then a limited company is a good idea as you can reduce the tax you pay by a significant amount.

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It certainly can be a good idea, depending on how much you're bringing in, though the tax implications are a lot less in favour of this than they were a couple of years ago. Thanks, Gordon. :rolleyes:

It's also perfectly feasible for a small business, especially a part-time one, to end up paying more to the accountant than the tax-savings of going limited over self-employed saves. It all depends on the level of income.

Contractors are something of a special case, in that income is relatively high initially, and relatively easy to predict, compared to a small business selling goods or services, because that is far more marketing-led, and far more likely to grow exponentially, if it is successful. In the latter case, it may well be that the time comes to go limited, but that it isn't necessarily a good move to start with. It really needs a detailed discussion with an accountant to bring out pro's and con's in any given set of circumstances.

Hey dude,
I am a contractor - working for IBM @ the moment. I have my own LTD company. A few things worth considering:

1) You can buy a company off the shelf where all the paperwork is already done for a very small amount of money (&#163;50 ish)

2) You will need an accountant. They usually bill by the hour. IIRC I think I was going to be charged in the region of 500 quid for my accounts to be done.

3) Tax works a bit differently when you own your own company. Everything you make comes in gross, then when you subtract costs (parts etc), and pay yourself a nominal wage, and NI contributions you can take the rest as a dividend (lower tax %age).

People paying <10% are probably bending the rules a bit too far. I work on the principle that you should keep about 50% of your gross for tax/rainy day - don't forget you won't be making an income all the time - you won't get holiday/sick/pension/any of the other benefits you get as a permie.

I wouldn't say an MBA is something you really need to be looking at to start up your own business. You'll find you get odd looks if you're under 30 and are looking to do one anyway - most want management experience 1st. I considered it for a while. You'd be better off spending money on a basic book keeping course.

One final thing you should look into is insurance, both liability and indemnity. One covers you if you leave a cable on the floor, someone trips over it and smashes their face in (ala Insurance Lawyers 4 U), the other covers you if you sell NASA a 286 and tell them it'll manage their entire space program.

Finally regarding VAT. Until your sales are up over about &#163;60k / year (don't recall the exact amount) you don't need it. You won't be able to claim VAT back on anything you buy either, however.

HTH..

Tom

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Originally Posted by Rack

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What I'm finding more interesting here is the liability information, and what's involved getting started on the different company types. Thanks for the info, that's great.

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Essentially ....


1) Self-employed. Your "company" is legally you. When you enter into a contract, your personal assets (up to a point) are on the line. If you get sued, you could lose almost everything.

2) Limited Company. The company itself is a legal entity, capable of entering into contracts .... and being sued on them. Any assets owned by the company are at risk, but not (with an exception or two) those owned by directors or shareholders.


So, with a limited company, it is owned by shareholders, and managed by directors. In a small company, these are likely to be largely the same same people. In a big company, directors may well own shares, but a lot of other people will too.

As a director, you have no personal liability provided you act legally and within your authority. If you don't (it's called ultra vires) you can be held personally liable. But the default situation is that, as a director, you're a sort of employee and not personally liable.

As a shareholder, you're only liable for the unpaid value of the shares you hold. Suppose a company has 100 shares of &#163;1 each, and each of two directors are issued 50 shares. If each director pays &#163;50 into the company, each share is fully paid, and the shareholder has no further liability. You could, however, only pay &#163;20 each in, in which case, you have &#163;30 each unpaid which could, if the company was sued, become a liability you'd have to meet, but beyond that "unpaid" value of shares, a shareholder has no further personal liability. This, effectively, is what "limited" means.

This process of separating ownership from control is precisely designed to limit to liability of shareholders, but it is technically possible to lift the separation. It's loosely called lifting the "veil" of incorporation, but is very rare and only likely to be an issue in cases of overt fraud where the company status is being used as a shield. It's actually pretty rare, even then.

So, if you form a limited company, the company itself becomes a legal "person", able to sue and be sued, to form contracts and be held to them, and to be liable for it's actions.


This is the basic difference between "trading as" (where you might trade in a company name, but it is YOU that is trading, and you that is liable) and a limited company. In the first case, you might sell and be paid as "Rack Systems", and you may have a bank account where you issue cheques as "Mr F. Bloggs T/A Rack Systems". In the latter case, invoices, cheques etc., would be payable as "Rack Systems Limited" and you'd need to open a bank account in that name.

To start a "trading as", you can just inform the Inland Revenue you're doing it, and start. To trade as a limited company, you need to go through the formal (legal) company formation process ..... and should the company cease trading, another formal (and lengthy) dissolution process. You have legal duties to keep minutes of meetings, notify Companies House of changes of director, issuing of shares, and so on, and to meet the full requirements of the Companies Acts, etc.

one other thing to consider is.....

the kind of people who normally want custom pc's are enthusiasts and will do it themselves and at best ask someone to tidy it up for them,

so you've got a pretty small limited market, that only your friends know about with word of mouth, so you'd have to advertise. You would't be able to charge much per hour as if you did - there would be no-point in using you when I could go to someone like Mashie who has a very good reputation and skill set.

Being honest - sounds like a 16 year old trying to start a business because he fixes his mates PC - hence why I asked your age.

But at the end of the day if you really think you can make a go of it then do it cause life's too short to fanny around wondering "what if?" At worst you'll lose some cash, at best you could make a living from it.

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Originally Posted by ikonia

Being honest - sounds like a 16 year old trying to start a business because he fixes his mates PC - hence why I asked your age.

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I know advertising will be key, and I know that 'custom PC's' are not the bread and butter business either - it's not what people want. Differentiation through advertising is expensive, and floorspace in retail sector even more so. I do need to do something different, and be sure of it before I invest in anything. But I'm sure I want to get out of the work I'm in, and I'm sure I want to work for myself. I just need to find the right thing. The more I look into it, the standard PC market is old and already saturated - need to find something that is different, wether in computers or not.

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Originally Posted by directhex

no. you'll need to work 27 hour days for the next five years or so before things start to ease off

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what he said....twice

PC building and repair is THE WAY TO LOSE MONEY!! What PC repair has EVER gone well...? What customer who has EVER had their PC repaired by someone else, NOT complained that something else has broken and blaimed the last person that was not them, to touch it?

Run away from thids idea.....run away as fast as you can, and if you feel the idea coming back, think "Why do every PC builder in the world then ave a CALL CENTRE which costs a fortune to contact?"

Becuase that's the ONLY way to deter punters from permatently breaking thier PC with rampant ignorance!

Exaple: Punter asks you to build them a PC> You spec it and cost it and make it half way upgradeable....they then show you a Dell PC ready built with a warranty for less money.

Example 2: you get a call from my Dad. He can't get Ulead Video 10 to work, will you "fix his PC" You suggest more ram, quote him, install it, and the next day he accidentally kills XP when my Mum unplugs his PC mid way through it posting, to hoover.

The PC is now fubar...and YOU Are only person to have done anything to it.

You LIVE at his house reinstalling XP for weeks, trying to find drivers that he never had, and all for &#163;7.82 profit on the ram!


Run....run far far away from this idea ;)

thats the best thing you've said in this thread - your not interested in what your going to do you just need to be not working where you are.

I suggest you go along to natwest and get a small business start package, and do the same from barcalys. Both have a good starter pack.

Compare the differences to see what your getting into/what you need/what they can offer you.

Get you're idea and go to see one of their small business advisors which to be honest the natwest I have used myself and was quite good.

people on these forums will offer advice on a.) no-knowledge or information - just what they think they know of have heard b.) what is relevant to their own personal experiences which may have no relevance to your needs - more so as you don't really know what you're going to be doing yet c.) offer you resources to help.

None of these will give you a clear picture apart from c.) resources to help, which will give you dry facts. Get a plan together on what you want to do, and based from what you've seen from the small business packages and go see someone who can give you advice on your personal situation.

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Originally Posted by Zak33

what he said....twice

PC building and repair is THE WAY TO LOSE MONEY!! What PC repair has EVER gone well...? What customer who has EVER had their PC repaired by someone else, NOT complained that something else has broken and blaimed the last person that was not them, to touch it?

Run away from thids idea.....run away as fast as you can, and if you feel the idea coming back, think "Why do every PC builder in the world then ave a CALL CENTRE which costs a fortune to contact?"

Becuase that's the ONLY way to deter punters from permatently breaking thier PC with rampant ignorance!

Exaple: Punter asks you to build them a PC> You spec it and cost it and make it half way upgradeable....they then show you a Dell PC ready built with a warranty for less money.

Example 2: you get a call from my Dad. He can't get Ulead Video 10 to work, will you "fix his PC" You suggest more ram, quote him, install it, and the next day he accidentally kills XP when my Mum unplugs his PC mid way through it posting, to hoover.

The PC is now fubar...and YOU Are only person to have done anything to it.

You LIVE at his house reinstalling XP for weeks, trying to find drivers that he never had, and all for &#163;7.82 profit on the ram!


Run....run far far away from this idea ;)

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lol, the person in that example is an idiot and deserves to lose money.
I agree PC repair is not lucrative. It would not be what I would want to do.

However, how about this:

Your dad rings up after said computer died.
me: Your PC worked when I left, there were no issues. I beleive it would have to be something else. If you bring it around/I pick it up (I wouldn't go to his house in the first place, except perhaps to pick it up out of curtousy) I will take a look. If it's the RAM I will replace free of charge. If it's something else I will quote you free of charge.

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think "Why do every PC builder in the world then ave a CALL CENTRE which costs a fortune to contact?"

Becuase that's the ONLY way to deter punters from permatently breaking thier PC with rampant ignorance!

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I would have to have a very clear price plan on any kind of backup service on a PC product - I was always thinking that new products are the way to go. I can see the support level required where I work, and it requires a lot of funding.

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Originally Posted by ikonia

thats the best thing you've said in this thread - your not interested in what your going to do you just need to be not working where you are.

I suggest you go along to natwest and get a small business start package, and do the same from barcalys. Both have a good starter pack.

Compare the differences to see what your getting into/what you need/what they can offer you.

Get you're idea and go to see one of their small business advisors which to be honest the natwest I have used myself and was quite good.

people on these forums will offer advice on a.) no-knowledge or information - just what they think they know of have heard b.) what is relevant to their own personal experiences which may have no relevance to your needs - more so as you don't really know what you're going to be doing yet c.) offer you resources to help.

None of these will give you a clear picture apart from c.) resources to help, which will give you dry facts. Get a plan together on what you want to do, and based from what you've seen from the small business packages and go see someone who can give you advice on your personal situation.

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Thanks Ikonia, I was mainly interested in what resources to use generally. I think I will have to go see someone at my bank, and I'll try Natwest from your recommendation.

im afraid that way yuo will loose money because of the times you spend with people for free, bottom line is this on the hole, people that know about pcs fix them themselves, people that dont know buy dell and go to pc world, the type of people you are going to get are spastics right, i did it the other day cleaned a pc off with a reinstall got it all good, then she comes back and says its worse than before obviously its not but this is because shes a spastic and is stupid, i fix the problem at her expense she hadnt plugged the vga cable in right, but although the job was done she wont ever come to us again coz she thinks we shafted her.

the thing not to do is get dragged into going back to thses people for free because they cant get there antivirus installed, because most people as zak said will blame the last person to touch the pc for its fault. remember peple are stupid and they dont understand pcs lots off people are sscared of them lol

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Originally Posted by harry1

...get are spastics right... because shes a spastic...

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Can you please not use that work on these forums, I find it very offensive, and while I understand please try to use other more appropriate terms.

omg always someone who moans about everything.

okay they are stupid and ignorant

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Originally Posted by harry1

omg always someone who moans about everything

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Please respect the forums and other people, Hexus is a family forum and your posts should reflect this.

If you feel you have to talk that, please do not do it on the Hexus forums

Apologies for going off topic, Rack good luck with the business :)

np, thanks

anyhow in the above post i made valid points regarding to pepole who are often ones who use repair services rack, just get some very clear guidelines and thing and u can cover your self easily enough

harry1..behave please!

Clear.....good. If you use that word again it's time to flush you're little head down the toilet and let you see the world of the blue goldfish!

Thanks...right..back on track!

Ok thats enough :)

I'd rather not see any more off topic posts on this thread please.

and just to ensure I'm following my own guidlines , dont forget to facotor in things essential spares and liability insurance ( especially if you are visiting clients )

What i would say is, if you have the drive and determination..........Go for it mate. Give it a shot and good luck to you.

Holy thread revival batman! :P

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Originally Posted by b0redom

1) You can buy a company off the shelf where all the paperwork is already done for a very small amount of money (£50 ish)

2) You will need an accountant. They usually bill by the hour. IIRC I think I was going to be charged in the region of 500 quid for my accounts to be done.

3) Tax works a bit differently when you own your own company. Everything you make comes in gross, then when you subtract costs (parts etc), and pay yourself a nominal wage, and NI contributions you can take the rest as a dividend (lower tax %age).

People paying <10% are probably bending the rules a bit too far.

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^ what he said.

It's cheap to set up a Ltd company and you need not worry too much about the admin cost. About £500 for an accountant is what you can expect to pay, maybe a just little more if you want them to administer your PAYE scheme but you can do this yourself, 'tax doesn't have to be taxing' and all that. No-one ever went bankrupt from the costs associated with running a company, you don't lose your house until you take on expensive commercial premises etc.

Company Secretary is a small point, either your accountant will do it or get a family member to do it....I think actually that in this year's budget they will do away with the requirement on small companies for a Company Sec altogether.

Also, if you turn over less than £150k or something, you can register for the flat rate VAT scheme whereby you keep an extra ~5% of your turnover but forego the ability to reclaim VAT on your inputs. So if you are essentially providing a service with few purchases, and your customers are themselves VAT registered, you can do quite well with this.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Whiternoise

Holy thread revival batman! :P

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Ha ha and here's me being all helpful :rolleyes:

Oh well by now he is either rolling in it or totally destitute.