Many profitable businesses have no need for a physical premises, you might already have a lot of the equipment you need and staff might not be necessary until the business is more established. However, you will also need to think about your personal costs such as rent, mortgage, utility bills, childcare and food. You will then need to think about how much of your own money you can afford to invest to find out if you will need to look for investment or a business loan.
If it will be seen by people outside your business, make sure it looks professional, is well structured and contains all the information people would expect to see.
You pay tax and National Insurance on your self-employed earnings in arrears. This means you will need to plan how you will pay what could be a substantial bill. The good news is you will have a good idea about how much tax you owe at the end of the previous tax year, which gives you nine months to prepare.
But, some businesses might benefit from registering even if their turnover is below this. You will also have to complete a lot of additional paperwork. You will need to keep track of what you are charging clients for your goods and services, as well as any business related expenses. You will not need to send your records when you submit a tax return, but you will need to keep them for five years after the relevant tax return submission deadline.
If you choose to use cash basis accounting, you pay tax and claim expenses based on when the money leaves or enters your account. Why would this matter? But, if you agree to and invoice someone for work several months before you get paid then it can change the year you pay tax on that income.
However, there are some downsides to cash basis accounting. This is a difficult question and there is no definitive answer. If your business is brand new and you have a simple financial situation, you might want to see if you can manage by yourself, at least in the short term.
However, hiring an account can be a good thing as most can provide advice on tax planning and offsetting expenses against income. Like personal accounts, business bank accounts have a number of different features.
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You can compare different business bank accounts at:. If you want some help with your record and bookkeeping, then you might want to look at some of the commercial software suppliers. Some suppliers are able to submit parts of your tax return automatically and these are listed on the HMRC website. You will certainly need some kind of business cover, such as public liability and equipment insurance, but there are a wide range of products available.
As you no longer have an employer to rely on for sickness cover or health insurance, you might also want to consider a personal insurance policy. If you have been out of work and on benefits for at least six months, you might qualify for financial help and a business mentor. Sorry, web chat is only available on internet browsers with JavaScript. Our advisers will point you in the right direction. Give us a call for free and impartial money advice. Protecting your home and family with the right insurance policies Insurance Insurance Car insurance Life and protection insurance Home insurance Pet insurance Help with insurance Travel insurance Budget planner.
How to start a business or become self-employed An extra 1. What to think about when starting a business or becoming self-employed What help is available if you become self-employed Different kinds of self-employed businesses Thinking of buying a franchise? What you need to do when starting a business and becoming self-employed Find out more What to think about when starting a business or becoming self-employed? Top tip The key to working for yourself or starting a successful business is to plan, plan and then plan some more.
Limited or no access to employment benefits like paid leave. Find out more about setting up your own business and becoming self-employed on Gov. Find out more about setting up as a sole trader on the Gov. You can find out more about setting up a partnership on the Gov. Find out more about setting up a private limited company on Gov. Find out more about limited partnerships on the Gov. Learn more about Limited Liability Partnerships.
Going Self Employed: How To Start Out In Business On Your Own by Steve Gibson
You can find more information about setting-up your own business on Gov. Find more about how to budget for an irregular income. Find out more about business planning including how to write a business plan on Gov. Find out more about registering as self-employed and submitting a Self Assessment tax return. Find out more about paying tax and NI when self-employed.
Find out more about registering for and paying corporation tax on Gov. Find out more about VAT registration on the Gov. Find out more about cash basis accounting on Gov. Paperback , pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Going Self Employed , please sign up. Lists with This Book.
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This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Sep 11, Jared Woods rated it liked it. I have become so boring that I've actually started to think my reviews are interesting, God help me. The primary question surrounding any book promising an insight into the exotic land of self-employment, is this: You may find this question also applies to any other book ever written too.
The answer for this particular offering is as follows: And it achieved that, not only from a thorough and professionally experienced background, but also with clear instructions on how to do so. All in all, very helpful. This meant that my eyes blurred a bit during certain less applicable sections, but at the same time, I appreciate that this knowledge could come in use at a later date. But I am a simple man with simple freelance skills who just wants lots of simple money, which meant so many of these gifts were lost on my simple mind. Steve Gibson RIP unfortunately is one cool writer, man!
From the starting line he tries to scare you away from the whole self-employed plan by brutally describing everything that is so difficult about it. From that point on, me and old Steve were literally on the same page, as he wrote in an informal conversational manner, just my type of casual education, helping the typical mundane sludge of finances and business plans and market research and promotions and legal implications and mehhhh to be all the more readable.
How to start a business or become self-employed
The abundance of cleverly chosen and relevant quotes also granted some additional relief, and I surprisingly found myself chuckling quite a bit. He was really funny! Rather, as a general guide to the desired outcome goes, this was just about as long as I could handle quite short, pages and a great collection of added smarts to my cause. Feb 02, Niroshehaa Ragunathan rated it it was amazing. Such an excellent book.
I used it like a work book, and worked through it chapter by chapter making notes and expanding on sketchy plans. Pointed out so many things I hadn't considered myself. Whether I start the business or not I'm glad I read this little gem. It really got me thinking and planning and taking action. Which is what you want at the end of the day right? Nov 03, Cheryl rated it liked it Shelves: Masculine, marketing focussed, useful if you start with a product, not a service.
Going Self Employed: How To Start Out In Business On Your Own
Dec 06, Graeme rated it it was ok. I found the writing style rather patronising which distracts from the content. However there are some handy tips and a it gives good basic introduction to business. Lucy jennings rated it it was ok Mar 18, Nathan Klay rated it really liked it Sep 12, Dzhuneyt rated it liked it May 30, Robin rated it did not like it Sep 18, Simon Phillips rated it really liked it May 26, Matthew Jarvis rated it liked it Feb 18, Ed Taylor rated it liked it Oct 08, KHaleD Alghamdi rated it liked it Apr 05, Viktor Nemeth rated it really liked it Jun 13,