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peterattheboro

peterattheboro

peterattheboro

Soldato
Joined
24 Sep 2005
Posts
20,189
Location
Middlesbrough
Seasons greetings!

I am currently in the process of creating a business and am a bit stuck, well a lot stuck when it comes to the legal side of registering a company, tax and national insurance etc.

I've found a website, registeracompany.co.uk that will do all this for me for £59.

Is it actually worth doing or can do it direct yourself to companies house?

I realise i'll probably get shot down saying I can't run a business if I dont even know how to do this but I need to do this, so i'm doing it :)

Thanks for the help! :)

(If i'm still stuck after the holidays then i'll be getting in touch with Business Link and see what advice they can offer me)
 
I've recently just done this and if your a sole trader then there is very little to do except register with HM Revenue & Customs, also get yaself setup for National Insurance contributions. give them a ring they are pretty helpful and explain it all and direct you to correct forms

Also Liability insurance of some form is a good idea...

Thats all you need to do legally (the insurance is optional but v good idea)
 
you can do it yourself but a lot of people consider it worthwile to spend a few quid getting someone else to do it and make sure it's done right.
 
You need to clarify what you are doing. If you are self employed you just call HMRC and they will register you and talk you through what you need to do.

If you are forming a Limited Company this is more complex and I would recommend seeking advice from an accountant. If you make a mistake doing it yourself it can be costly.
 
It is a limited company so I would need to do it the awkward way.

Or can I register as a sole trader but also use a business name at the same time?

I know a very good accountant actually, i'll give him a ring :)

Ohh, it's a photo business so i'll obviously be getting public liability and indemnity insurance :)
 
peterattheboro said:
It is a limited company so I would need to do it the awkward way.

Or can I register as a sole trader but also use a business name at the same time?

I know a very good accountant actually, i'll give him a ring :)

Ohh, it's a photo business so i'll obviously be getting public liability and indemnity insurance :)
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What is your reason for forming a limited company? To have a company name? If so, you need to look at this in more detail. There are tax implications and other stuff to be considered.

You can still use a trading name as a sole trader. You just have to have your own name on invoices and other paperwork like peterattheboro t/a Photos R Us.

If you know an accountant, definitely speak to him and get some proper advice. Good luck! :)
 
Jambo said:
What is your reason for forming a limited company? To have a company name? If so, you need to look at this in more detail. There are tax implications and other stuff to be considered.

You can still use a trading name as a sole trader. You just have to have your own name on invoices and other paperwork like peterattheboro t/a Photos R Us.

If you know an accountant, definitely speak to him and get some proper advice. Good luck! :)
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Cheers bud :)
 
Yeah i advise you dont go Ltd unless you specifically need to, or know exactly what you are doing. The Ltd route involves quite a lot more in depth accountancy over sole trader, sole trader is quite striaght forward. Doing in the Ltd way will definitiely require you to pay an accountant for your yearly corporate accounts. You should also get legal cover aswell as Pub Liability and Indemnity if you are going Ltd to protect yourself against IR investiagtion etc.
 
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I have been self employed for 12 years.

You have to go with a limited company if you are going to turn-over more than 50K per year.

The best thing about a limited company is of course the limited liability. You'll need an accountant by law (and professional indemnity insurance). Your accountant will be about £170 a month. The insurance maybe £140 a year.

I wouldn't bother with sole trader if I were you as your business can't really grow.

If you're just doing a small bit of work just use an umbrella company (like 'parasol').

Just pay the £60 to get the company done -- and get the 'articles of association' over to the bank. It's easy
 
britboy4321 said:
You don't need an external accountant to review your yearly accounts before forwarding to the IR if you own a limited company?

It's not a legal requirement for every single LTD company in the UK to have public liability insurance?

Is that what you're saying?
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Exactly. You can submit your own accounts and you can avoid public liability insurnace if you don't deal with the public.
 
I got the accountant to set the company up. The paper work isn't that hard but I wanted to make sure it was done correctly whilst I sorted out other things (arranging insurance, advertising, website etc).
 
LordSplodge said:
Exactly. You can submit your own accounts and you can avoid public liability insurnace if you don't deal with the public.
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By jove you're right you know ..

And I've been paying £170 per month for 12 years to get someone to do this (and, admittedly, all the other accounting - VAT etc).
 
LordSplodge said:
Is my sarcasm sensor going off? :(
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It shouldn't be - I literally trawled the web and found where you were right and I was wrong.

Thing is, before I looked it up, I'd have bet £10000 that you legally HAD to have a third party check over your accounts -- but nope.

no sarcasm. You were right, I was wrong.
 
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