Before making the leap into self-employment, you must make sure you aren’t caught out by red tape or miss out on grants and loans. We have a wealth of experience helping entrepreneurs starting a business. Here are a few pointers to get you started.
1 - Make claims if you buy equipment for your business, you may be able to get tax relief in the form of capital allowances. These allowances are for equipment, which you buy to keep and use in your business, such as vehicles, tools, computers and business furniture.
2 - Update your employment status register with HM Revenue & Customs online, and the website will walk you through the process. Make sure you do register as self-employed, because if you don’t you will face a fine.
3 - Prepare your finances remember “cash is king.” Having efficient cash control in place is essential to ensure the smooth running of any new business. Efficient cash flow is vital as expenditure has to be committed and systems need to be in place to ensure that money is coming into the business, as well as going out. It is important that the business is properly funded from the start.
4 - Be organised no-one goes into business to be an accountant (who would!!) but you must keep score. Keeping full and accurate records from the start will make it easier to work out what you owe in terms of tax and National Insurance. All records must be kept for six years – both business and private. Failure to keep records could lead to paying too much tax or a fine of up to £3,000.
5 - Keep the taxman happy as a self-employed individual you will also be responsible for making your own National Insurance contributions; this includes remitting your contributions on a quarterly basis. It is important to take care of your National Insurance for two reasons: firstly, you may end up contributing too much, and secondly, you will lose out on state benefits that are related to the amount of National Insurance contributions you have made.
Being self-employed requires you to complete and submit your tax returns. If you want to speed things up then you can submit a full tax return online – not only does this save on process time, but it automatically calculates your tax when you file your return online. Whether you submit your return online or offline, make sure you check your tax calculation once you have received it, as this will form the basis of your payment.
6 – Finally .........Don’t wing it
Experienced professional advice can bring essential financial management procedures to your business and help save tax, allowing you to concentrate on what you do best, so if you would like help in getting your business started then please contact Richard Dare.
1 - Make claims if you buy equipment for your business, you may be able to get tax relief in the form of capital allowances. These allowances are for equipment, which you buy to keep and use in your business, such as vehicles, tools, computers and business furniture.
2 - Update your employment status register with HM Revenue & Customs online, and the website will walk you through the process. Make sure you do register as self-employed, because if you don’t you will face a fine.
3 - Prepare your finances remember “cash is king.” Having efficient cash control in place is essential to ensure the smooth running of any new business. Efficient cash flow is vital as expenditure has to be committed and systems need to be in place to ensure that money is coming into the business, as well as going out. It is important that the business is properly funded from the start.
4 - Be organised no-one goes into business to be an accountant (who would!!) but you must keep score. Keeping full and accurate records from the start will make it easier to work out what you owe in terms of tax and National Insurance. All records must be kept for six years – both business and private. Failure to keep records could lead to paying too much tax or a fine of up to £3,000.
5 - Keep the taxman happy as a self-employed individual you will also be responsible for making your own National Insurance contributions; this includes remitting your contributions on a quarterly basis. It is important to take care of your National Insurance for two reasons: firstly, you may end up contributing too much, and secondly, you will lose out on state benefits that are related to the amount of National Insurance contributions you have made.
Being self-employed requires you to complete and submit your tax returns. If you want to speed things up then you can submit a full tax return online – not only does this save on process time, but it automatically calculates your tax when you file your return online. Whether you submit your return online or offline, make sure you check your tax calculation once you have received it, as this will form the basis of your payment.
6 – Finally .........Don’t wing it
Experienced professional advice can bring essential financial management procedures to your business and help save tax, allowing you to concentrate on what you do best, so if you would like help in getting your business started then please contact Richard Dare.
To find out more about any of these stories or Ward Goodman please contact 01202 875900
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