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The initial business plan
Your initial business plan can be quite short and simple. It needs to state:
- The type of product or service that you will supply.
- The source of the product or the skills required to provide the service.
- The type of customers and how you will sell your service to them.
- The basis of pricing and whether that will produce sufficient income to pay the business expenses and leave you with a reasonable profit for your efforts.
Do not try and sell on price. In the long run, established businesses will be able to beat you on price. Your business has to be more convenient, more personal, more flexible or better quality. You need to be clear about why your customers will want to use your business.
Type of business structure
If it is your business alone, you have a choice of trading as a sole-trader or limited company. If you are working with others it can be in partnership, as an LLP or a limited company. We can help you make the right choice.
We can help you register with the appropriate authorities and explain when and how you will pay tax.
Opening a business bank account
The smallest sole trader businesses can manage without a business bank account. However, if you have a reasonable number of transactions or are trading in partnership or through a limited company, you will need a business bank account.
Accounting records
It is vital to have good accounting records. These need not be complex. For some businesses, a book is quite sufficient. For others, spreadsheets are better. Accounting software can be useful if you have a large number of similar transactions, particularly if you are selling on credit. We can offer advice on the most appropriate system for your business.
Avoid one of the “home finance” computer programs. These do not adapt well to business use.
Staff and sub-contractors
If you need assistance, it is tempting to pay for help on a casual or “self-employed” basis. The complexities of employing staff and running a payroll are daunting and so it is tempting to close your eyes to the rules.
It is fine to genuinely sub-contract part of the work to another business. However, if the reality is that someone is working as one of your staff you must deal with them properly. If you get caught out breaking the rules, it will prove an expensive mistake.
Payroll calculations are complex and it is almost always worthwhile outsourcing the work. We operate the payroll for about a hundred clients.
The Business Link website is an good source of information It has an excellent tool for generating a terms and conditions of employment that meets all the rules.