At PaperRocket, we pride ourselves on offering a jargon free, no nonsense service to our clients. PaperRocket was founded by, and is run by, working mums who know how hard it is juggling work and home life, and so we are firmly on the side of the ‘Mumtrepreneurs’ who, whether it be through choice, or, thanks to the pandemic necessity, are going it alone and becoming their own boss.
So, in this blog, we take a look at some of the important things you may need if you decide to set up your own business.
Register with HMRC
Once you have decided to set up your own business, you need to decide whether you are going to do it as a sole trader, or set up a limited company.
Once you have made your decision, you will then need to register:
• As a sole trader- you will need to register with HMRC to let them know that you are now self employed and will therefore be required to submit annual self assessment returns.
• As a limited company- you will need to incorporate your company with Companies House. This involves choosing a company name, director(s), shareholder(s) and registered office. As part of this process, you will also be able to inform HMRC of your new company, so they know to expect annual corporation tax returns from you.
Whether you are working as a sole trader, or through your own limited company, you may then be required to/decide to also register for VAT and PAYE. It would be wise to speak to an accountant before arranging this.
insurance
Depending on what type of business you are setting up, there may be a variety of different insurances that you will need to/you would be wise to look into taking out. The main insurances are public liability (covers you if a member of the public makes a claim against your business) and professional indemnity (covers you if a customer claims you’ve provided inadequate services/products), but there are a variety of other insurances that may be important to look into depending on your business activity.
accounting software
Of course, when you set up your own business, you don’t spend evenings sitting dreaming about maintaining your accounting records! So, you’ll want to make that side of things as easy and untaxing (pun intended!) as possible, so that you can spend your precious time either working on the business, or with your family. An accounting software such as FreeAgent will make your life much easier when it comes to maintaining records than trying to keep track of a spreadsheet and a shoebox of receipts. Using software like FreeAgent, you can raise invoices, sync up your bank account, and even scan business receipts in use their handy app.
Accountant
Well of course we’d say that, we are accountants! But in all seriousness, whilst we may have a vested interest, we really can’t recommend sourcing an accountant enough. So many times we have had clients come to us either partway through their first year, or when their accounts are due in a panic because they’ve been trying to do everything themselves and it’s just got too much. Whilst hiring an accountant is obviously an additional expense, it really is one that you cannot afford to neglect, not only to help you best utilise your time, but also to ensure that everything is completed correctly so that you don’t incur any unnecessary accounting penalties. Knowing that you have an accountant taking care of that side of things will not only give you peace of mind, but will also mean that you can spend evenings with your children, rather than crying into a glass of wine, trying to get your head around your VAT return that’s due in two days!
ONS statistics showed that during the lockdowns it was largely mums overseeing home-schooling (with67% of mums saying they were taking the lead) and often having to juggle this with their own work. With most of the staff at PaperRocket being working mums ourselves, we know first hand what it’s like having to ‘do it all’, especially when it comes to setting up your own business, which makes us know what you need from your accountant to make your life easier.
PaperRocket Accounting provide accounting and tax services to professional contractors, freelancers, and small businesses working in the UK.
We offer our clients a flexible choice of fixed fee monthly packages which cover all of their accounting and tax needs (so no hidden costs or surprise bills!). All of our accounting packages include a monthly subscription for a cloud accounting software subscription provided by the awarding winning FreeAgent.
Each of our clients is given their own dedicated qualified accountant with unlimited access in person, telephone, or by email.
We pride ourselves on our client satisfaction and customer service and were awarded ‘Best Contractor Accountancy’ firm 2020 in The Contracting Awards and ‘Welwyn Hatfield Business of the Year 2019’ in the SME Hertfordshire awards.
To find out how we can help you please get in touch now.
