RE: Business bank accounts and taxes for start ups
James Smith | 04/04/2005 05:13 PM
Karen,
There are '000's of small business in the UK just like that you are proposing, and a surprising number of home business are actually run by people with health or disability problems.
So long as your credit history is OK you should be able to get a business account from the likes of Abbey (no fees) or if it is a little more colourful from your regular bank (no fees for first 18 months is standard). If the worst comes to the worst you could run it through your personal bank account if it is only a very low number of transactions (ie a few a month) although banking your market stall takings will highlight your business activities and this should only be a temporary solution. There is no legal requirement to have a separate account although it is strongly recommended and banks don’t tend to like you using personal accounts for business.
You are not borrowing and therefore don’t have to worry too much about your banking.
You should check your tenancy agreement to see if you are prohibited from working from home, but quite frankly so long as you don’t make a mess/noise etc no-one is going to have much ground to complain about you so this shouldn’t be a big problem.
If you are on incapacity benefit I believe there is a specific scheme that allows you to get back into work and still claim. This could be useful and it well worth checking out.
As far as your responsibilities lie, all you need do is register with the Inland Revenue as a sole trader by calling 08459 15 45 15 within 3 months of starting up. You will then need to keep records of all your income and expenditure which will lead to filling in an annual tax return. I have some further comments on this on my website.
The views on PO box numbers are mixed, I personally think they look a bit odd and would prefer to deal with people at their home addresses.
Although it might seem like a lot to worry about right now, especially if you are not fully well it is actually quite straight forward to start trading, especially in a small way on ebay etc.
I hope this helps, I am sure you can make it work if you have a good business idea.
Regards,
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James Smith
Chartered Accountant
www.jamesesmith.co.uk
01235 536 773
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Your indispensable guide to Small Business Bookkeeping, Self-Assessment & VAT
RE: RE: Business bank accounts and taxes for start ups
Karen81 | 04/04/2005 08:18 PM
Thank you so much for your reply James. Your advice has helped so much.
After checking out many business accounts online, I spoke to an advisor at the Abbey and am ready to set up an account and register with the Inland revenue, (which were my biggest worries), but I now feel confident I'm doing the right thing and going about it in the right way.
I know it'll be a lot of work, but I can't wait to get going!
Thanks again
Karen
