Advice on setting up a company

[Jeff]

Can anyone advise me on how to set up a company? Do you just need to register a name at company house (how?) and tell the tax man what you're up to (how?). Or are there loads of hoops to jump through :(

If background helps then I'm asking because my wife has recently qualified as a Fitness Instructor and is keen to become self employed. The idea would be to build up a client base over a year or two whilst still doing the full time (and perhaps later part time) job in the gym she works at.

By the time she has the client base to go fully self employed she should be a fully qualified Personal Trainer (step up from Fitness Instructor apparently) and will be able to charge £15-£20 per hour :D

Any help or advice much appreciated :)

[Vipers]

depends,

there's loads of forms etc to fill in and read on www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk

basically if the turnover is going to be over £56k then she has to be VAT registered (if Fitness training is considered a service) if its not then no need to be vat registered.

do need to be LTD'd i'd of thought

so sole trader with possibility of being vat registered. u don't have to be vat registered until you are coming close toa £56k turno over ( turnover monies recieved before outgoings, so not profit)

[Lewis]

If you want to set-up a limited company have a look at this site

www.igpcorporate.co.uk/services/newservice.html (http://www.igpcorporate.co.uk/services/newservice.html)

You can buy them already set-up, or have one done for you with the name of your choice.

[Vez]

Well you'' prbably need an accountant, so just be lazy and get an accountant and let him do it for you :)

[Hayley]

Having a limited company is a nightmare, we had one when Andy was contracting. There aren't the benefits that there once was anymore (at least for contractors).
Just find a good acountant. Best help you can get.:)

[Luke]

you only need an accountant if your turn over is over £56K (ish), and you are a limited company, otherwise you can do the accounts yourself (yu will need to note things like expenditure/ travel costs, cos they can obviously be off-set against tax (cos they're an expense)


go for it man, why do we all work for someone?.. why let them all reap the rewards of our success (unless we don't have any)

I'm deffo starting my own company in a couple of years (when I've got enough 'business experience' for a bank loan). I started my own company when I was 16, marketing small businesses, and got paper boys to deliver leaflets that I had printed, I paid for my computer, printer, and photocopier + had plenty of cash through my 6th Form.. because I wasn't 'technically' earning over £4K (at that time) I didn't need to pay a penny... only register with a bank and set up a business account..

Best be for you to do is make an appointment to see a business advisor at say 'Barclays' (cos that's the one I used, and they were great)... they will sort the main things for you to become a sole trader. As far as I know you have to inform the Inland revenue within something like 6 weeks after starting a business..

But the top tip is make sure you keep accurate accounts! (well, I mean accurate, not ACCURATE ;)

Luke

[Hayley]

Having an accountant can help if you earn enough to justify his costs. I am a qualified book-keeper, and did all the accounts for our company. The accountant was still able to "adapt" some payments and save us some on the tax bill.
Also if you've got an accountant and the IR decide on an audit, he/she will deal with it all for you, and trust me, they know how to deal with them better than you or I ever could. Honesty can always come back and bite you in the butt heavily.

[Jeff]

Thanks for all the tips folks :)

Turn over is unlikely to reach £50+ for many years, as it's more than she could realistically earn on her own (even at £20 and hour which is what the Personal Trainers with good reputations get, she'd have to work 2500 a year which is about 48 hours a week all spent with clients :eek: ) so this would only ever happen if she employed someone else or created a partnership :)

Reckon speaking to a Business Adviser in a bank is probably a good idea. I'm in the finance industry so hopefully they won't be able to baffle me with science :rolleyes: :D

Please feel free to post any more thoughts, it's all handy stuff :)

[Luke]

let us know what the business adviser says though, I've got a mate who is a business advisor, he can issue loans upto £10K, but obviously you need a business plan for that (i.e. exactly what she will be doing, and project plan etc).. be wary that although they give good advise, they have set targets on amount of loans etc, so if they recon your going to be a good bet, they will want you to take a nice loan out.

If you live anywhere between Leister and Birmingham, I can pass your details on to him, he's a good man.

Cheers

Luke

[Luke]

...maybe Bristol ain't where he operates:rolleyes:

[Leon]

Sole trader is apparently a good plan as you don't have to forward your finances to companies house.

Get a good name, easily remembered, but one that doesn't clash with anything/anyone else. Think about the advertising, how, where, what etc. Radio? Press? Flyer? Poster etc?
See how much you can get tax deductable (that's a no-brainer really) etc

Good luck! :)

[Ally McC]

I would suggest sole trader status and echo Haley's suggestion getting an accountant.

I've been self employed for 2yrs now and have less hassle with paperwork than when I was employed. I still have to fill in expenses forms and keep receipts - for myself now rather than my employer :) BUT my accountant handles all the tax stuff. He even fills in the self assesment forms :D

He costs me £30 a month but he does everything and saves me a packet. Things I would never have thought of as being 'expenses' or legitimate deductions are actually legal and above board. He offers the peace of mind that if I ever have an audit from the tax people - he'll deal with that too.

Think carefully about Ltd status - from what I could see it is a lot of additional hassle/cost with few advantages for people like us with relatively modest turnover, low overheads and few (if any) employees. Things have changed a lot from 5yrs ago. It might be best for you, but it is not the only option.

I'm not an expert, just someone who's walked the same path.
Good luck with the plans...