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Are some Open Banking services more reliable than others?
Following on from my earlier thread about payment checks and Open Banking, I’ve been trying to understand whether there’s much real-world difference between the various providers/services behind these systems. A lot of them seem to offer similar features on paper, but I’m more interested in the practical side — things like…
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How do businesses protect against payment delays?
I help with finance/admin for a small business as a side hustle and we recently had an issue where a scheduled customer payment collection was delayed unexpectedly by our payment provider. The delay only lasted a couple of days, but it still created a lot of chasing, customer confusion, and cash flow stress. It also made…
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Cost-effective ways to check source of funds for larger client payments?
I help run a small but growing SaaS business and we’re starting to take on some higher-value business clients. We’ve been looking at doing a bit more due diligence on where payments are coming from, mainly to avoid issues later on. At the moment, proper checks seem quite manual or require specialist support, which can get…
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Cutting refund fees for online orders?
For those running small online shops, how are you handling refunds without losing too much to card fees? We process ~2,000 orders/month and fees on refunds add up quickly. Are there lower-cost refund methods people are using, or ways to reduce those charges?
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Two jobs, one PAYE, one self employed - how to work out NI contributions
I don't know if this goes here, but I am trying to work out some stuff before I actually do it. So i have a primary job, earning around £28k/year. I freelance on weekends as an instructor and can make up to £250 on the weekends (but wouldn't always work every weekend). So my intention is never to cross out of the 20% tax…
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Construction Industry Scheme questions - insurance.
My son is 18 and has started working on site under the CIS scheme. He is sorted for with the Inland Revenue with his self assessment number and he’s registered with the CIS scheme. He is paid an hourly rate and the contractor he works for is deducting 20%. All ok so far, I think. We will keep all receipts for tools and…
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Making tax digital questions
Hi, I’m a taxi driver and up to now I’ve written all my income and expenses in a book which I total up at the end of the year and send to my accountant that then does my SA. I have some questions about MTD, my accountant has said that I don’t need to do anything different other than give him the figures every quarter is…
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Seeking a trustworthy, affordable accountant – London preferred but UK-wide fine
Hi all — I've been a member of this forum for over a decade and have always found it genuinely useful, so I hope you'll forgive me for asking here directly. I'm looking for a reliable, affordable accountant. I run a one business which I am looking turn into a limited company and have been self-employed for over 20 years,…
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changing tax year end
Hi, As a self employed business I would like to change my end of tax year from 5th April ( which it has been for the last 10 years) to 31st March, This is to align with credit card statements and bank statements and make it easier when I have to complete Making Tax Digital ( currently my gross earnings is about 25K). I…
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What protection is there for a purchase made by a charity via bank transfer?
I really wish I'd seen more of the awful reviews on trustpilot and here before purchasing from Sensory Education. In October 2025 I bought a 'bespoke' (I wasn't told it was bespoke and being made in europe) cabinet from them on behalf of a SEN charity, costing £1,044- and paid by bank transfer against their invoice. They…
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Virtual / P.O. Box address for new business
Hi, I’m starting my own company but I don’t want the address of the business to be my home address. I’m assuming the best option is for a virtual address that you can pay for? Is it basically a mail forwarding address and therefore does it take twice as long for mail to arrive? Can anyone recommend a reputable company and…
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Advertising as a local electrician ...How?
I went it alone nearly 20 years ago as a small electrical firm(most 4 employees at peak)commercial and Domestic. These days I am just slowly getting older and winding down to retirement, but healthy and still loving it apart from a recent 18 months of illness that has now past. In the last 12 years I have had an insane…
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Does my business have a value can it be sold??
Hi. I'm self employed and deal in building maintenance, renovations & repairs. On larger projects I get specialists in that I trust and overseas as well as work. Over the years I have built up a good client list based on trust, good work and word of mouth. I have never advertised. I belive if you do a good job, priced…
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Managing multiple bank feeds into FreeAgent – any tips?
We’ve got four business bank accounts and our bookkeeper currently downloads statements from each one, then imports them into FreeAgent. The issue is the formats are all slightly different, so we keep running into small errors during reconciliation and it takes extra time to fix each month. Is there a simpler or more…
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MTD - Soletrader - Stress
I am a non vat registered sole trader selling online mostly on ebay and by website - all my sales go through a Starling business account . I usually fill in a spreadsheet with all my sales / expenses and at the end of the year pass it on to my accountant who looks over all the files and submits them for me . Come April I…
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Changing Accountant
Hi, hoping someone can help. I've run my now very small limited company for about 17 years and getting close to retirement. Had the same accountant for all that time but who has also recently retired and sold the business to one of these firms who have multiple branches. Unfortunately you can never get to speak to anyone,…
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Energy broker disputes
Buisness Reduction Services ( NW) I am seeking help and wondering if anyone has experienced or resolved a dispute with Buisness Reduction Services ( NW) and PreAction resolution reached, acting on their behalf . At 0717 I had a cold call from a private number . I had just recieved keys to begin work setting up my first…
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Starling-like Business bank accounts for two person partnership
Hi folks My wife and I run a little side hustle that we were getting payments for into our joint Starling account (perhaps naively). It turns out this is not allowed, but they don't offer an account we can use because we're not registered as a business, and we both need access (so a sole trader account doesn't cut it).…
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Making tax digital for gig economy workers?
I get all my income from working on online platforms and am worried about being forced into MTD if I cross the £30,000 threshold in 2025-26 tax year. I've looked at MTD software but it doesn't seem designed for people like me. My process is to log onto a platform, choose work I want to do, and get paid via PayPal in USD at…
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Voluntary National Insurance for Self Employed Low Earner. Handholding needed please!
Hi all I'm sorry to have to come and ask for help, but my eyes go fuzzy and my brain clouds over when it comes to stuff like this! I've been self-employed since Sept 2025. I'm well under the threshold to pay through self assessment (I think! - I've earned under £2,000) so as I understand it I can pay voluntarily. If that…
