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Small business but thinking of 2nd business to boost earnings
Hi all, First post on here. Thought it would be the best place to come. My son got really ill a few years back which made me think about life and I decided I needed a change. So i decided to go self employed and started a small gardening/maintenence business. It's great through the summer months but winter can be a grind.…
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Registered a Limited Company - too hasty?
I've been operating a small website for a couple of years now, strictly on a hobbyist basis - no advertising, no income. Currently, the domain and all other costs have just been run exactly as a hobby domain - i.e. bought and paid for from my own cash, with no accounts, tracking or anything else. It's now starting to…
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Can I trademark my business without forming a limited company
Hello people, I run a small business as a sole trader but want to protect my business name/brand. The cost of becoming a limited company is so high and the paperwork is also doubled and a maze of frightening stuff. I can just about cope with the paperwork and cost that I deal with as a sole trader. Trademarking my logo and…
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Claiming 45ppm for a car when I have a van?
Hi guys Here is one for the accountants out there. I started up as a sole trader in July and bought a Transit van for doing deliveries and carrying tools etc. I bought the van 2nd hand for £6k and plan to enter the purchase cost of it, diesel and running costs as separate expenses. I worked out that over two years this…
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Sole trader bank account choice
Hi all. My friend runs a limited company doing aerial filming and employs me as a photographer, perhaps once a month for a small amount between £100 and £200 a time. I want to set up as a sole trader so that I can offset this cost against the cost of my equipment and therefore make 0 profit. I will need a separate bank…
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Big company owing money
Hi all, I started my own business at the beginning of February. I purchased some clothing from a company in the UK. I had to pay upfront and wait a few weeks for stock to arrive. Some of the items I had ordered were out of stock and others were faulty and I had to return them. I was offered a credit note but I declined and…
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Self employed: claiming for rent, rates, power and insurance
Hi all, I've been self-employed since 2007 and had an accountant for the first few years. I've been going through the old tax returns he did for me and noticed that he tended to put down £156 for my rent and rates. However on the last tax return he did for me he put down £704! Does anyone know if there's an easy way to…
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New venture - sole trader novice
Hello. I'm looking for some advice. I am looking to become a self employed sole trader with a website. I am a complete novice as I have always been employed. I'm looking for a step by step guide at what to do. I have been researching and there is too much information so I'm getting in a muddle argh. I have no idea how to…
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Business Investment Idea
Hi, I set up a Limited company 6 months ago and have built up some funds that I would like to purchase some assets for the company. My idea was to use the funds to buy shares in some FTSE100 companies, I have zero experience of doing such thing before within a limited company. I have done share trading personally. Am I…
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Late filing penalty
Hi I've just finished my first year operating as a limited company. My accountant has been charged with filing my accounts to companies house. There is a dispute between both of them as I've been hit with a £150 fine for late payment. I spoke with accountant and he said it was filled well in advance of the time limit. He…
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Offering Finance / staged payments
My son is a sole trader doing bespoke welding and fabrication - mainly for drift cars and rally cars - roll-cages and exhausts etc. He has been asked again and again by customers if they can pay a deposit and then pay for the work in installments. Problem: is this a credit agreement regulated by the consumer credit act? We…
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Postage help
I sell through an ecommerce website and post with royal mail 1st and 2nd class standard. Recently I've had shed loads of parcels suddenly start to disappear and not turn up. Some have been extremely delayed too so 1st class parcel only got delivered 2 weeks later and other parcels just completely disappeared. Its become…
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Consultants & VAT - CONFUSED
My husband and I have a limited company - however we both offer different types of consultancy work. We are both directors of the limited company. We are VAT registered. I am also a non employed Director of a community interest company - also registered for VAT. The CIC has 4 directors and no employees. It is understood…
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VAT and Community Interest Companies
Hi and thank you for reading.... If a community interest company that is VAT registered receives a 'donation' with no restrictions - do we have to pay the 20% VAT over to HMRC as if the donation was income? Thank you Julia
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Off payroll treatment of self-employed services
I run a very small sole trader "business" teaching running for beginners and improvers. I provide services to two councils to teach groups as well as to individuals/my own groups. One of the councils has moved me to their payroll (as apparently they have for all service providers) for tax purposes as I'm considered an off…
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Advertising agency owes me money for a piece of work but has stopped responding to emails
Hello, I created a peice of work for one of the big banks but was commissioned by a large advertising agency. The payment is now 3 weeks overdue, when it was first overdue the emails with my contact in the company copied in people apparently from accounts and apologised for the delay. This happened three times and no one…
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VAT on fuel for rental van & VAT on dual use vehicle
Hi all! This is probably a commonly asked question, but for the life of me I can't a straight answer anywhere! I have a VAT registered business. I often rent a van from a usual vehicle rental place. I use the vehicle purely for business, usually for only 2 or 3 days. Am I able to claim VAT back for the fuel I use in that…
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Exclusive Rights in UK & Ireland
Hi What does this mean exactly or where can I find out more information. We wanted to start a business and can source the product we need but have found a company that offers something similar who state on their website they have 'exclusive rights in the UK and Ireland' I am guessing it's a no go then?
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Best business currency card?
Hi, I fly to other countries a fair bit (mainly Europe and the USA) and I've been using the Travelex Multicurrency Cash Card. The problem is with their website and how I can't use it for my accounting easily - it doesn't show starting balances, it only allows export to a PDF (not a .CSV or Excel) and it doesn't display…
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Self employed or partnership
Hi my partner is about to go self employed. He will be doing property maintenance jobs with his step dad. His step dad will be paying for near enough everything they need to start up. My question is does my partner need to register as a sole trader or do they need to register as a partnership? I think I know the answer but…
