SB: Small Business Start Up Discussion

Middlestitch

amosworks wrote: »

Does anyone know the best place to go for Articles of Association if one is looking to do the uber-money-saving approach and go for the DIY £20 option, and not use a professional?

Cheers in advance!

Just download Table A (model articles of association from the Companies Act), have a look to check these meet your needs and you're off. The site I've just quoted (https://www.informex.org.uk) should have someone who can point you in the right direction in terms of 'what to look for' to ensure these DO actually say what you need them to say...

Middlestitch

Sorry, me again on another point!

If you are starting a business and your turnover in the first year isn't expected to exceed £150,000, it is well worth looking at the flat rate VAT scheme (details on HMRC website). As the name suggests, you pay a flat rate of VAT (less than 17.5% - and there's a further 1% discount in the first year of registration) depending on the type of business you are in (list of classifications on HMRC website) and you don't need to keep detailed VAT records. It's saved me hundreds of pounds and masses of time.

sparkymarky

I am a sole trader looking for business insurance. I design websites, offer website hosting, and email services, and also I buy and sell domain names (as an investment). I don't have any disputes, but would consider legal insurance as part of this package. I would also like business legal helpline as part of the deal, although that is not completely necessary.
If any members have any advice - that would be great.

Rob_XX

Freebies for New Businesses

When starting up my home business I found an online telecom business that offered a free switchboard service that i've been using for about 6 months now. You can choose a free 0844 local rate number which is then forwarded to your home number/office etc.... It has loads of free tools too, like sending missed calls to your email inbox along with any voice mails, it plays different types of music and can operate a queueing system as well if you're on the phone. It's called www.instantswitchboard.co.uk and hasn't cost me a penny to use.

The same company has another website as well, which if you dig fairly deep and go beyond the usual call packages offers a free fax to email service. This means that I can get faxes sent direct to my email inbox without having to buy a fax machine. It also means i can still receive faxes when i'm out of the office by getting faxes sent to my laptop. To get a free fax to email number choose an 07 prefix number (mobile number). This may sound expensive for the fax sender but the pages are digitally transferred and so each page only takes a few seconds to send, therefore keeping costs down and giving you a free useful business tool. This service is found at www.blueboxtelecom.co.uk

Individual_11

busterkeye wrote: »

they say I wil not get anything cos I dont have the right postcode,
there are a few streets around me with the right post code to be eligibly but mine isnt

surely this is discrimination

They might mean eligable for a grant but as far as I can tell everyone is eligable for help fo some sort.

Individual_11

Middlestitch wrote: »

Just download Table A (model articles of association from the Companies Act), have a look to check these meet your needs and you're off. The site I've just quoted (www.informex.org.uk) should have someone who can point you in the right direction in terms of 'what to look for' to ensure these DO actually say what you need them to say...

Do note that the Companies Act 2006 will simplify loads of stuff like this a good bit! It should make it easier to do M&A. Check out the DTI, Business Link or Companies House Websites.....

Tooticky

My experience (for what it's worth) is that all company formations are much of muchness I’ve used both random internet firms and a local firm. The package you pick is up to you, my honest opinion, unless you've got some experience in the duties of a company secretary, is that it's probably best to get a more comprehensive package, it's not that it is difficult to set up a company, it's more that it's easier to get someone else to do it.

buying a domain name is really easy, go to a company like www.123-reg.co.uk put in the name you are interested in and see if they are available, my honest opinion is stick to .co.uk and .com, (rather than the other random extension) and if they're both available, then you should get them both. Also look at a company called www.mistore.co.uk they do standard websites (£10 a month ish) and e-commerce websites (£20 a monthish) the reason I suggest them is that I’ve had great feedback that they look professional and they allow you to add and remove pages, content etc by yourself they include a mailserver for your emails and they will also source you domain names.

robertbruce comments (3rd post) are spot on for VAT and IR, what I will add though is that both the VAT and the IR are very approachable and will help you. if you think your income will exceed the threshold then register anyway, if you're not sure than it is possible to stipulate on invoices that you reserve the right to claim the VAT at a later stage (the VAT will advise you on that, but lets face, it's not the ideal solution)

Free banking is up to you, if you have a business plan that will show the potential value you would offer as a customer you can negotiate, also look at the different plans they have, I use Natwest I have free business banking on all electronic transactions which suits my business model to a tee, but the key with banks is everything is negotiable, you have nothing to lose by trying your luck, and even if you only get 6 months free banking, call them after 4 months and renegotiate.


National rate numbers is a minefield, I couldn't recommend a company because I think they all as bad as each other but you can usually choose whether you want a kick back, or whether you’d prefer to give your customers cheaper calls, I’m a believer in cheaper calls and as you’re a new start up looking for a number perhaps you could consider the new 03 numbers which are national rate but without the opportunity of kick backs, they’ve not really kick off much but it’s likely that they will get some press coverage soon and could be seen as a real bonus to get in there and bag a few good numbers before the rest of the world gets their hands on them.

Either way good luck J

scbk

Suppose it depends what you're after really. Viking is ok but only if you use the codes from one of their promotional leaflets, otherwise they're quite expensive. The thing is though you don't really need much but these places make you think you do.
For pens, pencils, paper (for printers), notepads etc etc then your local poundland or tescos will be cheapest, just keep the receipts for expenses. Tesco value notepads are 28p each, get a few of them and keep them lying round so there's always one to hand when someone calls. And a nicew big corkboard is an easy way to "organise" all the notes
Also there's always a company somewhere giving you free notepads/pens/mugs etc.

For your own receipts, I bought the cheap basic receipt pads from Viking then printed off address labels with my details, and stuck them in the top corner of each receipt. Saves paying ££££ to get your own receipt pads printed up

~sam~_5

Hi all,

Im planning on setting up a reptile shop. I have done a lot of research over the past few days but there are a few things that im still not 100% on.

Im in the process of doing my business plan but how would i figure out the profit/loss?

I have a general idea of what i will be selling and prices.:j

Also, how do i figure out how much i would need to borrow? I need a shop, planning permission to turn it into a reptile shop (if not already), licence to sell reptiles, all electrics fitted, tanks fitted and the shop made to look nice. Also stock.

Also, one more pointer. I'm not going into this with no knowledge, i have reptiles of my own which i take good care of and i would love to do something that i am interested in.

Thanks in advance

Sam

Savvy_Sue

~sam~ wrote: »

Im in the process of doing my business plan but how would i figure out the profit/loss?

I have a general idea of what i will be selling and prices.:j

So your great unknown is how many you'll sell - and how DO you estimate the interest in reptiles in a given location? :eek:

But the way to figure it out is to estimate ALL your expenses, and subtract that from ALL your income, and that is your profit / loss. If you are pessimistic about both those figures, you'll probably never dare start, but don't be TOO optimistic.

~sam~ wrote: »

Also, how do i figure out how much i would need to borrow? I need a shop, planning permission to turn it into a reptile shop (if not already), licence to sell reptiles, all electrics fitted, tanks fitted and the shop made to look nice. Also stock.

Again, you need to cost all those items plus other initial running costs, work out how much you've got to put towards it, and the difference is what you need to borrow. It's a bit of a black art, because if you don't borrow enough and sales don't take off quite as fast as you'd hoped, banks don't always want to lend you more in the early stages. On the other hand, if you borrow too much you're paying the interest, which won't be cheap.

I'm sorry if I'm being very basic here. Have you been in touch with BusinessLink yet? You may be able to get an adviser to help you work through your startup plan, or at the very least they will have checklists of 'things not to forget to budget for'.