Want to start home business, can't register business under this address

[Deleted User]

I've been planning to start a business for some time now, as a self employed photographer. To do this, I obviously need to register a business address but unfortunately my local council (Amber Valley) do not allow this in Council homes in which I currently reside.

I'm investigating to get around this problem by registering the business under a P.O. Box, but I'm unsure whether this is possible. In the event that this is a viable option, most work would be done off of premises, at clients homes and at locations of their choice, a selling point of the business concept. No formal meet-ups at a studio for example.

That aside, there will still be a requirement for editing afterwards which would be done at my current residence but I don't see that this would be an issue with the council assuming it isn't my registered business address. I imagine it's more akin to doing work away from your primary work place (for me, in which case can be anywhere), catching up with spreadsheets, accounts etc in a regular job?

I suppose my question is simply, can a P.O. Box be a registered business address and are there certain limits if so. For example, a self employed person may do this but not a LTD or LLC.

I'm very serious about this, I have an appointment scheduled with Business Link soon but I'd like to have more ideas and options before I begin discussing such things. If this isn't possible I'm in a sort of catch 22 situation where I can't work at home to make money but I also cannot afford to rent an alternative business location at the moment.

Thanks for your time and help,
Mark.

PlutoinCapricorn

Business Link are certainly the fountain of all knowledge, but getting various opinions too is a very good idea.

Are you sure that your council will not permit you to use your home address as a trading address? You may need to think about the spirit rather than the letter of the law, similar to the "no pets" rule. They would not object to a few goldfish, but noisy dangerous dogs are another matter.

You are not planning to move your personal belongings out and set up a studio? Will you have a large number if visitors or deliveries? Will you be doing anything that that someone who takes personal photos would not do? Will there be any noise or other inconvenience?

If you register as a Sole Trader, your trading address will not be made public, whereas if you are a Limited Company a Postcode search may pull it out and it can be found at Companies House. I believe that websites that accept payment must have a proper address, not a PO Box.

paulwf

Just to add to (and partly duplicate) the reply from Pluto, is it the registering of the business or the running of the business from home they object to? A lot of times they draw the line at clients visiting the house and also sending/receiving regular deliveries, but if it is just sitting at the kitchen table using a laptop that's usually ok.

If the problem is purely one of registering the address you could set up a ltd company and register the address elsewhere - many ltd co registrants offer a holding address for a fee. You probably don't want to get bogged down in being limited though, just that it is an option if that really is the only sticking point.

[Deleted User]

My local council simply stated (and quite firmly) that "No Amber Valley Council house may be registered as a business address."

Having said that, no photo sessions will take place, amount of visitors will not increase, perhaps a slightly higher volume of deliveries but nothing outlandish, on these premesis.

The only thing that will be different is, I will be doing photo editing here and I will recieve a certain amount of photo print deliveries, depending on how much work I get, which I imagine will never really be more than 5 in a whole week, or at least for a good while, at the time of starting up.

Payments won't be dealt with via the web, although I'm working on quite an extensive site, the facility to pay online seems anti-intuitive because the business will be local and it's all about meeting people and building relationships to get the best out of photo sessions.

Are you suggesting; register as a Sole Trader and keep it quiet until I get enough money to rent a business address to make things more legit? Sounds a little risky...

PlutoinCapricorn

That is very unambiguous - unless they mean registered as a company address!

No one would know if you registered as Sole Trader, except for the postman and perhaps some neighbours who catch sight of a letter. These things do have a habit of coming out though.

The standard advice is to start as a Sole Trader and incorporate when the income justifies this, unless you have a lot of stock and want to employ people.

Would this be your only work, or are you employed?

If you could use your home address as a trading address as a Sole Trader, you could claim a proportion of the running costs as expenses to offset against your income.

There are such things as virtual offices and you can get an office address from companies that deal with situations such as yours.

Stock held at home raises insurance questions, I guess that it is mostly digital and online now, no dangerous developing chemicals?

Savvy_Sue

I am not sure they are being reasonable here. I used to work for a Housing Association, can't remember what the exact conditions were, but no reasonable request for running a reasonable business from home was ever turned down, even though I think it was against the strict terms of the tenancy agreement.

I do remember one tenant who was required to sign in advance to confirm that NO cars would be repaired anywhere near the property, as it was known that their partner had a history of being HUGELY antisocial with cars and car parts littered over a wide area in previous accommodation ...

If it was your Housing Officer who told you this, ask to speak to their manager, and see if you can escalate this. In general, councils ought to be happy to have tenants who are making money and able to pay the bills!

[Deleted User]

No hazardous chemicals will be used, everything will be done digitally.

This does indeed seem unreasonable to me too and I am awaiting a callback from someone else with the council who will (apparently) know more about the matter.

Just another quick question, what happens if I register my business as a partnership? Are there any specifics regarding location in this instance? Will my business address be made public in this event?

Oh and down to my original point, can my business address be registered via a P.O. Box?

PlutoinCapricorn

I am not sure about the legalities, but PO Boxes give a bad impression. I am sure that an expert will be along soon, but I am sure that HMRC and Companies House would not accept a PO Box address. If you let it lapse, they would not have a contact address.

Some people think that a residential address gives a non-professional impression, so they get a high class convenience address.

I have had neighbours in my block of flats who used their homes inappropriately for their businesses: one ran a minicab and removals company, the other was a lawyer who specialised in young offenders. They both had a lot of dodgy looking visitors. I can't see that you would be doing anything nearly as bad.

paulwf

It is a bit daft, there are many sole traders who would do next to no work at home but wouldn't need a separate office (we had a book keeper who worked at our shop one morning a week but was self employed). And given you could rent a virtual office then get your mail forward for next to nothing makes it doubly daft!

blue_monkey_2

Hi OP, I am in HA and I work from home, I sent them a letter and they gave me the go ahead as long as there were no complaints from other people in the street.

The thing is, so many people for many reasons are now 'self employed' this means that their address is a 'business address'. If the council say no then I would send a letter asking for reconsideration stating that you will not be having clients visit, etc...

Failing this, if you have a solicitor then you may be able to use their address as a registered business address but have your mail sent to your address.

You will be a sole trader rather than a 'registered company' really I would 'trade as' and use your own name on all correspondance so letters can come to you. I do this and my name and my T/A name is quoted on the correspondance.

Don't forget you can claim pro-rata amounts on al your household bills for working from home.