Sole Trader Questions

webrits

I have a part-time business idea and was thinking of setting up as Sole Trader and have a few bsaic questions.

I know I have to register with HMRC as self-employed with this form http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/cwf1.pdf .
Do I need to register with anyone else.

Is it OK to be employed full-time by my employer and to be registered as self-employed (sole-trader) at the same time?

If I'm paying my NIC through my full-time employer do I HAVE to pay class 2 self-employed NIC also?

Can I name my company whatever I want or does it have to be my own name?

Will I recieve a company reg number or not?


Many Thanks

Kilty_2

It's fine to be self employed as well as employed providing your contract with your employer doesn't prohibit it (if you are going to be self employed in the same line of work for example, some contracts of employment won't allow you to)

No company registration number.

Class 2 NICs are payable unless you earn (or expect to earn) < £4345 from self employment in tax year but you MUST file for Small Earnings Exception. (Tick the box on the form you are going to fill out and you'll be sent a form)

You can call your company whatever you want but you MUST state that it is the trading name of (for example) J. Smith.

Finally, I wish you the best of luck and hope it works out for you.

Make sure you also tick the box on the registration form for getting a guide to starting up, they send you it after a few weeks and it's pretty helpful.

martindow

you can register as a company if you wish in which case (at least) 2 people will need to be involved (director and co. secretary). There are pros and cons for doing this partly because of the different tax regimes that apply. You need expert help to make the decision.

There is no need to do this though as you can simply set up as self employed without doing anything special. In either case you will need to inform Inland Revenue of your new position and they will be able to tell you about NI contributions. You can trade under your name or choose a trading name if you wish and you are free to choose what you like as long as you don't call yourself MacDonalds or Virgin or anything else that would clearly cause problems. If you do decide to go down the registered company route then the naming rules are stricter and it has to be clearly different to any existing company. Companies House website has lots of information on this.

There is no problem being partially PAYE and self employed as long as the revenue are told. A lot of people start their business in this situation with a view to building it up and becoming entirely self employed.

Business Link are good people to talk to for impartial advice - they are there to help businesses, especially start ups, and are not biassed by trying to sell you things. Good luck with your venture.

webrits

Many thanks for your help.
Just 1 question
Kilty - You say that "You can call your company whatever you want but you MUST state that it is the trading name of (for example) J. Smith."

What do you mean? Where MUST I state it is the trading name of 'J Smith'?
On adverts, websites etc?

Thanks

Kilty_2

Documents such as invoices, and somewhere on your website would be a good bet.

I might actually be wrong saying you MUST do this, but I do it just to make sure everything's above board. (I work as a freelance web designer).

webrits

Great many thanks.