Starting an Ebay business

olias

InsideInsurance wrote: »

You are right however in that if you are selling to non-VAT registered companies and standard rated products you shouldn't register until you need to as you are then simply more expensive than your competitors for the same profitability.

Ok, I worded that badly, what I was getting at it that your last para will relate to the vast majority of small home based ebay start up businesses.

Olias

batgirl21

Hi

I have my own business and I find the most useful thing for keeping track of the ins and outs and doing my tax return online myself is a large box to keep all the reciepts in lol and a collins self assessment green book(staples for approx £10) that you write all your expenses in each week and then add it all up at the end of the year and basically pop the numbers on the HMRC self assessment website.

I too have found the HMRC extremely helpful with querries the only time they have not replied immediately has been in early january when I guess they are inundated.

good luck

tomewer

I do not mean to sound patronising at all, but have you thoroughly considered exactly how you are going to make eBay selling into a full-time business?

The step up from selling personal belongings etc is huge.

All the best,

Tom

soolin

The_Archetype wrote: »

I have to be honest here and say that the strong majority don't declare anything.

Yes many get caught and that is rather more than just an annoyance. Being turned in by friends or relatives was the most common reason someone got caught, and it is rarely worth the worry of it all.

Annaanna_3

I agree - You should start as you mean to go on. Get registered properly from the outset and I would go the VAT registered route first. In fact, I did when I started my own business over 10 years ago and I haven't regretted it. There are many things you'll need to buy. In fact, I believe there's VAT involved in ebay listings aren't there? You can claim your VAT back from whatever you buy.

Also, I would recommend finding an accountant just to make it easier to sleep at night. It's much better than worrying about tax after you start trading.

With regards to accounting, Sage Accounts software is used by around 1/3 of all UK businesses. You can't go wrong there really and there's 10% discount available with code SAGE-33995 (enter the code at checkout) at the moment at accounting123.co.uk/sage-shop

soolin

The_Archetype wrote: »

Don't shoot the messenger! I'm just informing.

I just wouldn't want new users to read this and think that is was generally accepted that it was OK not to register. I've been in touch with a lot of people who have been caught and the stress and worry of it all was extremely unpleasant and I wouldn't want anyone else to go through that.