Going self employed - advice please ?

poves

Hi , I'm currently signed off sick with stress from my current job , to cut a long story short there's no way I feel I can return.
So the only options left open from what I can see are -

1 - Sign on jsa if they don't sanction me ( then risk being stuck on jsa with no hope of finding employment ).

2 - Declare myself self employed.

I would rather go with option 2 to be honest , and am sure I could find "some" work , However between now and next april I doubt I would make much of a profit if any.
The main concerns I have are -

1 - What sort of a record should I keep ( I claim working tax credits and from what I can see on their estimator , this amount would rise if my pay dropped )
All the jobs I would be doing would essentially be cash in hand , so would I need to get a duplicate book for my records , and as proof of earnings for any tax credit's claim etc ? or is it more involved than this ?

2 - Would I need to open a new dedicated bank account , or could I still use my personal account ?

3 - And as mentioned above , regarding any profit or loss , I am reading alot that most newly self employed people don't expect to make a profit in the first year due to setup costs etc - And this should be reflected in any estimate I give to wtc when my income changes ?

4 - I know about informing hmrc regarding self employment , and have read a little about national insurance , but have come across alot of horror stories regarding self employed people ending up down on their luck , and then being turned away from claiming any jsa because of the ni payments they have / have not made ?
Just thinking worse case scenario .
Thanks for any advice .

gem4

I cant offer any advice about self employment but I read your previous post and would just like to say 'well done' for reaching a decision.

I'm in the same situation as you with work stress. I work 15hrs a week in a management position and I've been there 10yrs with no time off until this year. I've made a decision to quit before they try to push.

I'll have to take a chance on JSA and their decision because no 2 day job is worth more than my health. I'm 55 now, too old to be putting up with bullies. I need another job and my current situation is holding me back. Good luck, I wish you well.

poves

gem4 wrote: »

I cant offer any advice about self employment but I read your previous post and would just like to say 'well done' for reaching a decision.

I'm in the same situation as you with work stress. I work 15hrs a week in a management position and I've been there 10yrs with no time off until this year. I've made a decision to quit before they try to push.

I'll have to take a chance on JSA and their decision because no 2 day job is worth more than my health. I'm 55 now, too old to be putting up with bullies. I need another job and my current situation is holding me back. Good luck, I wish you well.

It's a tough call , get stuck on jsa and possibly be subject to sanctioning , or go it alone and not be much better off financially in the short to mid term.
Thanks for your comment - Hopefully everything will go ok for you .

hareng

If the company is still paying you i would hang on until they have had enough. In the mean time drum up prospects of future work.

If pushed out, sign on straight away even if its for two weeks. Theres new business handouts something like 13 weeks at £50 followed by several weeks at around £30, better than nothing.
They will even send you on a course outlining self employment, ask for it.

Ideally you need a business account so that money is being seen to be put in and taken out for legit purposes.
First tax return wont be until Jan 2013.
Inform HMRC about 6 months later they will start taking the NI out your account.
Keep all invoices for purchases and keep a sales receipt yourself. Ideally could do with writing everything down, like me thats too much hassle.

Mistral001

Self-employment is not an easy option. I suggest you read this:

http://www.businesszone.co.uk/blogs/antoinetteo/taking-plunge/4-poor-reasons-start-business?ref=ukbf

RadoJo

hareng wrote: »

If the company is still paying you i would hang on until they have had enough. In the mean time drum up prospects of future work.

If pushed out, sign on straight away even if its for two weeks. Theres new business handouts something like 13 weeks at £50 followed by several weeks at around £30, better than nothing.
They will even send you on a course outlining self employment, ask for it.

Ideally you need a business account so that money is being seen to be put in and taken out for legit purposes.
First tax return wont be until Jan 2013.
Inform HMRC about 6 months later they will start taking the NI out your account.
Keep all invoices for purchases and keep a sales receipt yourself. Ideally could do with writing everything down, like me thats too much hassle.

AFAIK you need to begin paying National Insurance as soon as you go self employed - I know I did when I called HMRC to register as self employed, even though I wasn't actually intending to work for a few months (had saved up for an extended holiday). Your NI contributions need to be consistent and any break in paying is probably what has caused problems with others, and will eventually impact your state pension etc further down the line.

Either way, the questions about profit and loss would depend on the kind of employment you are talking about - if you would require investment in equipment etc to even go into business then you will need to weigh up your profit and loss, but if you are just working for other companies as a freelancer or can go into business yourself without any set up costs, then this wouldn't need to be a consideration and you just need to keep records of your invoiced wages and remittance slips to prove how much you have earned to HMRC.

poves

hareng wrote: »

If the company is still paying you i would hang on until they have had enough. In the mean time drum up prospects of future work.

If pushed out, sign on straight away even if its for two weeks. Theres new business handouts something like 13 weeks at £50 followed by several weeks at around £30, better than nothing.
They will even send you on a course outlining self employment, ask for it.

Ideally you need a business account so that money is being seen to be put in and taken out for legit purposes.
First tax return wont be until Jan 2013.
Inform HMRC about 6 months later they will start taking the NI out your account.
Keep all invoices for purchases and keep a sales receipt yourself. Ideally could do with writing everything down, like me thats too much hassle.

I am tempted to sit it out , but I'm only getting ssp @£81 pw , which is not much better than jsa , But I just feel like they still have a grip over me at the moment , they have even resorted to spying on a friend of mine's workplace to try and "catch" me working with him
They won't want me to leave , but on the other hand things won't change.
I want out , and am still signed off by my GP , I just wanted to get away from them legitimately a.s.a.p , and hit the ground running if possible .

poves

Mistral001 wrote: »

Self-employment is not an easy option. I suggest you read this:

http://www.businesszone.co.uk/blogs/antoinetteo/taking-plunge/4-poor-reasons-start-business?ref=ukbf

Thanks for the link , I'm not afraid of becoming se , Just though it would be a better option to go se , and make £100 pw , than get stuck on jsa indefinately .