Is there a simple checklist for running a business office?

Eliza_2

Can anyone point me to a simple list or flowchart or similar for the 'office' functions of running a small business. I've been in business as sole trader for around 3 months now and although the customer facing stuff is going fine, I'm sure I've missed some back office things.

I think I've covered:

Premises - licences, rent

Insurance -this incl public liability but am still scared that the first claim I make won't cover me - eg if I make someone ill and they claim and there's some loophole I haven't realised but a clever lawyer will find.

Staff (bit unsure on this one as have had family members and friends helping out on an ad hoc basis - this means when I shout help loud enough!!) Need to formalise but don't really know how as I don't need help on a routine basis.

Tax - I know I'm going to have to pay vat, have my head in the sand with this one as I'm not sure where the money will come from as I'm just over the threshold and most of the turnover is taken up with costs - v little profit so far so vat could get scary.

Other tax - I'm in a bit of a muddle over this which I shouldn't be, having done the HMRC course. I do know that I'll end up paying too much as I tend to throw stuff like phones, printers etc in with the supermarket shopping and end up chucking receipts on the fire. Too late now to do much about this - or is it? Am learning though!

Bills etc. Although these mainly go out via direct debit I find it hard not knowing when and how much in my head. With my home bills I know the days everything goes out, mostly they have to coincide with days I get paid/pensions/tax credits go in. But I find it hard that I have to keep checking bank to remind myself of these.

Advice like Business Link is very helpful but there's just too much there and links take me off tangent. Is there somewhere a simple check list which gives basic bullet headings which I can then decide to research further if applicable. I'm really not seeing wood for trees at the moment. How do established small businesses keep on top of everything - I'm terrified of suddenly getting a bill covering something I hadn't known about.

Am thinking of becoming a ltd company which hopefully will take some of the pressure off me personally but really need to be sure I've got my head round everything first.

Thanks - Eliza

Pennywise

I'm sure others will come along with other answers, but I'll deal with tax only.

Firstly, have you registered as self employed with HMRC and are you paying the class 2 NIC contributions (or claimed a small earnings exception).

Secondly, have you registered with HMRC for VAT.

HMRC charge penalties for not registering quickly enough, so this has to be top of your "to do" pile if not already done.

Next is book-keeping, you can't ignore this and hope to catch up later. You need to be on top of it, so that you know exactly who owes you, who you owe and estimates of your tax liabilties to date, i.e. VAT and income tax.

I'd suggest you prioritise going to see an accountant and get yourself sorted out with tax and book-keeping. It's one of the main reasons why small businesses fail. Don't wait until after the year end and the returns are due before you see an accountant - by then you may have missed out on opportunities for tax savings etc and you can't turn back time. A good accountant saves more than they cost.

As for going limited, forget it until you've up to speed with the books and tax. Limited companies are far worse for admin and bureacracy and returns, so unless you're confident as a sole trader, you'll end up deeper in the mire.

paulwf

The first 3 months are going to be the scariest so don't worry too much!

As Pennywise says your key priority is to get a book keeper and accountant in place. You probably want a book keeper with a personal touch where you can talk things over and get advice, a large firm where you just drop the invoices off and get a sage printout emailed back in return wouldn't be right for you.

For your direct debits look through your last few statements and make a simple spreadsheet - should only take 10 mins.

For flowcharts/bullet points have a piece of paper and when you think of something important to investigate just write it down. Every so often put them in a list to prioritise. You can't do everything at once but just keep yourself organised and with a simple list it will seem much easier.

Small business owners have a lot of different balls to juggle. The thing is most elements of running a business are simple, it just seems overwhelming because there are so many different things but if you get organised with lists you'll be fine and it does get easier with time. Don't forget there are usually local business groups or the FSB that can help.

Sambucus_Nigra

If you buy things with the household shopping, put a 'next customer' bar inbetween 'house' and 'business' and buy them separately; and have one wallet where every business receipt goes; and put it in your books on a weekly basis. You need to make time for admin; it doesn't just happen. I find getting it out of the way on a Monday morning whilst it's quiet works well for me.

Eliza_2

Thank you all. That's really helpful and already helped me to clarify some things. I have registered as self employed and have already had an initial meeting with an accountant. However I'm so worried about being ripped off (I read this site too much I think) that I'm not sure what I can do myself and what I need him to do. For example when I met with him, he said that one of the things he could do would be to register me as self employed and register me for VAT. Well I've done the former myself with no problem and am sure I can do the latter too. I don't really know what I need to ask him to do, that's the problem and why I haven't gone back as I don't want to sit there like a right lemon being offered all sorts of services I don't know whether I need or not!!!

I think I need to investigate more what an accountant does and what a book keeper does, maybe that's something I should learn too. The business is very cash based with few invoices, just lots of receipts from various places, (they're the ones I keep losing!!)

You're right, it is overwhelming, and then there's the worry of staff. Oh dear - am very tempted to go back to bed and pull the duvet over my head but today is for getting organised. Thank you again, already I have a better feel for the priorities.

and great idea about the shopping, why didn't I think of that!!!

paulwf

Having petty cash separate from the till with the usual shoebox stuffed full of receipts isn't always the best option as it soon builds up. Instead the only pool of cash I have is the daily takings and I put through cash expenses on my daily cashing up sheet and staple the receipts to the back of it. That means expenses are always reconciled and the book keeper can just grab the daily takings sheets and sort things out. The more jobs you can break down into small daily tasks instead of large monthly ones the better.

My accountant tried to charge me a few hundred for setting up stuff I could do for free in 10 minutes, fair play to him but just keep your wits about you. I like my accountant but I think he makes money from the add ons not the core service, and they don't seem to have adapted to the internet era where so much can be done yourself online. I guess you just have to find a book keeper and accountant you like and do some research first so they don't take advantage. You also need to accept you won't get everything right in the first year, with hindsight you'll be kicking yourself but that's all part of the learning curve.