Self-employment benefits

pinkypoopydoo

Absolutely, but an hour well spent.

New businesses often forget that things like bookkeeping, appointments with suppliers, stocktaking etc all add up towards their weekly hours. There is a general opinion that only hours spent physically doing the work that they are paid for is classed as "work", but the back up things are equally as important, and can be more time consuming than "proper work"

nannytone_2

i totally understand what you are daying, but HMRC are now scruitinising slef employed claims.
the OP saying that they are intending finding work on a 'word of mouth' basis, doesnty instill confidence that the business plan has been thought out thoroughly.

if that is the case, then tax credits seem an unlikely additional source of income

pinkypoopydoo

HMRC advise that you keep a diary of your working hours, and inform them if your average working week deviates from your estimate.

While the OP states that they are relying on "word of mouth", I can only advise (as a new SME myself) that word of mouth is not a reliable way to build business, and as you say, nannytone, it does not really instill any degree of confidence that there has been thought put into a business plan.

Maybe we are wrong though - I guess some businesses form from one customer being absolutely !!!! a hoop about the service - if there is a truly unique selling point, that's all it takes.

That said, OP, my advice would be - don;t rely on word of mouth until you have a good established core of business.

Pete763

Thanks guys, some real helpful replies that have helped! As for the ‘word of mouth’ comment, haha, I didn’t necessarily mean I’d exclusively rely on word of mouth, I’m prepared to put in all the ‘dirty work’, i.e create leaflets , cards, advertise in various papers as well as the net and also a bit of telesales. The problem I have with all this is, being a new business and all, once I have finished with all the promotion, which should take 2 or 3 days, how do I cover the rest of the 30 hour working time? Who judges if I am or am not working 30 hours? For example, as I said in my original post, I don’t expect much business to begin with, some weeks I may not even get a single job, and even if I do get a job or possibly 2 I doubt it’d be 30 hours’ worth, well I guess it depends on the job but even then I’m not sure it’ll take 30 hours. I know I should clarify what I intend to do in order to receive more help on the matter, but I’d rather not reveal it at this stage. I’ve devised an action plan at this stage, and all the work involved , basically getting the business off the ground, should take around a week. After that I’m struggling to complete the 30 hours if I am not getting enough business. Also, do the amount of savings I have have any bearing on whether or not I am eligible for working tax credits? As for the jobseekers query, yes I am on, have been for 5 months, but I’d rather sign off and be productive as opposed to just looking for work. I believe it’ll also reflect positively on my CV, a gap developing since my last job is not ideal. Again, thanks for your time

Pete763

Sorry, i don't understand why it has posted as one giant paragraph. It was not like that when i first posted and i have since edited paragraphs in and still it persists with the solid paragraph.

pinkypoopydoo

If you are currently on JSA, then speak to your adviser at your next sign-on about the New Enterprise Allowance - (when it works properly) you get advice from a mentor who helps you build your business plan, and is supposed to support you during the initial weeks.

As I have already said, don't dismiss the hours spent on background work - website building, bookkeeping, meeting potential clients - it all adds up.

Come join us in the New Enterprise Allowance thread - we've built up a nice wee conversation that has some quite useful advice for self employment start ups. (just ignore the spammer who has just hit us with about 8 posts about dodgy loan companies!)

Pete763

Hi Pinky, thanks for the reply, much appreciated! As for the NEA thread, will most definitely do at some stage, thanks But just to clarify, no one has confirmed one piece of info yet, but is there a certain limit of savings you need to be under to be eligible for working tax credits? For example i think JSA cut off is £8000 right?

pinkypoopydoo

As far as I'm aware, tax credits are based on income, and savings aren't taken into account.

synapse321

Pete763 wrote: »

Hi Pinky, thanks for the reply, much appreciated! As for the NEA thread, will most definitely do at some stage, thanks But just to clarify, no one has confirmed one piece of info yet, but is there a certain limit of savings you need to be under to be eligible for working tax credits? For example i think JSA cut off is £8000 right?

Interest from savings etc need to be declared deducting the first £300.

With universal credit any savings etc over £16k will take you over the limit.

Pete763

Sorry, I'm not all that knowledgeable when it comes to all the types of credits etc And i know i wont exactly come across greatly when i state the following, but When you say 'universal credit', i know you don't exactly mean working tax credit which is what i was asking about, but just to clarify, the limit to be eligible for working tax credits is £16k? Would just like to confirm for my own understanding on how this all works. Thanks again for the help.