Advice

makemagichappen

Afternoon All;


I am in the process of buying a business, business model done, money is all secured and we are just deciding when to take over.


I am really looking at the best place to look for to get advice on accounting (Free if possible).


There are loads of questions I want answers to and really don't know where to start.


Business is Limited and will make in excess of £100k (bottom line) in the first year (it is doing so already and with the changes I am looking to make it should double)


This is my first business venture in a field that I have worked in for years


Can I be a director and pay myself a wage?
What level of Tax etc do I have to pay on the Profit?
Can I take advantage of entrepreneurial tax benefits?
What can I or cant I claim VAT back on? Fuel? Laptop for business use? etc


the list goes on and on but every time I do a google type search it comes up with very little in the way of hard facts


Any Help would be really appreciated!!

Savvy_Sue

get yourself an accountant, you'll need to pay them but they should pay for themselves with what they save you, and certainly in terms of being able to sleep well at night when the returns are due it's money well spent.

contact two or three, talk to them, ask your questions and then decide who to engage.

InsideInsurance

makemagichappen wrote: »

Can I be a director and pay myself a wage?
What level of Tax etc do I have to pay on the Profit?
Can I take advantage of entrepreneurial tax benefits?
What can I or cant I claim VAT back on? Fuel? Laptop for business use? etc

Yes you can pay yourself a wage but this may not be the most tax efficient way of getting money out for yourself depending on who your shareholders are

You arent taxed on the profits, the company will be taxed as per https://www.hmrc.gov.uk/rates/corp.htm so basically 20%. You are only taxed when you take money out and that will depend on the mechanism

Yes

If your company is VAT registered and NOT on the flat rate scheme then the company can reclaim VAT on any legitimate business purchase it makes assuming the product/ service it sells isnt VAT exempt


Accountants dont give their time away for free, they've got families to feed too. Most will give an introductory session and answer a few questions but that really is a sales pitch time.

Personally, I;d want an accountant to look over the books before I considered buying any company. Its very easy to manipulate numbers to make a company look as if its doing better or worse than reality.

motorguy

makemagichappen wrote: »

Afternoon All;


I am in the process of buying a business, business model done, money is all secured and we are just deciding when to take over.


I am really looking at the best place to look for to get advice on accounting (Free if possible).


There are loads of questions I want answers to and really don't know where to start.


Business is Limited and will make in excess of £100k (bottom line) in the first year (it is doing so already and with the changes I am looking to make it should double)


This is my first business venture in a field that I have worked in for years


Can I be a director and pay myself a wage?
What level of Tax etc do I have to pay on the Profit?
Can I take advantage of entrepreneurial tax benefits?
What can I or cant I claim VAT back on? Fuel? Laptop for business use? etc


the list goes on and on but every time I do a google type search it comes up with very little in the way of hard facts


Any Help would be really appreciated!!

Do you not already have a relationship with an accountant who reviewed the business accounts before you bought?

paddyrg

+1 for talking to an accountant pronto, and paying for it. Mine costs about a grand a year including the statutory accounts (which you will also have to complete, so will NEED an accountant shortly anyway).

Get them to look at the last 3+ years books for this business - they will either give it a clean bill of health, or find a body buried under the patio and warn you off - either way it's a price worth paying.

trailingspouse

+ another one for finding an accountant.

There's A LOT to learn, but you don't need to learn it all at once. Ask your accountant to tell you the deadlines for your first few payments (eg when is VAT due, when do you need to do RTI), and concentrate on getting these basics sorted. Then you can find out about the other stuff.

Seanymph

If you don't know the answer to those questions then you don't know enough to decide a business is worth the money.

Ask a professional.

Sophie-1

The questions you are asking and the size of the business mean you should get an accountant. Try this link for help with finding one. http://www.infosite4business.co.uk/accounting