Setting up as a sole trader and basic business set up and skills needed

mae

Hi
I am going to set up my business seeing clients one to one privately. I have a premises and insurance in place and I have the experience and qualifications in my field. What I don't have is the business skills. So I am doing my research obviously before I start.
I know I need to set up as sole trader. I won't have any staff at any point.
What I need and have no idea about is:
1. Building a website and domain name and business email address - no idea where to start.
2. Which accounting system to use/set up so I am on top of the finances in as simple as a way as possible from the beginning. I have looked at QuickBooks however I don't want to pay a monthly fee if I can help it as initially I will only be working privately one day per week.
3. A simple set up for my clients to pay me online, via bank or by cash.
4. Setting up an easy appointment system that makes my life as simple and organised as possible and obviously will add to the overall professionalism on how I run my business.

I am sure there will be more I need to think about but I wondered if anyone knew of a good basic course, or a book or a service I can pay to help me with the basics?

Thanks

Mistral001

You can use a simple spreadsheet or even a note book to record income and expenditure.  Keep receipts of all business expenditure

You can have a business name as a sole trader.  As a sole trader you must put your own name and address on any business correspondence, website, invoices and receipts.  

BTW you actually can have staff as a sole trader. There are some sole trader businesses with hundreds of employees.  The "sole" of sole trader only refers to a sole person being personally responsible for all debts of the business.

Camster

1. Building a website and domain name and business email address - no idea where to start.

2. Which accounting system to use/set up so I am on top of the finances in as simple as a way as possible from the beginning. I have looked at QuickBooks however I don't want to pay a monthly fee if I can help it as initially I will only be working privately one day per week.
3. A simple set up for my clients to pay me online, via bank or by cash.
4. Setting up an easy appointment system that makes my life as simple and organised as possible and obviously will add to the overall professionalism on how I run my business.

I am sure there will be more I need to think about but I wondered if anyone knew of a good basic course, or a book or a service I can pay to help me with the basics?

Thanks

I set up a business a number of years ago and could suggest the following:

1. Building a website. Take a look at using wordpress for the site. Wordpress is used for thousands of online businesses and is relatively easy to set up and maintain. One of the "dummies" books might give you the guidance you need on setting up a wordpress site. For domain names, I have used namecheap.com for many years without any issues. You will also need web hosting. I have used a company called brixly.co.uk, who are very good and not expensive. I think they also provide you with a free SSL certificate which you need if you intend to accept online payments. 

2. For an accounting system, a spreadsheet would probably be sufficient at the start. If you have an accountant, they might be able to provide you with something suitable. That's where I got mine from, and I still use it as I've never found the need to use any more complicated accounting software.

3. You will also need a payment processor to accept online payments. Paypal is a reasonable option fr this, but I have also found stripe.com to be very good.

4. Sorry, I can't provide any advice on an appointment system, but I know there are scripts to run an appointment system on a wordpress website, so that clients can book appointments directly online themselves.
I hope this helps.
 

Owain_Moneysaver

If you want clients to be able to make their own appointments, an appointment scheduling system like
https://simplybook.me/en/

This integrates with online payment so people can pay when they book, and integrates with Paypal, Worldpay and Square. Can also integrate with Facebook and Instagram, encourage people to buy product when they book a service appointment, etc.

There are other similar systems available, some aimed at specific business like beauty or counselling.

Your bookkeeping with be considerably simplified if you do not take cash at all! (And remember you may need additional cash handling insurance.) Then you just need a business payment card for expenses, and keep all the month's receipts stapled to the monthly statement. 

Your local chamber of commerce or small business support service may have useful courses or contacts.