Sole trader business name

alexw315

Hi,
Looking for some advice in regards to registering as a sole trader and the business name I want to choose..

I am already employed full time. I'd like to start a small photography business on the side that I'll operate at weekends from my home. 

If I register for self assessment and input the business name as, "my name", can I operate as something else, e,g, "lovely portraits"? Or do I HAVE to call the business exactly what I register the name as when applying for my UTR? 

The reason I ask is that I may want to expand in the future and don't work to tie myself down to "portraits" if I want to do say weddings, or events later down the line.

Hopefully that makes sense. Thanks in advance for any advice 🙂

Owain_Moneysaver

Registering for self-assessment, your name is your name, not the business name. There is no legal separation between you and the business and the business does not have its own legal personality. 
You can trade under (almost) any name you want, provided it is not a restricted or regulated name (so you can't call yourself London Royal Accredited University Ltd) and you put your real name on your website, invoices, and all other official correspondence. You can trade under multiple names if you want, eg alexw315 T/A (trading as) Lovely Portraits, alexw315 T/A Lovely Wedding Photos, alexw315 T/A Lovely Landscapes.
Likewise with your bank accounts, you will need to arrange with your bank which trading names will be accepted for cheques to the account and which will show on the Confirmation of Payee for bank transfer payments in. 

alexw315

Owain_Moneysaver said:

Registering for self-assessment, your name is your name, not the business name. There is no legal separation between you and the business and the business does not have its own legal personality. 
You can trade under (almost) any name you want, provided it is not a restricted or regulated name (so you can't call yourself London Royal Accredited University Ltd) and you put your real name on your website, invoices, and all other official correspondence. You can trade under multiple names if you want, eg alexw315 T/A (trading as) Lovely Portraits, alexw315 T/A Lovely Wedding Photos, alexw315 T/A Lovely Landscapes.
Likewise with your bank accounts, you will need to arrange with your bank which trading names will be accepted for cheques to the account and which will show on the Confirmation of Payee for bank transfer payments in. 

Perfect, thanks so much!