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Useful guides from MoneySavingExpert.com Do I need a business bank account?Coronavirus Self-Employed & Small Limited Company Help
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How do firms keep client money safe during house purchases?
During a house purchase, large sums of money move through solicitors’ client accounts, often on the same day. I was wondering how firms make sure nothing goes wrong with those funds, especially when things get busy. Are there standard safeguards in place to prevent mistakes or mix-ups? Just trying to understand how this is…
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Need some advice
Hi everyone, I need some advice regarding opening a business. I have never opened or done business and neither has anyone in my family so I thought this would be a good place to ask. My friends and I (there are 3 of us) are looking to open a children's residential care home in London. We are each investing an equal amount…
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changing tax year end
Hi, As a self employed business I would like to change my end of tax year from 5th April ( which it has been for the last 10 years) to 31st March, This is to align with credit card statements and bank statements and make it easier when I have to complete Making Tax Digital ( currently my gross earnings is about 25K). I…
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New Business Startup Questions - Business from home
I’m in the process of setting up my small business which is home based baking and catering for small events. It’s an idea I have been brewing for a few years now and I have practiced with baking various things (always enjoyed and been good at basic baking) and have been practicing cake decorating techniques and taking my…
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Advertising as a local electrician ...How?
I went it alone nearly 20 years ago as a small electrical firm(most 4 employees at peak)commercial and Domestic. These days I am just slowly getting older and winding down to retirement, but healthy and still loving it apart from a recent 18 months of illness that has now past. In the last 12 years I have had an insane…
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Managing multiple bank feeds into FreeAgent – any tips?
We’ve got four business bank accounts and our bookkeeper currently downloads statements from each one, then imports them into FreeAgent. The issue is the formats are all slightly different, so we keep running into small errors during reconciliation and it takes extra time to fix each month. Is there a simpler or more…
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Making bulk payments from a business account
We process commission payouts for around 50 self-employed agents every couple of weeks, and at the moment it’s all done manually through our bank’s online portal. It works, but it takes most of a day to set up and double-check each time. Is there a simpler way to handle this? For example, can you batch payments or upload…
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Does my business have a value can it be sold??
Hi. I'm self employed and deal in building maintenance, renovations & repairs. On larger projects I get specialists in that I trust and overseas as well as work. Over the years I have built up a good client list based on trust, good work and word of mouth. I have never advertised. I belive if you do a good job, priced…
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MTD - Soletrader - Stress
I am a non vat registered sole trader selling online mostly on ebay and by website - all my sales go through a Starling business account . I usually fill in a spreadsheet with all my sales / expenses and at the end of the year pass it on to my accountant who looks over all the files and submits them for me . Come April I…
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Changing Accountant
Hi, hoping someone can help. I've run my now very small limited company for about 17 years and getting close to retirement. Had the same accountant for all that time but who has also recently retired and sold the business to one of these firms who have multiple branches. Unfortunately you can never get to speak to anyone,…
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Energy broker disputes
Buisness Reduction Services ( NW) I am seeking help and wondering if anyone has experienced or resolved a dispute with Buisness Reduction Services ( NW) and PreAction resolution reached, acting on their behalf . At 0717 I had a cold call from a private number . I had just recieved keys to begin work setting up my first…
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Starling-like Business bank accounts for two person partnership
Hi folks My wife and I run a little side hustle that we were getting payments for into our joint Starling account (perhaps naively). It turns out this is not allowed, but they don't offer an account we can use because we're not registered as a business, and we both need access (so a sole trader account doesn't cut it).…
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Making tax digital for gig economy workers?
I get all my income from working on online platforms and am worried about being forced into MTD if I cross the £30,000 threshold in 2025-26 tax year. I've looked at MTD software but it doesn't seem designed for people like me. My process is to log onto a platform, choose work I want to do, and get paid via PayPal in USD at…
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Google Ads - Be Warned
If you are a new business and take the advertised spend £400, get £400 free Google credit, be warned! I recently invested in Google ads because of the promotion, under the impression that I would spend £400, and get £400 back. After much chasing, they informed me that a promo code needs to be applied when you first open an…
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Voluntary National Insurance for Self Employed Low Earner. Handholding needed please!
Hi all I'm sorry to have to come and ask for help, but my eyes go fuzzy and my brain clouds over when it comes to stuff like this! I've been self-employed since Sept 2025. I'm well under the threshold to pay through self assessment (I think! - I've earned under £2,000) so as I understand it I can pay voluntarily. If that…
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Capital on Tap - any experiences?
Can anyone share any experiences with Capital on Tap? On the face of it, the products look fairly decent: Cashback on daily spending (already have a Business Amex so would use theirs when Amex wasn't accepted) Upto 3.82% on business savings (company doesn't have loads but enough to make it worthwhile, but still keep it…
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Sole Trader Setting Up - Help!
Hi everyone 👋 I'm currently in the process of setting up as a sole trader alongside my part-time job, but I really am completely clueless on how to run a business and wondered if anyone could help. Sorry in advance for the long post. I'll be offering consultancy, so selling services rather than goods. Future-proofing, if…
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Virtual / P.O. Box address for new business
Hi, I’m starting my own company but I don’t want the address of the business to be my home address. I’m assuming the best option is for a virtual address that you can pay for? Is it basically a mail forwarding address and therefore does it take twice as long for mail to arrive? Can anyone recommend a reputable company and…
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Rijo Coffee Machine; Ending Contract with CF Corporate Finance
I took out a contract with Rijo for a Brasil Coffee Machine, as a new business starting out I was nervous of signing a contract but advised it would all work out but not to worry if it didnt, support would be in place! I obviously decided to take the monthly payment options as could not afford the £8k they advised it would…
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How to receive payment as self-employed Tutor?
After being made redundant from a small school that is closing, I am starting up as an individual tutor. I was anxious about giving out my main current account details to clients for payment, so rang Nationwide to ask about setting up a second current account only to be told that they don't allow business through current…
