To ask some basic question re opening a business

[dublingirl66]

Hello all

Hope it is ok to post here

Thinking of opening a business
I have been qualified in my field (mental health) for 15 years lots of experience etc

Found a lovely office to rent
How do I go about registering my business?
Should I get an accountant right away ?
Is there a way to claim some of the rent back as expenses ?

Sorry for all the questions

Thinking ahead for maybe 8 months down the line so only at the very early stage

Should I get an accountant right away?
Yes, they will answer a lot of your queries. They will tell you how to set things up properly in the first place - so much better than trying to untangle your mess twelve months down the line.
Good luck.

I would recommend getting an accountant so that you can focus on your business. The accountant can advise you on the best legal structure up front and assist with registering the business.

Yes rent would be an allowable business expense.

Your accountant will be able to advise you whether to set up as a sole trader or ltd company.

This link may help www.gov.uk/working-for-yourself

Good luck!

Amazing thank you
This was my first thought so wanted to double check

So the rent would be deducted through tax?

Amazing guys thank you

Ltd company
Would that mean I can do the tax returns myself?

I wouldn't!
I've run as both a partnership and a ltd co. in the past and found the accounts for the ltd co. to be much more complicated. I always had an accountant to de them.

I did always do my own VAT returns though, which saved a bit.

As a sole trader that is?

So silly question

An office has come up close to where I live

He said 300 per month for rent

Would I get that back ?
I won't be earning a huge amount per week (150 max I think
Sorry for all the questions

@dublingirl66

As a sole trader that is?

So silly question

An office has come up close to where I live

He said 300 per month for rent

Would I get that back ?
I won't be earning a huge amount per week (150 max I think
Sorry for all the questions

No HMRC don’t pay your expenses, so they won’t reimburse your £300 rent, the rent is tax deductible that is all, i.e. you deduct it from taxable profits.

You can do your own tax returns whether you operate a Ltd company or register as self employed. However based purely on your questions, I would strongly recommend an accountant as I think you are going to get out of your depth very quickly. It would be better to put your energy into the business, not the accounts.

With that level of profit, I think it is very unlikely a Ltd company would be worth the effort, or do you expect to expand? It would be worth doing say a three year projection up front, that will also assist the accountant in determining the optimum structure.

I’m just looking at your username. Are you in the UK?

If you are making £150 a week you’d be earning well under the tax free allowance of £12k per year. You wouldn’t pay any tax and you would be spending half your income on rent. That doesn’t make any business sense at all.
Can you give us any more info about the business you want to open? We may be able to offer better advice.
£150 a week isn’t a lot for a professional with 15 years experience.

From your questions, you obviously need professional help in the accountancy side of the business. Basically, anything you need to buy for the business are you business expenses. Rent, rates, insurance, water, electricity, gas and phone. Car costs are more complicated.If your turnover is likely to be over £85,000 you will need to be VAT registered. Talk to your accountant about the best accounting software to use, and try to do as much of the day to day accounts as you can. Accountants are useful but they do charge for everything they do, so the more you can do, the lower their charges. Make sure you charge enough. Try to estimate all your costs, and expected turnover and keep track from day 1. If it is not working right, the sooner you know the sooner you can do something about it. You will not pay tax possibly for 18 months, but you will have to pay it, so don't make the mistake a lot of people do and buy a flash car, spend loads but then have nothing to pay your tax bill with.

Ok yes true

Will get in touch with a local accountant

It would be N Ireland

It is 8 months at least time so just asking basic questions

Thanks all xxxx

You pay tax on your profit over 12k, so you work out how much you’ve taken, deduct expenses like premises, things you’ve bought for the business etc, then pay tax on anything left over 12k.

So the rent would be tax deductible but you wouldn’t get the benefit if your turnover is below the threshold to pay tax anyway.

Ok makes sense

First year I think in the region of 12 k at least

But hope it would grow

I’m a business consultant. Before you commit to anything like office expenses, please do huge amounts of research on your customer base - and that means going out and talking to people, not just reading reports written by others. You need to be super clear on the service you would provide, the value you would deliver, and where and how you would find your ideal customers. You need an initial niche to serve in any business, you can always broaden out later- the point of an initial niche is it allows you to be very specific with marketing that will resonate with your ideal customer.

@JontyDoggle37 thank you so so much

So informally I do not quite a few who are already interested

But yes I need to be clear
What can I offer
How many sessions

I still am only thinking at the min
Plus have a lot more research to do
Many thanks all xxxxx

Don't get an accountant. Their advice can be expensive. Go to library (if they are open) and get a book. Buy on line at abebooks for cheap second hand.
Think £140 or so for your personal returns and the same again for your business at the end of year.
Remember to keep all receipts for expenses and record all income. The difference is what you are earning and what you will pay tax on.
Bill clients promptly.
Keep expenses to a minimum. If spending, assess if the purchase is going to earn you more money, not because it looks nice or what ever.
Think very hard about committing to renting. The bill will continue every month even if you are getting no work.
Get your business email and web address registered.
At £12000 pa you are only earning £6.24 per hour. Maybe best to get a job stacking shelves too.

You also need to look into public liability insurance. Depending on your type of work if you need to be on a register or be part of a accredited organisation.

For the amount you would be earning are you sure you can’t allocate a room in your home to work from.
It might only be £300 per month rent but then there are rates, water rates, power, insurance and a million and 1 bills that come with running a business

If your area of business is MH I’m curious about why you are looking to rent an office now. You may of course work in a very different area to me, but most people are working online. I’m a Clinical Psychologist and all of my private practice is online at the moment. NHS is different.

I'm pretty sure the NI Executive and Invest NI business offer some kind of business support services. They may include schemes for particular sectors or more generally, business rates relief for small businesses. Check them out.

Don’t get an accountant. Their advice can be expensive. Go to the library (if they are open) and get a book.

Do you offer similar advice to people that clearly have no idea about plumbing but need their bathroom redoing? 🙄

Thank you all

It is a plan for possible sept or Oct this year

Very early stages

I saw the office and found out the price is quite good considering its size etc

I have a long way to go
Going to call an accountant tomorrow to get more info

Many thanks

I too am wondering if you really need an office?
You can start off doing your own personal tax returns as a sole trader if you are savvy enough.