starting a new business - how do I prove I am a sole trader?!

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Ok I have registered myself with HMRC, and I have got my own website domain and an email (admittedly it's companyname@gmail ).

I have just got a couple of small jobs and a larger design opportunity (woo hoo!), but I'm still training and just want to take this slowly while I start to build confidence and experience - really going off word of mouth / friends of friends to start while I establish a portfolio.

However, I do need to access trade discounts for materials if I'm going to offer a competitive service and not bankrupt myself in the first 6 months. How do I "prove" I'm a sole trader to the wholesalers?

you can't at the start
you need to open a COD account and then ask for credit after you've purchased a few times

COD? = Credit on Demand?

But my local wholesaler said they need me to fill out a form to open an account and that I would need proof of my status. I know I could ask them what they need but they might then think I am not above board, or they might ask for eg business cards which I don't have and wasn't planning on getting done for a while yet. Is there an HMRC form or something I could take do you think?

COD = Cash on Delivery
make some business cards - packs of 200 blank ones from any stationer and a word processor
business bank account

there is no HMRC form, you have to pay up front for a while and put the effort in

When HMRC send you a letter with confirmation of your UTR on, that can be used as a form of evidence.
I've done similar when registering for Costco etc.

You don't need to prove you're a sole trader.
You just declare yourself as one.

It's the others you have to prove. (company, ltd, plc, etc)

Most companies will send you stuff on Proforma invoice if you have no purchase history, then you can open a credit account when you've done a few.
after a while, you can use names of the companies you buy from as credit references for new accounts.

In terms of your Local Wholesaler, all they need is a copy of a bank statement in your company name, or a letterhead, or a bill in the company name. :)

I can point you to some wholesalers that you can buy directly from with no prior accounts, if you like.
PM me.

Thanks everyone for your help - nickelDorritt I have PMd you, thanks .

Some questions if anyone has the time please!

• I already have to do SA for HMRC, will they write again anyway?

• Is it important to have a separate business account for eg tax purposes? Obviously it helps to keep these things separate from your own finances but I am starting in such small steps that it suddenly seems very daunting that what was supposed to be tiny needs all this fuss and admin!

• Business cards & letter head - how professional need this be? I've had invoices from people before that are clearly printed on a bit of thin A4 at home - if you wanted desperately to con a wholesaler into giving you trade discounts (in return for 1000x more product than you need!) this would be a pretty easy way of doing it surely.

Sorry to be a bit hopeless - all the info on eg direct.gov.uk seems to be aimed at people who are doing this with a lot more purpose than me

Thanks everyone for your help - nickelDorritt I have PMd you, thanks smile.

Some questions if anyone has the time please!

- I already have to do SA for HMRC, will they write again anyway?
Probably not.

- Is it important to have a separate business account for eg tax purposes?
No.

- Business cards & letter head - how professional need this be?
Not very. Free ones from Vistaprint are fine.

if you wanted desperately to con a wholesaler into giving you trade discounts (in return for 1000x more product than you need!)
Most suppliers would be happy to give the same price to anyone for the same quantity, nobody's being conned it's just an admin procedure, no big deal.

yes, they do write again - you tell them you're self-employed and they send you quarterly NI bills (it's about £31 a month if you work 40hours, i think! ), then in april every year, they send you a tax return. they usually send you a shorter one, and if you need the longer one, it's up to you to tell them.

it's not important to have business bank account, but make sure you keep all receipts and invoices (if you receive emails of those then save them separately to your computer)
i make a spreadsheet of all incomings and outgoings, which makes it a lot easier to work out you tax return.

You're a bit out of date there Dorrit: Class 2 NI is now six monthly and it doesn't have anything to do with hours (it is a fixed £2.50 a week, going up to £2.65 in April although you can opt out if your profits are less than £5,315). The next payment is due in July so the OP probably won't hear anything for a while, and he or she already fills in a SA return so there won't be anything different there, and the notification (these days they expect you to file online so they don't send a paper return unless you ask for one) doesn't identify you as self employed anyway.

Moo.com business cards are really nice, but vistaprint ones are fine if you don't really need them for clients etc...

You don't need a separate bank account, just keep a record of incomings and outgoings to your business -

With wholesalers there are two issues -

1. Wholesale price
2. Credit (e.g. 30 day terms)

many are happy to give wholesale price who anyone who buys the right quantity, as long as they pay up-front: cash on delivery or by credit card.

Alternatively I have one supplier which i use which requires a company number which I don't have. I have registered my account with them using my Dad's company (with T/A My Name), so he has guaranteed the account, but they send the bills to me and I pay them direct. If you know someone with a company you can do this.

ah, yes, they changed it, didn't they ! i forgot about that.
i just pay when they send me the bill

no, well, the info about the tax return was mainly for explanation rather than for the proof of business
they still send you notification that you need to file, even if you do it online.

Just reading these messages I’ve just formed my online furniture I’m building it slowly having issues with some wholesale suppliers any advice would be great