Going self employed

[Rooster1]

Go for it, but please - get an accountant.

I wouldn't wish Self Assessment on my worst enemy.

 

[MrGrumpy]

Second that although we have not done it yet but the way things are going i think we might need to. We have been using quickfile online to log all payments and keep records and receipts of all purchases

 

[Smokin Joe]

Go for it, but please - get an accountant.

I wouldn't wish Self Assessment on my worst enemy.

Depends.

A service provider who works for cash and doesn't carry stock or have to charge VAT can easily do his or her own accounts. I much prefer online Self Assessment to the old paper forms, completion of one section takes you through to the next relevant one without having to wade through pages and pages of stuff to see whether it applies to you or not.

 

[Levo-Lon]

My accounts cost about 400 a yr But its all booked and sorted.
he just checks and does the account stuff that i pay him to do..
if you have an investigation you need one..and you can buy a policy to pay accoutant fees as it can get expensive ..

tax man owed me £120 after going through all my books..cost me £300 extra for accountant

 

[DCLane]

How is she finding the transition from NHS employee to self employment? I have gone the other way and it's great fun.

It's a slow burn; she's been setting up links and networks but there's no income yet. That's primarily because she won't be seeing patients, rather it's undertaking training and clinical support.

 

[Dave7]

I went into business with a person I had known for many years (he already had another successful business). He was very generous............putting in the lions share of of start up money. The business went well for years with me doing the majority of the work (as he had his other company to run)...........after some 12 years I was doing perhaps 75/80% of the work. Eventually the relationship went POP and we folded the company.
I did OK out of it but do think on...............
Could you not star the business on your own and employ help ?
What if your relationship turns sour ?
What if (as I did) you find you are doing 75% of the work ?
Partnerships are fine in principle.........but it has to be water-tight.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Anybody done this?

I was talking over a pint with a very loyal long suffering best friend of nearly 30 years who is about to be made redundant, and he asked me if I would be interested in joining forces with him and setting up a business partnership.

We are both good at the same things and went to college together to do a BTEC hnd in electronics/electrical engineering, so a business of electrician/gas fitting/boiler repairs (I work with gases in my job) would be the way to go.

I know we could work well together, and I totally hate my job - I`ve been there too long, and the people are just a shower of backstabbing nasty horrible evil b*stards, but it is a safe income and job.

Do I take the plunge? I do have a £600 a month mortgage to find before I even start

The fact that you decided to stay put based on around 9 replies in 32 minutes says to me you have made the right decision.

 

[slowmotion]

As I said earlier, I went into business with one other person a long time ago. Part of it might have been because we were a little daunted about being out there totally alone, but the main reason for it was that we had complimentary strength/skills. It's worked out very well (not necessarily always financially) and we have absolute trust in each other's honesty and integrity. Neither of us is remotely interested in employing anybody. We don't want the management overhead or the responsibility. If we want something done that we can't do, we subcontract work to other organisations. If times are hard, we pay ourselves little or nothing. You can't expect an employee to accept that kind of regime.

 

[marknotgeorge]

Go for it, but please - get an accountant.

I wouldn't wish Self Assessment on my worst enemy.

A good bookkeeping system, whether online, on the computer or just one of those green Simplex books will help. Get it right at the start, and it will save your accountant time, his underling (me) grief and you money. They can even help you fill in the SA forms yourself if you've got your head screwed on. It needn't be expensive - QuickFile as used by MrsGrumpy is free, and KashFlow is only a tenner or so a month. An Asda carrier and the back of a fag packet is no substitute!