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setting up as a sole trader

Josh Foster

Member
Messages
57
Location
Liverpool
hi can anyone tell me where i can get business advice for setting up as a sole trader or anyone who could give me some pointers on starting as a sole trader, any help much appreciated thanks in advance

 
Give hmrc a call to register yourself as a sole trader and they will get your account sorted. Then I’d speak to an accountant about what records you need to keep so your all set for your first tax return. That should get you started.

 
It's not very often i disagree with you @Part Timer but I think you may be wrong. Then again you've been self employed since 1899 and things were a little different back then.

You don't need to register as self employed until the October after the first tax year ends. If you become self employed today you would need to register as self employed by October this year, If you wait until the new tax year then you don't have to register until October 2020. Your first tax return is due by the next 31st of January after registering and incorporates the previous tax year.

An accountant will give you some of his or her time for free in the first instance with the aim to gaining you as a client long term. Don't expect any decent accountant to give you any time until at least February though. They will give you accounting advice and not setting up advice. They will tell you what you can claim for but not how to put a business plan together for example.

The government site gives you plenty of places to turn for advice;

http://www.greatbusiness.gov.uk/start/

Personally I think there is plenty of advice on this site. The lads can all help you with what you need. Search through some of the previous threads too there is a wealth of information. Youtube has some fantastic videos.... That is assuming you want help setting up for window cleaning and not just the accountancy side of it.

 
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hi thanks for the replies lads, basically been getting laid off and on with work with work (gardening currently), they have, let a couple lads go and I don't think its gonna last where i am currently. I have all the window cleaning stuff for trad and can clean windows not amazingly fast but can do a good job, where I struggle is what to do next to gain customers, the business side like should i get business cards or flyers, should i knock on people door or just post a flyer through, I really want to set up on my own but just find it very daunting , any advice on this would be great thanks.

 
HMRC will tell you what you can and can't claim for. If he's going to buy a set of ladders a bucket and some other bits and bobs he doesn't need to see a Accountant. 
I thought that would get you out of bed ? definitely don't need to see an accountant immediately. I wouldn't personally ring HMRC until such point as I have to, they will provide you generic information and very little else. No more than would be available online.... If someone was to buy a set of ladders and a bucket, clean 10 houses and then think f**k this then i'm sure most would agree it's none of the tax mans business.

 
hi thanks for the replies lads, basically been getting laid off and on with work with work (gardening currently), they have, let a couple lads go and I don't think its gonna last where i am currently. I have all the window cleaning stuff for trad and can clean windows not amazingly fast but can do a good job, where I struggle is what to do next to gain customers, the business side like should i get business cards or flyers, should i knock on people door or just post a flyer through, I really want to set up on my own but just find it very daunting , any advice on this would be great thanks.
Just keep receipts for anything that is business related mate.

Tools,

Fuel,

Marketing,

Clothing,

If you use part of your home to store the tools etc and register the business there then you can claim a % of gas, electric, water, rent.. etc etc etc. If you have 5 rooms in the house and 1 is solely for window cleaning then you can claim 1/5th of the above. This kind of stuff HMRC are unlikely to tell you.

You have a lot of questions there dude, read through the site and familiarise yourself with it. For example you have posted this in a relatively quiet section. You will be able to get a wide range of answers to where to get customers. Some will tell you to knock doors, others will say post of FB, some will say leaflet drop, some will say lead generation.... Play to your strengths, try and find something similar to what you do now, how your current company bring on customers.

It is daunting but it is also very rewarding. If you start from nothing and make yourself a FB page, share it with your mates and you will more than likely get a handful of customers that way. You grow with the business, learn as you go. Problem is it doesn't pay amazingly at first. Thats alright for young lads with no commitments because eventually you'll be making a fortune, for family men it might be better combined with a second job.

 
hi thanks for the replies lads, basically been getting laid off and on with work with work (gardening currently), they have, let a couple lads go and I don't think its gonna last where i am currently. I have all the window cleaning stuff for trad and can clean windows not amazingly fast but can do a good job, where I struggle is what to do next to gain customers, the business side like should i get business cards or flyers, should i knock on people door or just post a flyer through, I really want to set up on my own but just find it very daunting , any advice on this would be great thanks.
You will need flyers, and the best method to get customers is to knock on doors and ask if they want their windows cleaning. You can also use social media if you want to go down that route 

 
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