With hundreds of thousands of new start-ups being launched each year a leading accountancy body says that potential entrepreneurs should be aware of all the facts before becoming self employed.
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Limited company or sole trader?
Key Guides
- Limited CompanyHow the company formation process works, which forms to fill in, and what your obligations are as a director.
- Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)Guide to forming an LLP, which limits your personal liability compared to a standard partnership.
- Dormant Limited CompanyHow to register a company name for use later, or to make a limited company dormant.
- Companies HouseWhat is Companies House, and what role does it fulfil in overseeing the UK’s companies?
- Choose a business nameThings to bear in mind when naming your company, including legal limitations.
- Limited Company dividendsWhat are dividends, how to account for them, and how are they taxed. What records need to be kept.
- Company Director responsibilitiesWhat are your legal and statutory legal obligations as a limited company director.
- Limited company advantagesAn overview of the benefits to setting up a limited company, regarded as a tax efficent structure.
- Registered officeWhy every limited company needs one, and how to inform Companies House if you move!
- Companies House FormsWhat information has to be submitted to the authorities, and when?
- Limited company contractorsAccess over 500 guides at Contract Eye if you’re thinking of IT contracting via a limited company.
Limited Company Guides
- Sole TraderSetting up as a sole trader (becoming self employed) is the hassle-free route to getting started in business.
- Sole Trader taxWhat taxes do you have to pay as a sole trader, and how register to pay income tax, VAT and NICs.
- PartnershipHow to start up in business as a partnership, for two or more people working together.
- Register as self employedThe steps you must take to ensure that you register your new business with HMRC.
- What is a sole trader?No-nonsense summary of what it means to go self employed.
- 5 things you must do when you go self-employedWhat you should do to register your new enterprise with HMRC, and safeguard your business.
- Partnership problemsThings to consider if you’re setting up a new business with a partner
Self Employed Guides
- Sole Trader, Limited Company, Partnership or LLP?A useful guide to the main business structures in the UK, written by legal specialists.
- Limited Company or Sole Trader?The pros and cons of setting up as a limited liability company, or as a sole trader.
- Stay self employed or go limited?The difference in tax, costs, paperwork, and your liability if it all goes wrong.
Which business structure is best for you?
There are around 2.8 million sole traders in the UK. It is the most popular, and simplest, way of setting up in business. In this guide, we take a look at the key things you need to know about becoming a sole trader, and whether it is the right business structure for you.
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Aside from the sole trader route, the limited liability company is the most popular business structure in the UK.
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Before deciding to become self-employed, it’s a good idea to think through the implications of working for yourself…
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When you form a new limited company, one of the three documents you need to submit are the Articles of Association.The others being Form IN01 and the Company Memorandum of Association. You can read more about what information is provided by these forms in our dedicated article here.
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If you are considering setting up your own limited company, the prospect of ‘dealing with the authorities’ may seem daunting. In reality, the company formation process is very simple – whether you apply yourself, or use a registration agent to set up the company on your behalf.
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When starting up a new business, one of the first things you need to do is choose a suitable name for your enterprise. It is worth spending time considering the name, since not only will this be the first thing potential customers see, but it will also be with you for the duration of your venture.
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Becoming a sole trader is the simplest way to get your new business off the ground.
Once you have told HMRC that you intention to become self employed, you can start trading immediately (subject to any industry-specific licences you might need).
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The simplest way to start a business is to set up as a sole trader. There is minimal paperwork to take care of, and you don’t have to pay any formation costs.
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One of the first things all business owners have to do is to choose a good name for their enterprise. Unlike other decisions you may make along the way, your business name could be with you for quite some time, so it is worth spending time to get it right first time.
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Although the sole trader route is the most popular way of running a business in the UK, there are significant advantages of working via a limited company.
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An LLP shares many of the features of a partnership, but also offers its members limited liability from any financial problems the business may face in the future.
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Many small businesses operate via private limited companies. There are around 1.15 million limited companies operating in the UK currently, compared to around 2.8m sole traders and 500,000 partnerships.
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In this article, we look at the business banking options you have, depending on whether you are a sole trader (self employed), or operating via a limited company.
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If two or more people wish to go into business together, and don’t wish to go down the limited company route, a partnership offers a simple way to get started; it is similar in many ways to going the sole trader route for an individual.
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A dormant company is one that doesn’t trade and has no accounting transactions. Small companies may choose to buy a dormant company to protect the name, or for other reasons.
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All private companies must have at least one company director – but are there any legal restrictions on who can fill this position?
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By law, every company in the UK must have a registered office – this is a physical address in the UK where the company can receive documents from Companies House and other organisations.
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If you are running a limited company, chances are you may need to change your address, personnel or the company share structure. How do you report these changes to Companies House?
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All companies in the UK must submit an annual return form to Companies House each year – it provides a snapshot of general information about your company, including details of key personnel, the registered office, share capital and shareholdings.From 1st October 2009, new Form AR01 replaced the old Form 363a.
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