New School Year, New Start (Up)

The start of the school year is also a time of new beginnings, including for many people the start of a new business venture. Having recently started a new role with Scrutton Bland, I know all about the mixture of excitement, anticipation and anxiety that comes with the start of a new undertaking. Over the years I have helped lots of people with advice about starting up a business on their own, and I fully appreciate that it is a time when there is an awful lot to think about. Getting things organised at the start can save a lot of time and hassle (and professional fees!) further down the line. Once you have decided to run your own business, there are a few things you must think about:

• The structure of your business – whether you should be a limited company, a sole trader or a partnership and the tax consequences of each structure
• Registering with HMRC for business taxes, VAT, self-assessment and what your requirements are to avoid late filing penalties
• How you are going to finance the business in the early days (by way of loans or equity) and the most appropriate funding for capital equipment requirements
• Putting together a business plan to help with applying for funding but also forecasts to monitor performance against
• Whether there is grant funding available to provide you with funds for equipment, employees and other expenses while you are growing your income
• How to pay yourself in the most tax efficient way for both you and your business
• Getting advice on whether you would qualify for tax reliefs such as Research and Development Tax Credits
• Considering which cloud accounting solution to use to help record daily transactions as easily as possible, which leaves you free to run your business. There are an array of products on the market, such as Scrutton Bland’s own sblive system, and choosing the right one will help to provide you with up to date and accurate information to make decisions quickly when needed
• Whether you need to take on employees and how to incentivise them tax efficiently with a salary and benefits package.

This list isn’t exhaustive, and there are usually lots of other things that crop up in those initial discussions with new business owners. Possibly the most important thing to get right is to have the best team of advisers around you to provide you with a sounding board and to help you make a success of your new venture. This will stop costly mistakes being made that need to be unpicked later on.

At Scrutton Bland we tailor our services around you and how you like to work. We enjoy working with all types of clients and our philosophy is to deliver prompt, accessible and high quality technical advice, while offering a diverse range of financial services which are relevant to our clients. We want to be part of your tea and to help your business grow.