Being in business on your own can seem an intimidating prospect; you have to handle everything from ordering stationery to dealing with the taxman. Fortunately, we are here to help.

Hopefully you’re already confident about the product or service you’ll be offering, but you’ll still need to do some preparation and planning. Things to think about include how your business is going to operate – your methods, costs, premises, etc. We’re happy to have a chat, even if you decide that now is not the time to go it alone, after all.

You may well want finance to get started, in which case you’ll probably need formal business plans, and again we can help with these. We’ll also help with advice on business status and registration, and the records you’ll be required to keep.

What you need most of all when starting your own business is support – financial, emotional and practical. Accountancy Tax Direct can’t supply cash or cheerleaders, but we can be the right people in the right place, with the back-up you really need.

Once you’re up and running, you need to have systems in place to meet your legal and tax obligations. We can advise on what records you need to keep, and how best to keep them for your business.

You should register with the tax office within three months, which immediately raises your first tax decision: do you need to pay National Insurance? You may have other questions, such as should I open a business bank account, what about VAT registration, and so on? What you do and how you do it can influence these decisions, and we can give you specific advice for your business.

Once the tax man knows you’re in business he’ll start sending you communications and ask for tax returns. We can prepare your business accounts and tax returns or just provide advice, so you can complete them yourself.

There are other instances where you might need to produce accounts; for example, Limited Companies have to submit accounts according to a prescribed format and put a copy on public record at Companies House. If you need a mortgage, lenders often require three years’ accounts with a certificate signed by your accountant.

Whatever your situation, we can provide the advice and service you need, helping you enjoy peace of mind and keeping the tax man satisfied.

As a small business, you could become a Limited Company. There are pros and cons to this; a Limited Company gives you more flexibility in how and when you pay tax, for example, but has to comply with rather more legislation.

A Limited Company must be registered and have directors, shareholders and, currently, a company secretary (though this will be abolished in October 2008). It also has to submit accounts to be filed at Companies House. Whether becoming a Limited Company is worthwhile is something only you can decide, but we’ll give you all the information and advice you need to make that decision.

If you decide to go ahead, we can help you with all the arrangements and appropriate registrations.