starting a new buisiness as a sole trader

[dan johnston]

Hi Folks

I'm hoping some one out there will be kind enough to offer me some help as I'm totaly new to this game.

I've decided to take the plunge and setup my own business as a sole trader. I do not intend the company to be active until the end of this year but I want to go ahead and register the business name so that it is secured. I've used an agency to register the domain name but how should I best proceed with registering the business name and once I've registered the name what are my legal comitments?

I am currently in full time employment and will remain so for the forseable future. However do I still need to register with the Inland Revenue as being self emplyed under my new business and do I need to start paying national insurance under my new business even though it will not be active?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

Dan

[mumper]

Hi Dan, welcome to the forums. I'm not too sure about registering a company name but I believe that you must let the Inland Revenue know about self-employment within 3 months of starting off. I'm sure there will be others along soon who can verify and expand on that.

[Jayne]

Hi Dan,
You don't have to register with the Tax and NI until you start trading. If I was you, i'd be looking for a good accountant for when you do get started, I believe a good accountant is one of the most important things you'll need when starting your first biz :D

Oh and check out business link, great info on there site.

Jayne

[bwglaw]

Hi Dan, welcome...

I will try and assist as your post overlaps several issues that need to be distinguished.

I do not intend the company to be active until the end of this year but I want to go ahead and register the business name so that it is secured.

I would not advise on registering as self-employed with the Inland Revenue until you actually start trading in addition to yur full-time employment.

There is no need to register a business name as such, especially if you are a sole-trader. You cannot protect the business name by any other means except a trade mark registration, which can be costly at such an early stage of your intended business.

Try and avoid using the term 'company' if you are a sole-trader because 'company' often implies your business is a Limited Company, which appears not to be the case. Just refer it as your 'business'.

I've used an agency to register the domain name but how should I best proceed with registering the business name and once I've registered the name what are my legal comitments?

My response above probably covers this point but to go a bit further. Registering a domain name only buys you the ownership and right to use that domain name (provided it does not infringe any intellectual property rights)

I am currently in full time employment and will remain so for the forseable future. However do I still need to register with the Inland Revenue as being self emplyed under my new business and do I need to start paying national insurance under my new business even though it will not be active?

As I mentioned earlier you do not need to register until you actually start trading that is work in return for money, not the time when you receive the money but when you actually undertake the work for a fee. Once you have started trading you need to register with the Inland Revenue within three months. The registration process is straight-forward but does take a while for IR to confirm.

I do not know what kind of business you are planning to set up so cannot give any further advice other than consider taking advice from an Accountant. In addition to the above, I would add that you need to ensure that your current contract of employment allows you to do additional work, which may/may not compete and if you exceed 48-hours per week you need to inform your employer to opt-out of the Working Time Regulations. The employer is entitled to know in any event for the health, safety and welfare of his employees.

I hope you find the above advice useful

[Claire B]

Hi Dan, in addition to the comments posted above, I would advise against registering your business name(ie with the National Business Registry) It is a complete waste of money and it won't protect your business name one iota. The only way to do that is to register the name as a trade mark.

Registering as a Trade Mark is expensive, but the chances are that sooner or later someone else will come up with the same name as you. If that happens, you have a potentially long and costly legal battle ahead of you (I know this from personal experience :cry: )

Your best plan of action would be to Register as a Sole Trader with the IR (you have three months, once you've started trading to do this). Register every variation of your domain name that you can think of/afford (ie .com, .co.uk, .net etc etc) Then, as soon as you can possibly afford to, register the trade mark with the UK Patent Office.

If I had known all this before I started, I would have saved myself alot of heartache!

Anyway good luck with your new venture, let us know how it goes.

Claire

[dan johnston]

Dear All

Many thanks for all of your posts the information that you have provided is most helpful, particularly regarding the National Business Registry as this was a route that I was contemplating, so you've saved me some £ - thanks.

Cheers

Dan

[gordonthegofor]

If you contact crossgard who is a member of this forum http://www.crossguard.info he will advise you on name protection I think trademark protection starts at about £500

Good luck with your venture

[rafhelp]

As a self employed sole trader you can get benefits if you have a low income. But would you be eligible to claims these benefits while you were setting up the business and not actually trading? Or can you only claim income related benefits while trading. Setting up the business cab take months and you have made the commitment, income would be zero or thereabouts, so you would really need any form of financial help available.