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What was the biggest culture shock you had in a job?

NickGrogan
Worked as a civil servant, one of the managers kept harrasing and touching the one of the girls in the office, being Civil Service,, they wouldn't sack him, but wanted to move him to a different office.

There were no other roles at his level, so they promoted him so that they could move him to a new office.

Obviously his behavior continued, but not in our office, so HR thought that was a win.
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Anyone used 1st Formations?

ctrlbrk
Schmutz said:
Has anyone here used 1st Formations for setting up a company?
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Yes, I'm their customer.

I’m particularly interested in their registered office and mail forwarding service.
How reliable have you found it in practice especially for day to day use and any important correspondence?
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I've been with them for almost 3 years - I don't get much correspondence other than Companies House and HMRC stuff, which gets regularly scanned and sent to me via mail.

Any real experiences (good or bad) would be appreciated before I move forward.
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good customer service - a couple of years ago there was a mix-up with their system about a couple of services which I did not require, and another time I could not charge their services onto my business card, but it all got sorted in the end. Overall good experience.
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Amazon SES Deliverability

Data Swami
Paul Kelly ICHYB said:
Haven't tried that, but I do validate as best I can on registration and clean the list regularly. My main platform is Acymailer, on WP, which can filter initial emails and then a separate plugin to clean the lists monthly. Deleting bounces is very important.

Separately, I am starting to play with PowerMTA on a cheap server to see if there is any value in this, however, I am not sending the volumes anymore, so it is a bit of a plaything.
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Ahhh interesting im looking at Warmbly to host myself at the moment as its got an inbuilt warming setup in there too. I tried an experiment with own hosted mail server with billion mail but it was a bit of a waste of time XD. Deliverabilty for google was great but MS blocked it outright with no reason
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HMRC Making Tax Digital

MyAccountantOnline
Daybooks said:
Funnily enough I’ve seen that same mistake made with users of online cloud software. How can that be?
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I specifically referred to spreadsheets as they were mentioned in this discussion. Just wanted to help someone avoid making a common mistake.

Of course the same error can happen using cloud software if transactions aren't imported correctly.

My point was simply that, with spreadsheets, I see people quite often recording the net eBay receipt as turnover and overlooking the fees, whereas good cloud integrations tend to reduce that particular risk.
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SA102 Employment Income - To Report or not to Report!

Daybooks
UK Contractor Accountant said:
The ATT has queried this point with HMRC and understands that HMRC "expects":
  • the additional information to be provided within the SA102 employment pages, even where no income, benefits or dividends are received from the directorship, and
  • a separate SA102 employment page to be completed for each directorship.
I assume their Guidance Notes will be changed at some point, however, what HMRC "expect" and what the Law actually requires are two different standpoints which will be tested at some stage on Appeals/Tribunal decisions
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I suspect that their “expectation” will require a change in law for it to be enforceable which I trust would be met with fierce opposition.

My guess is this “expectation” is a hope that taxpayers will assume HMRC know what they are talking about (I know) and provide regardless.

As you say much like the “all directors must complete a tax return” directive which eventually gets squashed when it goes to Court.

Maybe they are still bitter so are trying a different approach. Obviously this would all be at loggerheads with the HMRC Charter but am sure they will not let that annoyance of an article get in their way of trying. I do not think it has ever stopped them before.
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Trying to build the UK hardware cost/timeline report that doesn't exist yet

S
Hey all, I'm at Surface Scan, we do product design and prototyping work with people building physical products in the UK.

Genuine gripe that led to this: there's no straight answer anywhere for basic questions like "is £80k for injection moulding tooling normal" or "how long should this actually take." Every time it comes up with someone we're working with, we end up going "well, it depends," which is true but also useless. Most of the data that exists is American, written for investors, or vague enough that it doesn't actually help anyone.

So we're just going and getting the data ourselves. A survey on UK hardware product development, real costs, real timelines, and the stuff that went wrong along the way. Takes about 12 minutes. Anonymous, and the report only publishes aggregated numbers, you decide if you want to be named or quoted at all.

If you fill it in: you get the report the day it's out, a mention of you or your company if you want one, and £25 credit toward anything we do at Surface Scan just for taking part. Email us after you submit and we'll sort the credit.

We're also pushing this to press and across our own channels once it's live, so there's actual reach behind it, not just a thank-you buried in an email.

No pitch attached, we just think this space runs on guesswork and figured we're in a decent spot to fix that.

Let me know if you're interested to participate and will reach out!
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Selling a business with debt?

G
numbersrule said:
I am not an Insolvency Practitioner.

You probably need an Insolvency Practitioner.

That is irrespective of whether or not you think the business is Insolvent.

it's just that an Insolvency Practitioner would be able to provide you with Expert Advice on how to handle the sale.

It depends on the reasons why the HMRC Debt exists.

You say 'the' Repayment Plan.
Is there already a Repayment Plan in place? Over how long?

Are you the Sole Director?

HMRC might only make you personally liable if there has been wrongdoing.

Which Taxes does the Debt relate to and how much for each?

it depends why the Debt exists.

From the limited information available it seems to me that you are simply using HMRC as a low cost form of Credit.

Is that because you have poor Creditworthiness and have therefore been unable to borrow to fund the business?

If this is all true you will need to be aware that some 'Rescue Vultures' sometimes come in and buy the Assets and take the Client Contact List but don't buy the Shares with the aim of leaving you with responsibility for the Debt.

As I say you need an IP.
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It might be worth getting proper advice before structuring this deal, especially because HMRC debt behaves very differently depending on whether you are selling the shares of the limited company or just the business/assets.

In most cases, HMRC debt stays with the company, not the director personally — but that also means a buyer taking over the company is effectively inheriting that liability, which can make a share purchase much more complex and less attractive unless it is fully disclosed and agreed in writing.

A common alternative is exactly what you mentioned: an asset sale, where the buyer purchases stock, equipment, goodwill etc., but the existing company (and its debts) remains with the seller. That usually avoids the risk for the buyer, but it also changes valuation and tax implications.

Because there are real risks around:

  • HMRC enforcement and repayment plans
  • liability transfer (or lack of it)
  • and what exactly is being sold (shares vs assets)
it would be sensible to get a UK commercial solicitor or accountant to structure it properly before you speak to buyers.

If you want a second opinion, feel free to message me and I can point you in the right direction of someone who deals with these kinds of business sales regularly.
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Selling my business, advice request

The Resolver
pentel said:
Do not underestimate the costs for both side of producing and agreeing heads of terms, going through the share purchase agreement, due diligence and advisors, in my experience this can easily come to 5 figures per side if done correctly to protect you.

Thinking about timescale I have found from agreeing heads of terms to completion of SPA has taken 3-6 months.

All of these for a fully cash s
pentel said:
Do not underestimate the costs for both side of producing and agreeing heads of terms, going through the share purchase agreement, due diligence and advisors, in my experience this can easily come to 5 figures per side if done correctly to protect you.

Thinking about timescale I have found from agreeing heads of terms to completion of SPA has taken 3-6 months.

All of these for a fully cash sale.

Other may have different experiences.
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Other may have different experiences.
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You are correct both in the potential costs/delay and that 'others may have different experie. I don't disagree that fees may reach such levels but it all depends on the firms dealing with the matter. The message is to be a wise client. If you instruct a firm of solicitors whose clients tend to be large corporates , working in offices at the top end, and with the fees not coming out of the pocket of the executive employee of the client instructing them, then of course fees can be heavy. If you instruct someone at the other end of the scale perhaps a local high street lawyer with significantly lower overheads .who can be just as capable as lawyers at the top end , then of course fees will be massively lower for no less quality of service, In fact your local lawyer will be far more accessible and may well have a wise 'greybeard' consultant with huge experience not just in drafting but negotiating .There will also be many lawyers like myself, retired from general practice but keeping his hand in working from home with minimal overheads , and yet with huge experience to make available at very low fees comparatively.

Equally the time to completion can indeed reach 6 months but that depends on what has already been agreed and what is still to be agreed. But all time lines can be speeded up with virtual meetings etc and clients driving this with ideal time lines. In ma ny ways most of the documentation can be agreed within days if both sides are that committed . Deadlines can be helpful.
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Student tuition idea

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AyshaB said:
Hello

I was a registered healthcare practitioner (same grade as a nurse) for over 10 years. I had to leave the profession & therefore give up my registration.

I would like to start a business offering students training to be an Operating Department Practitioner (my registered role) help with their essays, exam preparation, how to reference accurately etc.

I would charge a fee for this, not more than £15/hour or even minimum wage. I would need a website of course.
I just don't want 3 years studying & over 10 years of hard work in a hospital to go to waste.

Any comments, good or bad are most welcome.

Thanks
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That sounds like a solid idea, especially since you have all that hands-on experience in the field. Students often struggle with referencing and exam techniques, so having someone who actually did the job as a mentor would be really valuable for them.
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Built a quote calculator tool for service businesses, not sure if there's a real market for it, would love honest feedback

L
Nexadesign LTD said:
I run a small web and software studio and earlier this year I built a tool called QuoteKit after a courier client kept losing leads from his website. Visitors would land on the site, couldn't get a price, and just left.

The tool lets service businesses; couriers, cleaners, gardeners, trades, embed an instant quote calculator on their website. Customer fills it in, gets a price immediately, and the business gets their name, email and phone automatically. No phone tag. It handles distance-based pricing, fixed pricing or hourly, captures the lead details, sends them a quote confirmation and notifies the business instantly. There's also a booking request option so customers can pick a date straight from the widget.

We have a small early user base and it seems to be working for them, but I genuinely don't know if there's a wider market for it or whether most service businesses just prefer the phone call approach.

Honest question, if you run a service business, would something like this be useful to you? And if not, what puts you off?
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Automating the quoting process seems like a great way to save time, but I wonder how many customers still prefer a phone call to talk through the details. I think the key is finding a balance where the digital tool handles the initial numbers, but there's still a human touch if they have specific questions.
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Is now the right time to start a business?

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gujhik said:
This is very interesting topic of debate because convention suggests it would be crazy to start a business in the midst of one of the worst economic downturns in living history. However….

Is there a case to suggest that competitors would be so weak, racked with debt and struggling to survive that a new, nimble and cash rich company could steamroller all of their competitors aside? I would be interested to hear your views on this subject because while my heart says no, my head says there may be an interesting opportunity.
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Starting a business during an economic downturn is a massive risk, but history shows that many successful companies were built during tough times. The challenge is that while some competitors might be struggling, they might also be cutting prices aggressively to survive, which makes entering the market quite difficult.
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Quick question for UK builders/trades: Would you trust an automated quote builder to save you admin time, and what is it actually worth?

L
edward wearing said:
Hey everyone,
I’m currently building a tool aimed at cutting down the hours of unpaid admin time spent on paperwork.

The idea is to allow builders and tradespeople to quickly generate a professional, fully customizable PDF quote from incoming enquiries—whether they come from your website, social media, email, or direct from local planning applications. It creates a detailed cost breakdown that you can tweak and send straight to the customer.

I have two quick questions for anyone running their own business or doing their own pricing:

Would you actually use something like this? Or do you prefer doing every single takeoff and price breakdown entirely by hand to guarantee accuracy?

How much would you realistically be willing to pay for it? Would you prefer a flat monthly subscription (e.g. £20–£30/month) or a pay-as-you-go model per quote generated?

Please feel free to rip the idea apart—I want honest feedback before building features nobody actually wants.
Cheers
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Generating quotes manually definitely takes a lot of time, especially when you have a high volume of enquiries. For me, it comes down to how much customization is actually possible—if the quote looks too generic, it might put off potential clients who expect a more tailored approach.
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One thing I wish more founders knew about bad reviews

L
Repguard said:
Quick one that might save someone here a headache.

If you ever get a bad review you know is unfair — fake, a competitor, someone who was never actually a customer — most people report it to Google, get auto-rejected, and give up assuming nothing can be done.

The reason it gets rejected usually isn't that the review is allowed to stay. It's that the report wasn't framed around the specific policy the review breaks.

Google won't remove a review because it's "unfair" or "untrue". But they will act on reviews that break their actual policies — fake engagement, conflicts of interest, content from non-customers, spam, off-topic posts. The trick is identifying which policy applies and reporting it on those exact grounds.

I do this for businesses for a living so I see it constantly — owners sitting on removable reviews for months because they didn't know the difference.

If anyone's dealing with one right now, happy to take a look and tell you honestly whether it's the removable kind. No pitch — genuinely just ask.
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It is true that reporting reviews without referencing specific policies is usually a waste of time. Most people just mark them as unfair, but that rarely works with automated systems. You really have to break down which guideline is violated for a better chance at success.
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Printing company changing lanes - How do I get local B2B orders?

A
@Ryan Smith a newly registered trademark and Ltd company don’t protect you from an infringement claim by an already established trademarked brand.

I have no affiliation to totally branded but I am just warning of the potential pitfalls. I would hate to spend my time and efforts building a brand just to have someone come and make you change it because a judge finds in their favour due to trademark infringement.

I’d also strongly advise against making claims of the companies you’ve done work for if they are not true (looking at your website you’re claiming to have done work for NHS, etc… I highly doubt the likes of NHS would use a brand new company for their promotional products (hopefully I’m wrong here).
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