I run an online business that is struggling massively at the moment. We import and sell goods from stock and also take pre-orders if not in stock and the customer is willing to wait.

We have have some debts that we are struggling to service and if sales don't pick up we may become insolvent. I am concerned if this happens, customers who are waiting for orders will lose their money. Most of them pay via credit card, debit card or PayPal, however, if they do a chargeback and the funds are not available to refund from our account, what happens here?

Hi everyone. New here, and new to having a small solde trader business so sorry if this is a silly question.
I get some products made on Alibaba, I just put in a larger order than usual and got an email from them saying [Action Required] Sign up for UK tax exemption.
I am trying to sign up, but it asks for my UK tax ID minus the country ID. After searching I can see the closest code seems to be the UTR , but that's a 10 digital code, and the requirement is a 9 digit code, which I assume is removing the country ID. However I cannot find any information online at all about the country ID number to confirm this so I am a bit stuck with how to find this.
Man this stuff is real stressful!
Any help is really appreciated.
Thanks in advance

Hi everyone,

As many of you know, submitting RM claims for lost parcels or damaged items can be time-consuming.

I’ve submitted several claims in the same way, selecting ‘business’ when answering the ‘Are you a business or personal customer?’ question on the RM claim form. However, only my most recent claim was resolved, and instead of compensation via a cheque as usual, I was given 1st class stamps—which was unexpected! Since stamped mail doesn’t receive a reference number, it cannot be tracked, which makes this an odd resolution.

I called RM today to ask why this claim was processed while my previous ones weren’t, and I was given several conflicting reasons:
The parcel wasn’t scanned or submitted via the post office—which isn’t true, as I did send them correctly.
I should have selected ‘Personal Customer’ instead of ‘Business Customer,’ because RM considers a business only if it has a business account, which I do not.

I was then told that my claim was sent to the wrong department and pushed to the end of the queue due to incorrect details provided. Despite this, I still haven’t received any updates on my previous claims, and the only way to check them is by calling RM directly.

To add to the confusion, I believe the RM representative I spoke to was incorrect—the selection of 'Business' or 'Personal' should only indicate who is making the claim, not whether I have a business account. There is a separate form specifically for claims made via a business account.

Now, I’ve been advised to resubmit my claims, this time stating that I am a private customer, not a business.

Honestly, I am frustrated and unsure whether I should go through the process again, as I don’t want to waste more time.

Has anyone else faced this issue? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Many years ago catalogues used to send a sheet of labels printed with your oiwn name and address, as a marketing gift. Little things, about 2.5 cm by 1.5 cm. Often gold coloured.

I am planning to send Christmas cards to clients this year and would like to get some of those little labels to put on the cards, in case people don't remember who I am.

Anyone got any idea where I might get them? I can find large ones without problem, but not the little ones.

I got the 30 day lockout today, but never received an email with the verification code.

Fortunately, I still had some back up codes, but is the email verification broken?

If one came up with a catchy business name for business x and made a relevant logo, would it be possible to sell it to someone considering going into business x?

What is the proper category in FreeAgent for recoding a incentive/bonus given by a bank to a limited company for switching a bank account?

The closest option that I see is the "Grant Income" category under the "Other Money In" type which is recorded under "Other income" and in the CT600 report it goes to position 145 "Total turnover from trade".

Is this correct?

Many thanks!

Making tax digital

I have just recived the "you might need to" letter, but I am confused, I know that HMRC will send me a letter to confirm if I need to start sending information quarterly.

I am self employed, self assetment, my main income is online sales, I turn over around £85k a year, but after costs of products etc, my income is around 22k..... So based on the letter received, will HMRC be using my turn over figure or how much income I earned after costs?

Based on the basic details above, will I need to start using MTD from April 2026?

Below is a copy of the wording from the letter recived from HMRC.

You may need to change the way you report your income and expenses

We're changing the way some sole traders and landlords need to report their income and expenses.

If your total income from self-employment and property is over £50,000 (before deducting expenses or taxes) in your 2024-25 tax return, you'll need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from 6 April 2026 (unless you're exempt).

What is Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

It's a new way of recording and reporting your income and expenses from self-employment and property. This means you'll need to get commercial software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, which can help you to:

create, store and correct your digital records of income and expenses

send us your quarterly updates (summaries of your digital records)

submit your tax return.

Get the benefits of signing up early

You may be able to sign up now for the 2025-26 tax year and start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax straight away. This is the best way to help you get ready and test the service.

This means you'll have:

more time to get used to the changes

exclusive access to our dedicated Customer Support Team - they'll help you with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and with some of your other income tax queries.

I'll be greeting (mainly German-speaking) tour groups arriving at the airport, accompany them to the hotel and assist with check-in, or, less commonly, just Meet&Greet, i.e. call the driver once all passengers are there and make sure they're taken to their transfer.

The company I work for sends me the offers, but I'm the one to email them an invoice. The problem is thus: what do I charge?

According to one of the guides, for a newbie it's apparently £60-80 for a half-day tour including an airport transfer, and £110-130 for a full-day tour. They didn't mention how much it is for a full-day Meet&Greet.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

Hi all,

First time posting here, I'll try to keep it concise!

I have over 10 years experience in my field of work, Immigration Law, however I have now decided to start a new business on my own, so the company itself isn't established or a "known name" within the industry. I'm only able to do limited work at the moment whilst registration processes etc go through, but I am able to do work for businesses who want to employ overseas workers etc.

Which leads me onto my question - I can see a way of getting private clients, social media etc is fantastic for that, but I'm struggling to get business clients, social media doesn't seem the right way to go for this.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can market this area of the business?

Thanks in advance for any help

i m a factory from China, guangdong provine. i was devoted to produce food dehydrator,food slicer and kabob grill since 2008.i do the bussiness with export agent for many years.as the means of communication are increasingly developed，i want to know if there are a new chance in UK or EUROPE.

I am in the process of starting an ebay business, but im abit confused regarding tax. I have around 70k in stock (vehicle parts) that I have accumulated over the years. My question is I understand I only pay tax on my profits, but how would I work out and deduct the cost price of the item when its part of a joblot. Or am I missing something. (This is my first business so very new to this)

Any help much appriciated. Thanks in advance.

I just launched a Japanese stationary wholesale business. but I am having a hard time finding a retailer that is interested. where can I find retailers?

Hi everyone,
We recently completed a renovation project for our business and ended up with a large amount of unused wall panels and tiles (all brand new, still boxed). We’re now looking to sell them in bulk or by lot, ideally to someone doing their own project or in the trade.

Products are suitable for commercial or residential use. Everything is in perfect condition.

Any recommendations on where to list this kind of surplus stock so it sells quickly? Or if you’re interested yourself – feel free to message me directly.


Thanks in advance!

I’ve recently launched my cleaning and gardening business and am currently looking to grow by securing commercial clients. I have a small but capable team, and we’re able to cover both West Sussex and the London area.

Any leads or opportunities would be greatly appreciated—thank you!

Hi, my 14 year old son is very crafty and loves making things with the Cricut cutting machine, he wants to make football crest shadow box frames, I.E put an Arsenal badge in the box frame and then sell them, is this allowed or does he need permission from football clubs to use their badge?

I’m exploring the idea of starting a career as a caregiver and would love to hear from those already in the field or familiar with the process. What skills are essential to begin? Are there specific certifications or documentation I would need to get started?
I want to ensure I’m properly prepared before taking the first step, so any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated!

I hope you’re doing well!





I’m 14 years old and run a dropshipping business on Depop. Since I’m under 16, I can’t register as self-employed yet, so I’m wondering if I can declare the income from my business under my parent’s name until I turn 16 and can register myself.





I have a few questions and would really appreciate your help:

1. Can I declare the income from my business under my parent’s name for tax purposes until I’m old enough to register as self-employed?
2. Will the money I make from my business count as part of our household income? Could it affect my parent’s eligibility for things like housing benefit or Universal Credit?
3. If the income is reported by my parent, is there a special way to handle it with HMRC, and should it still be considered my income for things like benefits?

Thank you so much for your time and help! I’m looking forward to your reply.

Hello everyone,

I'm preparing the final Self Assessment return for a client who transitioned from sole trader to limited company status. He traded as a sole trader until the last day of the 2024–25 tax year.

As part of the incorporation, we prepared an Asset Transfer Declaration to move all business assets to the limited company at fair market value (totaling £17,000). All of these assets had 100% AIA claimed in previous tax years.

Since the sole trade has now ceased, I understand this is treated as a disposal of the assets for capital allowances purposes.

My question is: since the assets were transferred to the limited company in exchange for shares (using Incorporation Relief), and therefore no cash consideration was received, does that mean the full £17,000 fair value left on those assets need to be added as a balancing charge on the last self-assessment, and basically increase the taxable income by another £17k?

Thanks for your help!

Hello

I newly opened company in uk and i have company in Saudi Arabia, we are specialised in events, summits, conferences organisations along with tourism ( All types ).
(OPENED TO ANY NEW BUSINESS)

I am looking for Partnership with local company in uk that would co operate with my company to increase business between UK and KSA.
Any one knows where I can find such companies to discuss further ?
Appreciate it

Hi everyone,

We're a small team behind an augmented reality puzzle brand, launched in the UK about six months ago. Our puzzles are designed to be both fun and educational — using a mobile app, kids can bring farm animals, dinosaurs, planets, and wonders of the world to life in 3D, right from the completed puzzle.

While we've had great feedback on the product itself, we're struggling with sales and building momentum. We're relatively new to the UK market and don’t yet have the right contacts or network here.

I'd be very grateful for any advice on:

How to get in touch with retail shops, toy stores, or school suppliers

Ways to approach wholesalers or distributors interested in unique educational products

Whether there's someone out there who might want to join us on this journey — as a partner, advisor, or even local sales rep

If you've navigated something similar or can point us in the right direction, I’d really appreciate the help.

Thanks in advance,
Harold
Unpuzzled AR

Hi all,

I am looking at setting up a ltd company as I have been offered a 3 month contract working in Middle East (This hopefully leads to a longer term contract).

I have some beginner questions I hope you good folks can help with.

1...Do I need an accountant ?
2...Should i open a business bank account and CC ?
3...What type of expenses can i claim for ?
4...How do I pay out dividends ?

I probably have more questions, but these are forefront at the moment.

We follow a freelancer with quite a few followers on social media and we'd like him to write a guest article for our own site.

Is there a standard template that sets out the basics for the kind of contract work / relationship we want to create?

E.g. you write this for us, then post the link to your social media channels, with this many reposts, etc?

Thanks

Mobile gaming market in the UK: Worth exploring in 2025? I’m noticing strong casual gamer engagement even in 35–50 age group — anyone else seeing this trend?

Hi everyone,

I’m currently exploring funding options for my e-commerce business and someone recently recommended CapRelease as a potential private funding company. I’d love to hear if anyone here has used CapRelease before and whether you’d recommend them.

Also, are there any risks or important points to be aware of when working with private funding companies versus going through a traditional bank? Is it generally considered safer or more reliable to go through a bank?

Any insights or experiences would be really appreciated!

Thanks in advance.