The ebay startup business question

[Dangerous_Dave]

Hi all,

I've a feeling this may have been asked before, but I just registered an ebay business with HMRC. What things do I need to be setting in stone as of today? Do I need (for their purposes, rather than my own) to keep/send off an up to date inventory of stock, or is it enough just to keep records of incoming and outgoing monies for the year?

 

[Coppock]

just keep a detailed log of everything you buy and everything you sell. Try and get a business bank account (used to be free with the abbey), that way you can keep all the accounts seperate to your own outgoings.

If you're classified as a sole trader then you just need good clear logs of money in vs money out. Oh and all receipts

I'm sure an accountant will be here soon to let you know anything extra!

Good luck!
Jen

 

[PMSToys]

What Coppock said....making sure you keep track of ALL money coming and going. If you're using Excel etc, make sure you have a backup. That means on a disk/USB stick etc that isn't near your computer.

I have a relative who didn't keep receipts, spent the last 30 years selling restored antiques and is now facing a VERY hefty tax bill courtesy of the Inland Revenue.

 

[EliteIntegrity]

The financial advice give so far seems spot on.

I would think about Ebay as a short term idea to get you started. Ebay treat all their sellers, including business sellers like down-trodden employees. Sharpen your sales skills with Ebay, refine your product range and get going with your own business rather than being a self employed employee.

Just my view. I am sure many will disagree, including Ebay.

 

[Rolo Tomasi]

As others have said you need to keep an accurate record of your sales and expenses however you will also have to account for unsold stock at your accounting year end.

You do not have to keep a detailed stock record throughout the year however, depending on the size of your business, the amount of stock you are holding could make a significant difference to your profitability and therefore, for your own purposes, I would recommend having some sort of stock control system.

Stock should be valued at the lower of its cost or its resale value so for most items this will be cost.

 

[was123]

hi, i agree with EliteIntegrity, why not use other forms of sales, like a webiste, ebay has gone expensive over the years with its fees and paypal aswell. Set up a webiste and use business paypal and use ebay at teh same time but advertise your site with the product. i know the question had nothing todo with my info but just wanted to add on to EliteIntegrity commets. i know some people that can do your site or just google it.

Good luck

 

[sarah deng]

hi. may i know what are you selling on ebay?