I am thinking of starting my own planning consultancy. I need to understand how to create a business, register it for tax purposes etc. Could anyone offer me any help or advice on where to start??

Hello,
Do know all the ins and outs of what you need? for example, premisis, staff, investments, marketing or website etc.

We help any new businesses that come through us get the right advice for their ventures.

if you could tell me about the above i may be able to advise you a little.

Regards

James
Back Door Solutions

well its just me and i will be (hopefully) doing the work alongside my other full time planning job to start with..
i will be working from my spare room
i would probably create a web site... create some business cards to send out...
not sure what else you need to know....

There is a few basic things to consider when starting a business, be it full or part time.

You need to register with HMRC within 3 months of your official start date. You will need to keep financial records for your income and expenditure, pay any tax and NI wheredue, in addition to your day job, and do your annual self assessment, or pay an accountant to do it for you. That is if you are a sole trader.

You might be financially better off going Ltd status, thus seek advice from an accountant to weigh up the pros and cons, especially as you have a full time income as well. If you go Ltd, there is more to do on the annual form filling/returns that are due, it costs more for an accountant to do them and they are too complex for most people to do themselves however, what you might save in tax, might cover the cost and some more besides, making it the more viable option.

Visit the HMRC website for details on registering as a sole trader and they will send oyu the necessary information and forms to complete.

If you go Ltd, when you incorporate the company, Companies House would normally inform them on your behalf and you would receive a form to complete with your new Ltd Co business details. This will include the start date so they know when your tradiung year starts. You can incorporate online from as little as £24.99 but make sure you know what you are doing, ref the shares especially. An accountant can do this for you but again, they will charge you for it.

Go to SENTA/BiG for free business advice. They will advise you of everything you need to know.

Regarding marketing, don't be tempted to splash out on all the bells and whistles too soon. Get what is essential, make sure it is to an acceptable standard of quality to reflect your business and the type of customer you expect to attract, and stick to your budgets until you start to see the income roll in. Then you can dabble a bit further with the bells and whistles, plus you will have a better understanding of your target customer, your business, and know better, what to spend your marketing budget on that will bring you the best results.

Shop around and compare like-for-like for what you plan to buy. Don't fall for promises; get quotes, get recommendations, do your due dilligence just like you would if you were hiring an electrician or whatever. You will see that cost and quality of services may vary wildly, but the proof is usually always in the pudding so to speak.

It does depends what business you are doing but basics might include business cards, stationery, flyers or brochure info, a website. But you may or may not need some of those things straight away, depending what type of consultancy you are doing. You said planning - what type of planning?

You can get lots of free help and advice on the step by step of what to do, how to fill something in, if you feel competent enough to do some things yourself, otherwise, much like anything you arent' skilled in, be prepared to pay someone to do it for you.

well its just me and i will be (hopefully) doing the work alongside my other full time planning job to start with..
i will be working from my spare room
i would probably create a web site... create some business cards to send out...
not sure what else you need to know....

Have you discussed this with your current employer? If not it could cause you a lot of problems and cost you more than your job!

What area are you going to specialise in? If it's construction why not get a team together-designers, project managers and contractors, either charging them for each contract awarded or charging the customer directly for this service.

Yes, good point. Your contract of employment will state if you cannot compete against your current employer and whether you have any sort of restrictions to undertake the same role in any other capacity. If it says nothing, then you are fine.

Its a very good point. (I know because it happened to me).

Also, you need to be careful of using training & intellectual property paid for by your employer to your own profit.

Its a very good point. (I know because it happened to me).

Also, you need to be careful of using training & intellectual property paid for by your employer to your own profit.

We were once managing the UK arm of US company that made touchscreen monitors. One of its employees set up an on line business and was using the companies premises, equipment and postal service to sell products that competed with his employer...when we found out he was dismissed and he sincerely didn't undestand what he was doing wrong!!!

This is always the dilemma when you are running service type businesses where the asset is the people...we all want to employ good people; the challenge is good people tend to be smart/driven people, some of who are entrepreneurial (and credit to them too).