Are you thinking of starting your own business?

What should you consider from a financial viewpoint?

When creating a business plan, you should draw up a budget. The most important thing to think about is your sales and how you are going to generate them. If you can not make sales then you do not have a business, it is as simple as that.

You should think about your product and market. What are you selling and where you are selling it. What makes your products or services better or different to the competition. The first step is satisfying yourself that you have a viable way to generate income.

When budgeting your sales it is also important to remember VAT, not all the money received may be yours, some may be for the tax man.

You also need to think about the costs it will take to get your business going such as:

• Premises- will you be working from home or renting an office or shop? What about costs of electricity and internet access etc?
• Vehicles- will you need to rent or buy? include the running costs for fuel and maintenance.
• Equipment- do you need laptops, phones or tools?
• Website- how much will it cost to set up and host?
• Marketing- what are your estimated advertising costs?
• Staff- costs to employ and maybe recruitment costs.
• Registration costs for VAT

You may not need all of the above, especially at the beginning, but you should consider how you will manage your bookkeeping and taxes.

Starting off with an accountant can help you keep control of finances. We can also advise you about expenses and offsetting these against income.

Speak to Woods Russell to see how we can help you with your new business.