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Starting your own business takes a great deal of careful planning and consideration. It’s easy to forget some of the most important factors when setting up your own office, after all, there is a long list of considerations to make. It is crucial, however, that all of the necessary points are covered. Here, we investigate the key standards that you need to meet when setting up your own business.
Licensing
Although the excitement of starting up your own business can be a great feeling, you still have to pay attention to the legal side of things. It may not be the most fun of tasks, but failing to gain a common license and permit – especially for homebased small businesses – can cause major issues. Be sure to contact your city’s business license department as soon as possible and get the ball rolling to make sure you’re legally allowed to trade from your location.
If your business serves alcohol or food, you’ll have to obtain all of the legal licenses. But what about where you store your data? Do you know what software package you’ll be using and whether it is the licensed version? It may be a significant cost to purchase the programmes, but using licensed software really does pay off in the long run.
Electricity
If you’re moving into a brand-new office, you’ll probably have to set up an electric connection. If you’re not sure how to get your connection sorted, contact your distribution network operator (DNO) and tell them what you require. Without doing this, your business simply won’t get up and running.
Taxes
Whether you’re running your business from a remote or physical location, you will have to pay taxes. Business rates are like a council tax but for business properties and some premises are exempt from these rates. If you are running your business from home, it’s unlikely you’d have to pay business rates as well as your council tax, unless you are employing staff to work in your home or potential customers will be visiting your location. Also, if you’ve adapted your home space, including your garage, then you’ll need to pay business rates too.
Corporation tax is a requirement for any limited company that makes a profit. It is set at 19% for all companies and you must pay it within nine months and one day of the company’s accounting year end. If you’re a sole trader, however, you won’t pay corporation tax.
Insurance
It is vital that you take out employers’ liability insurance when you start up your own business. Failure to do so can lead to a fine of up to £2,500 per employee per day without it. You must also take out property insurance so that your equipment, inventory and signage is covered for fire, storm or theft. If you are starting your business in your own home, you still require insurance as your homeowner’s policies won’t cover your business requirements.
Another ‘must-have’ is vehicle insurance. While we know that car insurance is important, if your company is going to have their own fleet, it’s essential that those vehicles are insured to protect your business against liability if there’s an accident. Business interruption insurance can help you in the event of a disaster which would interrupt your operations. In these circumstances, having the correct plan in place will help you to avoid major financial loss.
There is certainly a lot to take in when starting your own business, but it’s vitally important that you start off on the right foot with all of the requirements to avoid any mishaps down the line. Good luck!
