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Business Startup

  • By Ines Curtis
  • •
  • 20 Nov, 2018
  • •

Starting your own business is a very exciting stage of your life. It’s a time full of opportunities but also many uncertainties. It’s at this stage that you need some good advice and maybe some help with the new regimes of accounting, VAT, and payroll - to name a few. We’re here to help with as little or as much as you require.


We have put together a checklist below including everything you need to consider from an accounting perspective when setting up a new business to help you on your way:

Step 1: Business model confirmation

You first of all need to satisfy yourself that you’ve got a real business - one that’s going to make you money as well as one that you think that you’re going to enjoy. We can help to prepare your business plan and cash-flow projections or maybe just have a general chat to make sure that you have considered everything including the potential tax liabilities!

Step 2: What's the best way to set up my business?

You need to consider the business vehicle that is best for you - sole trader, partnership, LLP or limited company. There are significant differences in the way that they are taxed. It’s possible to change from one to another but there could be tax implications and it’s much easier to make the right decision in the first place.

Step 3: Payroll, make sure you pay your employees on time and correctly 

Payroll can be a major headache. Over the last 10 years, the administration of a payroll has become quite a complex exercise with the significant legal and tax regulations. As with any of the accounting, you might wish for this part of the function to be outsourced.

Step 4: VAT, be confident you comply with the regulation

Some of the many VAT pitfalls (and opportunities) can be discussed right from the start. You’ll soon learn that HMRC VAT is one to keep on your side - penalties loom for every mistake. We can guide you through the maze.

Step 5: Registration

The registration procedures with Companies House and HM Revenue and Customs and company secretarial is about as exciting as it sounds but think of the satisfaction of knowing that it has been done correctly!

Step 6: Take control of cash flow

Your finance requirements need to be assessed as the early stages of a business can seem like a bottomless pit for expenses while you wait for your debtors to pay you. It’s a disaster to fail for cash flow reasons alone.

Step 7: Choose your software

The right software package is important. It needs to be the best product for the business. You may wish to opt for the cloud accounting versions which allow you (and us, if required) to access the accounting records on a real-time basis.

How we can help?

At Quest Duthoit we have had the pleasure of helping many businesses get off to the best possible start. Setting up a business can feel a little overwhelming at the beginning but once you have an action plan and tick off the list of must-dos then there will be no stopping you succeed.

Chat with a team member today!

What is Making Tax Digital?

By Ines Curtis • January 19, 2018

Making Tax Digital is a bold step forward with the ambition to make the HMRC’s the most digitally advanced administration in the world! The goal of Making Tax Digital is to make the tax process more effective, efficient and easier for taxpayers to get their tax right.

For us to take this step forward into the world of digital tax there are a few key changes businesses need be across to ensure they comply with the regulation.  

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