Settign up a Business
Discussion
Some advice on the above please!
My old man is setting up a small transport/delivery/courier business but would like to know the best way of doing it.
He is booked to see an accountant however is very wary and would like some more (anonymous) knowledge on how to do this.
What is needed?
What up front costs are there?
What can be discounted for tax reasons? I.e. Costs of transporters/vehicles etc
Any help gratefully received.
My old man is setting up a small transport/delivery/courier business but would like to know the best way of doing it.
He is booked to see an accountant however is very wary and would like some more (anonymous) knowledge on how to do this.
What is needed?
What up front costs are there?
What can be discounted for tax reasons? I.e. Costs of transporters/vehicles etc
Any help gratefully received.
RobbieL said:
Some advice on the above please!
My old man is setting up a small transport/delivery/courier business but would like to know the best way of doing it.
He is booked to see an accountant however is very wary and would like some more (anonymous) knowledge on how to do this.
What is needed?
What up front costs are there?
What can be discounted for tax reasons? I.e. Costs of transporters/vehicles etc
Any help gratefully received.
Do you have any experience in this field?My old man is setting up a small transport/delivery/courier business but would like to know the best way of doing it.
He is booked to see an accountant however is very wary and would like some more (anonymous) knowledge on how to do this.
What is needed?
What up front costs are there?
What can be discounted for tax reasons? I.e. Costs of transporters/vehicles etc
Any help gratefully received.
I'd have another think if you don't.
Without meaning to sound too negative, it seems like an expensive gamble to me.
More info needed me thinks.
Good luck either way!
Sorry I should clarify a bit, it is only going to be a very very small and bespoke business - basically to earn his beer tokens and get him out the house. A lot of family and friends have regular need for someone to do this and have been paying big bucks which they would rather see go to my old man and who will do it for a lot less.
He took early retirement but is now beginning to get restless as a result. We already have 2 car trailers, a van and a 7.5t wagon from various exploits into car racing which he hopes to put to use.
At the minute he has been doing odd jobs/deliveries as favours but now wishes to make a bit of a business about it. He's not out to compete with the big boys, as I said earlier it's more to keep him occupied!!
He has no idea how to go about it legitimately and is (rightly or wrongly) very wary about the professional advice he has been given - which was to set up a Limited company?
He took early retirement but is now beginning to get restless as a result. We already have 2 car trailers, a van and a 7.5t wagon from various exploits into car racing which he hopes to put to use.
At the minute he has been doing odd jobs/deliveries as favours but now wishes to make a bit of a business about it. He's not out to compete with the big boys, as I said earlier it's more to keep him occupied!!
He has no idea how to go about it legitimately and is (rightly or wrongly) very wary about the professional advice he has been given - which was to set up a Limited company?
RobbieL said:
Sorry I should clarify a bit, it is only going to be a very very small and bespoke business - basically to earn his beer tokens and get him out the house. A lot of family and friends have regular need for someone to do this and have been paying big bucks which they would rather see go to my old man and who will do it for a lot less.
He took early retirement but is now beginning to get restless as a result. We already have 2 car trailers, a van and a 7.5t wagon from various exploits into car racing which he hopes to put to use.
At the minute he has been doing odd jobs/deliveries as favours but now wishes to make a bit of a business about it. He's not out to compete with the big boys, as I said earlier it's more to keep him occupied!!
He has no idea how to go about it legitimately and is (rightly or wrongly) very wary about the professional advice he has been given - which was to set up a Limited company?
What sort of income do you think he will be making from this venture? I think that is the important part with regards to whether to go Ltd or not.He took early retirement but is now beginning to get restless as a result. We already have 2 car trailers, a van and a 7.5t wagon from various exploits into car racing which he hopes to put to use.
At the minute he has been doing odd jobs/deliveries as favours but now wishes to make a bit of a business about it. He's not out to compete with the big boys, as I said earlier it's more to keep him occupied!!
He has no idea how to go about it legitimately and is (rightly or wrongly) very wary about the professional advice he has been given - which was to set up a Limited company?
I don't see why you need anything, given you have the van etc.
If your clients will be friends and known persons, no need for a credit card machine or anything fancy.
Just a good insurance policy (which may be where the ltd advice is coming from- others will be along to answer that one). And a sat nav
Sounds like a nice little earner.
From a legal perspective (and ignoring the usual ltd vs sole trader arguments) the key would be to make it clear to customers what he is being contracted to do, how much and when he's getting paid, and what happens if there is a f
k up. All easily obtainable from competitors' terms and conditions (but nicking them and pretending they're your own is a breach of copyright 
).
Make sure he is properly covered insurance-wise, and then suck it and see.
And if you think instructing accountants is expensive, you should see how much it can cost when you don't instruct them to do things properly! All a question of risk - if you don't get professionals in, then don't cry when it goes wrong and gets expensive.
k up. All easily obtainable from competitors' terms and conditions (but nicking them and pretending they're your own is a breach of copyright ).Make sure he is properly covered insurance-wise, and then suck it and see.
And if you think instructing accountants is expensive, you should see how much it can cost when you don't instruct them to do things properly! All a question of risk - if you don't get professionals in, then don't cry when it goes wrong and gets expensive.
Expedition is very tight competition business model. You can use network of those currently established and petitioning your company as marketing agent. It will need huge budget and took too long time if you have set-up your network such as disseminating agents in the whole region.
The most important thing in this business is you need strong marketing personnel. You have to muscle in on market currently your competitors are already there.
At least from my experience, a customer point of view, competitive price and service such as punctuality to pick up the cargo and delivery, are important, but the most important thing is that staffing for qualified personals, qualified in term of possessing strong motivation and qualified for their attractiveness to make clients being interested in.
The most important thing in this business is you need strong marketing personnel. You have to muscle in on market currently your competitors are already there.
At least from my experience, a customer point of view, competitive price and service such as punctuality to pick up the cargo and delivery, are important, but the most important thing is that staffing for qualified personals, qualified in term of possessing strong motivation and qualified for their attractiveness to make clients being interested in.
RobbieL said:
Some advice on the above please!
My old man is setting up a small transport/delivery/courier business but would like to know the best way of doing it.
He is booked to see an accountant however is very wary and would like some more (anonymous) knowledge on how to do this.
What is needed?
What up front costs are there?
What can be discounted for tax reasons? I.e. Costs of transporters/vehicles etc
Any help gratefully received.
If he expects the business to be at a very low level, I do not think operating through a limited company would be worthwhile. The additional costs and bureauocracy involved would be excessive for the size of the operation.My old man is setting up a small transport/delivery/courier business but would like to know the best way of doing it.
He is booked to see an accountant however is very wary and would like some more (anonymous) knowledge on how to do this.
What is needed?
What up front costs are there?
What can be discounted for tax reasons? I.e. Costs of transporters/vehicles etc
Any help gratefully received.
Up front costs depend on the assets and fees he needs to pay for at commencement. It seems that he may already have the most important asset (his van) so I do not think that there would be much else needed - perhaps smaller items of general equipment and office equipmet/furniture.
What type of marketing does he envisage carrying out and how much does he expect to pay for this?
Any expense incurred "wholly and exclusively for the purpose of the trade" can be offset against his trading income for tax purposes. This would include normal day to day costs such as vehicle running expenses (fuel, repairs, road tax, insurance etc), stationery, equipment repairs, telephone costs, business insurances etc.
Items of equipment purchased (or introduced at the beginning of the business) can be claimed through the Capital Allowances regime. these are pretty generous at the moment - small traders can claim a 100% write off on up to £50,000 of Capital Costs in any trading year (motor cars - but not vans - are excluded from this scheme).
He needs to contact HMRC within three months of the commencement of trading. There is a £100 fine for late notification.
Accounting fees need not be prohibitive for dealing with a small sole-trader.
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