What do you think?

[newbie_soletrader]

Hi All,
i am hoping to start my (small) ebusiness soon, with my own website.
I will start out very small, with an ivestment ~ £300-400.

I am hoping to import some stuff from Asia, and market and sell it online.

Would really appreciate some thoughts on these:

Considering my low initial investment,

1. Do i need a business account?
I was thinking of using a separate personal account insted of business account? - but I suspect are there charges per transaction?

2. Will I need to hire an accountant?
Seeing as my business is small (rolling out in phases depending on outcome) could my accounts be manageable without help?
paypal pays into additional account?

3. In full time employed currently, and intend to be that way.
Business is something I want to do in my spare time.

intend to use paypal as sole payment means - they now offer card payment acceptance too.

Cheers if you can help!

[Eagle]

1. Do i need a business account? I was thinking of using a separate personal account insted of business account? - but I suspect are there charges per transaction?

HMRC don't care but your accountant and, more importantly, your Bank will!

2. Will I need to hire an accountant?
Seeing as my business is small (rolling out in phases depending on outcome) could my accounts be manageable without help?
paypal pays into additional account?

You probably won't need to initially but it's best practice to get one on your side and working to reduce your outgoings.

3. In full time employed currently, and intend to be that way.
Business is something I want to do in my spare time.

intend to use paypal as sole payment means - they now offer card payment acceptance too.

No reason why not, although do consider offering Cheque and BACS options too.

Good luck.

[corporatefin]

Try to keep your expenses to a minimum, that is the best advice I can give you. Think once or twice before you buy services from others, that you might not need, especially if it is a fixed expense. Good luck with your business.

[Barry]

There are deals out there for sole traders like yourself having free banking for a year. Take a look around.

If your using Paypal then it means your only expenses really will be paypal expenses - just take one lump sum out into your bank account a month - only one transaction.

You can use your paypal statement for accounting purposes.

Ta

Baz

[NeilMowat]

If you are using PayPal to take payments and you sign up with their Website Payments Standard with a Premier PayPal Account (rather than a PayPal Business Account) then you can link that to your Current bank account rather than open a Merchant Banking Account. It remains to be seen if, as Eagle says, your bank gets upset about this arrangement though.

[richard tj]

A business account is a must. It helps ensure your finances are all tied up correctly. You ought to get an accountant as it makes it a hell of a lot easier when dealing with the inland revenue (now customs and excise)- the number of forms can be a little overwhelming. Paypal is a great way to accept card payments, however it's only best to use if you've got the ame stock in all the time!. You'll need to look into marketing as well, otherwise no-one will ever see your website.

[coe114c]

If you are a sole trader you may not need an accountant (they cost a lot more than you save!) I would recommend going to the free training sessions that the HMRC offer and you can keep your records on a spreadsheet. Obviously if you become limited you will have to have one. Or if you really can't do it a bookkeeper would be a lot cheaper.

[Punched]

1. Do i need a business account?
As long as you have a seperate account to keep your business earnings seperate from your private earnings, then the only difference is with a personal account you won't be paying bank charges. There is no law to state that a business "Must" Have a Business Bank account.

But you must be able to show HMRC your total income, be it in a Super Business Bank account or Mrs Piggy's saving bank.

2. Will I need to hire an accountant?
Not Yet, and you probably won't until your business turns over a sizable amount of money. Its a myth that people "Need" Accountants when starting up. Save your money!! As long as you keep pretty reasonable accounts yourself of your business in comings and outgoings, i think that will suffice, I think if your earnings are expected to be below £10,000 a year, then its not really cost effective to hire an accountant.

3. In full time employed currently, and intend to be that way.
Thats how the majority of small businesses start, Keep it that way if it works for you and don't be put off if it don't work out for a while, Sometimes it takes more than a few months to get established, and having your main job will help you set this one up correctly. Plan it and build it up over the course of 12 months and then sit back and look at how you've done, and if there can be any improvements. I know quite a few friends who have full time jobs and still run a business on a part time basis

Good Luck

[arrowsplace]

• Pay Pal take a high percentage of your money would look about for others as with every thing.

• As for an accountant as long as you keep all of your receipts you can probably get away with doing a tax return on line.

• Watch out for counterfeit items from Asia

[mohsin]

You do not need an accountant as you are starting off a small business. Just keep a record of all your expenses and income that will simplify things for you. Moreover, running a part time business is not an easy job but it is not impossible. You just need to take care of time management. And yes now a days a the market for every business is becoming a red ocean, it might take some time for you to get established.
Just keep your self updated with the market situation. You can also visit smallbusinessdirdotcom concerning more help. It works for me hope it works for you too.