Many people have ideas for businesses but whether they are commercially viable is the big question.
Many people have ideas for businesses but whether they are commercially viable is the big question.
Doing the necessary groundwork before commencement is vital to give your enterprise a chance to succeed. This includes the following:
- Preparing a proper business plan which includes a financial forecast and a cash flow projection – this is a major step in the right direction. This will ascertain what capital is required at inception, what the on-going working capital requirement will be for say the first 18 to 24 months and whether there will be any borrowing requirements.
- Carrying out research into the possible market for your product/services and having an in depth look at what your competitors are doing.
- Carrying out business checks on your possible major customers and suppliers, to ensure that they are on a sound financial footing, are credit worthy and have a good track record.
- Ensuring that your goods/services are not in breach of copyright/trade mark laws.
- Putting a formal agreement in place such as a partnership agreement or a shareholders agreement if you are going into business with another party.
- If you are employing people ensuring that you are aware of the full employment law ramifications and that contracts of employment are put in place.
- Making a decision on what business entity you will use such as a sole trader, a partnership, a limited liability partnership or a company. Each business entity has its advantages and disadvantages and great care has to be taken in choosing the right entity for your business.
- Using the right software and cloud based systems to help control and manage your business is vitally important.
- Registering with HM Revenue and Customs and ensuring that you comply with all tax regulations.
We specialise in business startups and a number of our existing clients have successful businesses that we have been involved in since inception.
Latest news from [Company name]
The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has announced an expansion of the British Business Bank’s (BBB) Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS). This provides a 70% government guarantee on commercial loans to SMEs of up to £2 million, cutting credit risk.
The government is consulting on potential measures that target Electronic Sales Suppression (ESS). Proposals include the introduction of new software standards for Point of Sale systems. Electronic Sales Suppression (ESS) involves businesses using software or devices to manipulate Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) systems to hide transactions and evade tax.
The June 'UK Report on Jobs' shows subdued business confidence driving a preference for short-term staff. Temporary staff billings rose at the steepest rate in over three years, while permanent staff appointments continued to decline, although at a much slower pace than in May.
HMRC have proposed a new criminal offence for making reckless, untrue statements or declarations about what's known as 'direct taxes' - Income Tax, National Insurance and the like. For Customs and Excise and VAT ('indirect taxes'), it is already possible to prosecute individuals who make untrue statements or submit incorrect documents either knowingly or recklessly, without the need to prove dishonesty. The penalties for such offences can be severe, including substantial fines and imprisonment. The direct tax regime does not currently contain an equivalent offence.
A new Freedom of Information (FOI) request has discovered that health and safety violations cost British employers over £44 million per year. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that serious breaches have resulted in an increasing number of prosecutions between 2023 and 2025.
The government has published a response to its consultation 'Land Remediation Relief' (LRR). The review sought to understand whether the Corporation Tax relief continues to incentivise the redevelopment of brownfield land and whether reforms are needed to ensure it remains effective, accessible and aligned with modern remediation practices.
The government has published a raft of consultations on tax and business policies. It is worth being aware of these, as they are a good indicator of future policy direction likely to impact small businesses.
Employers may worry about the use of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA) following a series of press stories that have highlighted the abuse of the system.
