Start Up Businesses

Types of Business

Sole Traders

Trading at its most straightforward. You can start immediately with little fuss or paperwork and is popular with those in business for the first time, but you bear the full cost and risks of the business and this can be an issue. Taxation is simple with rules for opening and closing tax years; your accounts are straightforward and do not become public information.

Partnerships & Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs)

The partnership has long been favoured where like-minded individuals work to a common goal and is easy to start or discontinue. Partners are taxed on their agreed share of profits under income tax rules with specific rules for the first and last years. The tax effect is not always the most efficient but is simple and readily understood.

The partnership imposes full liability for business risks on the partners - including the family home. In October 2001 a new form of legal entity came into being - the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), It combines the limited liability of the company structure, with the ease and simplicity of personal tax rules. For those wishing to stay in a partnership this has become very popular. The LLP has to file accounts at Companies House whereas a normal partnership doesn't; some financial information therefore becomes public record

The Limited Company

The limited company is a legal entity formed at Company's House, owned by shareholders and managed by Directors. These people can be one and the same. It needs a Company Secretary and a Registered Office, which we generally undertake. The layout of the annual accounts is formally structured and different to partnerships and sole-traders. The limited company is highly tax-efficient such that we strongly encourage even small enterprises to trade through this type of business structure.