General information only — not personal advice.

Free starter

Before you take the leap

A free guide for people starting a UK business — or about to. Sit with the foundations first, then the key facts on structure, VAT, and Making Tax Digital. It is here so you know who we are before you need anyone.

Ou-Jue Cheng CA, Straxa Advisory

Foundations

Read each topic, sit with the questions, then mark it considered when you have.

01 · Foundation

Why start?

A business is a long commitment. Know what you are actually chasing.

Purpose beats a vague sense that you ‘should’ be your own boss.
If the value is lifestyle, income, or a problem you cannot leave alone — name it.
The leap is easier to take when you can say why you would still want this in three years.

Sit with these

Why this, and why now — not in a year?
What would make this worth the time, money, and risk?
What happens if it does not work? Can you absorb that?

02 · Foundation

Legalities

Understand the rules of your industry before you trade — not after the first invoice.

Some work needs a licence, a professional body, or a DBS check before you can legally offer it.
Consumer, data-protection, and health-and-safety duties often apply even as a one-person business.
Research first. Trading and sorting the paperwork later is how people get caught out.

Sit with these

Does this work need a licence, registration, or professional-body membership?
Have you read the rules that apply to how you will actually deliver the work?
Will you hold client personal data — and do you know what that requires?

03 · Foundation

Insurance

Cover the risks you cannot absorb. Trading without the right cover is a bet, not a plan.

What you need depends on how you work — not on a generic ‘business insurance’ label.
Public liability, professional indemnity, and employers’ liability (if you take on staff) are the usual starting points to research.
Insurers and contracts often ask for cover before you set foot on a client site.

Sit with these

If a client, visitor, or a piece of advice went wrong, what would you need cover for?
Do target clients require proof of insurance before they will engage you?
If you work from home, does your household policy actually cover business use?

04 · Foundation

Premises

Home, client sites, or an office — each has practical, insurance, and sometimes tax implications.

Working from home is common. Check the lease, mortgage, and insurance position before you assume it is fine.
If you go to clients’ offices or homes, think about travel, safety, and who is responsible on their site.
An office or studio is a cost. Know why you need it before you take it on.

Sit with these

Where will the work actually happen in the first six months?
If it is home-based, have you checked you are allowed to run the business from there?
If you visit clients, what do you need in place before you arrive?

05 · Foundation

Target market

If everyone is your customer, no one is. Name the first people you would actually sell to.

Identifying a market is harder than naming a product. Start with who has the problem, not with who you hope will pay.
First revenue usually comes from a narrow group you can reach — not from ‘the UK SME market’.
If you cannot describe a first ten conversations, the offer is still too broad.

Sit with these

Who, specifically, would pay for this in the first 90 days?
What problem are they trying to get off their plate?
How will they hear about you without a big marketing budget?

06 · Foundation

Business partner

Agree the trial, the split, and the exit before you start — not after it gets awkward.

Going solo is a choice. So is taking a friend in. Neither is automatically safer.
Profit share, decision rights, who puts in cash, and what happens if one person wants out belong in writing.
A time-boxed trial period is easier to agree now than to unwind later. This is not legal advice — a solicitor drafts the agreement.

Sit with these

Are you going all-in alone, or with someone else?
If there is a partner, have you agreed profit share, hours, and who decides?
What is the trial period — and what happens if it does not work?

Key facts

Dated general information. Always check GOV.UK for the current position.

07 · Key fact · As at September 2026

Sole trader vs limited company

They are different legal setups. Neither is automatically ‘better’.

A sole trader and the person are the same legal person: you register as self-employed with HMRC, keep records, and pay tax on the profits. Personal liability is unlimited.
A limited company is a separate legal person: you register at Companies House, file accounts and a confirmation statement, and the company pays Corporation Tax. Directors have duties. Liability is limited — it is not a free pass (personal guarantees and wrongful-trading rules still exist).
Admin, how you pay yourself, and the paperwork differ. The right fit depends on risk, profit, and how you want to run things — that is a conversation, not a slogan.

Sit with these

How much personal liability are you willing to carry?
Are you ready for the extra filings a company brings, or do you want the simpler sole-trader setup first?
Have you looked at how you would actually take money out (drawings vs salary/dividends)?

Set up a business (GOV.UK) · Working for yourself (GOV.UK) · Set up a limited company (GOV.UK)

08 · Key fact · As at September 2026

VAT threshold

UK VAT registration is currently £90,000 of taxable turnover — check GOV.UK, it does change.

As at September 2026, you must register if taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or if you expect it to go over that in the next 30 days.
That is a rolling 12 months, not the tax year. Voluntary registration is possible below the threshold.
The deregistration threshold is currently £88,000. Rates and schemes (standard, flat rate, and so on) are a separate decision once registration is in play.

Sit with these

Do you know how you will track taxable turnover each month from day one?
Could a single contract push you over the threshold in 30 days?
Have you thought about whether voluntary VAT registration would help or hinder your first customers?

09 · Key fact · As at September 2026

Making Tax Digital

VAT-registered businesses already use MTD for VAT. Sole traders and landlords are being brought into MTD for Income Tax in stages.

Making Tax Digital means keeping digital records and sending updates through compatible software — not a spreadsheet emailed to HMRC.
MTD for Income Tax is phasing in for self-employed people and landlords by qualifying income (gross turnover from self-employment and property, not profit). As at September 2026: 6 April 2026 if more than £50,000 (2024 to 2025 Self Assessment); 6 April 2027 if more than £30,000 (2025 to 2026 Self Assessment); 6 April 2028 if more than £20,000 (2026 to 2027 Self Assessment).
A limited company is a different tax regime (Corporation Tax, and MTD for VAT if VAT-registered). Do not assume the Income Tax timetable is the whole story.

Sit with these

How will you keep digital records from the first invoice — not a shoebox at year-end?
Have you looked at software that can keep records and, when required, talk to HMRC?
Do you know whether MTD for VAT, MTD for Income Tax, or both could apply to how you plan to trade?

When you need MTD for Income Tax (GOV.UK)

How we work

We enable you to run the business — and still have a life.

The usual offer is someone who takes the paperwork away. We work the other way: we enable you. That means learning the tools that actually help, keeping the admin light, staying focused on the business, and leaving room for enjoyment in your life. That is the philosophy.

We only work with people who want to do it this way. If what you need is someone to take a box of receipts and disappear, we are not a good fit — and it is better we say that now.

This guide is free so you can see that before we talk. If the next step is registering as self-employed or as a limited company, and this sounds like how you want to run things, fill in the enquiry form and tell us what you are planning.

Fill out the enquiry form