Ok , I have now decided what path I want to head in now and im gonna stay at work and start the company up working evenings and weekend ect until it takes off. Its gonna be an internet based company but i will need e-commerce for people to place orders online.Its a simple idea selling part that i already sell now so i already have all the tools and knowledge and suppliers needed. ( dunno why i didnt think of it b4 !! )

 

Please can someone advise me firstly , How i go about setting the company up?? I dont mean online as yet but with companies house etc etc and what i need to do ??

 

Also Any advice on setting up a website with E-commerce very much appreciuated as this is the next step.

 

Thanks

Karl

Please can someone advise me firstly , How i go about setting the company up?? I dont mean online as yet but with companies house etc etc and what i need to do ??

 

Also Any advice on setting up a website with E-commerce very much appreciuated as this is the next step.

 

Thanks

Karl

 

You can use a formation agent to make things easy or take a look at the Companies House web site.

 

HTH

 

Steve :)

You can use a formation agent to make things easy or take a look at the Companies House web site.

 

HTH

 

Steve :)

 

What is this formation agent bud and where do i find one ??

 

Karl

What is this formation agent bud and where do i find one ??

 

Karl

 

I don't know the ins and outs of the business you're considering, but if it's payment in advance (eg. straightforward supply of goods) why don't you start up as a sole trader then look at limited liability if and when you decide whether the business is viable?

 

It reduces your initial costs and lets you experiment a little before you're fully committed.

 

All the best with it!

 

Rich

What is this formation agent bud and where do i find one ??

 

Karl

 

Just Google for "company formation agents". Agree with Rich though, don't go Limited immediately unless you really need to

 

CheerZ

 

Steve :)

Karl,

 

Good luck with your new venture! I did the same several years ago and wouldn't have it any other way now. It is an awful lot of hard work and long, unsociable hours to turn an idea into a profitable business but in my opinion it is well worth the work and frustration. Here is my 2p worth for you to consider.

 

1. Make sure you start this new venture with the complete backing of your other half/partner/wife/etc. New businesses will put any relationship under strain and if the partner doesn't fully understand what the goals are and/or support your venture then any relationship can turn sour very quickly.

 

2. Company form: You need to decide whether you wish to set your company up as a Sole Trader or a Limited Company. The Companies House website will explain the exact details of both forms but here is my condensed summary. As a sole trader you personally are the business. Amongst other things that means that any creditor can claim on any of your personal assets such as your house, car, household items etc - you are personally responsible for the business debt. You do not have account disclosure/reporting obligations - ie you don't have to file your annual accounts with Companies House. As a Limited company your personal assets are protected from creditors. You have to set this form of company up and register it with Companies House which costs a certain amount of money. You will also require two individuals to be recorded as company secretary and company director. You have an annual reporting duty to Companies House. You can also form what is known as a limited partnership which is a mixture of the two above. To set up as a sole trader all you need to do is inform the Inland Revenue and fill in a few forms. You'll be doing Self Assessments every year thereafter though ... To set up a Limited company or limited partnership you can enlist the services of a Formation Agent. These companies specialise in setting up new businesses and often have off-the-shelve companies ready to be bought. That's sort of like saying "here's one we prepared earlier!" and can speed the formation process up considerably. It will probably cost anywhere between £300 and £1000 for the services of a formation agent but it is well worth it as they take out all the hassle of dealing with Companies House and various solicitors. Have a look through the yellow pages for formation agents near you.

 

3. Banking: I highly recommend you open a business account with a bank. This will allow you to keep your business banking separate from your private banking - very important.

 

4. E-commerce: First of all you'll need to apply for an Internet Merchant Account (IMA) to accept online payments. In addition to that you will also require a contract with card processing company to actually process the payments. I'm just going through this process for DTA-Motorsport and can tell you that it is an expensive exercise. Not only do you need to pay setup costs to both the Merchant Bank and the Card processing company, you also have to pay a certain percentage per transaction and a monthly premium. Software wise there are many professional packages out there so do some research to find which one suits your business best. I'm integrating a shopping cart feature and the payment processing is done through the secure server of the card processing company. That way I will never be holding any sensitive data. You will also need to device policies for data protection, payment processing, refunds, shipping, and ordering - this information is not only mandatory on your website but the bank will also require you to provide this info when you apply for the Internet Merchant Account.

 

5. Once you've got your company format sorted, built your e-commerce website, obtained an IMA and card processing company you're nearly ready to start selling goods. I don't know what it is that you'll be selling but postage can get very expensive. Initially you may want to use Royal Mail exclusively for shipping your products but once the volume starts going up you may want to enlist the services of a reputable courier service. Most will require you to have a minimum weekly spend but the benifits far outweigh the hassles of Royal Mail shipping - trust me!

 

I'm sure there are many more things to accomplish before you start selling online but the above are what I found to be most crucial in setting up my online businesses.

 

Be prepared for hard work and manage your time effectively - I started out working 7 days a week 18 hours per day on my businesses and that slowly started to cause my wife a lot of resentment (eventhough I had her full support). I now try and only work during business hours (although I frequently do admin tasks in the evening) and try not to work during the weekend and spend that time with her. That balance was very difficult to work at the beginning but it is ever so important.

 

OK - I've rambled on for far too long now. If you have any further questions just give me a call and I'd be happy to share my experiences with you.

 

All the best mate!

 

Dan

On the subject of online trading, I didn't set up a mechant account I just used a secure web server to download transaction details from and run them through streamline - this function is available from most software packages and is much cheaper than getting a merchant account. Only trouble may be getting the streamline (although HSBC are particularly easy to get one from if you are 'careful with the truth'!!)

 

Rich

Karl,

 

Good luck with your new venture! I did the same several years ago and wouldn't have it any other way now. It is an awful lot of hard work and long, unsociable hours to turn an idea into a profitable business but in my opinion it is well worth the work and frustration. Here is my 2p worth for you to consider.

 

1. Make sure you start this new venture with the complete backing of your other half/partner/wife/etc. New businesses will put any relationship under strain and if the partner doesn't fully understand what the goals are and/or support your venture then any relationship can turn sour very quickly.

 

2. Company form: You need to decide whether you wish to set your company up as a Sole Trader or a Limited Company. The Companies House website will explain the exact details of both forms but here is my condensed summary. As a sole trader you personally are the business. Amongst other things that means that any creditor can claim on any of your personal assets such as your house, car, household items etc - you are personally responsible for the business debt. You do not have account disclosure/reporting obligations - ie you don't have to file your annual accounts with Companies House. As a Limited company your personal assets are protected from creditors. You have to set this form of company up and register it with Companies House which costs a certain amount of money. You will also require two individuals to be recorded as company secretary and company director. You have an annual reporting duty to Companies House. You can also form what is known as a limited partnership which is a mixture of the two above. To set up as a sole trader all you need to do is inform the Inland Revenue and fill in a few forms. You'll be doing Self Assessments every year thereafter though ... To set up a Limited company or limited partnership you can enlist the services of a Formation Agent. These companies specialise in setting up new businesses and often have off-the-shelve companies ready to be bought. That's sort of like saying "here's one we prepared earlier!" and can speed the formation process up considerably. It will probably cost anywhere between £300 and £1000 for the services of a formation agent but it is well worth it as they take out all the hassle of dealing with Companies House and various solicitors. Have a look through the yellow pages for formation agents near you.

 

3. Banking: I highly recommend you open a business account with a bank. This will allow you to keep your business banking separate from your private banking - very important.

 

4. E-commerce: First of all you'll need to apply for an Internet Merchant Account (IMA) to accept online payments. In addition to that you will also require a contract with card processing company to actually process the payments. I'm just going through this process for DTA-Motorsport and can tell you that it is an expensive exercise. Not only do you need to pay setup costs to both the Merchant Bank and the Card processing company, you also have to pay a certain percentage per transaction and a monthly premium. Software wise there are many professional packages out there so do some research to find which one suits your business best. I'm integrating a shopping cart feature and the payment processing is done through the secure server of the card processing company. That way I will never be holding any sensitive data. You will also need to device policies for data protection, payment processing, refunds, shipping, and ordering - this information is not only mandatory on your website but the bank will also require you to provide this info when you apply for the Internet Merchant Account.

 

5. Once you've got your company format sorted, built your e-commerce website, obtained an IMA and card processing company you're nearly ready to start selling goods. I don't know what it is that you'll be selling but postage can get very expensive. Initially you may want to use Royal Mail exclusively for shipping your products but once the volume starts going up you may want to enlist the services of a reputable courier service. Most will require you to have a minimum weekly spend but the benifits far outweigh the hassles of Royal Mail shipping - trust me!

 

I'm sure there are many more things to accomplish before you start selling online but the above are what I found to be most crucial in setting up my online businesses.

 

Be prepared for hard work and manage your time effectively - I started out working 7 days a week 18 hours per day on my businesses and that slowly started to cause my wife a lot of resentment (eventhough I had her full support). I now try and only work during business hours (although I frequently do admin tasks in the evening) and try not to work during the weekend and spend that time with her. That balance was very difficult to work at the beginning but it is ever so important.

 

OK - I've rambled on for far too long now. If you have any further questions just give me a call and I'd be happy to share my experiences with you.

 

All the best mate!

 

Dan

 

Cheers for the great advise danny, All seems good except for the way customers pay it seems. I know there are services like paypal out there that i could get people to pay by but they have to open an account that way , Is there any other easier way of people bein able to pay via their cards ??

Cheers for the great advise danny, All seems good except for the way customers pay it seems. I know there are services like paypal out there that i could get people to pay by but they have to open an account that way , Is there any other easier way of people bein able to pay via their cards ??

 

The paypal account creation is'nt really an issue, since they fill in the purchase form (address, card details..etc) is the same was as normal and it just automatically creates it. However its may not be the most professional method (in some buyers mind) of accepting payment becuase of the strong association between PayPal and Ebay.

 

There are companies that offer online Merchant trading - Take a look at http://Http://www.worldpay.com

 

Unfortunatly, THere is quite a mindfield of information to get through to setup online Payments.

have a look at http://www.securehosting.com/ as well

have used them quite a lot and their packages are pretty good!

 

they also do card capture transactions as well so your orders can be processed offline using an epos machine (same as you would do over the phone) - this means you dont have any percentage or other charges that most places take when they do the online processing!!

The paypal account creation is'nt really an issue, since they fill in the purchase form (address, card details..etc) is the same was as normal and it just automatically creates it. However its may not be the most professional method (in some buyers mind) of accepting payment becuase of the strong association between PayPal and Ebay.

 

There are companies that offer online Merchant trading - Take a look at http://Http://www.worldpay.com

 

Unfortunatly, THere is quite a mindfield of information to get through to setup online Payments.

 

cheers dave , that just thie thing i was look for really.

 

karl

Remember that if you have a totally online based company, you need to have a very, very good website. It has to look professional and have to be easy to use and browse around on. The website is all the customers will see, so they will build their trust to your company through your website. I would recommend you to hire a professional web design company to build you the website, and make sure it’s easy to add and change all the texts, as you will probably need to do that now and then. Don’t use a ready template, if someone sees you using the same design as another company they will get a quite cheap impression about your company. This is atleast what I think. Good luck :)

 

Ken

Thats top advice from Danny, dont underestimate the ammount of time it will take either, when i started my mini porn emporium it was taking up all my free time. I was going to work, sitting infornt od a pc all day, then driving home and then sitting infornt of a pc again all night.. it just took up too much time and as I earn a fair wedge from my day to day job, i would have had to be shipping alot of dildos to even contemplate jacking my job in, so not having enough time meant it was game over. It was ok though, i learned a fair bit and might have another crack in the future.

As for the website, I actually hired a ready built e-shop and that took enough time to upload all the pics and stuff so i'd hate to do one from scratch. You still had to know a bit about html aswell when setting up rules for the e-shop. Like if youre selling different variants of the same item at different prices you need make sure the right price drops into the basket depending on the variant picked.. a right ball ache, very time cosuming.

 

All the best any way fella!!!

Thats top advice from Danny, dont underestimate the ammount of time it will take either, when i started my mini porn emporium it was taking up all my free time. I was going to work, sitting infornt od a pc all day, then driving home and then sitting infornt of a pc again all night.. it just took up too much time and as I earn a fair wedge from my day to day job, i would have had to be shipping alot of dildos to even contemplate jacking my job in, so not having enough time meant it was game over. It was ok though, i learned a fair bit and might have another crack in the future.

As for the website, I actually hired a ready built e-shop and that took enough time to upload all the pics and stuff so i'd hate to do one from scratch. You still had to know a bit about html aswell when setting up rules for the e-shop. Like if youre selling different variants of the same item at different prices you need make sure the right price drops into the basket depending on the variant picked.. a right ball ache, very time cosuming.

 

All the best any way fella!!!

 

 

where can i find more about ready built e shops bud ?

good luck karlos,im to designing a site at the mo,not doing to great so might pay david legrath to do it for me :rofl:

i used these buggers

 

http://order.1and1.co.uk/xml/order;jsessionid=6580468E9FAD76A7A9C05D74AB6A6791.TC31a

GOOD LUCK MATE.

 

DONT GO LTD!!!!!! NOT YET ITS A NIGHTMARE GO SOLE TRADER

IF YOU GO INTO ANY TAX OFFICE THEY CAN SET MOST THINGS UP FOR YOU AND THEY WILL GIVE YOU LOTS OF HELP !!!

YOU WILL NEED TO GET A N.I. STAMP THEY SET THAT UP FOR YOU.

P.S THIS WILL BE THE ONLY TIME THE INLAND REV WILL HELP THEN THEY ROB YOU BLIND :rofl: :rofl:

 

IF YOU NEED ANY HELP GIVE ME A BUB GIVE ME A RING 07879680606 JACK