Could you be your own boss?

Had enough in your current job? Want to go it alone? Do you have a great idea? We all dream about breaking free from our 9 to 5 jobs and find joy and self-fulfillment by being our own boss. But is that really enough? I don’t think so.


Unlimited working hours, NO holidays and even less money than before is a real prospect for start ups.


Are you motivated? 


Run your own business and 9 to 5 is not an option, certainly not in the beginning. It is not enough just to want to escape that boring job or unfair boss, you need to be committed to your business and to earning enough money to support yourself and your family.


Can you work hard enough? 


You think your boss was hard on you, then know this, you will have to be even harder on yourself. You can not switch of from work, you will need to network 24/7. In fact sometimes I cannot sleep, I am so deep in planning mode. Which brings me to…..


Do you have your families support? 


They need to understand that their security depends on your success. Going it alone is a big step, going it without your families support or your friends would be too big a step, trust me.


Are you focused and self-reliant? 


You will work alone, you will have to make all the decisions yourself. And believe me when I say, that a bigger company does not make it easier, the buck always stops with you. Don’t think being a CEO is the greatest job in the world, no you get to do all the stuff nobody else did or messed up. It can get very lonely at times. With all these problems and decisions you have to stay focused on your goal.


If you are still reading this, then what are you waiting for? 


Here are some  things you need to think about before committing yourself:

• You need to get enough money to last for minimum double the time you think, without income.
• Make a plan for yourself and read it on a monthly basis, you’ll be surprised.
• Find a suitable business structure, limited company, partnership, sole trader, etc.
• Most importantly find an good accountant, and get him / her to play with you.
• Think about your product or service, talk to potential customers and test the water.

Then go and have some fun living your life by the rules of your new boss - YOUR CLIENTS!

Companies House Round Up - October 2009

Annual Returns

An Annual Return is a return you have to complete and submit to Companies House every year. There is a filing fee to pay to Companies House when the Return is submitted. If you submit the return by post the fee is £30, and payable by cheque. If you submit the form online the fee is £15, payable by credit card.

The Annual Return confirms the Registered Office address of the company, the names of Directors, the name of the Company Secretary, and the name of the Shareholders of the company and their Shareholdings and the addresses of each of these.

I have an account with Companies House to make payment of the fee quick and easy and will complete and submit your Annual Return free of charge. However I require reimbursement of the online filing fee of £15 before submitting the return.

Before the Annual Return is due, Companies House will send you a reminder that it is due. When you receive the reminder you forward it to me, together with a cheque for £15 payable to "John Pointon". When I have received the filing fee I will complete and submit the Annual Return. Receipt of your payment will act as my authority to complete and submit the Annual Return on your behalf.

The Annual Return is an important document. Failure to submit the Return will result in Companies House

taking action to close your company and strike it from the company register.

Your Annual Return date is the anniversary of the date your company was formed. 

Directors Home/Service Address

From 1st October 2009 Companies House are changing the way Directors home addresses are stored.

At present Companies House keep only one address for each Director, their usual residential home address.

Any person performing a search on a company can therefore obtain a Director's home address. This is neither safe nor private. Therefore from 01 October 2009 Companies House will allow every Director to nominate a service address as their address on public view.

The service address will be public information, and the residential address will become protected information. A Director can choose any address as the service address including the Registered Office address of the company.

The address must be where documents can be delivered if required. The address can not be a PO Box or a DX number. 

If the Director chooses to use his residential address as the service address the fact that the two addresses are the same would not be apparent from the public record.

The residential address will only be available to prescribed regulatory authorities such as the police and HMRC, and it may also be made available to Credit Reference Agencies.

I believe this is a positive move and advise clients to nominate a service address which is not their home address.

The only issue to overcome is that from 01 October 2009 the service address will automatically be the residential address. Therefore you will have to submit your chosen service address to Companies House for them to make the change.

I can make the change for you for a fee of £15 per company. If you are a Director of more than one company the fee will be £15 per company.

Should you use my office address this will not affect the address to which your customers and suppliers send invoices and payments. The only official body which sends correspondence to your Registered Office address is Companies House.

Submission Date for Annual Accounts

Companies House have reduced the submission deadline for limited company accounts from 10 months after the year end date to 9 months after the year end date.

Failure to submit the accounts by the due date will result in the company receiving a late filing penalty from Companies House. 

Such penalties start at £150 but rapidly increase the longer after the due date the accounts are submitted. If you submit accounts late for two years running the penalty will be doubled.

To ensure your accounts are submitted before the due date it is important to ensure you allow enough time

to prepare them.