As almost 1 in 5 new businesses are failing, it’s clear that businesses need to take further precautions to ensure that they are running effectively. Luckily, we’re here to help. In this handy cheat sheet, we’ll give you some of our top tips for both starting and running a business. Keep reading to learn more and boost your chances of success!
Starting Your Business Right
The key to running a business right is all in the foundation. If you start your business right, it will be much easier for you to reach and maintain success. Here are our main tips for starting your business effectively.
Appoint Directors & Secretaries
You will need to appoint any directors and secretaries before you are able to register your company, as you need these details to submit your registration. Directors are appointed to watch over the business. They are responsible for making sure that your company is complying with all legal requirements, as well as being transparent about any transactions or shareholders. They also have a duty of care towards customers and employees, so they should be held accountable if there has been a breach.
Secretaries help manage your data and ensure that you are compliant with all legal and financial regulations. Though many companies choose to have a secretary, you do not require one to register a business in the UK. If you do have one, you will need their information before you can register your company.
Register Your Business
Let’s start with the basics. Before you start trading, it is vital that you register your company. This can be done in minutes with just a few easy steps. You will need to gather some specific information before you start, such as your business name, director details etc.
Set Up Business Insurance
When starting a business, it’s important to understand business insurance. Business insurance can help you to manage the risks of running your business. When registering or starting a company, it’s important that we think about what could happen and how to best protect ourselves against those possibilities with limited resources available! Getting an appropriate policy is the best way to protect yourself both personally as well professionally.
Register for VAT
For any business it is important to register for VAT. If you are running a business in the UK, you will likely need to pay VAT – this is a sales tax on your products. If you aren’t registered for VAT it means that every time someone buys one of your products, you won’t be able to reclaim the sales tax that was taken off of their purchase which can really hurt your business.
In order to avoid this, you should register for a VAT number as soon as possible. Doing so is free and only takes a few minutes.
Running Your Business Right
If you’ve started your business effectively, it should be easy to run your business right. Keep reading to discover the rest of our top business-running tips!
File Your Accounts like a Pro
Though it is one of the basics, effective account filing is important for businesses of all types. Filing starts with an accurate initial setup and carries through to regular updates. When accounts are not filed properly or on time, it can lead to fines or penalties that can sometimes be costly. Nobody wants to deal with the headache of fixing errors on their own business’s paperwork, which makes creating a filing system and keeping it up to date the best way to ensure accuracy from the start.
Properly maintained records not only help with accurate bookkeeping, but they also allow a business owner or manager to keep an eye on spending trends in their business over time. This allows them to make more informed business decisions and hopefully avoid costly missteps that result from a lack of information. Proper records also provide a company with a sense of security, making it easier for managers and other decision-makers to move forward with their work knowing that they have accurate documentation in case something goes wrong or causes issues later on.
Implement a Marketing Strategy
A great marketing strategy is essential in any business. It is vital to have even a basic marketing strategy in place because it will ensure that you are able to find customers, reach your target market, and increase sales. A marketing strategy establishes your brand, sets goals for growing your company, demonstrates how you will meet those goals, and allows for evaluation of those goals.
Great marketing strategies will also allow you to keep up with current marketing trends and incorporate them into your business decisions.
Whether you do your marketing in-house, or employ an outsourced marketing consultant, ensuring that you have a marketing plan in place should be a priority for any business looking to grow and will help you to run your business effectively.
Update Companies House
It’s important for companies to keep their Companies House information up-to-date. This is because it prevents problems with HMRC who rely on this data when they’re trying to collect tax revenue. It’s also important because the business will struggle to continue its operation with inaccurate details listed.
It’s always important to keep records up-to-date but it becomes even more urgent when you’ve had a change; for example, if the business has changed its name or address, if there is a new company director or if someone is buying shares in the business. These changes will require an update to be made to the record, with updates made in several stages.
Not all changes will require an update but it is important to tell Companies House about any relevant changes so they can be recorded correctly. For example, if someone leaves or joins or if you’ve changed company directors or if you are taking on new shareholders.
Next Steps
Now that we’ve offered you the cheats you’ll need, it’s time to get started! We hope our tips have helped!
