Sole trader . info wanted.

Xterminator

Hi,

I was thinking about setting up a company registered as a sole trader.

From reading sites linked in aprevious thread , I leearned i have to fill out form RBN1 and hand up €30 smakckers.

Has anyone here set up as sole trader ? Did you have any trouble with the banks giving you a checking acount.
How did you get on with the revenue commisioners?
When you but things, whats the story with getting the VAT back?

How do you get one of them VAT no's?
Did you open any accounts with wholesalers?

Any other things i need to know/look out for?

thanks

X

dahamsta

Has anyone here set up as sole trader ?

Yes.

Did you have any trouble with the banks giving you a checking acount.

Not particularly. Your account will be "YOUR NAME T/A COMPANY NAME", although of course you don't /have/ to trade under a company name.

How did you get on with the revenue commisioners?

Fine. They were quite good actually, a nice lady came and visited me at home. We had cake. Seriously, they may offer to come and visit you - this is a courtesy visit and shouldn't be worried about. They'll ask about what you're doing, and how you're going to to it, and they'll give you advice on how to manage your accounts and that. Listen to them. Then again, they may not visit you at all.

When you but things, whats the story with getting the VAT back?

You can only claim VAT back (which is a misnomer, you just balance it off the VAT you levy) if you register for VAT. See below for my comments on registering for VAT.

How do you get one of them VAT no's?

If you take my advice, you WON'T register for VAT unless it's absolutely necessary. "Necessary" is defined as the earnings figure over which you /have/ to register for VAT. (80p might be able to help with the figure, I couldn't be bothered my backside looking.) This was the first mistake in business I made, and it's been the bane of my life.

Did you open any accounts with wholesalers?

Yip, I registered for one, although I never used it. Your credit rating will have more to do with this than anything else. If you don't have one, you'll need to build it. At the start, it's likely you'll just get cash accounts, but you should be able to move to credit in time.

Any other things i need to know/look out for?

Lots. Get a good accountant, or if you can't afford one, keep your books religiously. Keep receipts for /everything/. Note down /everything/. Don't throw /anything/ away. There's lots more, but no doubt others will help.

adam

b20uvkft6m5xwg

Psoted by Xterminator:
How do you get one of them VAT no's?

www.revenue.ie I presume

Posted by Adam:
If you take my advice, you WON'T register for VAT unless it's absolutely necessary. "Necessary" is defined as the earnings figure over which you /have/ to register for VAT. (80p might be able to help with the figure, I couldn't be bothered my backside looking.) This was the first mistake in business I made, and it's been the bane of my life.

I'm presuming its compulsory you have to register for a VAT No.

Although, if you were to use the guidelines by the revenue for Audited Accounts (ie. only above £50,000 Turnover) then I'm sure there is no need to contact the revenue until your turnover goes over or near that amount [Dont hold me to that]

Also Xterminator...
Have you not considered setting up a Ltd. Company or a partnership- IMO the tax, liability issues far outweigh life as a sole trader !?

b20uvkft6m5xwg

Ok heres a VAT guide for small business from the Revenue site:
[this the HTML version of the pdf doc.]

http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:FnLaaMqwPHgC:www.revenue.ie/pdf/it49.pdf+VAT+for+Small+Businesses+Guide+&hl=en

Victor

When I registered last year the limits were IR£20,000 (services) and IR£40,000 (goods)