Advice for going self employed.

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Hi everyone, as the title says I'm looking at going self employed, I'm 31 and worked for 2 companies over the past 14 years so feel it's time for me to take control and be my own boss.

Naturally I'm little nervous about what to expect and my biggest worry is keeping the work coming in. Most people I've told have all given me positive feedback and said they'd throw work my way so that's a good start.

I'm going to give myself around 6 months to get everything sorted, some of the stuff I use like gas analyser, core drill etc is supplied by the company so I would need to get my own, I've currently got the sprint evo 2 which I like, would there be any benefit to upgrading to the evo 3 or pro?

What do you advise regarding vans? I've had mixed responses, get a cheap van that could spend more time off than on the road Or spend more with the hope that customers won't be an issue and the van will pay for itself.

I'm also concerned about my lack of servicing and repair experience, my back ground is predominantly boiler/heating and bathroom installations so when things have failed it's been manufacturers who have done the repairs, not myself.

There's probably loads of questions I could ask but is be writing all night, I would appreciate any advice you guys could give me, things you've learned since you set up, things you wish you'd done differently, any help would be great.

Many thanks
 
townfanjon said:
Give 100 % commitment on everything you do and you will be successful.

Work your arse off , but be clever also .

Dont moan when someone calls you on a Sunday.

Good luck .
Click to expand...

Thanks For the reply, to be fair I get called most weekends anyway, the construction firm I work for only has one plumber (me) so I'm always offered overtime and callouts etc. I'm certainly not work shy.
 
Going SE means working 7 days a week .... there is always admin to do, customer visits, invoices, stock to order .......

And you need a business account with plenty of cash in it before to take the plunge .....

Keep ALL receipts .... and let your accountant deal with HMRC ....
 
If you do your best at all times the work will come in. Follow your gut instinct. Don't take on too much. Always be confident but honest in front of the customer. Learn to say no. Get a decent van, you can't afford not to be without it. Don't lend stuff. Don't do favours, you never get them back or when you do there value has gone down. Get good insurance, that way you should never need it. Just go for it.
 
Without fail put 20% of everything you earn away, never ever be tempted to dip into the pot. In that way you will always have the money to pay your tax.

Look around at different business accounts some banks are offering free banking for a year or more. (just moved to co-op from HSh!tBC)

Get in place a set of T&C's, get a card machine & take payment on completion.
 
chris watkins said:
Without fail put 20% of everything you earn away, never ever be tempted to dip into the pot. In that way you will always have the money to pay your tax.
Click to expand...

100% agree

I buy premium bonds every month ........... then get the money out when my tax bill arrives!

And yes I do get winnings ........... never big so far but you never know!
 
Invest in Gas engineer sofware or similar it generates all your certs, invoices and quotes, it saves time and money and is deductible.

I had the van debate when i went self employed, and went for a cheaper but well looked after tidy Hiace, my customers told me it was the man not the van that they were interested in. Dont be afriad to call tech support on boiler breakdowns it's there job to help you. If i was unfamiliar with a boiler issue I found this place has some absolute stars as well.

Good luck
 
Agree with above, on breakdowns i do my best with the servicing manuals which i keep on my laptop (easier to read than using a phone) but probably call tech support a couple of times a year as i hate changing parts at random with the hope it fixes it.
Vans can be a huge overhead so would not recommend a nice new shiny van on finance at the outset, get established first.
Gas safe application for your new company and insurance to get you going , build up contacts for future work and consider subbing for the first year or two.
You wont regret it, i think, i could not be an employee again. BUT sometimes when your phone rings 22 times a day (like Monday for me)and you are trying to get a job done, you do sometimes reminisce about the good old days... lol :)
 
Thanks for all the replies so far guys, really appreciate it.

I had thought about a card reader, avoids the "I haven't been to the bank yet, can I pay you next week" . Do any of you find getting paid a struggle? Again it's something I've had mixed opinions on, some do some dont. Do any of your require deposits for expensive jobs?

I like the idea of buying bonds with tax money. Keeps it safe so I definitely can't spend it so thanks for that.

What do you guys do regarding vat, should I register straight away or see how things go, there's probably pros and cons either way.

Regarding accountants, do you lot try keep on top of everything week by week or just save everything and give it to your accountant to sort at the end of the year?
 
Re the van. It is a dillema. I would say not to go overboard initially. Six months or so into SE may be necessary before you can make a valid decision on the type/size of van. Buying a brand new or leased van will ensure you are stuck with the, possibly wrong, vehicle.
 
Card readers are great ( tried Paypal but now use sumup ) , I think you can usually get a gauge on someone and if they seem a bit off, I tend to bring up "oh, ill be done fairly soon, by the way how would like to pay ? " at which point you can tell what sort of customer they going to be. To be fair 99% seem pretty reasonable and pleased you're there sorting out whatever issue they have. You always get the odd one, if I doubt someone I'll not issue the certificates for example, or until i've established how I'm paid, I wont quite finish the job as I need to go get that part etc, but thats incredibly rare, (maybye I've been lucky). I try and keep my paperwork in order weekly, should be daily really and then let my accountant deal with it at the end of the year, the better organised the more relieved they are and cheaper it is for you as well as knowing where you are financially. As for Vat registration, I wouldnt bother untill you know how its going to work, although you'll need to keep an eye on your turnover before you hit the threshold. Theres a lot of hidden expense and time spent that you need to account for, so make sure you price accordingly. Better to not get the job than end up paying for it. As for deposits, I prefer not unless its a really big job, but if im unsure of the client then I like to cover costs. ( time to develop the spider senses )
 
Re your accountant, speaking as an ex auditor who does a bit of bookkeeping to help a couple of mates out, if you just dump a bin bag of paperwork on your accountant once a year (it happens a lot) it will cost you a lot more to get your books done than if you keep on top of it and keep it organised.

Regarding being paid on time, yes can be .bit of a struggle sometimes, often not due to malice but they will forget to have gone to the bank, forget to do bank transfer when they said they would... If you can get a card reader without it eating up too much of your margins it might not be a bad idea as it's one less excuse, iirc there are some pretty affordable options out there now card reader wise but as always you need to do you research carefully & read the small print.

Regarding VAT I'd personally wait until you are over the threshold, yes you can get back VAT on tools/materials but you also have to charge it on your revenue. Especially if you make a mark up on materials (which you should) you will pay more than you save. It will also considerably increase your bookkeeping/accountants cost and generally make like more complicated than needed in your first year or two which imo is not a great idea.

Regarding deposits, if it's more than a couple days work I always require materials (+mark up) up front, if it's a week or more I also ask for 25% deposit and sometimes do a schedule with a payment part way through on the longer jobs.

Also remember your first your tax wise if you will almost certainly have to make a payment on account ehich is a double whammy but that nets out after initial tax bill.
 
Pickwickpick said:
Regarding VAT I'd personally wait until you are over the threshold, yes you can get back VAT on tools/materials but you also have to charge it on your revenue.
Click to expand...

BUT be very aware that HMRC can decide which 12 months they want to measure your revenue over.

I was chatting to a GSR the other day, SE for about a year, got 1 staff member and isn't VAT registered ........... how he can keep below the £84K revenue is beyond me......
 
Murdoch said:
BUT be very aware that HMRC can decide which 12 months they want to measure your revenue over.

I was chatting to a GSR the other day, SE for about a year, got 1 staff member and isn't VAT registered .. how he can keep below the £84K revenue is beyond me....
Click to expand...
depends how he bills he may well get the customer to pay for materials so he only bills labour,
 
SimonG said:
I always thought it was a rolling 12 months?
Click to expand...

No - HMRC can decide which 12 months ............ so if they decide you should be VAT registered, they send you a bill for 20% .......... so if you haven't charged it , you still have to pay up!

Paying 20% to HMRC would be very painful IMHO
 
Craig Watson said:
Do any of you find getting paid a struggle? Again it's something I've had mixed opinions on, some do some dont. Do any of your require deposits for expensive jobs?
Click to expand...
In 15 years I have had one none payer, which was a well known DIY chain and two slow payers both of which were this year. So a pretty good ratio really. Never asked for deposits up front although sometimes I wished I had. Never been VAT registered.
 
Thanks again for the further replies, so on all your advice I'll start with a reasonably priced tidy van, nothing fancy, I've got some tools but figure I'll need around 2k to get the other bits I need (analyser, core cutter, magna clense) and will look at spending around 3k on a van to start with, if work comes in thick and fast then I can always sell and upgrade. What's the cost for gas registration? Just trying to figure out what everything will cost me. I'll look into public liability but that will be further into next year.

I'll go see my bank to see what they can offer me regarding business accounts and then see how they compare to others.

I'll also contact local accountants and hopefully have a sit down with them so they can run through how to manage my books, I'm practical but crap when it comes to paperwork so this will be my biggest downfall.

The VAT thing worries me but I suppose after the first 6 months I'll roughly know whether I'll get anywhere near the threshold and worry about it then.

I'm going to be fair with my current employer and give them a good 4 months notice, don't want to drop it on them and leave them in the Rubbish, they're a small local construction firm who could possibly give me quite abit of subby work which will certainly help for the first year while I establish myself.

One thing I've been racking my brains over is company name, does it actually matter? What about van signage? Again this is something where opinion varies from person to person, I know ultimately it's word of mouth whats going to get you work but even if you get 2 jobs from someone seeing your van then surely it's worth it.
 
For a core drill machine the DeWalt Silver Bullet is a great, reasonably priced bit of kit, 240 or 110v (I've used one, waiting for my Makita 650w to burn out!) https://www.NoLinkingToThis/p/dewalt-d21570k-gb-1300w-silver-bullet-diamond-core-drill-230v/48374
Screwfix/Plumbfix may not be lowest price, try FFX, Tool Stop, Power Tool World.
Also get yourself a Trade Account (not necessarily credit) at Screwfix called Plumbfix, slightly lower prices and generally good service at trade counter.
Other suppliers; BES, Williams (Trade Only Plumbing and Heating Supplies), Pipestock, Pipekit, JTM to name a few.
 
My three penneth... ;)
  • Customers (the ONLY issue that matters)
    What are you offering that's different to other people?
    Why should people choose you? If YOU don't know no one else can know.
    What age range?
    What will you specialise in? What do people need?
    If you are going to do teh same as everyone else in your area how will people know about you and, being new, why would they choose you?
  • Advertise.
    Make the ad simple.
    Tell people what you do. DO NOT put crap like 'all aspects of plumbing' blah blah blah
    Put ALL your contact details & your FULL name
  • Start doing the things you can do now so money comes in. THis will take time to build. Do your GasSafe when you have the money and regular work but ONLY if its what your customers want. What you want DOES NOT COUNT. You are not the customer
  • Clean van that runs or even an estate (personally never owned a van) Customer care not a jot about what you drive. They do care tho if you stain their drives
  • Buy tools for a job that NEEDS it. It's cash just that might help you in other productive ways - like advertising.
  • 100% have a contract for every job over an amount you decide. I used to do it for over £350. Happy to supply if you'd like.
  • ALWAYS take materials & sub-contractor money up front. That way if you get knocked the most you lose is your time.
  • Insure - public liability.
  • Secure your vehicle - another reason to have an estate
  • Realise small (bitsa) jobs can make you more money than smaller jobs.
  • Be honest. Make sure all you can be accused of is telling the truth.
  • TRUST your instincts. As a human being we take on 11,000,000 bytes of information a minute. We are conscious of just 50 bytes (yes fifty) of those eleven million! The rest we call 'gut feel' or 'instinct'. Listen to it because it will NOT let you down.
  • Do not be afraid to walk away from a job. Blokes typically justify in their minds by upping the price or something. Nothing is worth that. Walk away and something better will replace it.
  • Rate. Work out what you need to earn to live. Break that down into FOUR working days as an hourly rate. The reality of hourly rates are that they have to pay for running around invoicing quote writing etc etc. You still need time to live and for family.
  • Supply the goods. Do not go cheap. It will cost YOU more time on the job.
  • Choose a good indie merchant or two to supply you. Make sure they can supply what your customers want.
  • Take payment on the day - always. The cost of doing so is outwayed by positive cashflow.
  • CASHFLOW IS KING. All the jobs in all the world are worth nothing if you've no money in the bank.
Sorry for going on ;)
 
Thanks for the tips everyone. Dave, to be honest I hadn't thought about what I can offer that other established plumbers in the area aren't and there are quiet a few around, but i still hear comments from customers about not being able to find decent plumbers. I know for a fact you wouldn't trust some of the plumbers/engineers in the area to cut your grass so how they continue to get plumbing work is beyond me .
My background is boiler/heating installs which I did for the first 7 years of my career and then went into bathroom installs for the last 7 years working for a home improvement/construction firm. This is the company i also got my gas quals with but we don't do that much gas work. From what I can gather there aren't many in the area that offer a complete service, most want to stick to heating and the bathroom installers don't do heating. I plan to advertise for both and will see what work comes in although I am hoping to step away from doing bathrooms all the time and would like a healthy mix of both.
Regarding using indie merchants, we do have 1 that I know of in the town but I've always used the local Grahams merchants since it opened 11 - 12 years ago. What benefit would I get from an indie?

As for ltd companies, whats the differnence between that and vat registered? what's the pros and cons? A plumber i worked with who went self employed just over a year ago registered as ltd instantly and an electrician I know who's just gone self employed also went ltd. Have they rushed into it?
 
Its quite complicated regarding ltd companies but one benefit of being limited is you are effectively ring fencing your assets, only the company's assets i.e. what you invest into the company are at risk, your personal assets aren't exposed hence it being called 'limited'.

There are also tax implications, depending on how you set it up and take money out of it you could reduce your tax bill but only if you're earning 100s of thousands as there are many more costs involved. Accountant fees will be greater, you have to have directors/secrataries, much more reporting...

You really need professional advice on this but its not something I think that's worth considering and seeking advice on until you're profits are well over £50k
 
Pickwickpick said:
Its quite complicated regarding ltd companies but one benefit of being limited is you are effectively ring fencing your assets, only the company's assets i.e. what you invest into the company are at risk, your personal assets aren't exposed hence it being called 'limited'.

There are also tax implications, depending on how you set it up and take money out of it you could reduce your tax bill but only if you're earning 100s of thousands as there are many more costs involved. Accountant fees will be greater, you have to have directors/secrataries, much more reporting...

You really need professional advice on this but its not something I think that's worth considering and seeking advice on until you're profits are well over £50k
Click to expand...

Yeah that's good advice, no need to rush into anything. Paperwork isn't my strong point anyway so if not going limited saves paperwork then I'm all for it, atleast until I'm more established and got used to running my firm.
 
Craig Watson said:
Yeah that's good advice, no need to rush into anything. Paperwork isn't my strong point anyway so if not going limited saves paperwork then I'm all for it, atleast until I'm more established and got used to running my firm.
Click to expand...

Yep if, like myself, you're not the most organised when it comes to paperwork (my filing system generally involves assorted piles dotted around the house, drives the missus crazy) then limited companies are not for you, there's enough bureaucracy involved with self employment! You're going to have so much to deal with when you start out that its important to keep things as simple as possible, even if its not the most efficient/tax advantageous imo as otherwise you're setting yourself up for a massive cockup at some point.
 
All this talk of Ltd etc is too soon he’s only starting up. I made -2k my first year trading

Hopefully things go better for you mate, especially if you’ve got contacts already. I just bought tools as I needed them, my van cost £900 and done me for a year. It was a Vauxhall combo and I was a bit embarrassed of it but no one mentioned anything and I got repeat customers so I really don’t think they care !!

You might have days at home wondering what the hell you were thinking like I did, it was very quiet at times. The internet helped me, I built my own website with the free time and got into SEO. As soon as I got my website onto the first page of google it helped massively, look into it if things aren’t going your way.
 
Scott_1979 said:
All this talk of Ltd etc is too soon he’s only starting up. I made -2k my first year trading

Hopefully things go better for you mate, especially if you’ve got contacts already. I just bought tools as I needed them, my van cost £900 and done me for a year. It was a Vauxhall combo and I was a bit embarrassed of it but no one mentioned anything and I got repeat customers so I really don’t think they care !!

You might have days at home wondering what the hell you were thinking like I did, it was very quiet at times. The internet helped me, I built my own website with the free time and got into SEO. As soon as I got my website onto the first page of google it helped massively, look into it if things aren’t going your way.
Click to expand...
Tough times, I certainly hope to make more than 2k in my first year though :eek:. I do have contacts already and I know a few contractors are keen to use me so hopefully it will all work out. Your probably right about the van, if it's clean and runs that's all that's needed I guess. I plan on advertising a couple months before I officially go self employed so I should get a good feel for what jobs will be coming my way and will buy tools to suit the work.
 
Craig Watson said:
Tough times, I certainly hope to make more than 2k in my first year though :eek:. I do have contacts already and I know a few contractors are keen to use me so hopefully it will all work out. Your probably right about the van, if it's clean and runs that's all that's needed I guess. I plan on advertising a couple months before I officially go self employed so I should get a good feel for what jobs will be coming my way and will buy tools to suit the work.
Click to expand...

He lost 2k in his first year
 
Craig Watson said:
Hi everyone, as the title says I'm looking at going self employed, I'm 31 and worked for 2 companies over the past 14 years so feel it's time for me to take control and be my own boss.

Naturally I'm little nervous about what to expect and my biggest worry is keeping the work coming in. Most people I've told have all given me positive feedback and said they'd throw work my way so that's a good start.

I'm going to give myself around 6 months to get everything sorted, some of the stuff I use like gas analyser, core drill etc is supplied by the company so I would need to get my own, I've currently got the sprint evo 2 which I like, would there be any benefit to upgrading to the evo 3 or pro?

What do you advise regarding vans? I've had mixed responses, get a cheap van that could spend more time off than on the road Or spend more with the hope that customers won't be an issue and the van will pay for itself.

I'm also concerned about my lack of servicing and repair experience, my back ground is predominantly boiler/heating and bathroom installations so when things have failed it's been manufacturers who have done the repairs, not myself.

There's probably loads of questions I could ask but is be writing all night, I would appreciate any advice you guys could give me, things you've learned since you set up, things you wish you'd done differently, any help would be great.

Many thanks
Click to expand...
May I point out that the gas safety you have is for carrying out the work on behalf of the company and does not cover you as being self employed. Many people carry out work on the side in their own time but do not have a gas safe for themselves relying on the company gas safe which makes the work they carry it ilegal.
 
scoz said:
May I point out that the gas safety you have is for carrying out the work on behalf of the company and does not cover you as being self employed. Many people carry out work on the side in their own time but do not have a gas safe for themselves relying on the company gas safe which makes the work they carry it ilegal.
Click to expand...
I am well aware of that and given I haven't indicated anywhere in my thread that I do gas work on the side I don't see why you feel the need to point it out.
 
I got made redundant at end of 2015 so used my payout to retrain, got qualified and GasSafe in 2016. Steep learning curve but if you apply yourself and go for it then it’ll work out. I ummed and aarred about vans. New or old but went for an older van in the end. I found an ex-AA van at auction which has been very good. Had a limiter on it so hadn’t been thrashed and AA meant it had been well maintained.
I got a good accountant who helped me sort out a spreadsheet for my accounts.
As for servicing/repairs get yourself on a Boiler fault finding course. Baxi do a good one for £200.
Best of luck.
 
Craig Watson said:
Yeah just seen he put a - in front of the 2k, how does that work? Surely he hasn't worked all year and earnt nothing.
Click to expand...

Bet you yep that's normally how the first year goes with all the expenses
 
When you go SE the biggest thing you need is cash in your business account ............... and yes, you need to aim to break even in the 1st year ........ sounds tough .......... but if you budget for a "poor" year and do better thats OK .............. budget to make £30K and you'll be very disappointed ......... and very broke!
 
Murdoch said:
When you go SE the biggest thing you need is cash in your business account .. and yes, you need to aim to break even in the 1st year . sounds tough . but if you budget for a "poor" year and do better thats OK ... budget to make £30K and you'll be very disappointed ... and very broke!
Click to expand...
That's disappointing, I was hoping for 50k:rolleyes:, to be fair I'll be happy with anything I earn so long as I have a steady flow of work for the first year, it's more my sanity I'm wanting to keep as I'm rapidly losing it working for a unorganized firm.
 
Don't need loads in the bank. I started with nothing apart from my old car, hand tools, Gas Safe registration and an FGA. Had about 500 quid in the bank after that. Did have a full bathroom suite lined up first job. Took the money from that and spent it on advertising. 1, 2, 3 Rd years made virtually nothing. However invested in a van and all the power tools, benches, van stock, powerflush machine etc but still very little money in my pocket. Point is invest as much as you can in your business and keep investing in it, be determined to succeed. Make it happen.
 

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