Going as a self employed driver?

[Wollys World :)]

Well i am not expecting to get to the threshold of £79k never mind past it lol.

I was told by a few that i should register still but i will not have to pay VAT. Therefore i will not be able to claim it back, not that it bothers me at the minute as i just want to see how it goes, not complicate things more with the VAT if i dont need to yet.

I will not be doing any companies work ( odd one maybe like the lcoal garge etc ) mainly private jobs.

This the confusing bit for me, the VAT lark, i should go to an accountant and see what they say ?

[blue estate]

Go vat reg as for every £100 worth of fuell you claim back £20 i caim back £600 quater in fuel alone

[bigjohnthomas]

And for every 25 pound job you do you must charge 30 and pay 5 pounds to the vat lady

[Terry]

Go to an accountant, try and use one that someone you know uses or recommends.
Not only will he set you up correctly , he will claim allowances you would not think of, workwear,
use of home as business premises, and others.
You will almost certainly not pay ANY personal tax in the first 3 years, you will be expected to make a loss.
Getting the right accountant will make or break your efforts.
I would recommend mine , but don't know where you are.
Good luck with it whatever you choose to do.
Terry

[bigjohnthomas]

Unless you earn below 10000 shelkels of course then you won't need one
What are your projected takings for the first 3 years btw?
And how much is an accountant and what's that for giving him a pile of recepts or completed accounts?

[Terry]

Hi BJT
I suspect that even if you earn less than 10,000 an accountant would be a good idea.
It is the bank that want your business plan/projection when you want to borrow, not the accountant.
The accountant will tell you what the legal minimum requirement is and you work out between you,
how much of what who does & what his charges will be. If you want to give him a pile of receipts
he'll charge you for sorting them, though most people run on a credit/debit card, so receipts are 'back-up'.
When you go self employed you are changing one set of problems for an unfamiliar set,
if you start off right then there's less chance of problems later.
Have fun
Terry

[bigjohnthomas]

I have never used an accountcunt my only dealings with them are not good ....my frend is one but he was with a lady at my house one night and snapped his banjo string there was blood all over the white carpet. Both these incidents were many years ago though accounting may be better nowerdays but I am not going to risk it

[Terry]

Hi BJT
Of course the choice is yours. My first (of 2) was as you state an accountcunt, not only did everything for the taxman, but bent over backwards to do it the taxman's way. I have moved on,( last I heard HE was importing springy legs [the name of which escapes me] as a sex aid). But as stated in the previous post getting an amenable accountant is of vital importance, they can make or break your business, so an amicable attitude is essential. Playing with ladies and banjo's on a white carpet is tempting fate, as I am sure you are aware. Perhaps accountancy tuition doesn't include warnings of the danger of such behavior.
Have fun
Terry

[Wollys World :)]

Ok so now there are some folk i have been talking to about this idea for going self employed with a recovery wagon, i am hoping i can bring home atleast £12k per annum, as thats what i am roughly bringing home now, i have spoke to a few folk in different trades, but garage owners and tyres fitters, now they say in there words ` who not a good earner that` but thats it.

Now i know its all down to me, well mostly as in how i go about it, i have a lot of places where i will advertise and ask about leaving calling cards in garages that i know local, i cant think of much else what i can do except go looking for a contract job, i dont realey want to do that but i would do a small based contract if i had to to keep me running, i know its all easier said than done.

Daft question and not easy to answer, but could i expect to earn at £12k per annum, when i last did it now and then for mates and there mates so on, it was good money but not often as i wasnt doing it full time, maybe twice a month at the most.

[peewee]

Ok so now there are some folk i have been talking to about this idea for going self employed with a recovery wagon, i am hoping i can bring home atleast £12k per annum, as thats what i am roughly bringing home now, i have spoke to a few folk in different trades, but garage owners and tyres fitters, now they say in there words ` who not a good earner that` but thats it.

Now i know its all down to me, well mostly as in how i go about it, i have a lot of places where i will advertise and ask about leaving calling cards in garages that i know local, i cant think of much else what i can do except go looking for a contract job, i dont realey want to do that but i would do a small based contract if i had to to keep me running, i know its all easier said than done.

Daft question and not easy to answer, but could i expect to earn at £12k per annum, when i last did it now and then for mates and there mates so on, it was good money but not often as i wasnt doing it full time, maybe twice a month at the most.

u could earn that but i doubt it to be honest if u can do it part time till things pick up to extent u can do it full time i do bits and pieces of vehicel movement i do it weekdns and evening sometimes and if planned right i can take day off during week ideally a friday do it that way

[Wollys World :)]

I will only be doing it part time anyway at first as i dont have the funds to jump straight in full time, also tonight i have been thinking about doing it but with a trailer, the reason is, i have a dam good Mitsubishi Shogun which i dont want to sell to get the transporter, but if needs must i will, so an idea was to get a trailer transporter and use the shoggy to do the pulling, then i can do caravans etc when delivering cars, i know i will have to get atacho sorted, another thing i need to look i to, i have seen i can get a secondhand one for around £150 but then its the other fee`s i need to find out.

The reason for the towing idea is to see if that works out part time, like you say weekends and nights after full time work and if not....


If anyone can give the fee`s for getting a tacho up and running please do tell, i know a bit about the rules etc its more the cost`s for know to see where i am going with this.


cheers

wolly

[125neil]

If you are going to give it a go, part time is no good you have to give it a proper go, private work is not the way forward you need the local garages and main agents and other delivery agents , with them you get regular work, private work is more likely to have you out in the middle of the night and people wanting something for nothing , also you may struggle to get proper insurance if you are not full time. VAT registration is a must because you claim 20 % back on almost eveything you purchase, and is not a problem if you do it properly. Work is up and down with all of us moving cars but there is work available for people doing it correctly, you don't need a new vehicle but OBVIOUSLY you and the vehicle need to be clean and presentable at all times. It will be cheaper to buy a transporter already built and ready to use. The hard bit, after paying for your truck and probably over £3000 insurance, ( please realise with a basic motor traders policy you will probably not be covered for moving other peoples cars for hire and reward ) is it could be 2 months after you do any job that you get paid so you will need a chunk of money in the bank just to pay for fuel etc. The first 6 months will be difficult but its worth trying it, I sometimes give work away but never to somebody who may say they will do the job when the've just finished this bit of welding or suchlike. I know there are lads out there doing it with old trucks moving scrap cars ebay shiply etc and good luck to them.
The trailer idea will allow you to carry bigger cars so that is a bonus and also you will get pulled by VOSA. Where are you based ?
Peewee did you get insurance cover ok ?

[peewee]

If you are going to give it a go, part time is no good you have to give it a proper go, private work is not the way forward you need the local garages and main agents and other delivery agents , with them you get regular work, private work is more likely to have you out in the middle of the night and people wanting something for nothing , also you may struggle to get proper insurance if you are not full time. VAT registration is a must because you claim 20 % back on almost eveything you purchase, and is not a problem if you do it properly. Work is up and down with all of us moving cars but there is work available for people doing it correctly, you don't need a new vehicle but OBVIOUSLY you and the vehicle need to be clean and presentable at all times. It will be cheaper to buy a transporter already built and ready to use. The hard bit, after paying for your truck and probably over £3000 insurance, ( please realise with a basic motor traders policy you will probably not be covered for moving other peoples cars for hire and reward ) is it could be 2 months after you do any job that you get paid so you will need a chunk of money in the bank just to pay for fuel etc. The first 6 months will be difficult but its worth trying it, I sometimes give work away but never to somebody who may say they will do the job when the've just finished this bit of welding or suchlike. I know there are lads out there doing it with old trucks moving scrap cars ebay shiply etc and good luck to them.
The trailer idea will allow you to carry bigger cars so that is a bonus and also you will get pulled by VOSA. Where are you based ?
Peewee did you get insurance cover ok ?

insurance wasnt a issue everything i do is on a part time basis it helps my main job is in motor trade (or my sins)

[Wollys World :)]

If you are going to give it a go, part time is no good you have to give it a proper go, private work is not the way forward you need the local garages and main agents and other delivery agents , with them you get regular work, private work is more likely to have you out in the middle of the night and people wanting something for nothing , also you may struggle to get proper insurance if you are not full time. VAT registration is a must because you claim 20 % back on almost eveything you purchase, and is not a problem if you do it properly. Work is up and down with all of us moving cars but there is work available for people doing it correctly, you don't need a new vehicle but OBVIOUSLY you and the vehicle need to be clean and presentable at all times. It will be cheaper to buy a transporter already built and ready to use. The hard bit, after paying for your truck and probably over £3000 insurance, ( please realise with a basic motor traders policy you will probably not be covered for moving other peoples cars for hire and reward ) is it could be 2 months after you do any job that you get paid so you will need a chunk of money in the bank just to pay for fuel etc. The first 6 months will be difficult but its worth trying it, I sometimes give work away but never to somebody who may say they will do the job when the've just finished this bit of welding or suchlike. I know there are lads out there doing it with old trucks moving scrap cars ebay shiply etc and good luck to them.
The trailer idea will allow you to carry bigger cars so that is a bonus and also you will get pulled by VOSA. Where are you based ?
Peewee did you get insurance cover ok ?

Good info there mate, cheers. a lot to think about, i got an insurance quote from NFU just to see what it would be like and i got it from £750 TP to £980 FC with protected NCB which is the 7 year introductory NCB they give me. I didnt think to ask if it covered the cars i will be carrying, unlikly at that price. I will call them back today to see what they can do.

It will be an older truck i get but i will be doing it up smart, i know what you mean about be presentable, me and the truck, i dont mind getting an old one and tidying it up, thing is that will be the easy bit, cash flow is the hard bit.

I was thinking of the private to start to see how it goes and on a part time basis so i can still get a regular income from the other job to keep me going.

thanks for the advice, appreciate it

wayne

[125neil]

I can assure you £980 isn't correct for what you're wanting to do, Peewee is fortunate that he is already in the motor trade, read the policy carefully I found this time around my cover for doing recovery work had disappearred, ( I mainly collect new cars ) I managed to get it reinstated, and my mate who does recovery work has just discovered he's not covered for collecting the new cars he occasionally does. That aside because you can spread the cost over 12 months it dosen't seem so expensive, i've never heard of protected NCB with a motor trade policy. Don't think i'm putting a downer on things mate the job is ok, ( strangely loads of people say to me what a cracking money earner recovery work is !! ) On the VAT issue its easy to spend £500 a week during busy periods on fuel. Where are you based ?