Becoming self-employed is a major decision in life, but the benefits of running your own business can be highly rewarding. This Lawpack Kit provides a practical framework for those who are self-employed as 'sole traders'.

It combines a wealth of advice on the requirements and day-to-day practicalities of self-employment with template documents for organising and preparing those all-important accounts.

For use in England & Wales and Scotland.

About the Author

The author, Hugh Williams, was educated at Eton and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1970. He started his own practice H M Williams Chartered Accountants in 1973 and their clients range from individuals to multi-million-pound organisations. He has held positions on the committee of the Tax Faculty of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and has also addressed the Tax Faculty Conference on tax practice management.

Guidance manual contents:

• 31-point self-employment checklist
• Getting it right, from the start
• Self-assessment questionnaire
• Where will you work?
• The basic rules of self-employment
• Choosing a business structure
• Banking arrangements
• Cash flow and budgets
• Possible sources of finance
• Should you register for VAT?
• Business name - what to do
• Whom should you contact about your business plans?
• Business stationery to be organised
• Office equipment
• How to keep records for VAT and Income Tax
• What will your accountant require in order to prepare accounts for you?
• The six steps to financial control
• Employing people
• Tax-deductible expenses
• Reasons for business failure
• Inland Revenue enquiries
• Understanding accounts
• Your name and idea are valuable - protect them
• Further reading

Loose-leaf forms included:

Analysis of Cash & Cheques Paid Out - 1 copy
Cash Flow Forecast Form - 1 copy
Income and Expenditure Account - 1 copy
Notice of Particulars of Ownership - 1 copy

Free CD contains:

Accounting spreadsheets, including break-even analysis, cash flow forecast and profit and loss forecast