Starting a new business is generally stressful. It certainly would have been during the years of recession, but happily this seems to have receded. There are opportunities for establishing a new company now that consumer confidence seems to have returned, but there is still plenty of competition in every sector. No matter how good your ideas and your experience in the field, there are some basic rules that everyone should follow in setting up a new business and specialist help and advice is always something to be sought and employed.
Finance
Finance is a vital part of any business. Without a decent cash flow no one is successful. If a new business needs to get finance it will need to have a well-thought-out business plan when it makes any application. Realistically, a new business should have that anyway as a template to how the business should progress. If it proves to be inaccurate, it must adapt to the existing circumstances and not ignore warning signs.
Advice and Service
Advice is available from many quarters and so are services that can relieve the workload, particularly services that are essential yet non productive. Businesses have a statutory obligation to make returns such as PAYE, NI contributions, and VAT. These are time consuming activities for a small business – time which should be focused on the main job at hand; growth and development.
There are companies that offer services and if you decide to outsource payroll tasks, you will have one less worry. Specialists that handle these things every day for different clients are likely to charge less per month than a dedicated wages clerk will cost and will be up to date with any employment legislation and budgetary changes that need to be implemented.
Reputation
Companies that offer payroll services and have established a good reputation for their quality are bound by the Data Protection Act of 1998. It means that all clients can expect that their data will be completely confidential. A third party is actually better at guaranteeing that than an employee within the organisation who will know even the amount of money the boss earns. At times that is not ideal.
If anyone starting a new business just gives a little thought to using specialists, it may save a great deal of time in the long run. Certainly everyone will have questions of cost and the practicalities in general, but they should be satisfied quite easily if the right company is approached.
A budding entrepreneur may be able to live without taking a salary initially but any members of staff have to be paid. New businesses need that extra little effort from everyone; ensuring that they are all paid correctly and on time is the least entrepreneurs can do in return.
