Hi guys, I want to start doing business as a sole trader in the UK. I tried registering with Companies House's online service but I only have the option to select partnership type businesses. I have tried to get more info on the website but it is not very clear so I have a couple of questions and I hope some of you here might be able to help. Do you have to register with companies house as a sole trader? Are there any restrictions on what type of activities I can as a sole trader? Cheerss, Ralph
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/startingup/ You have to talk to revenue and customs for tax and register your name, logo and everything along with what type of ownership it is, is it plc, ltd ect ect.
I ran as a sole trader for many years until going to limited a couple of years ago. Actually starting a sole trader type of business in the UK is really easy, probably one of the easiest countries in the world to do it in. All you have to do is fill in a form for HMRC. Thats it. You dont need to tell Companies House or anyone else.
you can also start up and run for 12 months before you need to tell anyone, then you need to do your first tax return so will need to inform the tax man etc,