CMA specialise in providing the full range of accountancy services to local businesses. Being a business ourselves, we understand the problems and challenges that you face when running your company. We aim to take some of this burden away from you, by handling your bookkeeping, vat returns, payroll and tax returns and year end accounts, which allows you to do the things, such as marketing and sales calls, that are important to grow and make your business as successful as possible.

It is the ambition of many people to run their own business. In recent years this dream has become a reality for some who have been made redundant, whilst others may decide to start up in business to be more independent and to obtain the full financial reward for their efforts.

One of the first major decisions you will have to make as you start your new business is the form of legal entity it will take.

The three main legal forms are sole trader, partnership or limited company.
Sole Trader
A sole trader is typically a business owned and operated by one individual. A sole proprietorship is perhaps the easiest form of business to own and operate because it does not require any specific legal organisation.

Partnership
In a partnership, two or more individuals join together to run the business enterprise. Each of the individual partners has ownership of company assets and responsibility for liabilities, as well as authority in running the business.

Limited Company
A limited company is a separate legal entity. A limited company has all of the legal rights of an individual and is responsible for its own debts. It must also file tax returns and pay taxes on income from its operations. Most importantly, the owners or shareholders of a limited company are protected from the liabilities of the business. The legal protection afforded the owners of a limited company can be useful.

There are a number of other things to consider; registering for Vat, employing staff and collecting paye tax, and perhaps most importantly setting up your bookkeeping systems to manage your business finances.

Here at CMA we can advise you on the best route go down when starting out in business. We can provide bookkeeping software free of charge to new customers and train them how to use this. If you would like to outsource this we can do you bookkeeping for you.