After reading all of this stuff, I have decided to go on-line and register my company name with Companies House as a Ltd company. (Only trouble is, I have made one blunder: I have registered all the TEN shares as ''fully paid up''. That was not a smart move. I should have taken up SIX shares and leave FOUR as unpaid. That way, I can in future hand a share each to missus and kids, but remain as the majority holder so my decisions will be final. Only just submitted it a few minutes ago, then realised I had made a poo-poo?)
Any way, they say it takes 24 hours for it to be accepted or declined. I hope it is declined now? The only reason I have registered the company is so that someone else doesn't take up the name. It will stay Dormant while I continue to trade as a Self Employed fool.
And as a matter of fact, the benefits of being VAT registered (even if your transactions do not hit the threshold) far outweigh the reasons for not being registered. But I choose not to be VAT registered.
Also, the benefits of trading as a Ltd company far outweigh the reasons for not trading as one. Again, I prefer to stay as Self Employed for now. Have been for the past EIGHT years.
Every Accountant I know or do jobs for starts screaming at me and my stupidity for not trading as a Ltd company. But I know what they want: The opportunity to provide me with tax savings advice. REALLY??? As a Self Employed bloke, I do my own tax returns, so it costs me nothing. And even when I require a major loan and the banks insists on Audited Accounts, I personally prepare the accounts and hand them to an accountant who then ''prepare'' it under their company logo, and present it to me after charging me an unnecessary ''hefty fee''? I mean, to charge someone £900 for an accounts they have prepared themselves and which takes you 15 minutes to transfer and sign and put your company stamp on is ridiculous. But that is the world we live in.