Starting out self employment, sort of

[Hampshiregas]

Hi

I have been in the trade for 8 years and have worked for the same manufacturer in that period. I only repair and service boilers, no install work.


i have a friend who refurbishes properties and would like me to commission his installs and service his boilers. He only installs one brand, which is the company I work for, so pretty straightforward. He wants me to help with his installs so eventually I can do it for him.


i already have my ACS, so just need to self certify. Have contacted gas safe regarding this and I know I also need public liability insurance. I have spoken to my boss regarding this and has given me the go ahead. I know I need to get a name, but wondered what else I need to do for starting out.


This will be a second income so I know I will be putting away 40% for the taxman. Bearing this in mind I do not need to factor in huge overheads, van, fuel, marketing, advertising etc nor am I looking to drum up my own business. My best mates brother is an accountant, so that is also sorted.




Any help or advice you can provide would be great

Thanks

 

[Keefy]

Why doesn't your friend commission his own installs? After all, you said he installs them.

 

[Hampshiregas]

He doesn't have an analyser and he is not going to renew his gas safe, he wants to stick to bathroom installs and managing the project. Hence me also doing installs in the near future.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

Hi and welcome to the forum ,
you will soon stop doing favours as you will realise you are not making your self enough money by doing this , i n fact loosing more work to non registered ********* I will call them builders

who did you work for ? And once you get your gas safe registration you could become member of the Privet Gas Safe Register forum here , and you could help some of the member including my self if and when we get stuck on a boiler breakdown , at the same time you will be helped with installation problems you may have .

 

[GasmanxxxR1]

Where abouts in north hants? im an installer in that area

 

[Hampshiregas]

Hi safegasinstall and GasmanxxxR1, the reason I am doing it is for a bit of supplementary income. I still work for the company, don't want to mention the name, but I will say they provide a premium product, have excellent customer service (aftercare) and head office is just south of the Black Country!

As I said my boss is fine with me doing this, as long as it does not affect the company, I have no intention of leaving, so if I go through a lean spell it won't affect me.

i live in Andover, don't worry gasman I won't be poaching, as my mate lives in Surrey and does the majority of his work in that area.

i see it as a win win. I get my quals paid for and just need to get self certified approx £440, get PL insurance and do my returns, which I believe is 40%. I will easily break even with the work he can give me. He has been pushing me to do it for a while, but i now have a wedding to pay for, a loft conversion and extension to pay for, electrics to update, you get the picture. every penny helps.

Not sure of how I go about registering a name. I will be a sole trader, albeit at weekends and evenings. I know if I turnover £5000 + then my NI contributions change. I was advised of a company business sure? For my PLI. As far as helping you guys out with fault finding, not an issue, I am more than happy to help.

i have always said installing is a completely different kettle of fish, so I know there is a lot to learn and almost every job is different, so can't see me doing too much on that side. I will start off with commissioning, as it covers similar aspects of servicing and begin to get myself more involved. As said previously I will keep my day to day job, in the future, well who knows? At least I won't have to start from scratch.

also guys how do I get the GS Registered yellow rectangle, I don't want people to think I am a diyer, or fresh into the trade?

 

[GasmanxxxR1]

Up your posts to 100 and speak to one of the mods to get the GS tag

Sounds like you've got a good set up, you will pick up the install side easy and it will be a great way to up your income, just register the bis with hmrc and maybe cis as sounds like you may be subbing from this guy, maybe someone can advise you better than me

Good luck with it

 

[R1CKY]

You work for Worcester don't you!

 

[SafeGasInstall]

No that is Baxi

 

[Hampshiregas]

GasmanxxxR1, will do and yes I will be doing the majority of work as a subbie so will get in touch with CIS.

SafeGasInstall I love your sense of humour, well done though R1cky!

As you know who I work for you will probably realise why I would have no plans of leaving. Yes every company has their niggles, it's just that they are few and far between, the positives far put weigh the negatives etc etc. it also helps that I work on the same boilers day in and day out and also the support network. Yes it may be monotonous when you do servicing in the summer, but you are always looking at ways to change things up, become more efficient and so on.

also any ideas on how I set up name? Do I just contact

HMRC and tell them I will be trading under xyz gas?

 

[Dotty]

You've enough posts under your belt now, 10+ for the GSR badge, 100+ for access to the Arms.

Pm Gas man - http://www.ukplumbersforums.co.uk/users/8668/ or Redsaw - http://www.ukplumbersforums.co.uk/users/2718/ with your gsr details.

They'll test you then give you access to the private forum.

As far as setting up on your own the name is the easy bit. I should take advantage of an accountant offering free advice in return for your future business.

 

[Hampshiregas]

Cheers croppie, contacted gas man after logging on to the GSR last night. However left my books in my van so unable to answer questions. How's portiedown nowadays? Lived there for a while back in the mid nineties and went to Millington for a few months, before going to Coleraine Inst.


Yeah have the name sorted and looked at trademarking it, not a big cost, £170 online. Do need to register with both BIS and CIS, also HMRC and getting my gas safe reg on my own is the easiest of all. I am trying to source an accountant who will need his boiler maintaining, even if i have to pay a fee it normally pays for itself if they are in any way decent.


think I am now on the right track, thanks to everyone's help.


Order is set up name, set up gas safe, set up bank account, set up PLI, set up HMRC, BIS and CIS, speak to an accountant and start trading. Will be keep my first £750, gase safe fees and PLI and after that keep 50% of each job to pay taxes and fees for the next 12 months. If that is optimistic let me know or advise on what you guys put to one side. Last thing I want is a bill I cannot afford!


Cheers

 

[Linkyplumb]

I would say that you are in a very lucky position. I know a few fellas that work for baxi and group service. They wouldnt stand a cat in hells chance of keeping employment, and getting their own gs reg at the same time.

If doing both, then I would suggest setting up as a limited company. Speak to a decent accountant about it.
You will still be earning your main wage, and doing the other on the side, thus if you set up as a sole trader, you will get hammered on the tax.
Whereas being ltd, you earn your main wage at wb, and what you earn from your company, stays in the comapny, and you as director pay yourself a dividend.

Thats what I did anyway.

 

[Hampshiregas]

Cheers linkyplumb, great advice. I am speaking with an accountant in the next few days. I didn't want one due to the fees, so was looking t staying clear of going ltd. however I would need to trademark my name as a sole trader or register with a company (yearly bills if £80) so paying an accountant isn't such a bad idea. Plus dont need to worry about the paperwork.

once again good advice. Thank you

 

[PlumbBobBob]

welcome along

 

[jtsplumbing]

I take it your friend is not GSR but from what you are saying is doing illegal gas work, so he must have some one who is already doing registrations for him, good for you to look for another way to earn extra money, but you need to be very careful about putting your name on someone else's work, Why cant this person get his own GSR ??

 

[LPG2012]

do it mate every little helps and keep us updated with how you get on.