Business

have merged three into one to sort out

Setup

• Gov.uk: Choose a legal structure for a new business

• https://online.hmrc.gov.uk/registration/newbusiness

• http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/tm.htm - trademark

Business plan

• https://www.gov.uk/write-business-plan
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2943252.stm
• http://www.princes-trust.org.uk/need_help/enterprise_programme/help_with_your_business_plan.aspx
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/small-business-network/2012/jul/06/business-plan-writing-tips

• Writing a Business Plan : Startup Ideas - Sequoia Capital

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_proposition
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unique_selling_proposition

Sole Trader

• https://www.gov.uk/set-up-sole-trader

• http://www.smarta.com/advice/starting-up/starting-your-own-business/what-is-a-sole-trader

• http://www.contractorcalculator.co.uk/contractors_rarely_operate_sole_traders.aspx

Limited Company

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_formation
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_company_law

• http://www.contractoruk.com/limited_companies/

• https://www.gov.uk/limited-company-formation/overview
• How to: register a company in the UK

• Companies House
  • http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/about/gbhtml/gbf1.shtml
  • Company Registration

You must set up the company with Companies House and let HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) know when the company starts business activities.

Every financial year, the company must:

• put together statutory accounts
• send Companies House an annual return
• send HMRC a Company Tax Return

The company must register for VAT if you expect its takings to be more than £77,000 a year.

If you’re a director of a limited company, you must:

• fill in a Self Assessment tax return every year
• pay tax and National Insurance through the PAYE system if the company pays you a salary

Social Enterprise

• http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/
• http://www.socialenterprisescotland.org.uk/

• http://www.senscot.net/

Corporate

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporation

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_title

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_partnership

Work

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_design
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_administrator
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sysop
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_operations
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DevOps

Freelancing

• Everything I wish someone had told me (about freelancing)
• First month freelancing.
• Freelancing: A 6-Month Retrospective
• The other side of working for yourself
• My first year freelancing [1]

• http://markcampbell.me/tutorial/2013/05/23/how-to-work-remotely.html

• Ask HN: How do you sell yourself as a new freelancer to clients?
• Ask HN: How do you find clients?

• How To Become a Successful Freelance Web Developer (and Not Kill Your Career) [2]

• career.fork() - How To Thrive As A Freelance Developer, book

• How to Freelance and Travel the World: Part 1
• https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5731198

• Ask HN: My wife needs something to do from home to make money...
• Ask HN: Your best passive income sources?

• Ramit Sethi and Patrick McKenzie on Getting Your First Consulting Client

Contracting

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_contractor
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbrella_company

• http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ir35/index.htm
• http://www.contractorcalculator.co.uk/contractors_ir35_compliant_contracts.aspx

• Contractor UK - home to the UK's IT contracting community
• http://www.contracteye.co.uk/

• http://www.contractoruk.com/first_timers/setting_up_your_contractor_company.html
• https://www.cloud9umbrella.com/Comparisons.aspx

• http://www.differencebetween.net/business/difference-between-freelance-and-contract/
• http://www.freelanceadvisor.co.uk/go-freelance-guide/who-am-i-freelancer-contractor-or-small-business/
• http://www.contractoruk.com/first_timers/why_companies_employ_contractors_a_contractor_s_view.html

• PCG (Professional Contractors Group)

• Public Contracts Scotland
• https://online.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/

Consulting

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consultant

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process_consultant

• http://www.sjdaccountancy.com/about/ourservices/difference_between_contractor_and_consultant.html

• http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/project-management/10-mistakes-that-rookie-it-consultants-make/2693

• https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5739226

• https://training.kalzumeus.com/newsletters/archive/products_vs_services
• https://training.kalzumeus.com/newsletters/archive/services_vs_products

• http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/b2ows/so_you_want_to_be_a_consultant/c0knerx
• http://unixwiz.net/techtips/be-consultant.html?p=np

Proposals

• http://www.freelancer.co.uk/jobs/proposal-bid-writing/

• http://www.attendly.com/freelance-how-to-write-a-proposal/
• http://freelanceswitch.com/the-business-of-freelancing/writing-proposals/
• http://www.aboutfreelancewriting.com/2012/02/9-elements-of-a-great-writing-proposal/

CV

• Resumonk - cv creation service

• Why won’t anyone talk to me? What recruiters look for in a resume

Cards

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_card

(UK)
Bleed size: 91 × 61 mm (3.58 × 2.40 in) - 6mm
Standard cut size: 85 × 55 mm (3.35 × 2.17 in)

(US)
Bleed size: 95.25 × 57.15 mm (3.75 × 2.25 in) (1⁄8 in bleeds)
Standard cut size: 89 × 51 mm (3.5 × 2 in)

• Battle of the Business Cards - Vistaprint, moo, PsPring, PrintRunner, OvernightPrints

online;

• http://uk.moo.com/partner/flickr-business-cards/
  • 50 for £10.99, 100 for £21.98
• http://www.vistaprint.co.uk/
  • Cheap price, cheap quality
• http://www.surfprint.com/ - 100 for £5
• http://www.puttyprint.co.uk/categories.php?cat=Business+Cards
• http://www.optimalprint.co.uk/business/business-cards

local;

• http://www.edinburghcopyshop.co.uk/
  • 250 for £30 (£40 d/s), 24 hours
• http://www.dupliquick.com/letterhead-business-card.php
  • 250 for £25, 1 day service - single sided, double is double price
• http://www.greenprint.co.uk/business-card.html
  • 250 for £32 (colour front) or £49 (colour both) no b/w offering
• http://www.mbe.co.uk/edinburghsouthbridge/order_print_online.aspx
  • £35/250 (300g) for colour and b/w, £40 for colour/colour, send away £68.36 (400g)
• http://www.printing.com/uk/business-cards
  • 250 from £35

• Print Vision Ltd - print_vision aatt btconnect.com - 0131 661 8855
  • 100 for £18 (£15+vat), (£20+vat laminated)
  • 250 for £30 (£25+vat), (£37+vat laminated)
  • Double sided, double colour
  • PDF w/ 3mm bleed, 85*55, 99*55, 3min, press ready pdf, 300dpi CYMK

Examples

• http://www.inigo.net/ - edinburgh web design

Legal

• Business Insider: Startup Document Center - american

Contracts

• docracy - open legal contract collection and advice
  • http://www.docracy.com/topic/0qw8furvljv/top-legal-documents-for-freelancers?startPdfDownload=false

• https://www.docracy.com/649dkpe7g9/contract-killer-3
• http://www.docracy.com/0rgkbvacolg/independent-contractor-agreement-template?startOnComments=false
• https://www.docracy.com/5598/website-identity-design-contract

• http://www.docracy.com/9jsoij4itk/retainer-agreement

• https://www.docracy.com/4753/form-of-independent-contractor-agreement
• https://www.docracy.com/49/consulting-agreement
• https://www.docracy.com/367/consulting-agreement-for-hourly-work
• https://www.docracy.com/7380/independent-contractor-consultant-agreement

• https://www.docracy.com/3884/contract-of-works-for-web-design
• https://www.docracy.com/0ybo2bbkzaf/web-design-contract
• https://www.docracy.com/0yoo0svlhca/web-design-contract-dsundy-com
• https://www.docracy.com/71l7wi9w3a/web-design-branding-and-web-development-contract-

• https://www.docracy.com/topic/0ys7pdj8ble/designer-contracts?startPdfDownload=false
• https://www.docracy.com/3152/designer-sample-contract
• https://www.docracy.com/5152/short-form-design-contract
• http://www.docracy.com/0y3nkjcmkks/development-agreement-for-hourly-work

• Just pay me.
• http://vimeo.com/22053820

Data Protection

• A summary of the Data Protection Act 1998
• ICO: Need to notify under the Data Protection Act?

Licencing

• TL;DRLegal (Beta) - Lookup any software license shortly summarized in plain English.

• http://www.billthelizard.com/2012/05/which-open-source-license.html

• http://tos-dr.info/

Money

• http://www.thesalarycalculator.co.uk/

Income

• http://matthewpaulmoore.com/post/50662524038/do-customers-pay-for-your-b2b-product-in-a-cost-center

• http://doubleyourfreelancingrate.com/
  • https://training.kalzumeus.com/newsletters/archive/consulting_1

• http://makaluinc.com/blog/2012/11/how-to-calculate-an-hourly-rate.html

• https://planscope.io/blog/the-freelancers-guide-to-recurring-revenue/ [3]

• http://www.contractorcalculator.co.uk/
• http://www.contractorcalculator.co.uk/charging_clients_retainer_how_they_work.aspx

Price plans

Cloud Web Design

• Business Card, Articles, Blogging, Image Galleries, etc.
• WordPress.com, Tumblr.com, etc.
• From £400.
• Plus costs (£40/yr for theme & ad-free, plus domain).

Web Site Design and Build

• Self-hosted Drupal site with bespoke configuration and theme
• Using process estimation tools vs. budget
• From £650 (5 days), at £130 a day

Hosting and maintenance

• £15/mth for hosting, plus security upgrades

Support, Training, Consultancy £25/hr for additional backend or administration support, or £100 for a full day consultation.

Cloud site setup and custom theme, from £400, or a full site with bespoke backend and custom theme, starting at £650.

• http://wunderkraut.com/blog/how-to-fail-in-a-drupal-project-fixed-price-contracts/2013-07-10

Invoicing

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invoice

Templates

• http://www.contractoruk.com/limited_companies/free_invoice_template.html

Open source systems

• http://www.siwapp.org/

• http://www.jbilling.com/community

Services

• http://www.bookkeepy.co.uk/ - nice and clean

• https://www.invoicejournal.com/ - popped up via hn

• https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5873442

Late

• http://pixxel.co/feed/client-wont-pay-my-final-resort

Credit notes

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_note

• http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/managing/special-situations/returned-goods.htm

Budgeting

• Spreadsheet skills: no time series problems – period!
• Example Cash Flow Forecast

• Allocated Spending Plan FAQ

• Wikipedia:4–4–5 calendar
• How many weeks in a month?
• Calendar for year 2013 (United Kingdom)

5 fridays (or 5 mondays?)

Services

• Google Docs Template Gallery: budget
• Google Docs Template Gallery: timesheet

• PocketSmith - The personal finance app with cashflow forecasting

Tax

See also Credits

Self-assessment

• https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns
• https://www.gov.uk/register-for-self-assessment
• https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/deadlines

• http://www.gateway.gov.uk/

etc

• http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/codes-basics.htm

• Class 2 National Insurance contributions

• http://www.besttaxback.com/calculator/taxcalc.aspx
• http://www.easyaccountancy.co.uk/about/freelancer_sole_trader_take_home_calculator.html

• http://www.smallbusinesspro.co.uk/tax/sole-trader-tax.html
• http://www.easyaccountancy.co.uk/faqcentre/self_employed_faq.html

Sole traders’ tax responsibilities:

• send a Self Assessment tax return every year
• pay Income Tax on the profits your business makes
• pay National Insurance
• register for VAT if you expect your business’ takings to be more than £77,000 a year.

Limited Company: Any profit it makes is owned by the company, after it pays Corporation Tax. The company can then share its profits.

• http://www.revenuebenefits.org.uk/tax-credits/guidance/how-do-tax-credits-work/self-employed/

• https://online.hmrc.gov.uk/registration/newbusiness

• http://www.contractoruk.com/limited_companies/contractor_taxes.html

Tools

• http://www.easyaccountancy.co.uk/about/freelancer_sole_trader_take_home_calculator.html

• http://www.besttaxback.com/calculator/taxcalc.aspx

• http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/tools/sa-ready-reckoner/index.htm - ni calc

other

• http://www.launchside.com/blog/llc-vs-s-corp-vs-c-corp/ - usa startup taxes

VAT

• VATLive

Banks

• http://www.moveyourmoney.org.uk/

Tridos

• http://triodos.co.uk

"We do not provide counter banking services from our Edinburgh office (or indeed any of our UK offices) but are pleased to meet with business customers who have a pre-arranged appointment."

Co-operative

• http://co-operativebank.co.uk

Online service, no real-life access?

• http://www.smile.co.uk/
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smile_(bank)

Has branches under the name Britannia. One on George Street.

• http://www.britannia.co.uk/

• http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/17/co-operative-bank-bail-in
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/10125254/Co-operative-Bank-faces-nationalisation-if-junior-bondholders-reject-haircut.html
• http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/coop-saved-but-banks-face-shakeup-in-pivotal-week-8661174.html
• http://moneyweek.com/what-happens-to-co-op-bond-now/

P2P lending

• http://www.ratesetter.com/

Accounting

• http://static.steve.org.uk/expenses

Software

• http://www.gnucash.org/

Services

• http://www.freeagent.com/?referrer=33dgfkb0 - rachel's code

Trading standards

• Trading Standards - Fair Trading advice for businesses

Merchant services, payment gateways/processing

order?

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchant_services

• Acquiring bank (or acquirer) is the bank or financial institution that processes credit and or debit card payments for products or services for a merchant. The term acquirer indicates that the bank accepts or acquires credit card payment from the card-issuing banks within an association. The best-known (credit) card associations are Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Diners Club, Japan Credit Bureau, Attijariwafa Bank, and China UnionPay.

• Merchant account is a type of bank account that allows businesses to accept payments by payment cards, typically debit or credit cards. A merchant account is established under an agreement between an acceptor and a merchant acquiring bank for the settlement of payment card transactions. In some cases a payment processor, independent sales organization (ISO), or member service provider (MSP) is also a party to the merchant agreement. Whether a merchant enters into a merchant agreement directly with an acquiring bank or through an aggregator such as PayPal, the agreement contractually binds the merchant to obey the operating regulations established by the card associations.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchant_account_provider
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Payments_Administration

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-commerce_credit_card_payment_system
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payment_service_provider
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_online_payment_service_providers

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payment_system
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payment_processor
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payment_gateway

• http://jamesmaskell.co.uk/2013/online-payments-in-2013/ [4]
• http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/what-you-need-to-know-about-credit-card-processing/
• http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/my-search-for-reasonable-and-understandable-credit-card-processing
• http://onlinebusiness.volusion.com/articles/your-get-started-guide-to-online-credit-card-processing/
• http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/tools-and-tips/so-you-want-to-accept-credit-cards-online/ - simplicity of stripe

• http://ecommerce.shopify.com/

Merchant accounts

• http://merchantaccounts.expertmarket.co.uk/

Payment systems

• https://stripe.com/gb
• http://www.authorize.net/en-GB
• https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/payflow-payment-gateway - eeek
• https://www.balancedpayments.com
• https://gocardless.com/ - 1% per transaction up to a maximum of £2.00
• https://www.simplify.com/commerce/
• http://simplifiedecommerce.com/
• http://www.upg.co.uk/pricing

Services

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PayPal
  • http://elliotjaystocks.com/blog/good-riddance-paypal/ - don't use paypal
  • http://www.binkd.com/general/why-we-no-longer-accept-paypal/

• Google Checkout - will sunset late 2013
• Google Wallet - US only as of aug 2013

• https://www.gittip.com/

Postage

• http://www.postoffice.co.uk/business
• http://www.royalmail.com/personal/uk-delivery/special-delivery
• http://www.royalmail.com/personal/uk-delivery/signed-for-1st-class
• http://www.royalmail.com/personal/international-delivery/airmail

• http://www.royalmail.com/personal/sending-parcels
• http://www.parcelforce.com/

Markets

• http://www.interactivebrokers.com/
• https://www.loyal3.com/home

• http://www.quantstart.com/articles/Quantitative-Finance-Reading-List

Software

• Grism is an open source stock market observation tool. It allows you to easily track the evolution of stock prices through watchlists, portfolios and charts.

• http://money.stackexchange.com/questions/7247/where-can-i-find-open-source-portfolio-management-software

Sales & marketing

• https://strideapp.com/beginners-guide-to-sales/

• http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/10/13/pricing-tables-showcase-examples-and-best-practices/

• http://www.slideshare.net/kissmetrics/ultimate-guide-to-saas-pricing#btnPrevious

• A 50-Point Checklist For Creating The Ultimate Landing Page

• http://orangethirty.github.com/marketing_bits/

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_collateral
• http://www.noisyzine.co.uk/resources/presspack.pdf

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_presence_management
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Marketing_Collateral

• http://www.peterjthomson.com/2011/06/how-to-choose-tagline-for-tech-startup.html

• Being a Developer Makes You Valuable. Learning How to Market Makes You Dangerous

• Finding Your Voice With the Media: How to Pitch a Journalist

• http://samuelmullen.com/2012/08/the-introverts-networking-survival-guide/

• http://venturebeat.com/2012/10/06/youve-got-a-problem/

• http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2011/08/14/teachable-moments-in-pr-crisis-management/

• https://www.dotdotdot.me/Luke-Meyer/Pitch-Your-Thing-To-Journalists---PR-101

• http://sivers.org/hi

• http://customer.io/learn-to-write-better-emails.html
• https://segment.io/academy/email-is-the-easiest-way-to-improve-retention

• Are “Shameless Plugs” Worth It? Some data

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_strategies_in_advertising

Networking

• http://www.bgateway.com/events?search=Edinburgh

• http://www.meetup.com/Edinburgh-Entrepeneurs-Coffee-Success-Club/

• http://steveblank.com/2013/08/12/how-to-get-meetings-with-people-too-busy-to-see-you/

Lifestyle

• http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/24/is-the-term-lifestyle-business-an-insult/