Starting Own Cleaning Business

[muchlovex]

I am thinking of starting my own small business as a cleaner. I thought about this as I have my own steamcleaner and plently of elbow grease.

How would I go about starting my own business?

Would I need to be VAT registered etc?

Any helpful tips/hints would be gratefully received.

Many thanks

muchlovex

[rov1100]

Self employment is definately the way forward in this country especially as you approach middle years.

Before buying expensive equipment maybe you should have done some market research and put feelers out to companies, etc to check your viability. You may have found their is strict competition for your services which usually means cutting profits to the bone in order to survive.

Service industries are definately the right market to get into and wish you luck on your venture.

[muchlovex]

Hi Rov, thanks for the info.

I already have my own steamcleaning machine which i use at home.

I was looking to undercut most other cleaning companies and only offer my services to local households rather than large companies. I already work part time (2 days per week), so was thinking of working for myself for the remainder of the time.

[rov1100]

Also anyone, can set themselves up to be VAT registered. I did it once myself. The book-keeping is fairly straightforward and is a way of reclaiming the VAT on items used in the business. However on the minus side it means on every job you do you will have to charge VAT so you will have to balance the two.

[boxtops]

You would need to make sure that you have business insurance as well, to cover all your business activities, equipment, public and employers liability, and so on, you would need business cover for your car/van too.

[boxtops]

You only need to register for VAT (I believe) when your turnover reaches something like £70,000 in any tax year (others may confirm the actual figure).

[muchlovex]

would i legally be entitled to be VAT registered?

Also, I am thinking of a very small business and not having any overheads like employing staff. Enough customers to top-up my current wage.

[RATTER15]

Dont register for VAT if you can possibly help it, its a pain in the a$$!!

[boxtops]

Then you're not likely to reach the VAT ceiling, you don't have to register for VAT until you income/turnover reaches that limit.

You will need to keep proper books though, as you will be responsible for your own self-employed tax and NI on earnings. You need to tell the taxman and keep proper books on your income and expenditure.

[craft1948]

You'll need extra insurance as well..............my cleaning lady is covered against breakages in my house.

[Graham-W]

Current VAT registration limit is £73,000. If your total turnover is less than this, there is no need to register.

[abstibus]

HMRC have free workshops on becoming self-employed.

[bednobs]

you need to work out a few things first
1) how much does everyone else charge in your area
2) Are you going to charge "by the hour" or "x amount to do your whole house"?
3) are you going to use all your own equipment and cleaning products?
4) are you going to go to people who are in or are you expecting them to give you a key?
5) do you have any references?

I have a cleaning lady who started when she was made redundant from her office manager job. She chrges £12 an hour, but she is fast and good, and uses all her own products and equipment (vacuum, broom, mop, polish etc). We checked out her references before we employed her, but for the first few times i was there, then we started leavign a key under the mat, then we gave her our key (it's a real leap of faith to let someone have unrestricted access to your house). She advertised in our local village shop, and in the parish mag. She is completely full. I have no idea as to whether she pays tax and NI but i would think so. As the others have said, insurance is important because she left a tap running once which overflowed the sink and started pourign through the ceiling!