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Typical Business Startup Costs And Expenses

Typical Business Startup Costs And Expenses

By Mark Walters

Setting up a company for the first time is a daunting, but also an exciting prospect. It is extremely important to ensure that you can make an intelligent and informed prediction of all of the costs involved in setting up a business in the United Kingdom. Below is a list of topics that you must consider.

Business Registration / Licensing - Initially, to set up a business in the U.K, you need to register the company name with Company House. The registration process requires forms and documents to be submitted and a one-off fee of either 20 or 50 for a same-day registration service. Any licenses or certifications need to also be considered if they are required for the products or services you are supplying.

Tangible And Intangible Items - It is also very important to consider exactly how much it will cost you to physically set up your company. Will you be trading solely online, or within a bricks and mortar type shop in a high street? With an online shop or service, you need to find out the costs of things such as computers, printers, web-domain/server registration costs, stock and web design. Concerning a 'bricks and mortar' shop, there are many more costs involved; these costs will range from shop fitting, telephone/internet service set-up, safety features such as fire extinguishers and CCTV, stock, cash registers, and lighting.

Overheads - The overheads that you will pay on a month by month or annual basis will indirectly determine the cost at which you sell your products or service. The largest overhead cost that you will most likely have to account for is the rent of the property that you are using for your business, unless, of course, you have enough capital to pay up front for the premises. You must also bear in mind the cost of power, water and internet and telephone bills.

Marketing - Is it all very well spending a huge amount of money setting up the most attractive shop possible, but it will all be for nothing unless people actually know it is there. Marketing is a vital part of setting up a business and a large proportion of your start up capital needs to be put aside for generating interest in your business. Consider formats such as newspaper or magazine advertisement, leaflets, radio or (if you have the money) televised advertisements, billboards, and internet marketing.

Other costs that you must consider are legal and accountancy costs, staff salaries, merchant banking and tax. Though be aware that many start-up businesses in the U.K are eligible for government grants, helping you survive through the first few months of trading.