There are many things a first time business owner needs to know and do. Find out about three of the most important ones here.

Image courtesy of Pixabay

Image courtesy of Pixabay

Opening your first business is always going to be an exciting time. However, there is a lot you need to organise. If you are not the most experienced when it comes to running a business, there are some things you might forget. Here are some of the key things you will need to know when starting your own business.

Get Your Insurance as Quickly as Possible

Insurance is one of the greatest tools you could hope to have as a business owner. In the event that someone makes a successful claim against your business, you will be able to use the insurance policy to pay any costs you might have. Otherwise, you might run the risk of going bankrupt trying to pay the cost.

It can be difficult to know exactly how much you can expect to pay for your business insurance as it really varies from business to business. Luckily, some of the top providers like Hiscox break down commercial cover cost and let you know exactly what you are going to get from them. It is important that you know how much your insurance will cost and what you are paying for in terms of coverage.

Choose a Company Structure

You no doubt have seen companies which have terms after them like “Limited” and other terms. However, these are more than a choice; they actually determine how the government and other bodies view the business.

It is incredibly important for you to choose the right business structure for your business. Each one can have different benefits for you but they also have their own set of restrictions. While you will most likely launch the business as a sole trader, you might want to look at the other structures for when you grow the company.

Sort Out Your Tax

One of the biggest things you need to get right straightaway is your tax contributions. HMRC often come down hard on companies who do not file their taxes correctly. Therefore, you need to make yours an early priority so you can be certain that you are not going to be penalised for filing them incorrectly.

If you do not have a background in finance, do not attempt to do your taxes yourself. You should always hire an accountant or find someone you trust to help with them. An accountant might seem like an unnecessary expense in your early days but it will be worth it if you can avoid fines or paying too much.

These are just three of the things you need to do when you are setting up your business. They are, however, extremely important to running a successful business. Having your own company requires a lot of dedication from the beginning and you need to find the right people to help you as soon as possible. You, as a business owner, have the responsibility to ensure that your company is structured correctly so you can instead focus on making it as successful and profitable as possible. Focus on these key issues first so you can then devote all of your attention on more important matters.