The actual startup checklist, not the generic version
There’s no shortage of “startup checklist” articles online, and most of them list twenty items in no particular order, which isn’t actually that useful when you’re standing at the start of it. Here’s ours, ordered by what genuinely matters first.
Decide your structure
Sole trader or limited company. Don’t overthink this early on, if you’re unsure, our sole trader vs limited company guide settles it with real numbers rather than a guess.
Register
Sole traders register with HMRC. Limited companies register at Companies House, often free if bundled with a bank account. Either takes under an hour if you have your details ready.
Open a business account
Do this before your first payment lands, not after. Mixing business and personal money from day one creates a mess you’ll be untangling for months.
Sort basic bookkeeping
Doesn’t need to be complicated yet, but decide now how you’ll track income and expenses, even a simple free tool beats no system at all.
Understand your tax obligations
Know roughly when Self Assessment or Corporation Tax deadlines fall, and whether VAT registration is on the horizon. Nobody wants a surprise letter from HMRC.
Get any insurance your work actually needs
Not every business needs this immediately, but if your work carries professional or liability risk, sort it before your first client, not after an incident.
Think about your first customer
Everything above is infrastructure. The business only really starts once someone pays you. Don’t let the admin become a way of avoiding that.