Facebook Retail Side Business - Need Advice

bystarlight

Hi,
I'm working full time (PAYE worker) and I'm planning on setting up a small retail business on the side, selling through Facebook. I've seen one or two similar Facebook sites and feel I can be competitive. I don't plan on registering as a company, but plan on filing a tax return each year.

Anyway, I've a few questions...

- Should I set up a second personal bank account, just to keep things separate from my own personal account? This would make things easier to organise.

- Is Paypal the easiest method to receive online payments? I've used it myself plenty of times without any hassle, but are there better alternatives?

- I've had to travel to buy stock. Does petrol and tolls count as expenses? And any tools I've bought to make my product?

Many thanks

jimmii

It makes life easier to have a separate bank account but it is not a must.

PayPal is probably the easiest and is obviously a well trusted name but just don't keep too much in there too many horror stories out there!

If the journey is purely business related you can claim it there are mileage rates on the Revenue site so you can know how much to claim.

M.T.D

No need to register a company, but if you register a trading name (€20) you can then get a bank account - Your Name T/A businessname.
Same for PayPal, and getting a .ie domain name is easier too.
This makes it much easier to keep your personal and business life/monies separate.
PayPal is a handy way to start taking payments when your volumes are low. If your business takes off then you can go looking at the alternatives.

Lucas Hood

Look into stripe for payments too.

bystarlight

Many thanks!

StupidLikeAFox

jimmii wrote: »

If the journey is purely business related you can claim it there are mileage rates on the Revenue site so you can know how much to claim.

I'm almost certain mileage rates only apply to employees/directors - if you are a sole trader you can only claim for actual expenses incurred