^OPM^

In short i am looking into setting up as a sole trader selling things on ebay-have contacted a company asking for a trade price list but before they will do that they want to see a copy of my company letter head and can i fax them this-so i have a name i have told them my business will be called so what would i need to put on a letter head to make it look official as i haven't yet formed this company and dont want to do it yet case i cant make money selling their items-which i wont know until i see what the trade prices are-this making sense lol-so basically what would i need to put on a letter head to make it look official so they believe me and let me open a trade account?

many thanks

Terzo 333

Not 100% sure but I'd imagine :

- name of business
- address
- telephone / fax
- any other ingo such as e mail, website etc

Dracoro

vat #

^OPM^

i'd be a sole trader-and not VAT registered so that would cut that bit out

David Lock

As above and as smart as possible say with trading name in bold across top. Note though that if you ask for an account with them and want credit - as opposed to cash with order - then they may want trade references. Putting type of business, unless obvious from the trading name, may help. Don't include website unless it looks like a business site rather than a personal one. DL

busanuta

i am a sole trader i own a flooring company just put your company name and address if diff from home address and your tel number thats all iv e got and i get trade disc everywhere and an account at b&q wholesalers everywhere even if its got nothing to do with flooring

^OPM^

thanks for replies-so in short i do this across top of letter-

xyz trading

address-which as i am
working from home would
be my home address

tel no -0123456789
fax no-0123456789

that be all i need to do then?

Tiggs

Its your letter....how do you want it to look???

get the last 10 letters that were sent to you...how do theirs look?

^OPM^

threatening lmao

^OPM^

if ur business is run from home does it still need the address on it?

Butty

iTrader: (2)

Why not buy a PO Box number and use that as your address if a residential address looks unprofessional? The PO box post can still be redirected to your home address if its not convenient to pick up the PO box mail?

Even though a sole trader, I decided on a professional approach with a logo, a trading name with my addres and VAT number on the header.
If I need to go ltd then I ony need to change the VAT number.

Nick

Robocop

Most company letter head paper that I've seen have the Company Registration number on the bottom.
This allows someone to do a check at Companies House as this basic example shows http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/8c...7//compdetails

^OPM^

do u have a company registration number even if u r a sole trader working from home?

Tiggs

no, you dont.

forget this "work from home" stuff....are you in business or not???

you need your company name.

you need an address....home or PO Box

you need a phone number.

thats it.

if you think you can make more than £10.78 then you may wish to consider a logo, fancy colours, web site, etc, etc , etc

until the biz does better than your letter head planning you may want to hang back on that!

vat number is only if your vat registered...you wont be

comp. house number is only for a Ltd company...not sole trader/partnership.

carl

Unfortunately that's not quite it. As a sole trader, unless your company name incorporates your surname, then you will have to include your name.

So "J. Bloggs & Co." is fine (if your name is J. Bloggs), but "SellingStuffOnEbayCo" isn't. It would have to be "J. Bloggs T/A SellingStuffOnEbayCo"

http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/abo...tml/gbf3.shtml

PS: You'll need to pay Class 4 NICs as well.

Kevin Groat

As Tiggs says, my other half set up her own business as a sole trader, not VAT regd. As Carl said also, on the bank account it does say Mrs X, trading as XYZ company. Think it was the same on the Tax return. You'll be amazed how simple it is - tax return is very similar to personal self assessment.

RLE

iTrader: (2)

Hi mate,

Just to give you a different spin on things...........

I'm a credit manager for a computer company and from what I can see from your original post, I would employ a similar procedure to that of your proposed "supplier".

The letterhead forms the first part of our credit check. I see all types of examples and it's becoming increasingly difficult to filter the genuine company from those who have, let's say no intention to pay. This is especially prevalent with companies who choose to create their own letterheads using some form of desk top publishing.

Like anything first impressions count. You would not believe how many people forward documents that have poor grammar; spelling mistakes; poor spacing and the likes. These are usually pulled out immediately and given a thorough check. I'd say 10-15% turn out to be fraudulent. Any supplier should acknowledge that small/ home run businesses will not be paying for fancy letterheads. However, they expect any document used to promote, distinguish, market your company to be true and correct. We usually send out an additional "Information Form" that asks for further information and a utility bill may be required. Additional checks using Experian/ Dunn & Bradstreet will also be sought (although permission is required for sole traders further to Data Protection legislation). If all else fails you could look at trading using your Visa/ Debit card until some form of trading relationship is established.

I personally frown upon PO Box numbers. Thats not the case for everyone but I like to know EXACTLY who I'm dealing with and where they are based.

I hope this is of some use. Different businesses employ different methods of credit control but at least this gives some very basic insight.

Rob

Buckrogers

Agree. PO Box only raises suspicion IMHO.

MJW

So basically, print it out on some posh paper and you should be ok

Also take some artistic licence with your address - instead of 'Number 3 Portland Street', it should be 'Unit 3 Portland Street' for that 'commercial park' street-cred. Come up with an impressive sounding trading-as name, for example 'European Flooring Systems'. Put a clipart symbol from Google images in the top right corner of the page and stick your address underneath plus phone/fax/email numbers and addresses. Use a footer with small print with something like 'yourname trading as yourcompany'. And there you have just one example of the stuff that briefly hits my in-tray before being binned - along with the terminally annoying Viking Direct catalogue with that cheesy old bloke pointing to this months latest crappy offer of a free shower radio with every 1000 pencils.

^OPM^

some good replies there-thank you-will do it and see what happens

Wish

iTrader: (2)

As a member of the public. I wouldn't give you my business if you were trading from a P.O Box Number.

This is a big no no for me