bUSINESS CUSTOMER BASICS
Updated: May 2023
With around 5.5 million businesses in the UK today, the B2B market offers great opportunities to increase sales. With 50% of new vehicle registrations coming from the business market, use this guide to give your B2B customers confidence that you understand their:
There are 4 main key business structures in the UK:
Essentials Tip: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
Incorporated businesses have their own legal identity OUTSIDE of the people running it and contracts/agreements can be entered in their name. Members of an incorporated business are not generally liable for the business’s actions.
Unincorporated businesses have no legal identity outside of the person or people who run them. They are personally liable for the business’s actions.
-
Sole traders
The simplest – and most popular –business structure in the UK are Sole Traders who are their own bosses and have complete control over all decisions.
-
Ordinary Partnerships
Ordinary Partnerships allow two or more people to work together towards their common business goal, sharing the workload, responsibilities, risks and rewards.
-
Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs)
LLPs combine the flexibility of an Ordinary Partnership with the limited personal liability and separate legal identity that characterises a Limited Company.
-
Limited Companies
Legally distinct bodies that can own assets and sign contracts, Limited Companies keep a business’ finances separate from the owner and shareholders’ finances.
-
Business Accounting
Not all businesses need to file formal accounts but they do all need a way to track income and expenditure. Use this guide to discover how a Balance Sheets, Profit & Loss Accounts and Cashflow Statements are used to map a company’s progress.
-
VAT
Whether a company is VAT-registered or not can make a difference in how they acquire business vehicles. Use this guide to understand how it all works for cars, LCVs and HGVs.