Setting up my own electrical contracting business

[nandrews87]

Hi all, I am currently giving serious thought to setting up my own electrical contracting business in the North West of England. I am just looking for advice from people who have set up there own companies, how to go about registering as a contractor and details on insurance issues etc etc. Information on initial costs and experiences would all be helpful.

 

[Plonker 3]

What sort of work are you looking at doing? (Domestic, Commercial, Industrial?)

 

[nandrews87]

I am thinking of doing Domestic work initially, If all goes well I would ideally like to move into commercial and Industrail work. I should also mention that I have only moved to England recently and need more information on what is required of me in order to set up on my own.

 

[Spazz]

Have you got qualifications and if so which ones?

 

[Goody]

You have only moved to England recently…

1. Speak to the governing bodies such as NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA etc for information about getting the right qualification based on your existing education.
2. After getting qualified, you should register with one of them under “competent person scheme”
3. Register as a self-employed or form a ”Ltd” company
4. Advertise and spread the word around.
5. Have some patience… plenty of it.

Finally (most importantly), you should also consider shadowing an experienced sparky to get enough experience and confidence. Best of luck!

 

[nandrews87]

Cheers for the reply, should have mentioned in my post that I am a qualified sparks with 8 years experience, I have all the qualifications that i require, just unsure as to how i should go about registering myself as an electrical contractor in the UK.

 

[Des 56]

Registering with the Inland revenue is one of the first priorities
Decisions on whether to be a limited company or trade under your own umbrella
Get relevant insurances for public liability and/or indemnity
Perhaps join one of the clubs (Nic napit elecsa)

Here is a link for the taxmans info
HM Revenue & Customs: Contractor registration and obligations

 

[Craig Potter]

@Nandrews87 Hello I was wondering how you've been gettin on upto yet starting your contracting business? Any work came your way yet or any advice for someone looking at doing this?

 

[nults]

There was a great thread on here last year(ish) that gave a fantastic step by step guide but i can't find it! really annoying because i'm looking into doing the exact same thing!

 

[RISElectrical]

Can people not set up in the north west, it's hard enough to get customers already without more companies setting up haha