Logos and Websites
LogoMakr
LogoMkr is a free online tool to help you design and download a logo. It is easy to use and has powerful editing tools to help you get the look and feel you want. You do need to have an idea about what you want.99 Design - a Step-by-Step Design (from around £230)
- Tell them about your business and what you need designed and choose the design package.
- From Berlin to Bombay, >1m professional designers will brainstorm ideas and submit designs for comments and private messages to shape their ideas to your needs.
- After 7 days, choose the winner, their designer gets the prize money and you get full design copyright.
How we built this website - for free!
- Find a hosting platform in the UK - Amazon Web Services, FastHosts, there are loads of hosts.
- Choose a package that includes email and a free domain name (to go with your business name).
- Select a Linux server and download WordPress to your site.
- Look at the full video on the action button from NYC Tech Club.
Web Designers - Get a local or professionally built website - £250-£6,000
The cost of support varies with the complexity of your needs. The low end will get you a single page design, the high end a fully coded eCommerce shop design. As an example of the mid-higher end, we have a relationship with TopLeft Designs - check out their website.Accounting Software
QuickBooks Self Employed
Helps you capture and match receipts, send invoices, automatically track mileage, prepare your taxes, and categorise expenses. You can also update a tax return, giving you real time insight into how much tax you owe.FreeAgent
FreeAgent's online accounting software brings everything together, from invoice and expense management to VAT, payroll and self-assessment tax return filing. NB If you have a NatWest business bank account you can get FreeAgent for free.Sage
Sage's One Accounts is their most basic offering. It is low-cost, and ideally suited for freelancers, or those that just need a simple accounting system with invoice, tax assistance, profit and loss information.Kashflow
KashFlow’s easy-to-use and feature packed cloud software takes the hassle out of accounting, bookkeeping and payroll.Xero
Fully capable accounting and payroll software – powerful and like Sage, KashFlow and QuickBooks business software.Free Software?
Try TAS Basics, built by Sage will do a lot of what you need to keep basic records even if it doesn't file VAT returns online. Make sure you find and download the right version as Sage now charge for their basic edition. We can't link to a download site so search for TAS Basics through Google.Professionals – ‘Get out there’
LinkedIn is one of the best ways of creating a network for professional networking and for getting support, or a job if all goes the wrong way up!
To get the most out of the site, they have provided some great learning for free for Veterans. While focussed for the US market, much bigger, they provide 1 months free access to the learning courses to get the best out of LinkedIn.
LinkedIn veterans learning introduction and learning.
Business Planning
Their are a number of business planning sites and tools which are available for help. However, once you’ve completed our courses you may not need to spend more on the support you can get and, at the very least, you’ll be much better placed to get what you need!
In addition, their are some good start-up support businesses and charities in the UK. Award winning support from people like The Prince’s Trust for start-ups in the 18-30 age group or Start-up Loans which is a Government backed small business start-up company (we reference them in our courses).
Answers to FAQs
Start-up Donut is a sponsored website which has a different slant to FAQs.