Selecting an appropriate domain name for your company website has become more difficult in recent years, as the most popular domains were registered a long time ago. For example, if you run a window cleaning business it would be ideal to have www.windowcleaners.com - however the chances of getting a generic domain name like this are slim.

A new business will require the services of an accountant to help deal with its financial obligations, not least those involving tax and HM Revenue & Customs. The Business Lounge gives some tips on how to choose an accountant.

We’ve looked at running a business as a soletrader. Here we consider the main alternative for a business run by a single entrepreneur, namely a limited company.

Once someone decides to start a business, one of first questions they often ask is whether they should set up a company. A company is one, but not the only way in which to run a business, and here The Business Lounge looks at why the business structure is important, and at the more basic soletrader structure.

The Business Lounge examines whether the Government’s latest Enterprise Strategy offers any real reasons to be cheerful.

In conjunction with this year’s Budget, the Government announced a new Enterprise Strategy. At this time of uncertain economic conditions, The Business Lounge examines how the UK apparently fails when it comes to starting and growing new businesses.

Selling stuff online and through more traditional means can constitute trading, as we discussed in our first article on this. Here we look at the tax implications of trading.

When does selling stuff become “trading” for tax purposes? With increasing fuel and shopping bills, many people are selling things to raise cash, particularly using online websites such as e-bay. Whether the internet is used or not, if this constitutes trading, then there are various tax implications.

If you have started to work “freelance” and now raise invoices for the work you do, rather than receive a pay packet, the usual assumption is that you are self-employed. However, this might not be the case. Read on to help determine your employment status.

Soletraders who work at home may be able to deduct a proportion of their household expenses from their business income, and so reduce the tax they have to pay. We have previously discussed the principles, and here we look at more specific examples.