Not Ltd is the UK magazine for the 4.3 million people who run a business that isn't a limited company — sole traders, freelancers, self-employed tradespeople, consultants, creators, side-hustlers, partnerships and LLPs. We take the work you do as seriously as we'd take any plc boardroom. We just talk about it like a human being.
Most business media is written for companies — board meetings, pension schemes, HR policies, year-end audits. That's fine for Business Matters. But if you're self-employed, the questions you actually need answered are different. Not Ltd is built around the four that come up again and again.
Registering with HMRC, picking sole trader vs partnership vs LLP vs Ltd, what to do in your first 30 days, how to tell your existing employer, and how to actually land your first client.
Self Assessment without the panic, Making Tax Digital, IR35, what you can actually expense, when to go VAT-registered and when not to, and how to set aside tax without flinching.
How to price your day rate properly, how to chase an invoice without losing the client, contracts that actually protect you, getting paid on time, and what to do when a brief changes mid-project.
Sick pay, pensions, mortgages when you're self-employed, childcare, the mental-load of being the whole business, and the parts of running solo that nobody writes about properly.
Six free tools, templates and checklists built specifically for UK sole traders and self-employed workers. No paywall, no sign-up required for the free versions, no 47-field form just to download a spreadsheet. The toolkit is the most practical part of Not Ltd and the first thing most new readers use.
Plug in your expected turnover, your expenses and your other income. Get your estimated Income Tax, Class 2 & 4 NI, and the amount to set aside each month so Self Assessment never ambushes you.
A plain-English IR35 walkthrough based on the latest HMRC tests — not a black box and not legal advice, but enough to know whether the contract you've been offered needs a proper look.
Six UK-compliant invoice templates (Word, Pages, Google Docs, Excel, Numbers and a one-click online version) including VAT-registered and non-registered variants, and a late-fee clause.
Work out a sustainable day rate from the salary you actually want to take home — factoring in holiday, sick days, pension, tax, expenses and the uncomfortably honest number of billable days in a year.
Solicitor-reviewed contract templates for freelancers and sole traders — service agreement, statement of work, late-payment clause, kill fee, NDA and a plain-English revisions clause.
Step-by-step checklist for your first month as a sole trader: registering with HMRC, separate bank account, insurance you actually need, setting up a simple bookkeeping system, and telling the people you need to tell.
We asked 500 UK sole traders what they know about Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment. The answers are a quiet national emergency waiting to happen.
Every Friday we publish a profile of a reader — what they do, how they set up, what their week actually looks like, what they'd tell their past self on day one. No polished founder stories, no guru playbooks. Just the real shape of running a business that isn't a limited company.
"The year I finally put my rates up was the year I stopped feeling resentful of my own customers."
"People think a trade job is all wrench and no numbers. It's 60% numbers — quoting, chasing, VAT, diesel."
"I went freelance on a Monday, cried on the Tuesday, got my first client on the Wednesday. Pattern hasn't really changed since."
"I ran the studio evenings and weekends for three years before I dared to hand in my notice. It was a maths problem in the end."
The 4.3 million UK workers who run a business that isn't a limited company are the single largest untapped business-media audience in the country. They're served by HMRC booklets, generic freelancer blogs and LinkedIn hot takes — but no serious magazine has ever owned this audience as its primary reader. Not Ltd is built to be that magazine.
Five-plus years in, turning over £30k–£100k, running the whole business themselves.
Recently left PAYE, registering with HMRC, figuring out invoicing and tax.
Running something alongside a day job — Etsy, consulting, lettings, creator work.
Plumbers, electricians, builders, mobile therapists, mobile mechanics.
Professional services running as partnerships rather than incorporated.
Not Ltd exists for a moment — the moment from your first day of self-employment to the day you decide the business should stand on its own as a limited company. When that day comes, we've got a sister title for that too. It's called Business Matters, and it's been the UK's SME paper of record since 1986.
Business Matters is the UK's longest-standing SME magazine, built for founders running limited companies with staff, premises and plans. When your Not Ltd business outgrows being just you, BM is the next title on your shelf — and you're already part of the family.
Visit Business Matters →The business paper of record for Britain's 5.5 million small companies. News, finance, policy, growth and the Best in Business Awards.
Banks, fintechs, accountancy software, tax advisors, insurance providers, pension platforms and tooling brands all spend serious marketing budget trying to reach UK sole traders and the self-employed. Not Ltd is the cleanest, most targeted route into that audience. Every format below can be combined with cross-promotion into the wider CBM portfolio.
Sit directly inside the weekly email our 22k most engaged readers actually open. Pair with run-of-site display for front-of-mind reach across the full 250k monthly audience.
The toolkit is the most-used part of Not Ltd. Sponsor a calculator, own a template pack, or build a bespoke co-branded tool that lands directly in front of readers at the moment they're ready to act.
Long-form branded articles in the Not Ltd voice, "Meet a Not Ltd" profile takeovers, live meetups and webinars for sole traders — all written and produced by the editorial team.
Every Not Ltd writer is, or has been, a non-limited business themselves. Freelance journalists, former sole traders, self-employed accountants and side-hustlers-turned-full-timers. We commission almost entirely from people who've filed their own Self Assessment — because those are the only people who can write this magazine honestly.
Oversees the Not Ltd editorial direction alongside the wider CBM portfolio. Long-standing champion of the UK's self-employed workforce.
Leads the Not Ltd editorial desk. Former freelance journalist and sole trader for [PLACEHOLDER] years. Writes the Friday essay.
Runs the "Meet a Not Ltd" profile series and the Tuesday long read. Self-employed copywriter and interview specialist.
Chartered accountant specialising in sole trader and self-employed taxation. Writes the weekly MTD, IR35 and Self Assessment columns.
