What are the basic differences between a limited company, a partnership and a sole trader?
• A sole trader is one individual person who owns and runs a business on his or her own. They may have a business name, e.g. Joe Bloggs trading as Bloggs Enterprises or may trade under their own name. The sole trader may employ its own staff but all contracts, including those made in the course of trade will be in the trader’s own name. The trader has unlimited personal liability for the business so he or she can be sued for the actions of the business and will personally carry all the debts of the business. • A partnership operates like a sole-tradership but occurs where two or more people operate a business together with a view to making profit. The property of the business will be owned by the partners in their joint names and all contracts will be made with the partners, whether or not the partnership has a trading name. Again, the liabilities and debts of the business rest with the partners as individuals. However, each partner can be sued for the whole of the partnership’s liabil
