# Pre-Launch Checklist

The genuine minimum to take money legitimately. Everything else can wait.

## 1. Legal basics — CONFIRM WITH A PROFESSIONAL IN YOUR JURISDICTION
- [ ] Business structure decided (an accountant, not a checklist, should confirm this)
- [ ] Registered with the relevant authority
- [ ] Tax registration / VAT / GST where thresholds apply
- [ ] Licences and permits for your trade — operating without one can be an offence
- [ ] Insurance: public liability, professional indemnity, employer's liability as applicable

## 2. A way to be paid
- [ ] Business bank account in the exact legal name
- [ ] Payment method your customers will actually use
- [ ] Invoice template with everything your jurisdiction requires
- [ ] **Separate account for tax reserve**

## 3. A way to be found
- [ ] One page: what you do, who it's for, how to get in touch
- [ ] One channel where your customers already are
- [ ] A contact method you check daily

## 4. A way to deliver
- [ ] Tools required to do the work, and no more
- [ ] Written terms: scope, price, timeline, inclusions, exclusions, payment terms

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## Can wait until after your first customers
Logo · full website · CRM · automations · business cards · accounting software ·
office space · second product line · trademark registration

Anything that improves how the business **looks** can wait. Anything that lets you
legally **take money and deliver** cannot.

## From the first payment
- [ ] Tax reserve moved to a separate account immediately
- [ ] Operating costs set aside
- [ ] Your pay, deliberately, on a schedule

Money in the business account is not money you have earned.