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🇬🇧 For Universal Credit claimants in the UK

Start your business on Universal Credit.

Up to 12 months to build it with no job search and no minimum income floor. We plan every step, keep your claim safe and budget it with you.

Sign up freeSee how it works
Always free
  • No card needed
  • No trial that runs out
  • No hidden charges
  • 12 monthsUC start-up period, no minimum income floor
  • £25,000Start Up Loan, no fees
  • £5,000King’s Trust grant for ages 18 to 30

Schemes

Official schemes in the UK

  • Keep an incomeJob search required

    Universal Credit while you look for work

    Stay on Universal Credit, meet your job-search commitment and build your project alongside it. Hours your work coach agrees for your business plan come off your job search. When the business becomes your main work, move to the start-up period.

    What is this, and what do I have to do? →
    • Up to 35 hours a week of job search in your claimant commitment; agreed business-plan hours count as work preparation and come off it
    • Report any earnings from your project every month; Universal Credit goes down 55p for each £1 over your work allowance, if you have one
    • No minimum income floor while you are not gainfully self-employed
    • Only apply for jobs you would take: refusing an offer is a 91-day sanction
    Official siteChecked 25 Sept 2026
  • Keep an incomeJob search until approved

    Universal Credit start-up period

    If a work coach decides you are gainfully self-employed, you can get up to 12 months of Universal Credit based on your actual earnings, with no need to look for other work.

    What is this, and what do I have to do? →
    • Up to 12 months, from the assessment period in which you are found gainfully self-employed at a self-employment interview
    • No minimum income floor and no job search during it; quarterly check-ins on active steps
    • Usually once only: another needs 5+ years and a different trade you have stopped
    • Afterwards the minimum income floor usually applies (35 hours at £12.71/hour, aged 21+, from April 2026)
    Official siteChecked 25 Sept 2026
  • Loan

    Start Up Loans

    A government-backed personal loan of £500 to £25,000 at a fixed 7.5%, with free help on your business plan and up to 12 months of mentoring.

    • £500 to £25,000 per person, repaid over 1 to 5 years, no fees
    • Fixed 7.5% a year for applications from 6 April 2026
    • For UK businesses trading less than 5 years, or not yet started; credit check applies
    • Run by the British Business Bank; available across the UK
    Official siteChecked 25 Sept 2026
See all 8 options
  • GrantAges 18–30Check first

    The King’s Trust Enterprise programme

    For 18 to 30 year olds with a business idea: free workshops, a named contact for up to 12 months, a Test My Business Idea grant of up to £500, and start-up funding of up to £30,000 (a grant plus a Start Up Loan).

    • Test My Business Idea grant: up to £500, used within 3 months
    • Start Up funding: a grant of £100 to £5,000 you don’t repay, plus a loan of £500 to £25,000, up to £30,000 in total
    • You own at least half the business and have traded for less than a year, or not started yet
    • After launch: a volunteer mentor, masterclasses and networking for up to 3 years
    Official siteChecked 25 Sept 2026
  • GrantAges under 25

    Young Person’s Start Up Grant (Wales)

    Up to £2,000 you don’t repay, plus adviser support, for under-25s in Wales who are out of work or study and starting their own business.

    • Up to £2,000 for equipment, training or marketing
    • Under 25, living in or returning to Wales; unemployed or not in education or training, or finishing a course within 3 months
    • Work through Big Ideas Wales support with an adviser first; available until 2027
    Official siteChecked 25 Sept 2026
  • Grant

    Access to Work

    A grant you do not repay for practical support at work, such as equipment, support workers or travel, if you have a disability or health condition, including when self-employed.

    • For self-employment in England, Scotland or Wales; you must be working or starting within 12 weeks
    • Self-employed applicants need turnover of at least £6,500 a year
    • Pays for work support, not general start-up costs; does not affect other benefits
    Official siteChecked 25 Sept 2026
  • GrantCheck first

    Flexible Support Fund

    A discretionary Jobcentre payment your work coach may make to remove practical barriers, including to moving into self-employment. Ask your work coach.

    • Only your work coach can award it; there is no application form or right to it
    • Examples include essential tools, equipment, work clothing and travel
    • No fixed amount is published
    Official siteChecked 25 Sept 2026
  • Advice & supportCheck first

    Finance and support for your business

    The GOV.UK finder for business support near you. Filter by “not yet trading”. Local start-up grants are now rare, so treat any you find as a bonus.

    • A directory of about 127 schemes, mostly loans and advice
    • UK Shared Prosperity Fund money ended on 31 March 2026
    • Free advice: Business Support Service (0800 998 1098), Business Wales, Find Business Support (Scotland), Invest NI
    Official siteChecked 25 Sept 2026

Summaries are simplified. Always check the official source before you apply.

Universal Credit self-employed calculatorSee your start-up period and the minimum income floor in 30 seconds.
Looking for work as well?Universal Credit job search, without the adminMake the job search easy

Your plan, step by step

We hold your hand from idea to first customer

Eight stages, in order. Each step says what to do and why, gives you the tool for the job (free first) and keeps your budget and benefit right.

  1. Get set up

    Keep your income safe and make time for the business.

  2. Shape your offer

    Know what you sell, who it’s for and what it costs.

  3. Fund it

    Know what you can spend, and claim the support you’re entitled to.

  4. Get online

    A website, your own domain and a proper email. Every business needs them.

  5. Show up on social

    Be where your customers already are, without it eating your day.

  6. Find customers

    Start conversations and make it easy to say yes.

  7. Get paid properly

    Tell the right people, take money safely and keep records.

  8. Grow with others

    You don’t have to do this alone.

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Tools

The right tools for what you’re building

Websites, design, AI assistants, bookings, shops and bookkeeping, matched to your goal and budget. Free tiers first.

  • Website

    • CarrdFree
    • FramerFree
    • Squarespace

  • Design

    • CanvaFree
    • FigmaFree

  • AI assistant

    • ClaudeFree
    • ChatGPTFree

  • Bookings

    • Online shop

      • Shopify
      • Square OnlineFree

    • Bookkeeping

      • Google SheetsFree
      • FreeAgent

    • Email list

      • MailerLiteFree
      • beehiivFree
      • KitFree

    • Business bank

      • StarlingFree
      • TideFree
      • Revolut Business

    Some tool links are affiliate links. If you sign up through one we may earn a fee. It never changes your price or what we recommend.

    £0

    forever

    Always free

    Free for you. Always.

    No card, no trial that runs out, no premium plan, no hidden charges. Every feature is free for everyone.

    • No card needed
    • No trial that runs out
    • No hidden charges
    • Every feature included

    How we stay free. When we recommend a tool, some links pay us a small commission if you choose to sign up with them. It never costs you more, and we always show the free option first.

    Sign up free

    FAQ

    Questions, answered

    Is it really free?

    Yes. No card, no subscription and no hidden charges, now or later. We’re paid small commissions when you choose a tool we recommend, at no extra cost to you.

    Are you part of the government?

    No. We are an independent service. We link to the official source for every scheme, and your benefit office always has the final say.

    Will starting a business affect my benefit?

    Usually it has to be reported. We show you when, and we never suggest hiding income or activity.

    What happens to my data?

    In this early version your plan is stored only in your browser. When accounts launch, we will ask before storing anything.

    Your scheme is the start. Let’s build the rest.

    Two minutes to a plan you can act on today.

    Sign up free: it takes 2 minutes
    Always free
    • No card needed
    • No trial that runs out
    • No hidden charges