Rotaboard
“We charged from the first customer. Paying customers tell you what really matters.”
OMOwen Mercer · Rotaboard · Since 2021
12-mo revenue$342,300+32% vs last yearPaddle
Based on 133 real software businesses worldwide, including 64 that closed.
✓Your budget should cover this.
Bills run about $280 a month (fuel, insurance, rent, phone). Most owners make a profit after about 14 months. Keep this much aside to pay bills until then.
Register for VAT when sales pass £90,000 a year. EU customers pay their own VAT from the first sale; the EU One Stop Shop lets you file it in one return. A payment company that collects the tax for you (for example Paddle) handles both.
UK GDPR: a privacy policy, and the ICO data fee (£40 a year).
Clear terms on refunds, cancelling and downtime. Most survivors had a lawyer check them once.
Sole trader with HMRC (free) or a limited company at Companies House (about £50).
Free with most online banks. Keeps business money apart from yours.
Before costs. Sign-ups peak in January and September.
| Slow | Typical | Strong | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $1.4k | $3.6k | $9.6k |
| Year 3 | $3.6k | $8.6k | $20.6k |
| Year 5 | $4.5k | $11.2k | $27.8k |
Slow: 1 in 4 make less than this. Typical: half make more, half make less. Strong: 1 in 4 make more than this.
“We charged from the first customer. Paying customers tell you what really matters.”
Sets up your books and files your first tax return.
$7.8k
about $116k
Starting costs about $108k less. Buying costs more, but you earn from the first month and skip the risky early years.