Eight things to put in place before Sorted takes its first job. Each is a short, well-trodden step; none needs a special licence because a payments partner holds the money on our behalf.
Register a UK limited company and open a business bank account.
Sign with a licensed payments company that holds the customer's money during the job and pays the Sorter afterwards, so Sorted never handles money itself.
Integrate an identity-check provider so every Sorter proves who they are with photo ID and a selfie. Optional DBS criminal-record checks.
Terms of service for customers and Sorters (Sorters are self-employed), privacy policy, and mandatory registration with the ICO, the UK data regulator.
Public liability (injury or damage claims made against Sorted), professional indemnity (claims that our service caused financial loss), and cyber cover (data-breach costs). Roughly £1–3k a year combined.
UK trade mark for the Sorted name and logo; web domain and social handles.
Apple Developer and Google Play accounts in the company's name.
Have a UK solicitor check the consumer and employment points of the product before launch: cancellation rights and the 72h auto-release, the reviews system, and whether reliability tiers and Instant Book keep Sorters genuinely self-employed.