Service
Set the company up once, and set it up properly.
Incorporation is the easy part. We help you make the decisions around it, complete the registrations a new company needs and hand you a clear plan for the first year.
- Structure decided before filing
- Companies House and HMRC registrations
- A first-year deadline plan
Overview
More than filing a form
You can incorporate a company online in under an hour. What that process does not do is tell you whether a company is the right structure for you, how the shares should be split, what your accounting year end should be, or which registrations you will need next.
Those decisions are inconvenient to change later, particularly share structure. Spending an hour on them before filing is considerably cheaper than restructuring afterwards.
What you get
What is included
From the initial decision through to your first-year timetable.
Structure conversation
Whether to incorporate at all, who the shareholders should be, how shares should be split and what year end to choose.
Incorporation
Company registered at Companies House with appropriate articles, share capital, officers and registered office details.
HMRC registrations
Corporation tax registration, plus PAYE and VAT registration where you need them from the outset.
Company records
Certificate of incorporation, share certificates and statutory registers set up and provided to you.
First-year deadline plan
A dated list of your accounts, confirmation statement and tax obligations, so nothing in year one comes as a surprise.
Practical set-up guidance
Bank account preparation, how to pay yourself, what to keep and how to separate business and personal money from day one.
More detail
Decisions worth taking slowly
A few choices made at incorporation have effects that last for years.
- Share split between founders, and whether different classes are needed
- Whether a spouse or family member should hold shares, and the implications of that
- Your accounting reference date, which determines every future deadline
- Registered office address, which appears on the public register
- Whether to register for VAT immediately or wait until you are required to
- How you intend to take money out: salary, dividends or a mix
What happens after incorporation
A new company acquires obligations from day one. Corporation tax registration is required within a set period of starting to trade. A confirmation statement is due annually. First accounts are due to a deadline calculated from the incorporation date, which is not the same as the deadline in later years.
We set all of this out in writing at the start, and if you take an ongoing arrangement with us the same dates go straight into your reminder schedule.
Process
How formation runs
Usually completed within a few working days once the decisions are made.
Step 01: Talk it through
We confirm that a company suits you and agree the structure and year end.
Step 02: Details collected
Names, addresses, identification and share details are gathered for the application.
Step 03: Company registered
We file at Companies House and pass on the incorporation documents.
Step 04: Registrations and plan
HMRC registrations completed, records set up and your first-year timetable issued.
Questions
Common questions
If something is not covered here, ask us directly and we will give you a straight answer.
The Companies House filing itself is usually processed within a day or two once we have everything. The surrounding registrations can take longer, particularly VAT and PAYE, so it is sensible to start a few weeks before you need to trade.
You can, but it will appear on the public register. Many people prefer to use a separate registered office address for that reason. We can talk through the options available to you.
The existing trade and any assets transfer to the new company, HMRC needs to be notified, and contracts, invoicing and banking all need updating. There can be tax consequences to the transfer, so it is worth planning the timing rather than doing it on impulse.
Yes. We can review how it was set up, complete any registrations that were missed, correct the accounting reference date if needed and put a proper deadline plan in place.
Thinking about incorporating?
Talk it through before you file. If a company is right for you, we will handle the set-up and the registrations.