We've had enquiries and contact from people looking for advise on starting a business. More, they have an idea and are up and running, but they need to cover the administrative side. Registering a company, setting up a website, managing the early finances while they are snowed under trying to get things off the ground. In some cases people have a need to get up and running with VAT quicker than normal, we can help there too!
Time!! As with any business, this is the most important commodity. You need to concentrate on getting the business going, promotion, sourcing goods/materials, meeting clients, making sales happen! You don't want to spend a couple of hours setting up the company, then finding you have a 10-15 day wait for a code, then once you've got that you register for something else, then another form to fill in, then VAT forms to do. Then you can get your business bank account, accounting MTD software and then you can do some work!
Well, we've got the ball rolling for you. We've dozens of registered limited company names in the UK. We've already done the set up, got the codes through from Companies House, set up web filing, got an e mail and website ready to go. All you need to do is provide us some ID, complete a quick 2 minute checklist to confirm you are taking over as a director and thats it, you're ready to go! We even get you set up with banking and can offer a 6 or 12 month period of managing your VAT account for you as well. Simply put, you can spend those first 12 months generating sales and income, not dealing with all the tedious, time and energy sapping parts
Firstly, you need to have an hour roughly with internet and email access. You need to think of a company name, check its not registered already. You then need to be sure of the share structure you want, decide what will be a correspondence address and what will be your registered/trading addresses, what information to display on companies house. Then you need to pay £50 to CH. If there are any issues with the process it can be 3-5 days to get a reply and you could end up with an application rejected for something as small as an address that doesn't quite match their online checker!
Once you're set up and the company is registered, you need to wait for your online access code to set up CH and HMRC web filing (online filing) systems. This can take another 10-15 working days to arrive. Once you're all set up there you can start looking online for suitable company bank accounts. Bear in mind you'll need ID for these, some will be online and others in branch. Some require a call back to take place and the process can take a few days to organise. Then you need to wait for your account approval, log in details, etc
It is a requirement now for a company to use Making Tax Digital (MTD) compliant software. so, once you've set up your web-filing and bank account, you need to find a suitable software provider and link this to your account. Sometimes this will require an additional wait while the software is connected to your online accounts
This is mandatory for any UK business with a turnover exceeding £90k (as of Jan 2025). Remember, it is turnover, not profits. And if you are in the motor trade there are additional VAT implications as you are taxed VAT on your gross vehicle margin (car dealers also require different software to account for this as most general ones wont be able to). You can however apply to be VAT registered even with turnover below £90k. you may want to be an exporter and there are tax benefits there. It may be that you've got high initial set up costs and will have a slow growing business, so VAT registration would allow you to claim back against your initial outlays, and you're also ready to go when the business takes off
This requires you to ensure all receipts, transactions, sales and invoices are uploaded correctly and stored as required. you then complete an online submission and will either receive a VAT rebate or have a bill to pay. Either way we are in a position to assist you during the first 12 months, please feel free to get in touch
Once you've got your business up and running, and hopefully profitable, it will be time to look at accounts. We can store all your paperwork for you and, at the end of our 12 month period provide all paperwork we hold on your behalf. We will operate as a registered office for you during the first 12 months to minimise your paperwork then at the end of the 12 months you can decide how best for you to proceed. It may be that your venture didn't turn out as planned, don't worry, many businesses don't survive this first year, its normal, but dont be put off trying again! We can guide you through a transition of closing your business or handing over the reigns to yourself or a nominated accountant