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Whatever your business is going to be one of the first things you need to do is get your business registered. In the UK its really simple and affordable to set up a new company, it’s also basically instant, so don’t hesitate to get it done. Once your business is registered you can focus on making the sales and services that are going to bring in the real money, while having the satisfaction of being your own boss and having complete control over your work goals.
Private Limited Companies can be one of the simplest ways of setting up a business, this blog post will only look at this type of company, however there are other types available and it’s always good practice to speak with a qualified business advisor or accountant to discuss your unique requirements and circumstances.
Why set up a Limited Company?
It’s all in the name, a limited company, while having lots of other benefits, primarily protect the business owners from the risk that come with running a business and the elevated risks a business may take to be successful. The limited part means it’s the business taking the risk, not you the business owner.
Step One
Decide on the ownership structure of the company, who is going to own the company, who is going to be in charge of the company? Normally this is very simple, one owner, one director. So you will need to decide the following:
1 – Who the company Directors are going to be – The people responsible for the day to day operations of the business.
2 – Who the shareholders of the company are going to be – The owners.
If it’s a simple one person business, that one person will be the 100% shareholder and also occupies the position of company director.
There is no requirement to appoint a company secretary. Find out more about company secretaries here.
Step Two
When you set up a new limited company it is a legal requirement to have a real street address for the company’s registered office address, this address is available for anyone to see and find on the public register of companies.
To avoid using your personal home address for this requirement, and to keep your home address private, you can use a virtual address service. OfficeServ can provide a professional business address location to for-fill this requirement, all for the low yearly cost of only £20. See our Registered Address Services Here.
Step Three
How to actually register the business, formally known as Company Formation. There are several ways you can go about doing this. Below we have outline four simple ways.
1 – Directly from your Company with Companies House, you can do this via the companies house website, the only cost involved is a £12.00 fee. This method is pretty simple, their website has a step by step guide.
2 – Using a formation agent, this is a business/agent that submits your application to form a company on your behalf to Companies House. You may think, what’s the point? Cut out the middleman and save money. However, using a formation agent can be really helpful, they will make sure your application will be approved before you submit it, so there will not be any delays. They also normally waive the £12.00 filing fee, you can sometime form a company for less than £12.00 using an agent! OfficeServ currently do not provide company formation services.
3 – Tide Bank – Tide is a “fintech bank” that provide banking services to UK businesses. At the time of writing, they currently have an offer to form your business and open your business bank account completely free of charge. What’s the catch? No catch really, they do however encourage you to use their Virtual Office partner Hoxston Mix but you don’t have too! Hoxston Mix provide virtual office service from an address in Hoxston London, their pricing is fair but can be much more expensive that other providers like us, OfficeServ!
4 – Using a Solicitor – There are solicitors that specialise in company formation and corporate business structuring. We recommend this option if your requirements are more complex and sophisticated.
How much does it cost to set up a company?
Only £24! It can be as little as £24 to officially form a company and have a business address! If you use Tide Banks offer and the OfficeServ Registered Address Service you can set up a business and have an official business address provided by us for only £24! What is even better, we do not up our charges for our address the next year, you will only pay £24 each year for our Registered Address Service.
