Forming a company online
Discussion
I need to form a trading company ASAP. I have Googled it and there are obviously loads of options to do it. I am looking at www.incorporateonline.co.uk
A few questions if you don't mind. If anybody can answer one or more I'd be very grateful:
1. Are there any pitfalls I should be aware of forming a company online? Is it worth the effort to fill in the Companies House forms myself?
2. My company name is my street address, excluding house number. Any problems with that?
3. The online co offers VAT registration for £99. There's a chance my turnover will be over £67k, should I register anyway so my customers can reclaim the VAT? Invoices expected to be c£250 each and occasional £3500 for products on which I will pay VAT.
4. Are there any other services that the online vendor might offer that I should think about? Company secretarial, HMRC registration etc.
5. The price is £50 + £99 if I take VAT registration. Reasonable?
6. It seems practical to have my home address as the business address. Any problems here?
7. If anybody has successfully used another online formation website I would be very happy to take a look on the recommendation.
8. My business description will give me the mandate to do anything I want, is that acceptable?
It is only reading the previous motivating posts in the Business section that I have got off my backside to do this, many thanks.
A few questions if you don't mind. If anybody can answer one or more I'd be very grateful:
1. Are there any pitfalls I should be aware of forming a company online? Is it worth the effort to fill in the Companies House forms myself?
2. My company name is my street address, excluding house number. Any problems with that?
3. The online co offers VAT registration for £99. There's a chance my turnover will be over £67k, should I register anyway so my customers can reclaim the VAT? Invoices expected to be c£250 each and occasional £3500 for products on which I will pay VAT.
4. Are there any other services that the online vendor might offer that I should think about? Company secretarial, HMRC registration etc.
5. The price is £50 + £99 if I take VAT registration. Reasonable?
6. It seems practical to have my home address as the business address. Any problems here?
7. If anybody has successfully used another online formation website I would be very happy to take a look on the recommendation.
8. My business description will give me the mandate to do anything I want, is that acceptable?
It is only reading the previous motivating posts in the Business section that I have got off my backside to do this, many thanks.
A few questions if you don't mind. If anybody can answer one or more I'd be very grateful:
1. Are there any pitfalls I should be aware of forming a company online? Is it worth the effort to fill in the Companies House forms myself?
The initial company formation and share transfer forms are best left with the formation agents as they know what they are doing and will more than likely do it all correctly
2. My company name is my street address, excluding house number. Any problems with that?
There should be no problem with that provided the name doesn't already exist at Companies House. Companies House will block names that are the same as or very similar to existing company names.
3. The online co offers VAT registration for £99. There's a chance my turnover will be over £67k, should I register anyway so my customers can reclaim the VAT? Invoices expected to be c£250 each and occasional £3500 for products on which I will pay VAT.
The current compulsory VAT Registration Threshold is £68,000 per annum. So you might not HAVE to register. If you decide you DO want to register now or even later, there is nothing to stop you doing it yourself. Obviously, if you do it yourself, the fee will be precisely "Nil". If you ask assistance from (say) an accountant, you will be charged, although the exact amount may be rolled up in the annual accounting fee.
4. Are there any other services that the online vendor might offer that I should think about? Company secretarial, HMRC registration etc.
Some formation agents might do this. However, these matters might best be sorted out once the company is set up and you have an accountant in tow. Company Secretarial work is not that onerous these days and has been much reduced with the passing of the 2006 Companies Act.
5. The price is £50 + £99 if I take VAT registration. Reasonable?
How long is a piece of string? Whether the prices quoted to you are reasonable or not is down to how much you think you want to avoid the hassle.
6. It seems practical to have my home address as the business address. Any problems here?
No - don't listen to people who try to warn you of possible problems with planning permission, Business Rates or Capital Gains Tax issues - these don't arise for simple "use of home as office" type situations. If your business is low key and doesn't alter the use of your home to any extent, then there should be no problems.
7. If anybody has successfully used another online formation website I would be very happy to take a look on the recommendation.
I'll leave the answer to that question to someone who has actually set up a company using an on-line formation agent. From what I can see from dealing with my own company clients, most have had no real problems no matter who they used
8. My business description will give me the mandate to do anything I want, is that acceptable?
Business descripton where? Companies House?
Up until April 2008, limited companies always had to set out their purpose and activities in the "Objects Clause" of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company. With the advent of the new 2006 Companies Act, this requirement has been abolished.
One thing I would check is whether the company is being set up under the auspices of the 1985 Companies Act or the 2006 Companies Act. One way to tell is if the formation agent asks for a name to be put forward as the Company Secretary. Under the 2006 Act, it is no longer compulsory to have a Company Secretary (although you can appoint one if you so wish.
1. Are there any pitfalls I should be aware of forming a company online? Is it worth the effort to fill in the Companies House forms myself?
The initial company formation and share transfer forms are best left with the formation agents as they know what they are doing and will more than likely do it all correctly
2. My company name is my street address, excluding house number. Any problems with that?
There should be no problem with that provided the name doesn't already exist at Companies House. Companies House will block names that are the same as or very similar to existing company names.
3. The online co offers VAT registration for £99. There's a chance my turnover will be over £67k, should I register anyway so my customers can reclaim the VAT? Invoices expected to be c£250 each and occasional £3500 for products on which I will pay VAT.
The current compulsory VAT Registration Threshold is £68,000 per annum. So you might not HAVE to register. If you decide you DO want to register now or even later, there is nothing to stop you doing it yourself. Obviously, if you do it yourself, the fee will be precisely "Nil". If you ask assistance from (say) an accountant, you will be charged, although the exact amount may be rolled up in the annual accounting fee.
4. Are there any other services that the online vendor might offer that I should think about? Company secretarial, HMRC registration etc.
Some formation agents might do this. However, these matters might best be sorted out once the company is set up and you have an accountant in tow. Company Secretarial work is not that onerous these days and has been much reduced with the passing of the 2006 Companies Act.
5. The price is £50 + £99 if I take VAT registration. Reasonable?
How long is a piece of string? Whether the prices quoted to you are reasonable or not is down to how much you think you want to avoid the hassle.
6. It seems practical to have my home address as the business address. Any problems here?
No - don't listen to people who try to warn you of possible problems with planning permission, Business Rates or Capital Gains Tax issues - these don't arise for simple "use of home as office" type situations. If your business is low key and doesn't alter the use of your home to any extent, then there should be no problems.
7. If anybody has successfully used another online formation website I would be very happy to take a look on the recommendation.
I'll leave the answer to that question to someone who has actually set up a company using an on-line formation agent. From what I can see from dealing with my own company clients, most have had no real problems no matter who they used
8. My business description will give me the mandate to do anything I want, is that acceptable?
Business descripton where? Companies House?
Up until April 2008, limited companies always had to set out their purpose and activities in the "Objects Clause" of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company. With the advent of the new 2006 Companies Act, this requirement has been abolished.
One thing I would check is whether the company is being set up under the auspices of the 1985 Companies Act or the 2006 Companies Act. One way to tell is if the formation agent asks for a name to be put forward as the Company Secretary. Under the 2006 Act, it is no longer compulsory to have a Company Secretary (although you can appoint one if you so wish.
Yes.
A Form 288b needs to be completed, signed and submitted to Companies House.
The Form 288b can be downloaded in pdf format from the Companies House website. There is no filing fee associated with the 288b.
Being a 1985 Companies Act company, the company's original Memorandum and Articles may specifically mention the rules and restrictions surrounding the duties of the Company Secretary. If they do, the Memo and Arts also needs to be amended and submitted to Companies House. The Memo and Arts can only be amended by the members (i.e. the shareholders) and not the directors. Therefore the procedure that should be followed is:
i) call an Extraordinary General Meeting of the company
ii) at the EGM, have the members approve the removal of the need of the company to have a Company Secretary.
iii) draft a Special Resolution to enact the change
iv) submit the Special Resolution and accompanyinmg minutes of the EGM to Companies House
If you remove the Secretary without amending the Memorandum and Articles, you are in breach of Company Law.
Companies House do charge for the submission of Special Resolutions.
A Form 288b needs to be completed, signed and submitted to Companies House.
The Form 288b can be downloaded in pdf format from the Companies House website. There is no filing fee associated with the 288b.
Being a 1985 Companies Act company, the company's original Memorandum and Articles may specifically mention the rules and restrictions surrounding the duties of the Company Secretary. If they do, the Memo and Arts also needs to be amended and submitted to Companies House. The Memo and Arts can only be amended by the members (i.e. the shareholders) and not the directors. Therefore the procedure that should be followed is:
i) call an Extraordinary General Meeting of the company
ii) at the EGM, have the members approve the removal of the need of the company to have a Company Secretary.
iii) draft a Special Resolution to enact the change
iv) submit the Special Resolution and accompanyinmg minutes of the EGM to Companies House
If you remove the Secretary without amending the Memorandum and Articles, you are in breach of Company Law.
Companies House do charge for the submission of Special Resolutions.
Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff