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How to register a company in the UK

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Re: How to register a company in the UK

#61

Post by scotty79 »

vixen99 wrote: post #33
mattmanser wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whether you can own a UK company with a foreign address I don't know. I do know many virtual offices can be your registered address. These tend to be companies that receive your mail/phone calls and forward them on to you or let you rent desks or offices for meetings in town/city centres. For example: http://www.westone-business.com/ or http://www.mwbex.com/page/business-address NB: Those companies are just some of t…

As an individual you can't get a UK bank account unless you can prove you have a UK physical address. Maybe there is a way round but I doubt the restrictions are any less rigorous for businesses.

I heard that there are companies that provide you with UK physical address.

Re: How to register a company in the UK

#63

Post by TestUser123 »

Anyone here who is using a UK company while not based there?

Supposedly there are some additional requirements when you're controlling a UK company from abroad. I'm interested in establishing an additional company for some of my ideas but am based in a country which requires high start up capital (Germany, Italy, Belgium, ...).

Anyone familiar with this?

Re: How to register a company in the UK

#64

Post by olh »

eberfreitas wrote: post #15

Registering a company in Brazil is a hundred times more complicated and expensive. Maybe some day I'll write a similar post...

If I want to register my startup here in Brazil, I need to personally go to five different places and wait more than a hundred days.

Re: How to register a company in the UK

#65

Post by tomgallard »

auxbuss wrote: post #58
tomgallard wrote: post #28

My accountant did the company registration free for me. I'd caution against doing it yourself unless you know exactly what you are doing. This is because, although the company creation itself is pretty simple, there are lots of legal requirements that you need to get right, and plenty of details you want to get right first time. Just as one quick example- if you've been operating as a sole-trader, you'll probably fin…

Frankly, that's silly. It costs £18 to register a company online directly. You will be sent all the appropriate forms and documentation in the post/mail. If you are at all concerned, simply fill in the form that declares the company as dormant until you are ready to trade. That's all you need to do. Once you trade, then there are a few things to take into account. However, at that point you are a director, and the fo…

I'm sorry- I think you're wrong on this, and your advice is potentially quite dangerous.

If you're going to register a dormant company, then yes, fair enough, do it yourself.

However, if you're trading it is not easily accomplished. As a Sole Trader- yes, its simple to do.

However, anyone who claims they can produce a full set of accounts, compliant with UK accounting standards to the filling in of your CT600 and filing of accounts with Companies House is likely kidding themselves.

Yes- you may think you're doing it right, but you're not going to know until 5 years down the line HMRC open an investigation into your company and set someone who knows what they're doing onto your records.

Are you willing to take that risk with your business- cos I'm definitely not!

Yes HMRC are helpful, but they're not going to produce your accounts for you.

Re: How to register a company in the UK

#67

Post by ekpyrotic »

Quick note, regarding "[c]ontrary to what some people will tell you, you can have your business registered at your home address. You can do so even if your tenancy agreement doesn't allow it (obviously, don't actually go out of your way to tell your landlord about it). I don't know anyone who has gotten in trouble because of this (though I'm sure you can find some rare examples if you try)."

I use to assess people for risk at a premier London estate agent.

We would have discovered this in our research via Company House, and if it had infringed your previous tenancy agreement (which it usually would have) we would have: (1) declined any potential tenancy outright, (2) told the future landlord that you had operated a business out of your previous address, and (3) left the final decision to the future landlord.

In the same job, I saw CCJs and Bankruptcies filed against the Landlord's property (when businesses went bust with debts to their name) because inexperienced estate agencies and property management agencies didn't properly vet their tenants.

Re: How to register a company in the UK

#68

Post by ryanwaggoner »

ekpyrotic wrote: post #67

Quick note, regarding "[c]ontrary to what some people will tell you, you can have your business registered at your home address. You can do so even if your tenancy agreement doesn't allow it (obviously, don't actually go out of your way to tell your landlord about it). I don't know anyone who has gotten in trouble because of this (though I'm sure you can find some rare examples if you try)." I use to assess people fo…

How ridiculous. If you want to run a steel mill out of your kitchen, that's one thing, but not allowing someone to write some code for a side business in a spare bedroom?

I own multiple rental properties and these scenarios are the least of my worries.

Plus, how would a risk check know what was part of your previous tenant agreement? Do people in the UK submit their previous lease with each application?

Re: How to register a company in the UK

#69

Post by papaf »

scotty79 wrote: post #22

What is the simplest way for citizen of EU member state to create and manage UK Ltd company without ever being to UK or owning anything else there (or renting physical office)?

I was running a UK company from Germany using:

http://www.companiesmadesimple.com/

They provide registration, a UK registered office address and mail forwarding to your address outside the UK. Each of the services costs extra and I'd estimate the overhead is around 300 Euros a year.

Re: How to register a company in the UK

#70

Post by carbonesc »

teamonkey wrote: post #36
carbonesc wrote: post #34

I would advise that before people rush to register a Limited company they should consider operating as a sole trader. A sole trader can open a bank account, employ people, rent an office, register trademarks etc. Also search thoroughly for your proposed company name to check for existing businesses with similiar names or trademarks. And you will probably want a domain name to match.

I would think the opposite. As a sole trader you're personally liable for the company. Above a fairly low threshold for income you have to be VAT registered as a sole trader anyway, which is the biggest headache. If you already get an accountant to do your books I see no reason at all to be a sole trader.

You only have to register for VAT if your turnover reaches about 70,000 UKP [1]. I guess there are many people reading HN who will be running a business that will not immediately reach this level. Incorporating a limited company is not the only way for them to set up a business, which was the impression given by the article:

"If you're trying to create a business, rather than just create a legal outlet for your freelancing, you will need a Limited Company."

I am just suggesting people weigh the alternatives of limited company vs sole trader. The minimum viable form of business is the sole trader. It is possible to convert from sole-trader to limited company at a later stage. Certainly consult an accountant and consider the cost and tax implications of both approaches.

When there are going to be multiple owners of the business from the start I would agree that a limited company gives clarity to your relationship and is probably better for this reason.

[1] http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/forms-rates/rates/rates-threshold...

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