What's a Limited Company and How Do I Start One?

What’s a Limited Company and How Do I Start One?

By admin, September 12, 2018

When you are starting up a new business there are a number of different ways you can set it up – one of these options is to create a Limited Company – this creates a business which is entirely separate from you and your personal finances.

1. What is a Limited Company?

The company has its own business name and its own separate identify. You need a business bank account and the business can make profits or loss. It can pay taxes and have debt, of its own, all separate from you as the business owner.

You have to have a company bank account – it can’t be in your name – and all money earned by the company have to go into the company bank account but this is relatively simple to set up.

It is important to understand that the company is separate from you as a person – if you want to have more control and be more involved then it might be better to set up as a sole trader – when you and the business are one and the same.

2. How to set up a Limited Company

The first thing you need to do is choose your company name, and then decide where it will be based. You also need to decide who will be within your company as well. Once you have all that decided you need to think about shares – if you have more than one of you owning the company you will need to decide what percentage you each own. Find out exactly how to set up a limited company in this step by step guide from Crunch.

3. Shareholders

You are able to add shareholders to the company but you should seek professional advice on this side of things as there can be tax implications.

4. Register with Companies House

Once you have decided on everything, you need to go to Companies House website and register your company for a low fee. You can do the whole process online. They will check if any other businesses have the same name as you and will ask who your company director and company secretary are.

It is often possible to do this through an accountancy firm. You need to be aware that being a company director comes with legal responsibilities.

5. A Memorandum of Association

Companies House also require you to file a Memorandum of Association which outlines why the company was set up and how it will be run. It can be used in tax issues or legal proceedings so make sure it is drafted correctly. You can write it but keep it as simple as possible in that case.

6. Consider professional advice

While the process is simple, if you get it wrong it could cause problems further down the line so you might want to consider getting expert help from your accountant or from a company set up specialist. There will likely be a fee involved but it will be worth it to get everything right from the start.

7. Working with your accountant

An accountant will often provide the support to set up your company for free as long as they then continue to work with you to deliver your payroll and taxes and support your business on an ongoing basis. It is definitely worth looking into for all of the help and support which you will get for your business from day one.

8. The business bank account

You don’t necessarily need a High Street bank for your business bank account but there are plenty of other options out there which can be set up quickly to help your business get off the ground without delay.

9. HMRC help and guidance

As a new business owner you need to understand your expenses and tax obligations as well as VAT potentially so it’s worth checking the HMRC website as they have a lot of information and advice for business owners.

They also run regular webinars and advice sessions on all kinds of tax-related business issues so check out everything on there to make sure you register with them for tax and if you need to register for VAT etc..

Again, it’s better to make sure you get everything set up from day one, correctly, so that your business starts from a positive footing. If you have any questions or doubts about business taxes you can also seek help from your accountant.

Setting up a Limited Company is a fairly straightforward process but it’s important to work out if this is the best route for you by looking at all the options first. If you do decide it’s what you want to do, then seek professional advice, from you accountant, before starting out so that you make sure everything is done correctly right from the start for your new business, giving it a good foundation.