The decision between a limited company, a sole trade and a branch of an overseas parent shapes your tax position, your personal liability and how easily you can take on investment later. It is worth thirty minutes at the beginning and expensive to unwind at the end.
Once the structure is settled, incorporation itself is quick. What takes longer — and what most new companies underestimate — is everything that has to follow: corporation tax registration, PAYE if you will employ, VAT if you will exceed the threshold, a business bank account, and insurance.
Accounting came in-house in 2019 because clients were spending too much time relaying messages between us and a separate accountant. Bookkeeping, payroll, VAT returns, annual accounts and corporation tax are now handled by the same firm that drafts your contracts.
The practical benefit is not administrative tidiness. It is that the person advising you on a redundancy already knows what it does to your payroll and your year end.
Structure advice, incorporation, registered office and the registrations that follow.
Getting status right, and the self assessment obligations that come with it.
Bookkeeping, payroll, VAT, annual accounts and corporation tax, filed on time.
Numbers presented so you can act on them, not just file them.
Searches, filing at the Intellectual Property Office and monitoring.
Directors' duties, shareholder agreements and statutory registers kept current.
London, United Kingdom
