Limited company formation
First things first, you need to have decided on your Limited company name! When you’re deciding, it’s also a good idea to check against other companies listed on Companies House, so as to avoid disappointment if the name is already taken or is too similar to another name. Remember to be creative, you don’t just have to use letters in the UK alphabet!
If we are forming a company on your behalf, there is a list of information that will need to begin, such as the principal trading activity of the business, and details for all directors.
Once we have received all of the information, we will process the incorporation. From then, your Limited company is usually formed within 24-48 hours, and can be viewed on Companies House. Once we have had confirmation that the incorporation has been successful, we would be in touch to say congratulations and forward the relevant documents.
Registered office address
When you set up your limited company, you are required to have a UK registered office address. This address doesn’t have to be where the trading is carried out from but will appear on the public record. Your company can use Blu Sky’s office address as their registered office address. This will mean that your home or office address isn’t shown online at Companies House or on the public record. Companies House and HMRC will also use your registered office address as a correspondence address. Any post received at our office for you will be forwarded on to you the same working day to your specified correspondence address. If you want to change your registered office address, this can be done by logging into Companies House online.
HMRC Registrations
Now that your company is up and running, there are certain registrations that many need completing in order to be compliant with HMRC.
VAT
For a VAT registration, it is usually mandatory to be registered for VAT if your annual turnover is over £85,000. If we are completing the registration for you, we will require some information such as bank account details and if you are registering for any VAT schemes (which we can talk you through). HMRC usually process the registration within 2-3 weeks and your VAT number and certificate will be available to view on your online HMRC account, and sent out in the post to your registered office address.
Self-Assessment
Every director of a UK company should usually be registered for self-assessment, and therefore file a self-assessment tax return with HMRC. Once registered you will receive a personal unique tax payer reference (UTR) which is 10 digits long. To process the self-assessment registration form (SA1), personal details such as date of birth, national insurance number, current residential address and the date you moved to that address are required. HMRC then send out your personal UTR in the post to your residential address. This usually takes around 3-4 weeks to be received. If you are already registered for self-assessment but have misplaced your personal UTR, you can ring HMRC on 0300 200 3310 and they will resend it.
PAYE
Again, once you have spoken with your designated contact, we can process the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) registration and complete the payroll for your company. For this registration, we require information such as national insurance numbers for all directors, date you want to be registered and number of employees. Once processed, the PAYE reference and PAYE accounts office reference will be sent out in the post. It usually takes around 2-3 weeks to receive the references.
Once your formations and registrations are processed, you can focus on your business and let us take care of the compliance side of your business for you!
