Which limited company to set up

However if your business has been established for sometime under a sole proprietorship or partnership and already has a share capital amassed, a Public Limited Company may suit your business better.

Just like their dream car, everyone has a fantastical name for their business should they ever be in the position to create their own. The best thing about Limited Company names is that they are unique to businesses. No two businesses can have either identical, or similar names. Whilst this is great for protecting the identity of your business, it can make the process of choosing a name even harder if you discover somebody else already has a variation of your idea.

Use name checker tools like this one from Companies House to check your name against the hundreds of others that are listed every day. While choosing your name may be the fun part, registering your business is where it gets serious.

Just like choosing which type of Limited Company to set up, there are options to choose from when it comes to registering your company. You can register your company online with Companies House.

Whilst the process takes around ten minutes, the subsequent authenticity process will take around 24 hours. For businesses who will be remote, using a home address can be avoided in the event of the business not having an office. Subsequent accounts will be for the 12 months to 30 June each year.

This may be 31 March to tie in with your personal tax year, or 31 December to follow the calendar year, or you may prefer to make it 12 months from now.

It may be worth talking to an accountant about how you split profits between salary for work carried out and dividends for the financial risk of investing in the company. It is important to distinguish salary as a payment for services for a director role, versus dividends which is a distribution of profit due to ownership through shares.

Find out more about salary and dividends. Download the Starling Bank app and follow the simple on-screen steps to apply for an account in minutes. Our Privacy Notice sets out how the personal data collected from you will be processed by us. Business guides Taking off Starting up Setting up a limited company. Public limited company vs private limited company First you need to decide whether you want to be a public limited company PLC or a private limited company LTD. Choosing a limited company name You also need to choose a name for your limited company.

Register an address for your limited company You will need a registered office address. Forming a limited company You can register your company via the Companies House website using the default Articles of Incorporation provided during the process these are the official documents you need to create a company legally.

In addition, you will need to provide three pieces of personal information in lieu of a signature. Following the initial formation, this information is updated via the Confirmation Statement which all companies are required to submit to Companies House each year, to keep the registrar up-to-date.

You can download example model articles here. Importantly, if for whatever reason you decide to use your own amended articles, you cannot incorporate your company online. This is an agreement which confirms the intention of initial subscribers to form a limited company in the first place, with the following wording:. Each subscriber to this memorandum of association wishes to form a company under the Companies Act and agrees to become a member of the company and to take at least one share.

This is followed by a list of all subscribers. You can download a Memorandum template here. When you enter the details of each shareholder during the online formation process, just ticking a checkbox confirms that the shareholder has authenticated the prescribed form memorandum of association.

Sole trader vs. Self-employed vs. Understanding the difference between business structures will help you decide which is right for you. As a retailer, it's up to you to know the UK's laws and regulations regarding refunds, marketing your products, opening times and shop workers' rights. A review of the most popular web builders, including their pricing, support and unique features. Superscript uses cookies to give you the best experience possible.

View our cookie policy to learn more. Online quote. Advised service. About us. Business Superscript 24 September What is a limited company? Is starting a limited company the right option for you? Other structures include: Sole trader — you run the business yourself, are self-employed and fill out Self Assessment tax returns every year. Partnership — you nominate a partner which could be a limited company and you both personally share responsibility for the business.

Social enterprise — a business that has social, charitable or community-based objectives. You can set this up in numerous ways, including a limited company, charity and sole trader.

Overseas company — a business that operates outside of the UK, but has a place of business in the UK or carries out business in the UK. Unincorporated association — an organisation set up for a reason other than to make profit, such as a voluntary group. You do not need to register an unincorporated association and members are personally responsible for its debts.

Why have a limited company? Some of the benefits of a limited company include: No personal liability — a limited company is considered a separate legal entity from its owners.

This means if the company ran up debts, you wouldn't be personally liable. Tax advantages — as the owner of a limited company, you can pay yourself a salary from the profits but also pay yourself in bonuses and dividends, which can be more tax efficient. Professional appearance — having a limited company can give a more professional appearance and some companies may even require you to have a limited company to work with them.