Set Up a Limited Company: Business Startup & Company Formation
Start your business on the right footing.
The decisions you make in the first few weeks shape your tax and admin for years. We help you choose the right structure, set up the company, register with HMRC and get your records running from day one.
Is this the right support?
- People leaving employment to start their own business
- Sole traders who need to register with HMRC for the first time
- Founders setting up a limited company, alone or with partners
- Contractors and freelancers setting up to work through a company
The work itself.
- Advice on sole trader, partnership, LLP or limited company, with the tax figures side by side
- Forming your limited company at Companies House, with the right share structure
- Registering for Self Assessment, Corporation Tax, PAYE and, where needed, VAT
- Help choosing a business bank account and connecting it to your software
- Setting up Xero or QuickBooks from the start, with receipt capture
- A plain-English list of your deadlines for the first year
- Guidance on paying yourself, expenses and record keeping from day one
How to set up a limited company
Here is the process from start to finish. We can do every step for you, or check what you have done yourself.
- 01Choose a company nameCheck it is available on the Companies House register and not too similar to an existing name or trade mark.
- 02Decide on directors and shareholdersMost small companies have one or two directors who also own the shares. Think about who should own shares now, as dividends follow shareholdings.
- 03Pick a registered office and SIC codeThe registered office must be an appropriate UK address where post can be received. The SIC code describes what the company does.
- 04Register the company at Companies HouseOnline incorporation costs 100 pounds and is usually complete within a day or two. Directors also need to verify their identity.
- 05Register for Corporation TaxHMRC sends a company UTR after incorporation. You must register for Corporation Tax within three months of starting to trade.
- 06Open a business bank accountKeep company money separate from personal money from day one; it is a legal entity in its own right.
- 07Register for PAYE and VAT if neededPAYE is needed before you pay any salary, including your own. VAT registration is required once taxable turnover passes 90,000 pounds.
- 08Set up your bookkeepingStart in Xero or QuickBooks with receipt capture, so records are complete from the first transaction.
Agreed before we begin.
Startup support is usually a fixed one-off fee, often combined with your first year of accounts and tax. Company formation includes the Companies House filing fee only if your proposal says so.
What we'll need from you.
- Your business idea, expected income and plans for the first year
- Personal details for each director and shareholder, and identity documents for our checks
- Any existing HMRC references, such as a UTR
Four quiet steps.
- 01
Conversation
We talk through the business, your current setup and what you need.
- 02
Proposal
You receive a written quote setting out the scope, responsibilities and fees.
- 03
Setup
We arrange access and agree how information will be shared.
- 04
Ongoing work
We complete the agreed work and tell you what we need along the way.
Worth asking.
The Companies House fee for online incorporation is 100 pounds. On top of that, you may pay for accountancy support, a business bank account and accounting software. We quote a fixed fee for startup support before we begin.
You register a private limited company with Companies House, usually online. You need a name, a registered office address, at least one director, at least one shareholder, SIC codes and the identity details for each person. We can handle the whole registration for you.
It depends on how much profit you expect, how much you need to take out, and whether you want limited liability. On 2026/27 rates a company only saves tax if you leave some profit in it. Try our sole trader vs limited company calculator, then talk it through with us.
Online incorporation at Companies House is usually completed within a day or two. Registering for Corporation Tax, PAYE and VAT then follows over the next few weeks.
When your taxable turnover goes over 90,000 pounds in any rolling 12 months, or you expect it to within 30 days. Some businesses register voluntarily earlier; we will tell you whether that makes sense for you.
Not legally, but the first few weeks are when the costly mistakes happen: the wrong structure, missed registrations or no records. A short setup engagement usually pays for itself.
