Professional limited company formation agents electronically filing directly with Companies House.

One of the most complicated elements of running a business is organising the accounts. For this reason, following company formation, most business-owners choose to hire an accountant to assist them with the financial side of running a company. When choosing an accountant, there are various things business owners should consider.• Research accountants prior to company formation. You will then be able to hire one immediately after your company is formed, helping your financials get organised from day one.• When researching potential accountants, make sure you look into their professional qualifications. A fully qualified accountant will be guaranteed to provide a certain level of service and will give you a third party to complain to should you be dissatisfied with their service.• Make sure you find out what your accountant charges before you commit to hiring them. Do they charge an hourly or monthly fee? Compare the fees and services offered by several firms but bear in mind that the cheapest may not always be the best choice. Knowing what your accountant charges will help you allow for it in your businesses budget.• Look for an accountant that specialises in tax. While most accountants are able to complete tax returns, not all of them are familiar with all the tax requirements related to businesses. Choose accountants that are members of the Association of Tax Technicians.• If you’re still unsure about which accountant to use, your company registration agents can help you find one who meets your needs.

When forming your own company, you want everything to run as smoothly as possible. Delays in company registration can cost you money, sending your business plan off track and preventing you from starting work. While company formation agents aim to make the process as simple as possible, there are certain mistakes that can delay the process. Here are some of the most common and ways they can be avoided.

• Using restricted words in company names

When you submit your business name to Companies House, you need to make sure that it’s unique and doesn’t contain any sensitive words. Companies House has a list of restricted words and will reject company names that contain any of them. If you have any doubts over the wording of your company name, contact your company formation agents.

• Incorrect names and addresses

The names that you include on your company registration forms should match those on your forms of identification. Make sure you include any middles names you and your directors may have, and include any previous names if you have had them. Make sure your residential address is spelt correctly and that the postcode is included.

• Incorrect shareholder details

Before you start the company registration process, make sure you have the details of all your shareholders and double-check that everything is correct. This will enable you to fill out the application form quickly and accurately and avoid delays caused by incorrect submissions. If you are unsure what information you need, contact your company formation agents.

Running your own business involves a lot of hard work. While ultimately you may want a team of dedicated staff in a stylish office helping you with the day to day running of your company, it’s likely that, following your initially company formation, you’ll have to do most of the work yourself and spend a lot of time working from home. While working from home may seem like a dream to many, it requires a lot of motivation and self-control. Here are some tips for new company owners running their business from home.• Following your company registration, there will be a lot of work to do but try to keep your home life and work life separate. Have a fixed number of hours in the day that you will dedicate to work and, if possible, turn a room of your house into an ‘office’ where you can work free from distractions.• When you start working from home after your company formation, it’s likely that you’ll have to structure your work around your responsibilities at home. It can help to write a timetable detailing everything you need to do to help you establish a regular routine.• Make sure you have a number of ways for business associates to contact you, including landline, mobile, email, VOIP and instant messaging. If one of your methods of contact goes down, people will still be able to talk to you. Also, find an area of your home where you can talk on the phone undisturbed, away from traffic noise, children and the television.

Prior to company formation, many potential business-owners choose to prepare a business plan. This will help you foresee how your business will perform and anticipate any problems that may arise along the way. An effective business plan will help you formulate all your ideas and strategies before company registration and should contain the following things:1. The first thing you should include on your business plan is an outline of the industry you plan to run your business in. You should then define how your business will benefit that industry. Explain how your products or services will fill a gap in the industry.2. A major part of running a business is understanding who your customer base is. Include in your business plan who your target market is and how you plan to capitalise on them. Any potential marketing strategies should also be discussed prior to company registration and included in your business plan.3. You should then detail the finer points of your business. Where will it be located and what facilities will you need? Your business plan should include details of any staff you may need to run your business, along with your major sales strategies.4. Not all businesses require a team of staff after company formation, but if yours does you should incorporate a management plan in your business plan. This should detail your business’ hierarchy and who reports to whom. Also include any incentives you may use to increase staff productivity.

Prior to company formation, most entrepreneurs develop a business plan detailing specific goals and objectives for their business. However, should a recession occur, these plans can go awry. Recession shouldn’t put potential business owners off company formation; it just means that certain things need to be tackled in different ways, taking the economic situation into account.When considering company formation during a recession, it’s important that you set simple goals that are achievable in a short space of time, rather than broad, general objectives. This could be as simple as created ‘to do’ lists every working day. This will help you feel like you are achieving something in the short term rather than focusing on long term difficulties.Although running any business involves a certain level of risk taking, taking big, unnecessary risks during a recession is inadvisable. During and following company registration, businesses should be constantly on the lookout for ways the can save money and avoid spending money unnecessarily. While this may not reap huge rewards in the short term, it should help to guarantee the longevity of the company after the recession has passed.There are some benefits to company registration during a recession. High unemployment levels make it easy to find highly qualified employees for reasonable salaries. Rents on offices are generally lower and it may be possible to purchase office equipment and supplies from failed companies at extremely low prices. With the right planning and preparation, company formation during a recession can be extremely successful.