New Start Up

[CRM]

Hi Guys,

I am considering starting my own business. I have reasonable financial backing and a more than sound knowledge of the industry i will be entering.

I will work from home initially but I already have an idea for a company name, a web developer in place, and a knowledge of google ad words in addition to a wealth of potential customers in my phone/email address book.

I was just wondering if anybody had any knowledge of the website ww.duport.co.uk

They claim they can set up a company to be fully compliant on companies house etc. Having chose a few additional extras the cost came in at £214 including VAT.

Does this sound about right?

All advice and feedback is welcome.

Regards

CRM

 

[arnydnxluk]

The cost to register a limited company with Companies House directly is £12.

So, only you will know if the £214 is good value based on:

1) How much you value their assistance
and
2) What other services they are providing you for that price

To be honest, it's straight forward to register the company yourself but some people do prefer company formation services for various reasons.

If you share what the additional services are then people can comment more accurately on whether it's worth the £214.

All the best with your new business!

 

[CRM]

Mike,

Many thanks for the speedy reply, that is great advice.

For the £214 they are offering the following:

Limited Company Formation
2 x domain names with hosting (1 year)
Company minutes (not sure what this, could you help)
VAT Application
Digital Incorporation Certificate
Digital Company Register
Digital Memorandum and Articles
Incorporation Certificate
Share Certificates x4
Memorandum and Articles x2
Director Service Contract
Company Name Plate
Employer Registration
Digital PSC Register

Does that sound like a lot of hot air?

Regards

CRM

 

[Miriam Terry]

Companies House is all you need unles you are setting up CIC company then in that case you would need a third party. Hope this helps

 

[Miriam Terry]

Or I can set you up one for £200

 

[arnydnxluk]

Some of the listed items are just "standard", i.e. not services being specifically provided by the company formation website, such as the Digital Incorporation Certificate - you would receive this when registering the company yourself.

Some of the items are basically print outs which you could do yourself.

Some such as the share certificates can be created yourself by using a template, opening it in something like Word, editing your details in and printing.

Company minutes is just a record of your first director's meeting. If you're the only director and shareholder, this probably sounds a bit strange but it's just a formality (there are lots of formalities you have to go through even with small limited companies). You can read more on that here: http://www.informdirect.co.uk/company-formation/first-board-minutes/

Obviously I'm biased on this one but I'd be wary of the web hosting. The reason being, you presumably don't know how much you're going to be paying for renewals in future(?), nor many details of the actual provider. Considering this is the home to your business emails and website, you might as well go directly with a hosting provider of your choice. Do you actually need 2 domains or are they suggesting that as part of the package? Personally, I would suggest asking your web developer for a recommendation on who to host with, for a small business website it should probably cost less than £60/year including domain.

Are you going to be using an accountant during your first year? If so, perhaps find your accountant first and then ask them to handle your incorporation and VAT registration, then they can advise on the best VAT scheme etc.

Edit - Actually, even if you weren't already considering an accountant, I would definitely recommend finding one. The investment is well worth it, they can handle your incorporation and everything afterwards. It will really make your life so much easier - dealing with limited companies and VAT isn't easy. This will leave you more time to concentrate on running your business.

 

[Ava Williams]

<<<Mod edit, comment removed as it was in response to a deleted post>>>

I would like to reiterate what @arnydnxluk said earlier about the accountant/bookkeeper; enlist the help of one right away!

 

[CRM]

Some of the listed items are just "standard", i.e. not services being specifically provided by the company formation website, such as the Digital Incorporation Certificate - you would receive this when registering the company yourself.

Some of the items are basically print outs which you could do yourself.

Some such as the share certificates can be created yourself by using a template, opening it in something like Word, editing your details in and printing.

Company minutes is just a record of your first director's meeting. If you're the only director and shareholder, this probably sounds a bit strange but it's just a formality (there are lots of formalities you have to go through even with small limited companies). You can read more on that here:

Obviously I'm biased on this one but I'd be wary of the web hosting. The reason being, you presumably don't know how much you're going to be paying for renewals in future(?), nor many details of the actual provider. Considering this is the home to your business emails and website, you might as well go directly with a hosting provider of your choice. Do you actually need 2 domains or are they suggesting that as part of the package? Personally, I would suggest asking your web developer for a recommendation on who to host with, for a small business website it should probably cost less than £60/year including domain.

Are you going to be using an accountant during your first year? If so, perhaps find your accountant first and then ask them to handle your incorporation and VAT registration, then they can advise on the best VAT scheme etc.

Thank you for the excellent, informative reply.

In terms of domain names do you think abbreviations work? For example if my company was called cute cold fishes (completely spurious and fictitious so please no accusations of spamming webzsuite.com) would it wise to have ccf.com as the domain name?

Thank you once again

CRM

 

[Webzsuite.com]

I didn't respond to your post in that way, I responded by politely informing you that I wasn't 'spamming'

Are you having a bay day?

Relax

CRM

Ok. Than you should know that offer that you have quoted here is an awful.

Similar offer costs ~ £35-£40 with VAT (most of it is just digital templates that are worthless).

DO NOT BUY IN THERE IT IS WAY OVERPRICED !!!


Here is what you'll get for similar money :

Most important options are:
- Registered address for a year
- Mail forwarding for a year (~£30-£50 per month normally)
- Director Service Address

Those three are most expensive and they can explain > £150 price tag.

Digital stuff cannot (or company name plate for £5 from ebay) (or domain name that you can buy for £1 for new business)



Digital Certificate of Incorporation, Share Certificates and M&As

- Certificate of Incorporation
- Share certificates
- Memorandum of Association
- Articles of Association
- Your Web Filing Authentication Code
- Tax and accountancy consultation
- Free website with .co.uk domain name
- £75 Google AdWords voucher when you spend £25
- 2 month trial to FreeAgent Online Accounting software
- Small business start up guide
- Strategies for your business
- Planning for yourself and your family
- Tax and employment
- Savings and investments
-Digital statutory forms including First Board Meeting minutes
-Printed Certificate of Incorporation
-Printed Share Certificate(s)
-Maintenance of Statutory books
-- Company name, company number and !!! Registered Office !!!
- Accounting reference date and other important dates
- List of company directors and their service address
- List of company secretaries and their address
- List of shareholders and how many shares they hold
- !!! Prestigious Registered Office Address - N1 London !!!!
- !!!Mail is forwarded within 1 working day of receiving it at our office!!!
- No postage or handling charges, even if we forward your mail outside the UK
-Director Service Address - keep your residential address private
-First year’s Confirmation Statement - preparation and filing
-Bound M&A (Memorandum and Articles of Association)
-Mail Forwarding for 1 year
worth £239.88)

-VAT Registration with HMRC

 

[arnydnxluk]

In terms of domain names do you think abbreviations work? For example if my company was called cute cold fishes (completely spurious and fictitious so please no accusations of spamming webzsuite.com) would it wise to have ccf.com as the domain name?

Probably best to start a new thread on this one (IT & Internet or SEO, PPC and Online Marketing sections), as you'll receive more feedback from people in the right industries.

The two most important things in my opinion are:

1. Can your domain be clearly understood and remembered when mentioned verbally, e.g. word of mouth, on the phone or in advertisements?
2. Your website must rank first when people are searching for your business name. Most people these days find a company's website by searching, the first listing is normally assumed to be the correct one. The domain probably does hold some weight in ranking (e.g. cutecoldfishes.com will initially rank more easily for "cute cold fishes" than ccf.com) but assuming you have a unique business name, ranking first should be easy to do with any domain. Note - I'm not big on SEO, I'm sure others can advise you better on this one.

Abbreviated domains can work, as long as you've cracked those two things. However if the business name is long, I'd probably consider using a different business name rather than abbreviating the domain (personally). It's very much subjective though and depends on the industry you're entering, your business plan, etc.

 

[obscure]

I don't know the company in question but will say that when buying a package you should be very careful that you actually need all the elements. Does your new venture actually need to be VAT registered right from the get go? Are you expecting to exceed the VAT threshold straight away?

Also in regard to domain registration and hosting - you may well be over charged for these services, you also need to ensure that they are actually registered in your/your company's name and not registered in their name "on your behalf" - can cause problems if you try to stop using the package they paid for as there may be hidden costs for them to "release" the domain to you.