UK ltd company with EU-based director

[stefasali]

Hello everyone!
This is my first post in this forum!

Well, I'm the EU-based director of a UK limited company which I formed a few days ago using a company formation site online.

Before I start trading I need to answer a few questions to make sure I don't do anything illegal:

1) Since I'm not a UK resident and It's kind of hard or maybe impossible to open a business bank account in UK, can I open a bank account in my country of residence and use it for my UK business transactions?

2) How can I issue invoices to EU businesses for services or goods? Do I need to be VAT-registered?

3) What do I need to produce financial statements like profit & loss, balance sheet?

I will trully appreciate your effort to answer my questions!
Thanks in advance!

 

[davidkarlrhodes]

Welcome to the forum, and good luck with your business!

1. You can happily operate with just a bank account in your own country, however if you are selling B2B, some customers will object to paying into an overseas account as an undue admin burden and be aware you will pay high charges each time a payment is made, so if the payments are relatively low each time, this will hit your margin substantially.

2. You can invoice any EU country from any other EU country. You add country of origin tax (i.e. if you're selling from Netherlands to UK, you use Netherlands sales tax not UK VAT). If the customer is VAT registered then you can invoice them without adding tax. Now, be careful, as above certain thresholds of turnover per year in each destination country, you are obliged to register for VAT in that destination country.

3. Get an accountant. He will advise you what accounting software will best suit your business and is one he is able to audit.

I hope the above is helpful.

 

[stefasali]

Thank you a lot David! That was really helpful!

It's big relief to know that I'm not obligated to travel to UK to open a bank account...!

I have one more question to ask..
Do I have to ask for invoices for all my expenses (personal or business) here in my country? or ordinary receipts are fine?
I mean, to legally track my expenses for my annual return.

Thanks in advance!

 

[davidkarlrhodes]

As I don't know what country you are in I can't answer that question. If you haven't already done so, you definitely need to hire an accountant. He/she will be able to answer most of the questions you have, and will know your national regulations.

 

[stefasali]

Thanks again David!

I'll definitely do that! I live in Greece and the tax system it's messed up here, so hiring an accountant is my first priority!