Post Company Formation

The only way to notify Companies House about a change in your limited company’s shareholding situation is to file a confirmation statement. Find out how to in our blog. 

Yes it can. The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code is a five digit number that categorises a company’s nature of business. The code is chosen when a company is being registered. It is possible to complete a SIC code change when you file the company’s Confirmation Statement. A company can have up to four SIC […]

When appointing a limited company director Companies House request your director’s ‘Full forename(s)’ and ‘Surname’. If you wish you can withhold the middle name. 

The “Return of Allotment of Shares” is the process of adding new shares into a company. For example, a company formed with 1 share can complete a “Return of Allotment of Shares” (also known as the SH01 form) and increase the number of shares to a new amount. 

When you appoint a director with Companies House (via the AP01 form of via our system) you are able to backdate the appointment.  

You’ve had the dream and taken the plunge to set up a limited company, but what next? First of all, well done on deciding to start your own business – you’ve made a courageous decision in taking the first steps of your business venture! Let us guide you through some steps to take once you […]

When forming your limited company you will have noticed the Standard Industrial Classification code (or SIC code), which represents the type of business or industry your business identifies with. This is also part of the information that makes up the Confirmation Statement, the annual filing obligation required by Companies House (the UK’s registrar of companies). 

During the limited company formation process you need to provide a number of different addresses: Registered office Shareholder address Person with significant control address Director’s service address Director’s residential address In this post we’re going to concentrate on the final address is this list; the director’s residential address. Whilst this is clearly where the director […]

Business dictionary.com define an entrepreneur as “Someone who exercises initiative by organizing a venture to take benefit of an opportunity”  This might describe what an entrepreneur is – but is there a set of qualities that an individual needs to become one? How do you know if you have what it takes to go it […]

All of our company formation packages include a digital copy of the company’s certificate of incorporation (plus some of them include a hard copy of the certificate). In this post we’re going to look at how you can download your certificate as soon as your company has been formed.

Since April 2016 all UK limited companies and limited liability partnerships should be keeping a Register of People with Significant Control (PSC) in the company. This information should then be included in the Confirmation Statement – which has now replaced the Annual Return. In this post you’ll find everything you need to know about PSC, […]

Misplaced your Companies House WebFiling Authentication Code? Read this post to find out how you can retrieve it, whether your company was formed with us or not.

All limited companies formed with us are provided with a digital version of the certificate of incorporation (think of it as a company’s birth certificate) that is available to view and download as soon as the company has been formed. In this post we’ll look at how you can download yours.

We could be about to witness one of the most famous sporting upsets of all time (really) as small provincial club Leicester City – who last year were battling relegation – find themselves top of the Premier League going into the final few weeks of the season.

Yesterday’s Budget was particularly relevant for the small business world. Here we break down the key points that you need to be aware of:

Being able to pitch confidently is a vital skill if you want to take your business to the next level. To help you deliver a killer presentation (and make sure you’re prepared for it), we’ve created The Perfect Pitch Checklist. Nail these seven points to give your business the best possible chance:

Lord Young has had a remarkable career in both the business and the political worlds, serving under various conservative governments and acting as the Secretary of State for Employment. He has spearheaded multiple initiatives including Start Up Loans, was an Enterprise Adviser to David Cameron and has written a number or vital reports about the […]

So you have just formed your company. Congratulations you are now heading into an exciting adventure and here at MadeSimple we are here to help you along the way so that you can Change your life. For more information on what we can do for you and your business see here for more information. When you […]

It has been just over a year since MadeSimple moved to the N1 postcode and we are loving life here so far. However, the surrounding area of comprising the Old Street roundabout and beyond is a fantastic and vibrant area that has seen a large growth of new companies over the last few years.

When it comes to the subject of startups and medium sized businesses, their conditions can be dictated not just through their everyday activities but also from larger scale agreements and recognition. This week has demonstrated this to be the case as our great capital city London has received recognition as the central hub for growing […]

Here at Company Formation MadeSimple one of the questions that we get asked often is about maintenance of statutory books. A typical question we get is firstly what is it? And secondly how does it work? Not to worry – it is entirely understandable that you might ask these questions as this is something that […]

This week saw a key and potentially transformative announcement that could significantly impact SMEs. This column has for a while highlighted the problems associated with business rates and the effect these have had on SMEs who use a non domestic property. A key announcement made by Chancellor George Osborne this week could change this system […]

When you look at some of the most successful and innovative companies in the world you can’t ignore what their culture and philosophy is like. If there is anything valuable about a company for the people and employees involved – it is its culture.

Once your limited company has been formed, all your company information is stored on your company admin portal. From here you can make various changes to your company (appoint / edit / resign directors, update the registered office, add shares, and much more), check up on your annual return and annual account due dates, remind […]

Inspired by a question received from a customer (thank you!) – in this post we answer the following “What is a limited company subscriber?” and “Can they be changed after a company has been formed?”.

If you log in at Companies MadeSimple and go to your limited company’s company admin page, you’ll see a field dedicated to the ‘Company Status’ that will most likely be populated with this message: ‘Active’. So what does the ‘Active’ message represent?

Companies Made Simple offer a range of services that are renewable after one year.

Once you have formed your company with us, you can find all the company information on your admin page. To locate this page: Login to Companies Made Simple Select “My Companies” Click on your company name We have just added a new feature to this page; the Register of Members List. This area is for […]

Unfortunately changing a shareholder in a UK limited company is not as simple as changing a company director. This is because shares are involved. Here’s what you need to do to change a shareholder: Complete the J30 stock transfer form Changing a shareholder from one person to another means that shares are moving from one […]

Storing a company on our admin portal means that you can carry out multiple company filing tasks. For example, you can: • Appoint, resign or edit directors • Update the registered office address • Change the accounting reference date • Add shares to the company (known as a ‘return of allotment of shares’) • Keep […]

Our registered office service is available to anyone who has a UK limited company – it doesn’t matter if you’ve formed your company with us or not. If you formed your limited company with us and now want to use our registered office service: • Log in • Select ‘Buy Now’ here; Registered Office Service […]

Locating your incorporation documents (the certificate of incorporation, memorandum of association and articles of association) once your company has been formed is simple: Login to Companies Made Simple.               Select My Companies.

That’s a good question… and one we can’t answer. Now that’s not us being slippery, it’s because every company is different and what suits one company may not suit another. Therefore it wouldn’t be wise for us to say “you should issue X amount of shares with each share being worth X amount”. We can […]

Halloween is the perfect time to cast a wary eye over some of the common mistakes made when forming and running a limited company. Be warned, what follows is not for the faint of heart… Hellish spelling of the company name Whilst our system can check if a company name is available with Companies House […]

We’ve partnered up with names.co.uk to offer you a free domain name (or web address) when you register a limited company. This gives you your own website address i.e. www.yourbusiness.co.uk and you can also choose web hosting or a website building tool to enable you to build your website quickly and easily. There is another […]

All of our company formation packages come with the option to open a Barclays Business Bank Account. On top of this, once an account has been successfully opened we’ll give you £50 cash back. How to form your company and arrange your meeting with Barclays 1. Search for your proposed company name and choose your […]

It’s not every day you get invited to visit Number 10 to talk ‘small business’ with senior advisors to the Prime Minister. So this week I was delighted to be selected by the team at Enterprise Nation who arranged the opportunity for 20 small business owners to get round a table (and a very prestigious […]

One of the most satisfying moments for any start-up is when the website goes live. It’s the opening of your shop front, the unveiling of your brand, the introduction of your business. In short, it’s the start. Therefore you want to get it right. The beauty of digital is that you don’t have to get […]

First, let’s look at what we mean by paid for. Paid for indicates that the value of the shares in a limited company have been paid into the company’s bank account (or other fund such as petty cash). A company can have both paid shares and unpaid shares; it’s not a case of all or […]

Anyone perusing our company registration packages will come across the terms Registered Office and Service Address. So what on earth are these and what’s the difference? The Registered Office This is the official address for a UK limited company. As that suggests, it must be based in the UK. The company does not need to […]

Emily Coltman FCA, Chief Accountant to FreeAgent – who provide an award-winning online accounting system for small businesses – explains what companies must send to HMRC and when. Registering the company HMRC are automatically notified when a company is formed at Companies House, so about three weeks after registering your new company, you will receive […]

The WebFiling Authentication Code is a 6 alphanumeric code allocated by Companies House upon company formation. The code allows you to administer your company online through our system and Companies House’s own WebFiling system. Every limited company that is formed by us is allocated a WebFiling Authentication Code. To locate your company’s code: Login Select […]

It’s Glastonbury next week and as anybody who has graced the oft-soaked Somerset fields will tell you, it’s all about getting the right pitch. Well the same goes for your business (and that’s it with the tenuous Glastonbury link). Being able to confidently sell your business to others is a valuable skill that can take […]

To celebrate Father’s Day we thought we’d take a look at some British pioneers of business. “What’s that got to do with Father’s day?” you may ask. Well these are “The Daddies” of business… Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) & James Watt (1736- 1819) Let’s kick things off with a 2 for 1. Known for their Boulton […]

Becoming a limited company director is not something you should decide upon or agree to on the spur of the moment. Whilst it’s great to be able to say “I’m a company director” you should realise that the job comes with some very real responsibilities. So, for your viewing pleasure, our 5 Responsibilities of a […]

There is mass confusion surrounding the annual accounts and the annual returns. Some people mistake one for the other; some people recognise one but fail to recognise the other and some people completely ignore them both. 

To form a Limited Liability Partnership you require at least two designated members. So what’s the difference between a designated member and a member? Designated members and members have the same rights to the company. However, designated members have more responsibilities than a regular member. They are responsible for (taken from Companies House): • appointing […]

Companies House don’t care if members in your Limited by Guarantee company resign. This is an internal matter for the company that Companies House do not need to be notified of. You can record and file meeting minutes detailing the resignation in the company’s own records. This post was brought to you by Mathew Aitken […]

You should notify Companies House if a company director changes their name. If your company is on our system you can do this by: 1. Logging in to Companies Made Simple 2. Selecting “My Companies” 3. Clicking on the relevant company name 4. Selecting “Edit” next to the director’s name 5. Entering the new name […]

Companies House say it best: “A company is dormant if it has had no ‘significant accounting transactions’ during the accounting period. A significant accounting transaction is one which the company should enter in its accounting records. When determining whether a company is dormant you can disregard the following transactions: • payment for shares taken by […]

Not sure what a limited company term means? Take a look at our handy jargon buster. Accounting Reference Date: The period that annual accounts must cover up to. Annual Accounts: A report delivered to Companies House that details financial information about a company. Annual Returns: A report delivered to Companies House that comprises of up […]

If you have used one of our annual return services to file an AR01 with Companies House (for more information on our two annual return services take a look here), here’s how to view it once accepted: • Login to Companies Made Simple • Select “My Companies” • Click on the company name • Scroll […]

The “made-up-to date” is a term associated with the annual return. It is the date that all information in the annual return must be correct up to. It is common practice to use one of the following as the made-up-to date: • the anniversary of incorporation • the made-up-to date of a previous annual return […]

A company completes a “SH01 Return of allotment of shares” document when it wishes to add new shares (the shareholder/s who are to receive these shares are not named until an annual return is filed). Once completed the document should be mailed to Companies House (no filing fee required). If your limited company is on […]

Unfortunately registering a limited company does not automatically protect your trademark. This is because company law and trademark law are two completely different things. We recommend contacting the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) for more information. You can visit their site here. This post was brought to you by Mathew Aitken at Companies Made Simple – […]

Inspired by a comment on our Facebook page by a gentleman who was struggling to locate his articles of association (take a look if you don’t believe me), here’s how to view and download your incorporation documents: 1. Login 2. Select “My Companies” 3. Click on your company name 4. Scroll down to “My Documents” […]

A short and sharp one today. If a company has made enough profit it is able to pay its shareholders a dividend. The dividend is the payment. Important Notes • A company should not pay dividends in excess of its available profits from the current and previous financial years • Dividends do not count as […]

When a limited company is formed it immediately takes on the status of “Active” (displayed on the Companies House webcheck and on your company admin portal). This has nothing to do with the trading status of a company; it simply means that the company is “live” as opposed to being in liquidation or struck off. […]

We offer a dormant company accounts service that sees us prepare and file dormant company accounts with Companies House on behalf of your company. However, there are some scenarios when a company can’t utilise this service. You can’t use our dormant company accounts service if… • Your company is not dormant. What is a dormant […]

In today’s modern world, we are always looking for ways to make both working and personal life quicker, more efficient and, let’s face it, more fun.

No. Once you have formed a limited company you can leave the company dormant for as long as you wish. You don’t need to trade until you’re ready. Just ensure that: • HMRC are notified of your trading intentions • Annual returns are filed on time annually • Dormant company accounts are filed on time […]

When moving shares from one person to another (or to a corporate shareholder) you should complete a stock transfer (J30) form. This is for the records of the company and for the reference of all shareholders involved. 

A subscriber of a limited company is someone who was shareholder at the time of the company’s incorporation. Our company admin portal has a field dedicated to subscribers that includes their name, share information and the option to download a copy of their share certificate. This field is static and can’t be removed, even if […]

If your limited company is on our company admin portal (if it’s not, here’s how to get it there – it’s free!) you can easily resign a director or secretary. To do this: • Login to the portal • Select “My Companies” • Select the relevant company name • Scroll to “Directors” and select “Resign” […]

When forming a limited company, there are some words that can only be used in a company name if specific criteria can be met. This includes words such as (for the full list along with the criteria that must be met see here): Association Commission England / English Federation Group Holding/s International If your proposed […]

On Wednesday we explained that whilst there’s no penalty for late filing of the annual return, there is a penalty for late filing of annual accounts. If you do file accounts late here’s what Companies House will charge (the following is in regards to a private company limited by shares): Less than one month late: […]

No. Companies House do not impose a late filing fee if the annual return (AR01) is filed after the deadline. However, if a return is not filed at all Companies House may prosecute the company and its officers as well as strike the company from the register. It’s worth noting that there is a penalty […]

The Certificate of Incorporation is a Companies House document that details the...

The company secretary is now an optional appointment. However, if you would like to appoint one, here’s how to do it: If your company is on our company admin portal: Login > “My Companies” > Click on your company name > “Appoint New Secretary” > Enter the relevant information and select “Continue” The request is […]

Moving shares in a company from one person to another is a two-step process: 1. The person who is losing the shares must complete and sign a Stock Transfer Form (a template is available to download from the “Statutory Forms” area of your account). This details how many shares are being transferred and who they’re […]

Our Company Admin Portal is available free of charge to customers and non-customers alike. So what does this mean? By uploading your limited company (or companies) onto our system you are able to carry out multiple admin tasks for your limited company at no cost to you. The free admin tasks include: • Officer appointments […]

Anyone who purchases one of our company formation packages immediately qualifies for a free consultation with a TaxAssist Accountant local to them. How do your claim your free consultation? Easy. 1. Visit our dedicated TaxAssist Page 2. Enter your email address, name, phone number, post code and company name 3. Enter the CAPTCHA and select […]

For payments and renewals to run smoothly it’s important that you sign up with a valid email address. Without this, important emails can’t be sent which could cause disruption to your service. To update an incorrect or outdated email address simply: Login > select “My Details” > enter the correct/new email address > select “Save” […]

Our Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond company formation packages all include “20 Credit Check Reports”. So what are these? A company credit check report is a document that details background information on a company’s financial situation (as well as providing general company information). It does this by providing the following information: • Credit Rating • […]

After your limited company has been formed by us, the company documents become available to view and download from your account. This includes the Memorandum of Association – a basic document that details the company name and the subscriber name. To access the documents simply login, click on the relevant company name and then scroll […]

Once a limited company has been formed, Companies House will notify HMRC of the company’s incorporation. Roughly three weeks after the formation HMRC will mail a letter to the registered office explaining what the company needs to do next, in this letter you will find the “Unique Tax Reference” or “UTR”. If you do not […]

If your company is on our admin portal, you are able to make numerous changes to the company that are then reflected on the Companies House register.

If you have used our online admin portal to change your limited company’s name with Companies House, we will provide you with an electronic copy of the Certificate of Name Change. This document contains the old company name, the new company name and the date that Companies House accepted the change. To locate the document: […]

Last Updated: 15/12/2014 If you purchase our Comprehensive or Ultimate company formation package we will prepare and file your company’s first annual return (AR01) with Companies House. We will do this roughly three weeks before the due date, once prepared we shall email you and request that you login and review the prepared annual return. Once […]

Companies House eReminders are an email notification system that let you know when a company’s annual return and annual account due date is approaching. If your company is on our company admin portal signing up is easy: • Login to Companies Made Simple • Click on the company name • Select “Quick Links” > “eReminders […]

We’ve joined forces with our friends at Enterprise Nation to launch a modern business club for real UK startups. Membership is just £20 per year and it includes over £500-worth of savings on things like our very own company credit report services as well as business cards, accounting software, web hosting and lots more. Enterprise […]

The Single Alternative Inspection Location (or SAIL) address is where the company registers and records are kept if they’re not at the registered office. Having a SAIL address is optional.

Sorry, we can longer offer HSBC Business Bank Accounts. All of our company formation packages include a Barclays and HSBC banking option. To select which banking option you would like to utilise (if any): • When purchasing your company formation package be sure to leave the banking option in the basket (you can remove it […]

Unfortunately we are unable to upgrade company formation packages once they have been purchased. However, you can still pick up the various extra services that we offer post company formation. Click the below links to go to each services dedicated page: • Duplicate Certificate of Incorporation • Registered Office • Annual Return Preparation and Filing […]

Can’t be done unless, well we’ll get to that. Prompted by a forum thread we saw recently on the UK Business Forums where a gentleman wanted to move his registered office from Scotland to England, we thought we’d write a post about what can and can’t be done regarding moving the registered office. 

You do not need to notify Companies House if shareholders in your limited company change address. This is an internal filing matter that Companies House simply do not need to know about. They do however need to be notified if a director or secretary changes their service or residential address. This post was brought to […]

There are a number of options available when it comes to funding a business. These can be split into two categories; debt financing sources and equity financing sources.

As long as you have at least one human director in your company, Companies House will allow you to appoint another company as a director. To appoint another company as a director you require the following information (for the company being appointed): • Company name • Name of an authorising person (normally a director) • […]

All limited companies set up via our company formation system are automatically allocated a Companies House webfiling authentication code. This means that if you form your company with us you can login to both our system and the Companies House webfiling system and make changes to the company. Changes include: • Director appointments, resignations and […]

Unfortunately our system only allows a company to be stored on one account at a time. Therefore if you wish for multiple people to have access to the company via the company admin portal you need to signup with an email address that multiple people have access to. Obviously you will then need to share […]

If you are signed up to our free Company Secretarial (or Cosec) system there are a number of options available to you that are not available to normal account holders. One of which is the ability to “Export to CSV” basic company information such as company due dates. This allows you save the file (and […]

The process for changing a shareholder’s name (in instances such as marriage) with Companies House is different from that of changing a director or secretary name. 

If you have formed a company with us and then dissolved this company, it will stay on your account. You can still login and view the company information that was correct up to the dissolution but you will not be able to make any further changes. The Companies House company sync facility will be disabled. […]

Our company admin portal allows you to manage numerous limited companies without having to login to the Companies House system. To ensure that our portal has exactly the same information as Companies House we have a “Sync Data with Companies House” facility. This option, located towards the top of the portal, refreshes the page so […]

If your company is formed this February the accounting reference date will be 28/02. It will remain as 28/02 until the next leap year (which is 2016) when it will move to 29/02. It will then revert to 28/02 until the next leap year. If a company’s initial accounting reference date is 29/02 (this would […]

If a company files accounts with Companies House after the due date it is liable to pay a penalty fee, the size of which depends on how late the accounts were filed. 

Director addresses can be easily amended on the Companies House records. To notify Companies House of an address change (Service and Residential can both be changed) you can: • Complete the “CH01 Change of director’s details” document and then file with Companies House. The change should be accepted within a week of Companies House receiving […]

A limited company’s total aggregate value is the number of shares in the company multiplied by the value of each share. For example, a company with 10 shares worth £2 each would have a total aggregate value of £20. If the company has more than one share type, simply work out the total value of […]

Last Updated: 16/12/2014 A UK limited company has various filing obligations with both Companies House and HMRC. The Companies House obligations (annual returns and accounts) are easy to keep on top of as the due dates can be easily viewed from the Companies House webcheck (and our company admin portal). HMRC obligations are not so […]

If you have just formed a limited company with us, there are a number of company documents available for you to view and download from your company admin portal. Documents include: • Memorandum and Articles – select “Download” next to “Shareholders” • Certificate of Incorporation – select “View” under “My Company Documents” • Share Certificate/s […]

The company number is a unique reference number supplied by Companies House upon company incorporation. The company number is not allocated randomly, it is sequential. The beginning of the number depends upon the incorporation type: • England and Wales Limited by Share companies start with 0 although this is often removed • Scottish Limited by […]

Our company admin portal has a field for your company’s “Nature of Business”. This field displays the company’s SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) code.

Our online admin portal keeps a record of all changes and updates made to your limited company (via the portal). This information can be found under the “Request History” heading on the company admin page. It includes the following: • Request type (ie Company Incorporation) • Status (ie Accepted or Rejected) • Date submitted • […]

Yes you can. Companies House allow limited companies to change their name for a fee (which depends on the filing method). There are a number of ways to change a company name: • Directly with Companies House via paper forms (NM01 document). • Directly with Companies House via their online filing system. • Via our […]

The authorised share capital was abolished as part of the Companies Act 2006. However that’s not stopped us from being asked what this was. So here you go: Before the Companies Act 2006 a limited company could be formed without allocating all of its shares. So a company could be formed with an authorised share […]

Do you form numerous limited companies with us? Are you fed up of entering your card details whenever you wish to form another UK limited company (or indeed purchase any of our services)? We have a solution for you:

Namesco are now names.co.uk! To highlight the importance of the domain name services that they provide and to stress their UK heritage, the company formerly known as Namesco have ushered in 2013 with a rebrand that also sees updates to their logo, website and product offerings.

When appointing a corporate director (a company rather than a person) for a limited company, Companies House requests the name of an “Authorising Person”. This person would normally be the director of the company being named as the corporate director (or Secretary). Once appointed the name of the authorising person is on the public register. […]

Limited Companies are allowed to change their name. So if a company has changed its name how do you go about seeking the previous name information? 

The accounting reference date is the date that a UK limited company’s accounts must be made up to. The date is automatically allocated upon formation and normally falls on the month-end of the company’s incorporation month. For example, if a company were formed on 03/08/2012, the accounting reference date would be 31/08. The first set […]

Our online LLP (Limited Liability Partnership) formation service allows you to simply form an LLP with Companies House in roughly 3 working hours. The company formation service now includes an LLP agreement that is emailed in word document format as soon as the company has been formed. For more information on the service and the […]

Our limited company admin portal is a fantastic resource for anyone who takes care of admin for limited companies. Duties such as appointments, resignations, registered office updates and much, much more can all be carried out via the online portal for free. Everyone who forms a limited company with us is automatically signed up on […]

The company dissolution is a process of closing your limited company and removing it from the Companies House register of active limited companies. Companies House will not accept a dissolution request for your company if: • The dissolution document (DS01) has not been signed by the majority of directors • If the company has traded […]

The subscriber is the person (or company) who was shareholder at the time of company incorporation. The reason for this terminology is so that Companies House know who the original shareholders were. Even if an original shareholder were to transfer their shares elsewhere, they would always remain a subscriber. This post was brought to you […]

If you need to amend the shareholder address on an existing share certificate: • Login to your Companies Made Simple account • Select “My Companies” • Select the relevant company • Select “Sync Data with Companies House” • Next to “Shareholders” select “Download” – enter the new address and hit “Submit” • Select “Download” again. […]

We provide share certificates for existing and new shareholders alike. For existing shareholders simply login to your account, access “My Companies” and select your company name. Scroll down to the “Shareholders” section and select “Download”, you will either be presented with an online version of the certificate straight away or you will have to enter […]

As part of our company formation process we require all customers to create an account with us. After you have formed a limited company, access to said company’s admin portal is restricted to the account holder. Therefore if you require that numerous people have access to this account we recommend using a shared email address […]

A company’s share capital is the total value of shares that it has issued to its shareholders. So, if a company has issued one share worth £1, the share capital would be £1. If a company has issued three shares worth £2 the share capital would be £6. The number of shareholders is irrelevant. Number […]

All of our company formation packages include a Barclays business bank account service. So how does it work? Just before you start the company formation process, we request that you fill out a quick online document with your contact details. Once the company has been formed Barclays will be in touch to arrange a meeting […]

If you purchase any of our company formation packages you may notice that our prices plus VAT don’t appear to add up. For example, our Basic package (£16.99 plus VAT) totals £17.79 at the checkout; however the conventional method would see it total £20.38. So what are we doing? We’re not adding VAT to the Companies […]

The Companies House PROOF (Protected Online Filing) service is a security measure created to prevent company fraud. Companies House accept paper filings for limited companies “on good faith”, they do not carry out signature checks. Therefore it’s relatively simple for someone to carry out fraud against a limited company using paper documents. By signing up […]

This is the most common mistake that we come across; the mixing up of annual returns and annual accounts. We’re on a mission to make sure that no one ever confuses the two filing obligations again. So in this, part one of said mission, we’re going to define exactly what each one is and what […]

Once a company has been formed the Companies House webcheck will give the company an “Active” status. This is nothing to do with the company’s trading status. It is simply to do with the company’s current “life” status. “Active” means that the company is formed – whether it is trading or not is not taken […]

When viewing your limited company via our company admin portal (everyone who forms a company gets one!) it’s possible that the information on the page is outdated. Fear not. If this is the case simply click “Sync Data with Companies House”. As long as the webfiling authentication code that we have is up to date […]

When forming your company, one of many choices that you have is what suffix to use, “Limited” or “Ltd”? So what’s the difference? Well, other than aesthetics there isn’t a difference. They mean the same thing. But… If you form with “Limited” you can abbreviate to just “Ltd”, however, if you form with “Ltd” you […]

When appointing a limited company director, Companies House request two addresses, the Service address and the Residential address. The Service address is the official address for the director and can be based anywhere in the world (as long as they are contactable via mail at the address and have permission to use the address). The […]

We’re delighted that we can offer an online company name change service that can see a name change take place within 3 working hours. Unfortunately there are instances when the online version of this service can’t be used and we must revert back to the paper method, therefore increasing the turnaround time to roughly five […]

We offer two annual return services, the “Preparation and Filing Service” for £40 and the “DIY Online” for £30. So what’s the difference? Preparation and Filing Service We will prepare your company’s annual return roughly 3 weeks before the due date (if purchased when the due date has passed we will normally prepare within 24 […]

First up, let’s define what a dormant company is. In the words of Companies House: “A company is dormant if it has had no “significant accounting transactions” during the accounting period. A “significant accounting transaction” is one which the company should enter in its accounting records. The amount paid for shares on the formation of […]

To add new shares to a limited company you need to file the “SHO1-Return of allotment of shares” document with Companies House (this can be filed via paper of via our online admin portal). Companies House do not request the name/s of who is to receive these shares at this stage (shares can be given […]

Social media is big business these days, and it seems that everyone from your local dentist to your neighbourhood coffee shop has a social media profile that they want you to like or follow! If you want to stand out from the crowd and really make an impression with your social media campaign, why not […]

When you make a change to your limited company via our online admin portal, we’ll automatically draft the minutes for the change. To access these minutes: • Login • Select “My Companies” • Click on the company name • Scroll to the “Request History” area • Click “View” in the “Minutes” column This post was […]

Good question. The Web Filing Authentication code is a 6 character long (a mix of letters and digits) code issued by Companies House. Without this code you can not complete any online admin for your limited company (either through us or directly with Companies House). All limited companies formed by us are automatically allocated a […]

You can carry out various admin tasks for your limited company via our online admin portal. This includes Director changes such as: Appointing New Directors To add a new Director simply select “Appoint New Director”.

A bit of a mean one today. The answer to the above question is “you can’t”. Shareholder information can only be changed at Companies House via an annual return. Therefore if you wish to update shareholder information with Companies House you need to file a return. As per usual with the return, you can either […]

The SIC code (Standard Industrial Classification code) is used to define your limited company’s industry of trade. You notify Companies House of this code when you file an annual return. If you wanted to change this code from one entered in a previous annual return the only way to do this is to file another […]

Our Company Secretarial System (Cosec for short) has two ways to help you make late filing of annual returns and annual accounts (for which there’s a fine) a thing of the past. • When in the “My Companies” area of your account all of your limited companies will be listed along with their annual return […]

There’s some exciting stuff happening on our Social Media channels at the moment (when our Facebook fan total reaches 300 we’re going to give away a Kindle!), the latest of which is the re-launch of our LinkedIn page. We’d love for you to take a look at the page and let us know what you […]

As well as being able to form Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP’s) via our online system (extremely simple and quick with formations taking an average of just 3 working hours, click here for more info: LLP Formation) you can also upload and manage previously formed LLP’s onto our admin portal. This is completely free to do […]

Prompted by some questions we were asked on our Facebook page we thought we’d compile some FAQ’s dedicated to the Registered Office. Here goes (if you have any other questions leave a comment below): What is the Registered Office? This is the official address of a UK Limited Company. Does this have to be based […]

After forming a UK limited company you may notice that our company admin system (login and click on your company name) has a field entitled “Registered In”. Obviously this means the country where the company was formed but there are some things worth noting: • A company registered with a registered office based in England […]

Our Company Secretarial System now allows all users to toggle their settings so that only “Active” limited companies appear on their display. This removes all dissolved companies. To do this tick the “Display active companies only” box (as per the below image) to show only existing companies and un-tick to show all companies. Our Cosec […]

Way back in October last year we blogged about four and five digit SIC codes (Standard Industrial Classification codes) in one of our better titled posts, “Fully Sic”. The gist of it was that when preparing the annual return Companies House required four digit codes for returns made up before October 2011 and five digit […]

If you are using our DIY annual return service, the very first thing we ask of you when preparing the return is that you select the “click here” option under the “Update Company Information” heading. This is extremely important as it updates the return to reflect what Companies House currently holds on their records. If […]

If you use our online admin portal to make changes to your limited company or to file an annual return, our system keeps track of these changes (and annual returns) and allows you to view exactly what was filed with Companies House. To view this information: • Login • Select your company name from “My […]

All our company formation packages include a FREE Business Start Up Guide. Once the formation packages have been purchased, the link to download the guide is sent in the purchase confirmation email. This post was brought to you by Mathew Aitken at Companies Made Simple – The Simplest Company Formation Service Keep up to date. Subscribe to […]

To enter a Share Transfer when using our DIY Annual Return Service do as follows: • In the “Shareholdings” area of the return, click “edit” next to the shareholder who you are removing shares from. Enter the amount of shares they now hold. • Select “add new transfer” next to the same shareholder, enter the […]

Companies House no longer require Shareholder address information. However, if a previously supplied Shareholder address has since changed and you want to let Companies House know (again, not really required), you can change the Shareholder address by filing an annual return. This post was brought to you by Mathew Aitken at Companies Made Simple – […]

If you sign up for Companies House eReminders, you’ll receive emails whenever your company’s annual return or annual account due dates approach. You can sign up for this handy tool via our very own company admin portal. To sign up for eReminders: • Once logged into Companies Made Simple select your chosen company from “My […]

Yes, another post about filing obligations! Once a UK limited company is formed, it has two filing obligations with Companies House: • Annual Returns: A snapshot of the company’s current appointment, address and share situation. “What if the company is dormant”? It doesn’t matter; if you wish to keep the company going a return is […]

Once you have formed a limited company with us, you will have access to your very own company admin portal. This page contains various details regarding your limited company; it also allows you to make numerous changes to your company. If you’re on the company admin page and you notice that the “Nature of Business” […]

If you purchase our “Annual Return Preparation and Filing Service” we will prepare your company’s annual return and then email you requesting that you login and review the return. It’s at this stage that you have two choices: • Accept the return, this will automatically file the return with Companies House • Reject the return […]

So what’s the difference? Well it’s simple really; the registered office is the official address of a UK limited company, the service address is the official address of a UK limited company director. They can be different. Click below for more information: Our Registered Office Service Our Service Address Service This post was brought to […]

When it comes to checking your limited company’s annual return and annual account due dates we wholeheartedly recommend signing up for Companies House eReminders (we can help!), but if you don’t want to sign up we can still assist you. You can view the due dates for all your limited companies simply by logging in […]

If you would like for us to remove a company from your account, be it because it’s dissolved or simply nothing to do with you anymore, simply email your request and we’ll take care of the rest. It’s as easy as that! This post was brought to you by Mathew Aitken at Companies Made Simple […]

Did you know that you can import limited companies onto our system even if they were not formed by us? It’s completely free to do and allows you to take advantage of the fantastic benefits that our company admin system offers. To import a company onto our system all you need is the company number […]

Because Companies House no longer require Shareholder address information, our DIY annual return does not give you the option to update this address. However, it does give you the option to remove the address entirely. To do this: • Access the “Shareholdings” page of the return • Select “edit” next to the Shareholder • Tick the […]

You can form a limited by guarantee company with just one person acting as the following appointments (multiple appointments are also allowed): • Director • Member • Secretary (optional) For more information on our limited by guarantee company formation services click here: Limited By Guarantee Company Formation This post was brought to you by Mathew […]

Anyone who forms a limited company with us is provided with their very own “Company Administration Page”; a hub for your limited company. Unsurprisingly this page contains a lot of information, that’s why we’ve created the “Anatomy of a page” area. The “Anatomy of a page” explains every little detail of your Company Administration page. […]

Yes they do. Even if the residential address is different from the service address, the limited company director is still required to notify Companies House of a change in their residential address. To do this either file the CH01 form with Companies House or: • Access “My Companies” from Companies Made Simple • Click on the […]

Anyone who has an account with Companies Made Simple has access to an array of useful forms and templates, one such template is the Share Certificate. To download the Share Certificate template: • Login to Companies Made Simple • Select “Statutory Forms” • Select “Share Certificate Template” This post was brought to you by Mathew […]

Last Updated: 15/12/2014 If you have a service with us that requires a renewal, here’s the page to do it: Renewal Fees From here you can renew the following services: • Registered Office • Privacy Package • Comprehensive / Ultimate Package • Annual Return • Nominee Secretary • Nominee Shareholder • Service Address • Company Maintenance Subscription […]

If you have made a change* to your limited company directly with Companies House and not via our system, it’s possible that our system shows outdated information. To update the system simply click the “Sync Data with Companies House” link on the company admin page. *Such as the following changes: • Registered Office • Director/Secretary […]

Not really. The annual return for a trading company would be almost exactly the same as a return for a dormant company. The only differences could be: • A trading company could not use sic code 99999 (dormant company code) • A dormant company must answer “No” to the “Traded On Regulated Market” question, a […]

Yes, they are. We explain why.

Our online admin portal, open to customers and non customers alike (login or sign-up here), relies upon us having a valid Companies House WebFiling authentication code for your company. If the code our system holds has expired, you can update this by clicking the “Update Code” link from the company admin page. Once clicked simply […]

We have added new testimonials to our “Reviews” page that take us right up to 01/08/2012. For full transparency our reviews page includes both positive and (when we receive them) negative reviews. Take a look now! Companies Made Simple Reviews This post was brought to you by Mathew Aitken at Companies Made Simple – The […]

The Companies Made Simple Company Admin Portal allows you to edit the following information for existing Directors: • Name • Service Address • Residential Address • Nationality • Occupation • Country of Residence This post was brought to you by Mathew Aitken at Companies Made Simple – The Simplest Company Formation Service Keep up to […]

There is no limit upon the amount of annual returns (AR01’s) a limited company can file with Comapanies House. If you wanted you could file an annual return every day. The only limitation is that a company must wait 48 hours after incorporation until filing the first annual return. Our Annual Return Services This post […]

From small seeds grow great things and that’s certainly the thinking behind The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS). The scheme, brought in place by the Finance Act 2012, shall provide tax breaks for investors in new companies therefore encouraging investment in UK business. Under SEIS investors can receive 50 per cent tax relief, a huge […]

Companies House say that there is no limit in regards to the amount of shares that you can allocate in your limited company. On top of this, there is also no limit upon the value of these shares. This post was brought to you by Mathew Aitken at Companies Made Simple – The Simplest Company […]

Whilst our online admin portal allows you to update director and secretary information, it does not allow you to change shareholder information. This is because the only way to update shareholder information with Companies House is to file an annual return. Once a return has been filed with the new shareholder information, the shareholder information […]

No. The accounting reference date (ARD) is automatically allocated at incorporation in accordance with the date of formation. If you do wish to change the ARD you can do this as soon as the company has been formed. For instructions on how to do this, click here: Changing the Accounting Reference Date This post was […]

Last Updated: 15/12/2014 As well as setting up brand new limited companies we also have a number of companies formed for the purpose of selling on at a later date as “Shelf” companies. Below you will find some information regarding these companies: • They are all UK (England & Wales) Private Companies Limited by Shares […]

If your limited company’s WebFiling authentication code has expired, here’s how to go about getting a new one from Companies House: • “Register” for Companies House WebFiling here • Once registered “Sign in” here • Click “Don’t have your company authentication code?” • Enter your company number and click “Continue” • Click “Request code” A […]

In fact it’s very simple! To change your accounting reference date (ARD) via our online admin portal: • Login at Companies Made Simple • Click the “My Companies” button • Select the company for whom you wish to change the ARD for • Next to “Accounting Reference Date” select “Change Date” • Select the accounting […]

If you are browsing Companies Made Simple and have any questions regarding any of our services, simply click the orange speech bubble on the bottom-right of the screen. From here you can start a dialogue with one of our advisors completely online. It’s fast, efficient and simple! This post was brought to you by Mathew […]

Last month we blogged about the new 5 digit SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) codes and how they have replaced the old 4 digit codes. We’ve now come across a handy Companies House site that converts your old code to a new code: Convert your code now! This post was brought to you by Mathew Aitken […]

Our Online Admin Portal allows you to add new shares to your limited company with Companies House. To file a “Return of Allotment of Shares” (the necessary document for increasing the shares”): • Login • Select “My Companies” • Click on the correct company • Select “Return of Allotment of Shares” located next to “Share […]

Our customers often ask us for their company’s WebFiling Authentication Code and whilst we’re more than happy to provide the code (to the account holder only!) there is a way to locate the code online: • Login at Companies Made Simple • Select “My Companies” • Click on the company name • The code can […]

Everyone who forms a limited company with us gains access to numerous forms and documents accessible from their account dashboard. Forms and documents include the J30 Stock Transfer Form, the First Board Meeting Minutes and the Share Certificate Template to mention just a few. To locate the forms simply login to Companies Made Simple and […]

The Made Simple Group is proud to once again be sponsoring the Startups Awards – Howard Graham, CEO and founder of The Made Simple Group will also be judging the awards. There are 14 categories – from ‘Startups Business of the Year’ through to ‘Home or Craft-based Business of the Year’. Become a contender, enter […]

When we inform our customers of impending due dates for their limited company, this is the response we’re often met with. Unfortunately it is a misleading statement. If HMRC have said (or written) that nothing is required of a dormant company it is simply to do with HMRC filing obligations and not Companies House filing […]

Last Updated: 29/10/2014 If you have any question regarding forming or running a limited company, take a look at the Knowledgebase. We’re confident that you will find the answer. The Knowledgebase is a hub of limited company information that we’ve collected over the years taken primarily from the different questions we are asked by our […]

Last Updated: 29/10/2014 Shareholder addresses are not required by Companies House in the Annual Return. Because of this we have updated our “Annual Return DIY Online” service to include a “remove shareholders address” option. If preparing your return via our service simply click the “remove shareholders address” button in the Shareholders section of the return, […]

Last Updated: 29/10/2014 Once you have filed your Annual Return with us, don’t forget to download the new digital Share Certificate (if the shareholding has changed). To download the new Share Certificate: • Login to Companies Made Simple • Click on your company name • Next to “Shareholder” select “Download” – you may be prompted […]

Last Updated: 29/10/2014 Limited Liability Partnerships, like Limited By Share Companies, need to file Annual Returns with Companies House. Our two Annual Return Services (the Annual Return Preparation and Filing Service & the Annual Return DIY Online Service) can both be used to file the necessary LLP documents with Companies House. For more information on […]

Last Updated: 29/10/2014 The Companies Made Simple admin portal allows you to carry our numerous administrative duties for your limited company including: • Appointing & Resigning Company Officers • Updating Officer Information • Changing the Registered Office Address • Filing a Return Of Allotment Of Shares If you formed your limited company with us you’ll […]

Last Updated: 29/10/2014 Did you know that dormant limited companies still have to file company accounts? That’s where our Dormant Company Accounts service comes in. Once you purchase the service we send an automated email asking if the shares in your company are paid or unpaid, simply respond to this email and, provided we already […]

Last Updated: 29/10/2014 If you have a renewable service with us, our “Renewal Fees” page is the go-to place for continuing your services. From here you can renew the following: • Registered Office • Privacy Package • Comprehensive / Ultimate Package • Reserve a Company Name Services • Annual Return Services • Nominee Services • Service […]

Last Updated: 29/10/2014 The SIC code (Standard Industrial Classification Code) is a five digit code that details your company’s principal business activity. You are required to choose your own code when completing an annual return for your limited company. To view a list of SIC codes click here: SIC 2007 Full List This post was […]

If you use our Registered Office Service we forward on mail from both HMRC and Companies House onto you free of charge. When you purchase the service we use the address that you are using on your account with us as the forwarding address. If this address ever changes it’s imperative that you let us […]

Last Updated: 25/09/2014 If you sign up (it’s free!) to our ICAEW Accredited Company Secretarial (Cosec) System, we will colour code your annual account and annual return due dates so that you know when a filing obligation is nearing or overdue. Once signed up simply click on “My Companies” and you’ll notice that due dates […]

Last Updated: 25/09/2014 If you are signed up to our ICAEW accredited Company Secretarial System (it’s free to sign up to and free to use), you can choose how you view your limited companies. Once logged in simply click the arrows next to “Company Name” to sort by alphabetical order, “Company No.” to sort by […]

If you have a registered office service with us and you wish to change the address where we forward on your Companies House and HMRC mail, simply do the following: • Login at Companies Made Simple • Select “My Details” • Edit the address to your new address Hey presto! All Companies House and HMRC […]

Last Updated: 25/09/2014 None of our company formation packages include filing of company accounts. Our Comprehensive and Ultimate packages include our annual return service but this is not to be confused with company accounts. If a company is, and always has been dormant, we do offer a dormant company accounts service but if a company is not […]

Last Updated: 25/09/2014 All of our UK limited by share company formation packages include digital copies of share certificates for each shareholder. To view and download your share certificate all you need to do is: • Login to your Companies Made Simple account • Select “My Companies” • Click on the relevant company name • […]

We ask three “Security Questions” when appointing a Director, Secretary or Shareholder. This is on top of the standard officer information we require.

Last Updated: 25/09/2014 Users of our ICAEW (The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) accredited Company Secretarial Management System have the option to form limited companies with three exclusive company formation packages: • Starter • Executive • Professional For every 10 companies formed via these packages, we will credit your account with £20 […]

When you are carrying out admin for your limited company on our online admin system, you may notice the “Update Code” option next to the “Web Filing Authentication Code” area. This section is for changing an old code to a new one that has been provided to you already by Companies House. It is not […]

If your limited company director changes their occupation, country of residence or nationality, you can use our online admin portal to record this change with Companies House. Simply: • Login • Click on your company name • Under the “Directors” section select “Edit” next to the director who you wish to change information for • […]

In keeping with our dedication to helping start-ups, we offer numerous business guides, packs and resources: • Tax and Financial Strategies Guide • Business Start Up Guide • How To Make A Profit Guide • 100 Ways To Save Time With Microsoft Office • Business Forms Pack For more information or to buy any of […]

The Business Show is now just 4 weeks away and a must-attend event if you are starting or growing a business. Running from the 17th to 18th of May at London’s ExCeL Centre, the show will host the UK’s biggest collection of educational seminars from business leaders and experts, including Amazon, Saatchi and Saatchi, James […]

Last Updated: 17/09/2014 If you purchase our Comprehensive or Ultimate company formation package we will prepare one Annual Return for your limited company when due: When the due date approaches we will prepare the Annual Return for your company, we will then email you and request that you login and review the Return that we have […]

When you appoint a limited company director via our online admin portal, we give you the option to choose the date of the appointment. When appointing a director the default date is the current date, to change this simply click in the “Appointment Date” box and make the required amendment. Please note that dates in […]

When you login to your limited company’s admin page via Companies Made Simple we highly recommend clicking the “Sync Data with Companies House” link at the top of the page. By clicking this you are ensuring that what you see on that page is completely in sync with the information Companies House hold. Make clicking […]

We provide two different online Annual Return Services for our Cosec (Company Secretarial) customers: the DIY Annual Return Service (£20) and the Standard Annual Return Service (£30). • With the Standard Annual Return Service we complete the Return for you. Once the purchase of the service has been made our team will look at the […]

Changing the Service Address of your Limited Company directors using our Company Admin Portal is simple: 1. Login 2. Select “My Companies” 3. Click on your company name 4. Select “Edit” next to the director for whom you want to change the service address for 5. Select “Change” next to “Service Address” and enter the […]

Last Updated: 17/09/2014 We offer four different services based around limited company shares: • Transfer of Shares (£49.99) • Share Certificates (£9.99) • Issue of Shares (£49.99) • Confirmation of Shareholding at Incorporation (£9.99) For more information or to purchase any of these services, click here: Limited Company Share Services This post was brought to […]

If it has you can easily update it on our system. All you need to do is: • Login at Companies Made Simple • Select “My Companies” • Click on the company who you wish to update the code for • Select “Update Code” – enter the new code Please note that this can’t be […]

Last Updated: 17/09/2014 We’re often asked if dormant companies still have to file annual returns. The answer is yes, they do! Annual Returns do not deal with the financial side of a limited company, therefore being dormant is irrelevant. The only way being dormant could impact upon the return is if the company chose to […]

Last Updated: 17/09/2014 Our DIY Annual Return Service allows you to show share transfers that have taken place during the year. To reflect a share change in the DIY Annual Return Service (having purchased the service) simply: • Proceed with completing the return until you reach the “Shareholdings” section • Click “edit” next to any […]

Last Updated: 17/09/2014 The SAIL address (or the Single Alternative Inspection Location) is the address where registers and records are stored if they’re not kept at the registered office (it must be UK based). It is a completely optional address. To let Companies House know if you have a SAIL address, or to notify them […]

Last Updated: 17/09/2014 If your UK Limited Company has never traded, you still have to file a version of company accounts called dormant company accounts. If your company falls into this category we do offer a dormant company accounts service whereby we’ll file the accounts on your behalf. To do this all we require (once […]

We’ve now updated our “Companies Made Simple Reviews” page so that it includes reviews as recent as the 27th of March. The page contains both positive and negative reviews (from customers) of our services as well as comment from us where we see fit. We’re constantly monitoring the page so that we know what areas of […]

Over 2000 businesses participated in our “How Online Savvy Are British Businesses?” survey that we launched in January. Obviously we were delighted with the response. Well we’re now equally delighted that we can announce the results of the survey and it’s compelling reading. Did you know, for example, 23% of businesses in the UK do […]

Not only is our Company Name Change service extremely simple, it is also extremely quick with company names often changed within 3 working hours. To change the name of your limited company: • Purchase the Company Name Change service • When in your “Dashboard” select “Continue” next to “ChangeOfName” • Enter your desired company name, […]

If you have our Registered Office Service, or are thinking of purchasing the Registered Office Service, it’s important that you know what mail we will forward onto you. 

Our Knowledgebase facility is an ever-growing database designed to help you with any questions you may have to do with forming and running a UK limited company. The Knowledgebase comprises of the most common questions that we receive and the best possible answers to them. The database currently covers topics such as “Limited Companies”, “Manage […]

Our DIY Annual Return Service (which can be bought from here) streamlines the process of completing and filing the AR01 with Companies House. The process is broken up into simple steps (accessed through our site) that do not allow progress until all the required information has been provided. And as if the DIY Annual Return […]

Last Updated: 17/09/2014 There still appears to be some confusion over the filing obligations of a dormant company. So, here’s what’s required of a dormant UK company limited by shares: Companies House Obligations Annual Returns on an annual basis Company Accounts on an annual basis (Dormant Company Accounts) HMRC Obligations A few weeks after the […]

Last Updated: 17/09/2014 Well here’s an easy one. When it comes to setting up and running a UK Limited Company, the Secretary appointment is completely optional. If you want a Secretary you can have one, if you don’t want one, you don’t have to. If you are forming your company with just one person you […]

If your company is on our online admin portal (if it was formed with us it will be, if not, click here) and you need to change the Registered Office, you can do this via our system. All you need to do is: 1. Login 2. Select your company via “My Companies” 3. Next to […]

When you purchase a service (or even just start an account!) with us we provide you with a wealth of free statutory forms and templates. Simply login and from the dashboard click “Statutory Forms”, you’ll then have access to forms/templates such as: • J30 Stock Transfer Form • First Board Meeting Minutes • Automatic Board […]

Last Updated: 16/09/2014  1. From Companies Made Simple, search for your company name and choose your formation package. 2. When at the Order Summary be sure to leave the “Barclays Bank Account” in your basket (it’s free!). 3. Make payment. 4. Just before you start the formation process you will automatically be directed to the […]

Last Updated: 16/09/2014  Adding new shares to your limited company and letting Companies House know about the new shareholding situation is a two-step process: 1. Adding the new Shares To add new shares you can complete the Return of allotment of shares (SH01) form and file it with Companies House. Alternatively you can complete and […]

We’ve added a brand new facility for anyone who has any questions regarding our different services, the Knowledgebase. The Knowledgebase is a hub of common questions and answers that we’re constantly developing. So far we’ve answered numerous questions that come under the following categories: • Manage my company • Our Services & Products • Renewals […]

Last Updated: 16/09/2014  Once you have formed your limited company with us, the last thing we want is for you to miss your annual return and annual account due dates. That’s why we’ve integrated our Companies House eReminders service into our company formation process, therefore allowing you to sign up for the free service at […]

Last Updated: 16/09/2014  If you file Annual Accounts after their due date then Companies House will issue a fine (the fine total depends on how late the accounts were filed, for more information click here). But the fine only comes in place once accounts are filed, therefore some people would rather not file accounts and […]

After forming a UK Limited Company the logical next step is to open up a business bank account. Whilst it isn’t a legal obligation for Limited Companies to have a bank account (after all some Limited Companies are dormant) not having a business bank account for a trading company is simply a non-starter. Without a […]

Yes, yes, we’re always banging on about Annual Returns and Annual Accounts, but for good reason. Missing your Annual Return due date will result in threatening letters from Companies House which may result in a fine and ultimately being struck off whilst filing your Annual Accounts late will definitely result in a fine.

Last Updated: 16/09/2014  If you form a Limited Company with us and then open a Barclays Business Bank Account we will give you £50 cash back. That’s right, £50! To take advantage of this fantastic offer, simply leave the “Barclays Bank Account” service (it’s free) in your basket just before payment. We’ll then request contact […]

Last month we posted about the common misconception that dormant companies don’t have to file annual returns. Today we’re posting about another similar and just as common misconception; that dormant companies are not required to file annual accounts with Companies House. Dormant companies have the same filing obligations with Companies House as trading companies (annual […]

Once you have formed a limited company with us, your company is “stored” in your own online admin portal. From here you can carry out various admin tasks for your company. One particularly useful area within the portal is the “My Companies” area. When logged in click the “My Companies” button to view all of […]

It’s great to see so many of you using the different Social Media channels to contact us, but we want more! If you’ve a quick question regarding any of our services why not reach for your mouse and contact us online? We pride ourselves on our speedy response times, so next time you’ve a question […]

We have just added ten new limited companies to our list of available “shelf” companies. All formed on the 26th of January, the new companies are: TREADTHROUGH LTD TWINT LTD MINTEDMIND LTD SLASHTECH LTD SUNDIAL STRATEGIC LTD IMPERATIVE FUSION LTD DATA EXCERPTS LTD FUTURES ADVANCED LTD FUNDER ROAD LTD TIME TO GO UN LTD For […]

Last Updated: 16/09/2014  We’re delighted to announce that our FREE domain name with Namesco offer has been opened up to all our Company Registration Packages. Previously the offer was included in everything but the Printed Package but being the generous types, we’ve made the offer available to all packages (UK Limited by Share packages). For more […]

If you have formed your limited company with us and have misplaced the certificate of incorporation or the memorandum and articles, don’t worry, you can download them from our company admin portal. To locate your company documents: • Login at CompaniesMadeSimple • Select “My Companies” • Click on your company name • The documents can […]

If you administer numerous UK limited companies, then our free ICAEW (The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) accredited company secretarial system is ideal. The system allows you to carry out numerous admin tasks for your limited companies, one of which is changing the accounting reference date with Companies House. To do this […]

We’re delighted to announce that The Made Simple Group will be at the Business2012 exhibition taking place from the 18th-20th March at the 02 in London. We will be represented at the event in two capacities: •    Our CEO Howard Graham is a Keynote speaker alongside such names as Sir Richard Branson and Lord Sugar. […]

Towards the end of November we blogged about the importance of checking your emails after making a purchase with us (action is often required post-purchase, we will email if anything is required on your part). The intention of today’s post is just to add an extra point to this; the importance of checking junk mail. […]

Last Updated: 16/09/2014  This is one of the most common statements that we hear; “My company is not trading so I don’t have to file Annual Returns”. Unfortunately it is incorrect. Dormant companies have exactly the same Companies House filing obligations as trading companies. Annual Returns and Annual Accounts (in the case of a dormant […]

If you manage numerous Limited Companies and are fed up of logging in and out of Companies House Webfiling to make updates for your different companies, we have a solution for you. Our free ICAEW (The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) Accredited Company Secretarial System allows you to carry out admin for […]

Last Updated: 16/09/2014  If you need to update the information that Companies House hold for your company director(s), be it their name, service address, nationality or occupation you can do it with us! Simply: • Login • Select “My Companies” • Click on the relevant company name • Select “Edit” next to the relevant director […]

Last Updated: 16/09/2014  If your limited company’s Registered Office has changed you need to let Companies House know. There are two ways to do this, the hard way or the simple way. The hard way? Complete and send in the paper AD01 “Change of registered office address” paper form to Companies House. Whilst completing the […]

Last Updated: 16/09/2014  As well as being able to form Limited Liability Partnerships online with us, you can also make changes to your LLP post company formation with us. By logging into your company admin portal you can change your LLP’s Registered Office, appoint and resign members as well as being able to edit current […]

Last Updated: 16/09/2014  If a company that has been dissolved has the company name you want, you can form your company using that name. Your company will have a different company number and will not be related to the dissolved company in any way. However one thing you may wish to consider is the reputation […]

Whilst you can continue to buy our services and products, after today we shall be away from the office until Tuesday the 3rd of January. This post was brought to you by Mathew Aitken at Companies Made Simple – The Simplest Company Formation Service Keep up to date. Subscribe to our RSS

Last Updated: 12/09/2014 Adding new shares to your UK Limited Company post company formation can be done through our online admin portal and what’s more, it’s very simple. To do this: • Login at Companies Made Simple • Select “My Companies” • Click on the relevant company name • Next to “Share Capital” select “Return […]

 Depending on where your UK Limited Company was formed*, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales, there are limitations upon on where the Registered Office can be moved to. 

Our DIY Annual Return Service allows you to prepare and file your company’s Annual Return with Companies House from the comfort of our website. Once purchased all you need to do is login at Companies Made Simple, access the return and then work your way through a series of easy to use and simple to […]

With us now in the midst of the festive season and a New Year approaching, we thought it a great time to catch up with our Small Business of the Year 2010 winner, SweetBar Ltd. SweetBar specialise in providing pic’n’mix sweets at special occasions and events with their traditional sweet cart. And with all the […]

Last Updated: 12/09/2014 When you login to your cosec account, the dashboard is the first page you will see. From here, you have a number of actions you can take. 1)    Your Action is Required Under this header, you will see any companies that have outstanding actions. This includes companies that are not yet formed […]

Last Updated: 12/09/2014 It is so simple to make these changes and the details are updated in as little as 3 hours. Here’s how: Your first step is to login to your account here. Select the company you wish to administer from the ‘My Companies’ list. 1) To Edit Director / Secretary Details: This is […]

Last Updated: 12/09/2014 If details for one of your limited company directors changes post company formation, don’t worry, it’s very easy to update with Companies House via our company admin portal. Simply login at Companies Made Simple, access “My Companies”, click on the relevant company and then next to the directors whose details you wish […]

Every month we send out a newswire via email that includes news, company formation information, other service information and much, much more. We store all of these newswires on the Newswire & Competition Winners Page, so if you’ve missed an edition, don’t worry, you can visit the page and read them all! The Newswire & […]

Last Updated: 12/09/2014 We have a number of limited companies set up for the sole purpose of selling on at a later date. We call these our “Shelf Companies”. When you buy one of our Shelf Companies we will: • Resign the current appointments • Appoint your requested appointments • Update the Registered Office to your requested […]

Last Updated: 12/09/2014 If you’ve got a question regarding company formations or anything related to formations take a look at our new Knowledgebase. The page is a fantastic resource designed to assist you with any questions you have in regards to Companies Made Simple and the different services that we offer. From the Knowledgebase you […]

Last Updated: 12/09/2014 If you have just bought a service from us, be sure to check your email account. A number of our services require action on your part after purchase; if action is required we will send detailed instructions to you via email. Services that require action include (to mention just a few): • […]

The latest batch of reviews have been uploaded to our Reviews & Testimonials page. As per normal, for full transparency we have posted both positive and negative reviews. You’ll also notice that where we’ve seen fit, we’ve commented on reviews. All Companies Made Simple customers are given the option to write a review once they […]

When you purchase a UK company formation package with us you can be safe in the knowledge that the Companies House Filing Fee is included in our price. The prices quoted plus VAT is what we charge, nothing else. The only instance when we’ll request payment post company formation is when you have a renewable […]

Our FREE to use ICAEW Accredited Cosec System offers a number of facilities designed to assist anyone who administers numerous limited companies. One such facility is the Dividend section. We’ve now updated this area of the Company Secretarial system so that it’s even more efficient. We know it can be quite time consuming to enter […]

We have partnered up with premier domain name provider Namesco to offer Companies Made Simple customers an outstanding domain name deal. If you form a UK Limited Company with us we will provide you with a unique discount code that gets you one free .co.uk domain name registration for two years. Shortly after company formation […]

Last Updated: 12/09/2014 If you have formed a Limited Company with the intention of keeping the company dormant, there are a few steps you need to adhere to in order to ensure dormant status (other than not trade of course).

Last Updated: 12/09/2014 This is one of our customer’s most common concerns, but it needn’t be. The Companies House status “Active” does not mean that the limited company is trading; it just means that the company is “live” and not in liquidation or being struck off. Tomorrow we shall look at how to let Companies […]

Last Updated: 12/09/2014 You can now download a copy of the J30 Stock Transfer Form from your dashboard on our site. Simply login at Companies Made Simple!

Last Updated: 12/09/2014 If your company is dormant and the due date for your annual accounts is nearing, don’t panic, we can help! With our Dormant Company Accounts Service we will file the accounts with Companies House on your behalf. All we need is a valid Webfiling Authentication Code (if we formed your company we’ll […]

Last Updated: 12/09/2014 Once you have formed your Limited Company with us, we will automatically set your company up on our free Online Admin Portal. From here you can carry out various admin duties on your Limited Company such as: • Appoint Directors • Resign Directors • Appoint Secretaries • Resign Secretaries • Update Director […]

Last Updated: 12/09/2014 If you intend to dissolve your Limited Company but have changed the name of the company within the last three months, Companies House will not accept the dissolution. You must wait until three months have passed since the name change, you may then proceed with the dissolution. Our Company Dissolution Service This […]

Last Updated: 12/09/2014 We offer a variety of services that require annual renewal. Such services include; Registered Office, Service Address, Nominee Services and some of our Company Formation packages. If the time has come for you to renew a service, simply visit our renewals page and pick up the renewal that you require. Once you […]

We’re delighted to announce that we’ve teamed up with customer feedback experts CustomerSure who are offering all Companies Made Simple customers a FREE 30 day trial. CustomerSure provide “simple, web-based software to help you collect and act on customer feedback”. For more information or to sign up for this fantastic deal click here. This post […]

Companies Made Simple has taken the next step into the Social Media universe. We’re now on Google Plus! If you’re already on Google Plus, why not visit our homepage and click the +1 box located under “The Simplest Company Formation Agent” at the top of the page? Google Plus Us! This post was brought to […]

Another day, another exciting partnership to announce! We can now offer Companies Made Simple customers a free 60 day trial with KashFlow, providers of online “Accounting Software for Small & Medium Size Businesses”. Once the trial period is up we can offer a special price of £14.99 per month. For more information, or to sign-up […]

New reviews have been posted on our “Companies Made Simple Reviews” page. We’re constantly updating the reviews page to show both positive and negative reviews that we have received. Here’s a selection of the latest reviews: Eric: “Fantastic. First time I’ve formed a company, I found your site full of useful information that was easy […]

We’ve just uploaded the latest in our “All you need to know” video series to our YouTube channel. This video sees me explain exactly how our Dormant Company Accounts service works. Watch the video here: All you need to know about… Our Dormant Company Accounts Service This post was brought to you by Mathew Aitken […]

We’ve some exciting news (well to us at least) regarding limited company share certificates and our online admin portal. Our system now automatically creates share certificates when a shareholder change has taken place (via the annual return). Even if your company wasn’t formed by us but has been imported onto our system, we’ll still create […]

Last Updated: 11/09/2014 Once your limited company has been formed it’s totally normal for the share situation in your company to change. That’s why we offer a number of different share services: • Confirmation of Shareholding at Incorporation (£9.99) A letter-headed document confirming the shareholding situation at the time of incorporation • Issue of Shares […]

Last Updated: 11/09/2014 If you formed your limited company with Companies Made Simple and have misplaced your Companies House Web filing Authentication Code, have no fear. We have your code! To view the code simply: • Login • Select “My Companies” • Select the relevant company • Your Web filing Authentication Code is in the […]

Last Updated: 11/09/2014 When forming a Limited Company it may seem as though a plethora of different addresses are requested of you. Understandably, there seems to be some confusion based around exactly how these addresses differ. So here you go: Registered Office • The official address for your limited company held by Companies House • […]

Last Updated: 11/09/2014 Our existing customers and regular blog readers will already know that it’s not just limited company formations we can help with, we also offer a number of services useful to limited companies. One area where we offer help is company tax registration. We know that some people find all things tax related […]

Last Updated: 11/09/2014 Yes, we specialise in the formation of limited companies, but that’s not to say we don’t offer a sole trader service. In fact we offer two Sole Trader Start Up Packs: • Sole Trader (£24.99) • Sole Trader Plus (£49.99) We’ll provide you with all the forms a sole trader requires as […]

Last Updated: 11/09/2014 If you’ve found the ideal limited company name but you’re not yet ready to start trading (or you don’t even want to trade) our Reserve a Company Name Service is for you. For £49.99 we’ll take care of the formation and then keep the company “on ice” until you’re ready to take […]

Last Updated: 11/09/2014 Companies House have introduced new 5 digit SIC codes to replace the existing 4 digit codes. View the full list of new SIC codes here. Not sure what the SIC code is? Click here. This post was brought to you by Mathew Aitken at Companies Made Simple – The Simplest Company Formation […]

It comes down to that age old saying: ‘if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.’ So are you prepared to face any disruption that could potentially harm your business? If there is one thing that many businesses will have learnt from last month’s riots in London and across the UK, an effective recovery […]

We’re delighted to announce that our Company Name Search Application is now available on the Andoid Market! This means you can now search the availability of your proposed Limited Company name whilst on the move with both the iPhone and Android Devices. For more information on the FREE app, or to download the app, click […]

Last Updated: 11/09/2014 Companies House allow the use of Corporate Directors in Limited Companies as long as there is at least one human director in the company. To appoint a Corporate Director you will require the following information: • Corporate Director Name • Name of authorising person from the Corporate Director • Corporate Director Address […]

Last Updated: 11/09/2014 If your business operates largely from home, have you considered using a Virtual Office Service to take care of your mail? From just £14.99 per month we can accept mail sent to our address on your behalf and then forward the mail (or you can collect the mail) onto you. Not only […]

Last Updated: 11/09/2014 We want our customers to know if forming a Limited Company is right for them. That’s why we’ve a page dedicated to the UK Limited Company. Everything you could want to know about forming a Limited is on this page and what’s more, you can also download “The Facts Whitepaper”. Visit THE […]

Last Updated: 11/09/2014 All the Limited Companies that we form are registered for Companies House webfiling, we do not however register YOU for webfiling. Registering a company for webfiling is different from registering a person. When a company is registered for webfiling it is given a company authentication code (this can be viewed on your […]

Last Updated: 11/09/2014 Our Online Admin Portal is an excellent tool when it comes to administering Limited Companies. With the Portal you can make appointments, complete resignations, change appointee information, update the registered office, change the accounting reference date, file a return of allotments of shares and file an annual return (for a small fee). […]

Last Updated: 11/09/2014 If a director of your Limited Company changes their name (marriage etc), changing the name with Companies House on the Companies Made Simple portal is extremely simple: 1. Login 2. Select “My Companies” & choose the relevant Limited Company 3. Select “Edit” next to the Director whose name you wish to change […]

Yes, we’ve mentioned it before but something this useful is worth shouting about. Our Sole Trader v Limited Company calculator tells you if you’re better off as a sole trader or as a Limited Company. All you have to do is enter your predicted annual profits and we’ll do the rest. Try the calculator out […]

Sorry, we can no longer offer a HSBC Business Bank Account. If you are using our White Label Company Formation Service on your website, you can now enable and disable the HSBC banking option. To do this: 1. Login at our Affiliate Site 2. Select “White Label” 3. On the left-hand side of the screen […]

Companies Made Simple has launched a site dedicated to affiliate marketing opportunities! Our Affiliate Marketing Made Simple page outlines the various affiliate opportunities currently available, including: • White Label Company Formation • Sole Trader vs. Limited Company “widget” • Affiliate Links Over the coming weeks we’ll go into much more detail in regards to these […]

Last Updated: 11/09/2014 One feature that sets our ICAEW accredited company secretarial system apart from our standard system is the ability to add and pay for limited company formations with “credit”. Rather than pay for each individual formation as you go, you can add credit and then knock the cost of future formations off of […]

Last Updated: 11/09/2014 If you form your Limited Company with Companies Made Simple, you can now view minutes for the majority of submissions made through our system, including: • Incorporations • Appointments • Resignations • Change of Registered Office To view the minutes, access your company’s admin page at Companies Made Simple and scroll to […]

Last Updated: 10/09/2014 Our free Company Admin Portal is a valuable resource for your Limited Company. Through the portal you can: • Appoint/Resign Directors • Appoint/Resign Secretaries • Update Director/Secretary information • Update the Registered Office • Complete a Return of Allotment of Shares • Change your Accounting Reference Date • File an Annual Return […]

We’ve just added a new video to our YouTube channel! “All you need to know about …Our Annual Return Service” sees myself give a brief description of our 2 different annual return services and how they work. All you need to know about …Our Annual Return Service – watch the video now. This post was […]

In today’s economic climate, focus on the customer has never been more important. You have to keep your customers happy, keep them coming back for more and generate positive responses to your business and/or product. Here are a few customer focused and marketing tips to consider in order to make your business attractive to those […]

Last Updated: 10/09/2014 On Thursday we explained how our DIY Annual Return Service works. So just to be fair, today we’re going to explain how our standard (we do it for you) Annual Return Service works: • Once the service has been purchased our annual return team are notified, they will then look up your […]

Last Updated: 09/09/2014 Our DIY Annual Return service is very simple to use. However, just in case you’ve purchased the service and are having problem, here’s a quick walkthrough:

Our ICAEW accredited Company Secretarial System lets you import companies that were not formed with us onto the system, free of charge. This allows you to carry out various admin tasks (all free unless otherwise stated) such as: • Appoint / Resign Directors • Appoint / Resign Secretaries • Update appointee information • Update Registered […]

The third in our “All you need to know” video series has just been uploaded to our YouTube Channel. Titled “All you need to know about… The Certificate of Incorporation” the video sees myself (so be kind!) talk about the Limited Company Certificate of Incorporation. View the video here: “All you need to know about… […]

Our ICAEW accredited Company Secretarial System has a number of features designed to make your life easier. In this series of posts we intend to highlight different areas of the system and explain how to use the features. In this post we shall look at the “My Details” area. When you login for the cosec […]

Easy! 1. Login at Companies Made Simple 2. Click “My Companies” 3. Select the relevant company 4. Scroll down to “My Company Documents”, select “view” next to the desired document, the document will then be downloaded Last Updated: 08/09/2014 This post was brought to you by Mathew Aitken at Companies Made Simple – The Simplest […]

Legislation protecting and controlling the employment of individuals has been considerable over the last few years. It is particularly important that however few employees you intend to take on, you take appropriate advice to ensure that you comply with all legislation particularly with regard to: • The recruitment process • Terms and conditions of employment […]

Last Updated: 08/09/2014 Everyone who forms a Limited Company with us gains free access to our online admin portal. When you login at Companies Made Simple the first thing you will notice is six boxes, the first of which is titled “My companies”. If you click on this you will see a list of your […]

It’s important to develop a set routine, such as the one below, when collecting overdue payments for your Limited Company. A typical debt collection policy: • Invoice at the earliest opportunity, stating the payment terms clearly on the invoice. • 15 days after invoicing, telephone the customer. Thank them for their business and ask if […]

As any good business owner knows, time is money and therefore knows that wasted time is wasted money. Since the introduction of the smartphone, mobile applications have flooded the market in their millions. Many of these applications or ‘apps’ can now be used for conducting and becoming more proactive in your business operations. What’s more, […]

Last Updated: 08/09/2014 It is a common misconception that Dormant Limited Companies do not need to file Annual Returns. This is not the case, they do. Annual Returns are nothing to do with the trading status of a Limited Company; they are simply a “snapshot” of the company’s current appointments, addresses and shareholding situation. All […]

Are you looking to grow your business? If so, the Made Simple Group has some exciting news. We’re in the initial stages of organising a Small Business Graduate Fair, exclusive to SMEs. Unlike traditional graduate fairs, the event would be a more informal networking day, providing a perfect opportunity to meet other businesses and talented […]

Our Company Secretarial System, the only secretarial system accredited by ICAEW (The Institute of Chartered Accountants), is aimed at anyone who administers numerous UK Limited Companies. A common issue for such people is keeping track of due dates for both the annual return and annual accounts. With the Secretarial System this in no longer an […]

The concept of selling doesn’t have to be intimidating, particularly if you think about it in terms of solving a problem or filling a need. And you are doing your customers a disservice if you fail to do everything possible to explain how purchasing from you will benefit them. The bottom line is that people […]

Last Updated: 08/09/2014 Oh dear. Unlike a director or secretary appointment, an incorrect spelling for a shareholder can’t be changed with the CH01/CH03 (change of director/secretary details) form. The only way to rectify this is the following 2-step process: 1) Transfer of Shares: To transfer the share/s held by the existing shareholder (incorrect name) to the new […]

Earlier in the month we told you about our delight at having the only company secretarial system with an ICAEW (The Institute of Chartered Accountants) accreditation. Now, with the accreditation under our belt, we’re going to concentrate on explaining different parts of the cosec system. Today we shall look at importing companies. Our cosec system […]

Forming a limited company and buying a domain name go hand in hand. Therefore we are delighted to announce that Companies Made Simple, partnered with domain specialists Namesco, now provide domain name services! For more information click here and select the “Domain Name – £8 for 2 years!” option. Secure your domain now! This post […]

We’re now offering a FREE 4 week trial on icomplete.com’s fantastic CRM system (customer relationship management). The award-winning (Dell Small Business Excellence Award) bespoke database allows you to store all types of communication and then associate it with a contact. You can also send fax, sms messages and emails directly from the system. The software […]

Over the last few months our design team have been hard at work redesigning Company Searches Made Simple. We’re absolutely delighted with their work and can’t wait for you to see the results. The site has been rebuilt from the ground up and will provide superior functionality to that currently on offer. If all goes […]

Users of our Company Secretarial System may have noticed a few updates over the last week: • Annual Return / Annual Accounts Filter We’ve now added a toggle that allows you to filter through your companies revealing those which have filing obligations near. For the more technically inclined there’s also a “export to CSV” option”. […]

We’ve recently launched a brand new page specifically to show off our Mobile and Web Apps. Mobile Apps View the page for further information on the Company Name Search app and the Tax Saver UK app. Web App You can also view our brand new Sole Trader v Limited Company web app. View the page […]

When farmers brand sheep they use an easily recognisable mark to distinguish their animals from those of other farmers. In the same way, when you brand a product or a service, you use a name and/or mark to distinguish it from those of your competitors. Thus, the first principle of branding is that your brand […]

As our name suggests, we pride ourselves on being Simple. Making our processes as simple as possible for our customers is a priority. So when the “Global Brand Simplicity Index” survey was released by design agency Siegal+Gale, we were very interested. The survey questioned 6,000 consumers on all things “simple”. Not surprisingly, the findings, in […]

The development of your brand and the design of your logo and stationery is an important part of your marketing strategy. Letters, invoices, mail shots, and statements are all forms of advertising. In designing the stationery of a LLP company, you must consider the legal requirements detailed below: • Letter and orders • Name of […]

We’ve just launched a brand new web-page, www.dormant-company-accounts.co.uk. This is the first in a series of “all you need to know” pages that we’ll be launching over the coming weeks that give clear and concise information on individual subjects related to Limited Companies. As you may have guessed from the URL, the first page is […]

Last updated: 21/08/2014 After forming your limited company it’s inevitable that both company and personal information will change throughout the company’s lifespan. What’s important is that you notify Companies House of these changes, especially as some changes require Companies House approval before the change can even take place. The Registered Office To change the registered […]

Once you have completed the company formation process with us your company is automatically registered for Companies House WebFiling. You, however, are not yet registered for WebFiling. 

With the structure and name of your Limited Company now secured, you’ll no doubt want to convey what it is you do best through effective brand communication. The time and resources spent building brand awareness can be very rewarding. It can help to: • Position your product or service in the marketplace • Differentiate your […]

Last Updated: 21/08/2014 There seems to be some confusion surrounding Companies House web-filing. In particular, the difference between the security code and the authentication code. So to clarify: Security Code This is your password for Companies House web-filing. To login go here and enter your email address and security code. If you are not yet […]

Up to 43% of small companies have ruled themselves out of trading overseas because they find the idea too daunting, according to a survey by Parcelforce. Of the 513 “executives” surveyed, 43% of those not trading abroad recognised the fact it could increase revenue but most overlooked this as they believed the process to be […]

Last Updated: 21/08/2014 If you are a director of a Limited Company you may have come across the term SAIL address. So what is this? Well first off, nothing to do with a boat. The SAIL (Single Alternative Inspection Location) address is simply the location where company registers and records are kept if they’re not […]

Last Updated: 21/08/2014 Don’t worry. Active simply means that your Limited Company is not dissolved (or in the process of being dissolved). This status has nothing to do with the trading nature of your company, trading or dormant. This post was brought to you by Mathew Aitken at Companies Made Simple   Keep up to […]

Last Updated: 21/08/2014 Complete the CH01 (Change of director’s details) paper form and file with Companies House. Or… If you are on the Companies Made Simple system you can login, access your company and edit the name from there. The name change is normally accepted within 3 working hours. Companies House do no not charge […]

Last Updated: 20/08/2014 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) “are here to ensure the correct tax is paid at the right time”. As explained on their site, they administer: • Capital Gains Tax • Corporation Tax • Income Tax • Inheritance Tax • National Insurance Contributions • Excise duties • Insurance Premium Tax • Petroleum Revenue […]

• Keep every VAT receipt for the purchases that you make during the setting up process and continue to do so thereafter. • Make a note of important dates and events – they may be important at a later date. • Record all expenditure that you incur for your new business, even if you don’t […]

1: A dead document A business plan that is created for a purpose and then discarded will always become obsolete fast. Making your business plan a living document is essential if you don’t want the whole process to be a failure. Only a regularly reviewed and updated plan can be the spur to look critically […]

Last Updated: 20/08/2014 Annual Accounts If filing the first set of accounts for your limited company the accounts must be delivered no later than 21 months from the date of incorporation. Therefore for a company formed on the 1st of January 2014 (which would therefore have an accounting reference date of 31st of January), the accounts […]

Last Updated: 19/08/2014 When preparing an annual return for your limited company you will be asked for your company SIC Code(s). A SIC Code (UK Standard Industrial Classification Code) is simply a five digit number that classifies your company’s principal business activity. Numbers range from 01110 (Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds) all the […]

It may sound a little simplistic, but there are really only 4 fundamental ways to successfully grow your business.

As of now anyone who has a company with us is able to change their accounting reference date online via our system. Simply login to Companies Made Simple, access “my companies” and click on your company name. Next to “Accounting Reference Date” you will see “Change Date” – click this. You can then input your […]

Last Updated: 19/08/2014 A company register is a folder or book in which a company officer can neatly store their company’s statutory documents. These documents include: – Details of share transfers and allotments – Share certificates – Details of company officers – Company mortgages and charges The company register which Companies Made Simple provide includes […]

With the New Year fast approaching many people will be thinking about new starts. And whilst we will not say “forget” about giving up smoking, chocolate, alcohol etc etc we will say consider doing something different for 2011. How about starting a new business? Whilst such a decision can’t and shouldn’t be taken lightly, now […]

Last Updated: 19/08/2014 When forming a limited company you may notice the service “Maintenance of Statutory Books”. So what is this? The Maintenance of Statutory Books is a digital record of all your company’s statutory information. This includes: • Company Name, Company Number & Registered Office • Accounting Reference Date and other Important Dates • […]

Updated on 18/08/2014 If you are involved in a Limited Company it’s very possible that you’ve had to move shares from one person to another. Transferring shares is a two step process: 1. Complete a stock transfer form stating both the new and old shareholder and how many shares are being transferred. This form acts […]

In July we launched our Reviews & Testimonials page. Open to all Companies Made Simple customers, the page invites both positive and negative reviews. So why, as one of our customers, leave feedback? • To let us know what you like about our system • To let us know what you don’t like about our […]

Updated on 18/08/2014 1. A Certificate of Good Standing (sometimes referred to as the Certificate of Existence or the Certificate of Authorization) confirms that a company has been incorporated and is authorised to trade. 2. It typically names the Registered Office; the Share Capital; the names of the Company Officers, Shareholders, and the main objects […]

Completing a business plan encourages you to get past the ‘initial concept’ stage of your business start-up and, if it’s done properly, leads you to estimate, to the best of your ability, real figures. A business plan can solely be an internal document to guide you in establishing and growing your new venture and/or it […]

Updated on 18/08/2014 PROS • You will be able to recover VAT on your purchases. • The VAT you can recover will not just be from the date you register for VAT but will include any VAT you have suffered on goods or assets purchased 3 years prior to registering for VAT, providing they are […]

Last Updated: 16/09/2014 At £16.99 it’s easy to see why our Basic Register a Company Package is so popular when it comes to our Company Formation services. It’s a fantastic product that provides the essential elements needed for your Limited Company. So if that product is so great why do we offer, and recommend, our […]

At The Made Simple Group we form a number of limited companies with the intention of selling on. We call these our Shelf Companies. Of course every company needs a name and whilst we appreciate and fully understand the requirement for professional names we also like to get a bit “creative” with some names (you […]

1. Don’t just do it for the money. You really need to be passionate about whatever you do. Starting a business is rarely, if ever, an immediate route to riches. 2. Do something you know about. If you set up a limited company in something you know little or nothing about, you have made things […]

Last Updated: 20/08/2014 The company authentication code was introduced by Companies House to ensure that any instructions it received about making changes to a company had been given by authorised persons in the limited company. In the past, forms such as Form 287 (change of registered office) were sent to Companies House by bogus individuals. On […]

Updated on 18/08/2014 A UK Limited Company can have multiple secretaries, although having a company secretary is no longer a legal requirement. To appoint a new secretary after the company has been formed, you can submit an AP03 form to Companies House. To resign a secretary after the company has been formed, you can submit […]

As we have commented on a number of occasions, the current lending situation is one of the biggest challenges currently facing small businesses. This fact has been supported by numerous economists and banking heads, indeed, even the head of the Bank of England Melvyn King has stated that banks restricted lending is jeopardising the UK’s […]

When the previous administration first announced plans its radical plans to address the inequality that existed between maternity and paternity laws, the feedback from the SME and company formation sector was mixed. There is much research to suggest that the ‘gender pay-gap’ between women and men almost doubles when women hit their thirties, primarily as […]

The recession has placed an enormous amount of pressure on almost all sectors, especially recent company formations and the SME sector. However the impact it has had on the nation’s workforce must not be overlooked. Not only do workers in the UK work the longest hours in Europe, throughout the past year they have also […]

One of the most interesting things to emerge from both the Conservative and Labour party conferences this year was fact that that small business was positioned as the ‘backbone of the UK’s economy.’ Both Alistair Darling and the shadow chancellor George Osborne, detailed many policies they planned to implement to help the SME sector survive […]

From redundancy to businesses going into administration, the challenges of the recession have been well documented. However, one aspect has failed to get a large amount of coverage; what happens to the employees who are working within a company that is struggling. According to a recent report, many employees are working longer hours unpaid, in […]

Throughout the recession, many business owners have switched growth policies for survival strategies. Yet in the context of climate change and global warming, can the small business sector, afford to ignore the ‘Green Imperative’ and how much will it actually cost? According to a recent report by the Federation of Small Business and the Environment, […]

In a previous post, we discussed how the proportion of older people considering company formation, had risen exponentially over the last year. A fact the government has failed to recognise, if their proposed 2012 pension reform scheme is anything to go by. The government is positioning this new scheme as a ‘complete overhaul of the […]

In yesterday’s post, we discussed the benefit of flexible working for parents. We also found that most employers were reluctant to implement such a policy and most employees felt uncomfortable raising the matter – especially in the current economic climate. However, according to a recent report conducted by ‘Entrepreneur’, a quarterly magazine dedicated to reporting […]

One of the most difficult and well documented issues in contemporary society is establishing a work/life balance. Never is this more important than when you have a child. In the UK, the government devised a law, by which when an employee has a child; they are able to ask their employers for flexible working hours. […]

The whole of the UK has gone reality TV crazy. What with X Factor, Strictly Come Dancing and now I’m a Celebrity Get Me out of Here, you can no longer switch on a television without being confronted by some egotistical person judging another. Over the weekend The Times argued that the SME sector is […]

In yesterday’s post, we discussed a report conducted by start up website ‘Small Business’, which found that staff were incentivised and subsequently performed better, when they felt they had a role in the decision making process within the company they work for. However, a recent report by Management Consultancy firm John Thomas and Partners reveals […]

While it is unlikely you will need more than a skeleton staff when you initially form your company, as your business grows, you may need to recruit more employees and it is vital you get the right team on board – especially as you are only just starting to build your brand and reputation. While […]

One of the most important lessons many entrepreneurs learn far too late, is the fact that your company’s growth and success, is widely dictated by the people you employ. Therefore, the findings of a recent report conducted by recruitment consultants, MG Consultancy – which revealed that almost 30% of all employees were dissatisfied with their […]

A recent report revealed that consumer spending in 2009 was down by almost 38% from last year. As a consequence, competition is extensive across all sectors. This has accelerated a number of different trends; the rise of online discounting, price cutting and most importantly aggressive competitor activity. From the point of company formation, it is […]

In yesterday’s post, we considered the importance of negotiation from the point of company formation. Today we give you our top ten tips to ensure that whatever you are negotiating you get the best deal. Failure to Plan is Planning to Fail Going into a negotiation unprepared is pointless. It is vital that you know […]

From the point of company formation, almost all aspects of the success and future growth of your company is based on negotiation.  In the current economic climate of decreasing consumer spend, it has never been more important to get the most back from your relationships and maximise the value of existing deals. Therefore, regardless of […]

Empowering employees, by giving them a stake in your company, results in a motivated and committed workforce, correct? The theory seems simple. In today’s post, Companies Made Simple investigates the concept of share initiatives as an effective leadership tool. The next post will give you some practical advice on how to ensure the process is […]

Almost all entrepreneurs begin the company formation process with energy and enthusiasm for the venture they have started. However, as the demands of the recession increase and the future looks more and more unstable, many small business owners are feeling the pressure and losing their motivation. This situation is all too familiar for Adam Walker, […]

In yesterday’s post, we looked at what to do when conflict occurs between two founding partners. Today, we look into what happens when you add board members in the mix. If you have formed a company together and worked together for a significant number of years, through the difficulty of the start up phase and […]

Yesterday, we looked at the potential problems of evolving leadership. In today’s post, we offer some practical advice on how to transcend the role of daily operations manager and become an inspirational CEO. Focus on strategy Outside of Europe,  a clear distinction exists between the roles of Managing Director and CEO. The Managing Director oversees […]

Many entrepreneurs are motivated to begin the company formation process, by the thrill of seeing their beloved concept turn into a resounding success. But what about when that happens? Regardless of what the media would like us to believe, most entrepreneurs do not welcome the thought of spending all their time on a golf course, […]

As your company evolves, so do the demands of leadership. In this post, we question if a business/owner manager is actually the best person to progress a company and take it to the next level. From the point when you start the company formation process through to the early stages of trading, leadership is often […]

We have all watched the drama of Dragon’s Den unfold, but in reality pitching is quite different; it is doubtful you will receive a telling off and the infamous phrase ‘I’m out’ is unlikely to be uttered. In reality, the process is less straightforward. However, before attempting to part potential investors with their money, it […]

Once you have invested the time and resource demanded by the recruitment process, you need to make sure you keep them! A recent survey, investigating the performance of UK workers found that most employees would remain in their roles longer, if their bosses praised them on a regular basis. One of the most effective methods […]

Once you have made the decision to expand your workforce, chosen how you are going to manage the process and selected which applicants you would like to see, it is time to begin the most important part of recruitment; interviews. Getting the most out of an interview and subsequently hiring the right applicant, is a […]

After starting the company formation process, choosing who is going to work for you is the most important decision you will make. Good staff can transform struggling organisations into efficient and effective operations. However, finding the right team can be extremely difficult. Indeed, a recent survey suggested that, despite an increase in available candidates, almost […]

Forming your own company often requires a broad skill set. From the start of the company formation process, you are responsible for everything, from day to day operations to accounting. While this has many benefits, issues arise when you come up against an area in which you have no previous experience. At this point, it […]

In the current economic downturn, many companies are going into administration. While this is undoubtedly negative, for many businesses, the credit crunch has also resulted in lower costs, ailing rivals and an increased market share. Also, many business analysts claim that the market is becoming saturated with bargain basement assets waiting to be seized. Today, […]

In our last series of posts, we concentrated on the many different approaches to company formation and starting your business. This week, we will consider what to do once your company is formed, various growth strategies and how to expand in an increasingly shaky economy. Over the next week we will investigate the below topics; […]

As UK businesses’ credit continues to crunch and the threat of redundancy seems ever more persistent, many people are considering their own company formation. While there is a seemingly endless supply of information on starting a business available, most of it seems to apply the same approach. Over the next week, we will aim to […]

We have considered the reasons why many people consider the partnership model – shared financial and personal responsibility – we have looked at the various advantages and disadvantages and finally we have investigated the reasons why conflict can occur and the subsequent impact on a businesses’ growth and success. It has been suggested that collaboratively […]

In the previous post, we considered why conflict occurs in a business partnership. Now we know the potential risk of collaboration, we have complied a list of advantages and disadvantages of forming a company with a business partner: Advantages Shared Liability – Beginning the company formation process and getting your business off the ground, is […]

In the current economic downturn, many businesses are considering their future. According to business analyst Harry Stevens, despite hostile market conditions, it’s a sellers’ market right now. Stevens suggests that this is the result of a number key economic factors; the re-emergence of trade buyers, the availability of debt and the shortage of good opportunities.  […]

Yesterday’s post discussed the point in the company formation process when a partnership strategy should be considered. Today we will review the different types of partnership models, their relative values and how to set one up. In the partnership model, all partners equally share the financial costs and responsibilities of being in business. All partners […]

When you make the decision to form a company, there are a number of choices you have to make. However, one of the most important of these choices is whether you should form your company alone or go into partnership with others. It is this decision that the success and future growth of the business […]

Today, we are going to consider the roles and responsibilities of the Company Secretary. Historically, all limited companies must appoint a company secretary at the point of company formation. However, due to rules stipulated in The Companies Act, since April 2008, companies 

Once you have registered your company the next step in the company formation process is appointing your Company Officers. Company’s officers are appointed members of the company who are formally named as Company Director and Company Secretary in the Articles of Association.