Hi there,

Setting up the company isn't really so hard, it might even be easier than you think. Although you would need to consider if a limited company is the best route to take for your line of business.
As far as a business bank account goes, it's entirely up to you. Abbey/Santander offer free business banking for life, although some charges are incurred when you reach a certain level of transactions per month, but if you managed to hit that level a few pounds bank charges won't be so bad! However, if you are wanting to use your business banking manager as a source to gain more business, maybe an account with a monthly charge would be more suitable. Remember that you have all the power here, the banks want your business and money, so try to get a deal that is good for both parties.
£65 a month, to me, seems a little high. If you would like to contact me I might be able to offer a more competitive quote for you.

All the best

Rob
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www.rsbookkeeping.co.uk
info@rsbookkeeping.co.uk
http://twitter.com/RSBookkeeping

I would go to the accountant and ask those quetions to him. As he is your accountant, he would know how to set up company or can refer you to formation agents.

All the bank are more or less the same in services.

You mentioned umbrella company, are you a contractor providing servcies? If yes, have you got advice on IR35?
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RMBC
Surrey & London
rmbcuk at hotmail.com

Hi,

Although you can set everything up yourself, I would recommend sitting down with your accountant.

Your accountant will be able to give you all the advice regarding starting up the business and will be able to sort out the formation of your company for you as well - There will be a charge for it, but at least it saves you the hassle and you know it's done correctly.

Also you often find accountants have lots of good contacts so will be able to point you in the direction of a good/affordable solicitor etc.

As far as banking, you just need to have a look around, I think Natwest still offer 2 years free banking. However if you do use them, make sure you take out the credit card, because their Solo debit cards are useless for online transactions.

Hope this helps and good luck!

It's much easier to set up a Ltd company than most people think.

There are a few forms needed:

- Memorandum of Association
- Articles of Association
- Companies House Forms 10 & 12 (download from website)

You can get the first 2 mentioned forms online and these basically state the running of your company its shares and situated office (England & Wales or Scotland) and other information.

I believe the forms are pretty standard for most Ltd companies and you just fill in the blanks.

Like ally said above, it’s always good to see your accountant and go through things, especially at an early stage. You should be able to get a 30 minutes free consultation with any solicitor, enough time to find out what you need to fill in etc. Just remember it doesn’t cost much to set it up (just the price of the forms and Companies House Registration fee), so it can all be done by yourself and then you need a signature from a solicitor (around £5 - £10).

Good Luck!
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The Ultimate Caravanning Experience
www.thecaravancommunity.com

To OP

You can do it yourself and have to pay fees start from £15 and have to fill this form IN01 http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/forms/generalForms/IN01_application_to_register_a_company.pdf

When you can get your company registered using formation agent cost you something £25. I still think it would be worth paying £80 to your accountant as I have seen disastrous DIY. And cost lot more to put it right. I took over a cleint recently and set the company himself without consulting accountant and it was not correct set up. It cost him more to put it right.
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RMBC
Surrey & London
rmbcuk at hotmail.com

Hi,

Not sure if you have progressed setting up your limited company but my experience:-

I have set up a limited company myself and through an accountant.
If it is not urgent you could go down the route of setting up yourself using Companies House but for an individual you have to complete the forms manually and post.
Make sure you check/search on Companies house whether the proposed name of your company has already been registered or is proposed or has been used in the past. This will save you some heartache as your application could be rejected.
The articles are now standard so you may be able to use the standard template, but does depend on your business.
The above cost me £25 plus my time

I also set up a limited company through an accountant who had access to an online application service and the registration was immediate and I obtained an electronic copy of the certificate and articles etc - very simple but did cost me approx £100 - I think it was worth the money.

Once you have registered you will then get lots of correspondence:-

1. forms to indicate trading
2. companies offering advice on registering a domain name and offering web services for your company
3. banks will seek your custom - most will offer at least 1 - 2 years free online banking.

Hope this snippet helps