How to Register a Company in UK for free | VAT registration | Debit Card | Bank Account & Accounting Software — FREE
If you are planning to start a company in UK and doing research about:
- Which bank I should choose to open a business account.
- Which Accounting software will integrate with my bank account, so I don't have to do a lot of manual tasks.
- Which Accounting software I should use in order to keep compliance with HMRC
- Should I register for VAT or just ignore it?
If you have these questions in your mind, you will see,
To the point answers in this article
Let's get started…
Company Registration UK
If you just type company registration on Google, you will see several companies offering deals for it.
Some of them are even doing it for you for free. That's because company house only charge.
DON’T FALL FOR IT — — — BIG RED FLAG
REASON: if you go with one of these companies. They will pass on your information to a third-party agency and then your information will be available online within 45 days of registration.
I am sure you don’t want that to happen!
Well, I won't sell my information for just £15 anyway.
But if you are still comfortable sharing your information just to save £15 then you can do it by going to this link:
Register a limited company and open a business bank account, all in one go, for FREE with Tide
Or
If you are like me who does not like to share information online, then go online and register it yourself on company house website here.
Follow this tutorial, just jump to 19.46, and you will be done in 15 minutes.
Now you have a memorandum of corporation and a UK registered company.
Keep the following handy in your phone. You will always need them
- Company’s 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference ( UTR )
- Company Number
VAT Registration
The first question will come to your mind.
Should I register for a VAT?
Well, on gov.uk website it states clearly you can register for VAT voluntarily even if your yearly turnover is less than £85k.
Although in my opinion you should register it because this will help you in several ways like:
- VAT registration number
- You can claim VAT refunds
- Reclaim VAT from the past
- Improve your business Credibility
But there are some disadvantages of registering for VAT like:
- Every 4 months you have to submit VAT records to HMRC
- You could end up with large VAT bills if you charge VAT
See this video explaining why you should or should not register for VAT
You can skip to next section if you don’t want to register for VAT.
But if you do then…
Jump on this link and create a Government Gateway ID
Once you have registered, follow this tutorial and Register for your VAT:
Bank Account & Accounting Software
You must be wondering why I have listed Bank account and Accounting Software together.
I will tell you later…
One of the most crucial decision for any startup is which business bank account to choose.
Well, I did a lot of research and found out that when you are in your early stages you need lot of help. And one of the crucial element is getting paid and pay someone.
High street banks charge hefty amount of money.
You can read an amazing article written by Leona Mondsee comparing all high street and online banks.
But there are ways you can save it.
Register with a bank online which will automatically give you free access to an accounting software until you have the account with them.
And the beauty of this is the bank account is also free.
AM I Joking?
No I am not…
NatWest created a subsidiary called Mettle where this magic happens.
Although, they have eligibility criteria:
I am sure if you are a Tech startup, you will be eligible for it.
So which Accounting software I am going to get with this bank account?
It’s a beautiful software and does almost everything what xero does.
So now you have sorted your company registration, VAT registration, Bank Account, Accounting Software and Your Tax.
Now go and grow your business. STOP READING
