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by Wendy Church
0Interims: How Do You Set Up A Limited Company?
If you are at the start of your interim career, you may be wondering how to set up an interim limited company. Wendy Church from The Interim Hub, shares her top tips.
5 Points To Set Up An Interim Limited Company
Congratulations! You have a contract on the horizon - but now you need to set up your own interim limited company. So where do you start? Here are the key things you need to consider:
- Name
First of all you need to decide what you are going to call your company. Perhaps use part of your name or part of your address, or something that encapsulates what you do. Once you have decided this, you need to check on the Companies House website that your chosen name is actually available – if not it is back to the drawing board to find something unique!
Check your chosen name with Companies House’s WebCHeck
- Shareholders
The next thing you need to think about is shareholders. Will it just be yourself or do you want your spouse or civil partner to also be a shareholder? Certainly worth considering at the outset as any dividends that are paid out of your company profits are divided according to the amount of shares each shareholder owns. This, of course, can be of benefit if the shareholders fall into different tax brackets but beware – the rules are complex so worth taking advice before you decide.
For more information about shares and shareholders click here.
- Directors
Then you need to consider who you are going to appoint to be the directors. Whereas the shareholders own the company, the directors are responsible for the day to day running of the business. They are also legally responsible for the filing of returns and the preparation of the accounts but, in reality, this is normally delegated to an accountant. Every company needs at least one director.
- Company Secretary
And finally, are you going to have a Company Secretary? There is no longer a legal obligation to have one for a private limited company, but a Company Secretary normally deals with all the necessary compliance issues, so it is common practice to appoint your accountant as your Company Secretary, as they will need to deal with this for you. Take note, a Company Secretary cannot sign cheques on your behalf.
- Different addresses – private, registered, service
Companies House keep two registers of companies, the private register and the public register. The private register contains the residential address for every director. The public register lists the registered office and the director’s service address. The registered office is where HMRC send their formal notices and correspondence and therefore it makes sense for the registered address to be your accountant’s address. The service address can be the directors residential address, the registered office address, or even somewhere else, as long as it is an address where the director can be contacted. To maintain your privacy and ensure your personal details are not easily accessible to the general public, again, it is advantageous to use your accountant’s address as your service address.
So when you are ready to set up your company just contact your accountant and they will organise it all for you. It’s normally a very quick procedure, taking less than a day, and once your company has been set up you will be all ready to sign your first contract.
Have you set up your own interim limited company? Is there anything further you would like to add? Please put your points in the comments box below.
If you are just starting out on your interim journey we have the perfect eBook for you! How To Become A Successful Interim Manager covers everything you need to know about getting started as an interim today. To download your free copy, click here.
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