Company formation support, done properly

Not everyone should trade through a limited company. Liability protection, tax on retained profits and credibility pull one way; extra admin, public filings and the tax on taking money out pull the other — and with Making Tax Digital now applying to sole traders, the admin gap has narrowed. We’ll give you a straight answer based on your numbers before any forms are filled in.

Limited company vs sole trader — the honest comparison →

1. Structure and shares — who owns what, share classes if needed (family dividend planning is far easier decided now than re-engineered later)
2. Incorporation — name checks, articles, SIC codes, PSC register, registered office and email, director identity verification, filed with Companies House
3. HMRC registrations — Corporation Tax (within 3 months of starting business), PAYE if you’ll take a salary, VAT if registering voluntarily or over the threshold
4. Compliance foundations — bookkeeping setup, dividend paperwork templates, statutory registers, and every deadline diarised

The full new-company checklist →

The day you incorporate, the clock starts: your first accounts fall due 21 months after incorporation, your confirmation statement after 12 months, and your first Corporation Tax return(s) follow your first accounting period. New companies get caught out because nothing happens for a year and a half — then everything is due at once.

What happens in your company’s first year →

Formation agents incorporate the company and stop. As accountants — Digital Tax Service is a trading name of Shreeve Hallam Jones — we’re still here at the first VAT return, the first year end and the first tax bill, so the setup decisions are made with the whole picture in mind. One firm, one point of contact, no handoffs.

Talk through your company setup →