What arrives in the post after incorporation?

Two things matter: your certificate of incorporation (usually emailed) and, within a couple of weeks, a letter from HMRC to your registered office containing the company's Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR). Keep the UTR safe — you need it for Corporation Tax registration and almost every dealing with HMRC.

Do I need a separate business bank account?

Legally the company needs its own account because it's a separate person — its money is not your money. Mixing company and personal spending is the single most common cause of messy first-year accounts and accidental director's loans. Open the account before trading starts.

When do I need to register for PAYE?

Before the first payday — including your own director's salary. If you'll pay yourself only dividends and no salary at all you don't need a PAYE scheme, but most directors take at least a small salary, which needs payroll run and reported to HMRC in real time.

Do I need business insurance?

If the company employs anyone (beyond some director-only exceptions), employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement. Beyond that, professional indemnity is commonly required by clients of contractors and consultants, and public liability matters if customers visit or you work on sites.

What records do I have to keep from day one?

Accounting records good enough to show the company's position at any time — invoices, receipts, bank statements — plus statutory registers (members, PSCs) and minutes of key decisions, including every dividend. Set up bookkeeping software in week one and the whole first year gets easier.

New Limited Company Checklist

Your new limited company checklist

Limited company accounts and Companies House filing, in navy and gold

Week one

File your incorporation documents safely — certificate, memorandum and articles, share certificates
Open the company bank account — the company’s money must be separate from yours, from the first transaction
Set up bookkeeping — software or a simple system, but from day one, not month eleven
Watch the registered office post — HMRC’s letter with your UTR arrives within about two weeks

Month one

Register for Corporation Tax — required within 3 months of starting to do business (buying, selling, advertising, employing)
Set up PAYE if you’ll take any salary — registration must be done before the first payday
Consider VAT — compulsory over the registration threshold, voluntary below it (sometimes worthwhile for B2B businesses)
Sort insurance — employers’ liability if you employ anyone; professional indemnity if clients require it
Decide how you’ll pay yourself — salary level and dividend plan, with the paperwork template ready

How to register for Corporation Tax

Deadlines already counting down

Confirmation statement — due within 12 months + 14 days of incorporation
First accounts — due 21 months after incorporation
First Corporation Tax — payment and return dates follow your first accounting period (often two returns in year one)

Your company’s first year, explained

The habits that make year one painless

Never pay personal costs from the company account (or vice versa)
Minute and voucher every dividend on the day it’s paid
Photograph or forward every receipt into your bookkeeping the day you get it
Put a quarterly hour in the diary to reconcile the bank and review profit
Know your two personal dates — year end and confirmation statement date — or use an accountant who tracks them for you. That’s us: call 0114 327 1480.

Get the whole setup done for you