Creating a company run from home

joe9_2

Hi,

I am looking to incorporate a new business from home, is it possible to use a home address as the registered office address? Additionally as a way of cutting costs etc do I actually have to appoint a company secretary?

Thanks,

LittleVoice

You can run the business from home and have your home address as the registered address for serving notices etc.

Legally you need a company secretary and if you are the sole director of the company you cannot have that role. If there are two or more directors, one of them can be the company secretary.

Make sure the person who accepts appointment as Secretary knows what he or she is doing. (And know what your responsibilities are as a director.) For any ordinary private limited company, the person does not need to be professionally qualified as a company secretary.

You can get more information from, for instance, the Companies House website.

Crabman

There's a thread discussing small business start-ups which may help

SB: Small Business Start Up Discussion

isofa

To to echo what's been said above and add my tips.

You can use any address as the Registered Office, providing you have access to it. If you are going to use an accountant (which is very useful in Ltd companies, as they can save you calculate tax most efficiently, and personally I'd rather pay an accountant a bit extra who in turn saves me more money!), then you can usually use their address as the registered address, and also still use your home address as another trading address too.

Ltd law still states you must appoint a company secretary, this can't be yourself (if you are already the director) but can be anyone else, again some accountants sign themselves as your secretary. It's a crazy law it's needed at all, as I imagine a very high proportion of Ltd companies are very small indeed!

Directors and secretaries have to sign all manner of AGM, dividend and other forms (red tape city), so make sure it's someone you have access to on a regular basis and who understands the legalities - they don't however have to be a qualified secretary. For tax purposes it is often very useful to appoint a non-working spouse or relative, then you can pay them a nominal wage, free of tax (under their yearly tax allowance).

Hope that helps!

albert99vz

It is perfectly possible to have your company registered from your home address and many people do this. There may be restrictions in your lease or by way of restrictive covenant on using your home for anything other than residential purposes, which is a rather different matter. In practice, it will depend on the nature of the business. If you are just using your spare bedroom as an office and so there is no interference with your neighbours, etc., it is unlikely to be a problem.
With regard to the company secretary, this is still a requirement until the new (2006) Act comes into effect which, for these purposes, is April 2008. Until then you need a company secretary. You may refer to the online services Tax haven companies for the best answer and solution to your requirements.
Best of luck.

missile

If this is your first business venture(?) it might be easier to start up as a sole trader and change to a limited company as and when you want to.

I would advise you to buy a pre-registered company. For £100, they will supply all the info you need and the forms you need to fill in. For a small fee you can use their registered address.

isofa

It all depends on what you are trading (services, products; and what type to what market etc) and your predicted turnover, there are sound reasons to incorporate if things are at a certain level, and also for protection purposes. Equally if it's a small home business and you are just dipping your toe in the water, there are just as many sound reasons to run it as a sole-trader!

I'd take advice from an accountant on this matter.