A company formation agent can be a considerable timesaver when it comes to setting up your company. It can be cheap too, with some charging from as little as £9.99 to get you up and running in as little as 3 hours. Read on to find out who the best company formation agents are in the UK.
In this Article You’ll Discover
Best Overall Package & Service
Pros
Cons
1st Formations are one of the best company formation agents in the UK due to their excellent customer service and prices. They offer live chat and a dedicated phone number to talk you through the formation process, which is invaluable to reduce the number of mistakes whilst applying.
If you want 1st Formations to file your initial confirmation statement, it will cost you an additional £12 and make sure you check the renewal prices of the elements included in your package (registered office and service address etc).
Best Value All Inclusive Package
Pros
Cons
For an all inclusive package, you’ll be hard pressed to beat Quality Company Formations’ top tier package. Their premium service includes almost everything you’ll need to get up and running, especially if you want to setup payroll and register for VAT. You’ll also get a printed certificate of incorporation, memorandum of association and share certificates.
With 12 months free call answering service as well, it represents excellent value for money and rightly gets our pick as the best company formation agent offering an all-in service. They do fall down slightly on the number of different packages on offer and there are less add-ons than competitors.
Best Value Basic Package
Pros
Cons
If all you want to do is create a LTD company, with no additional extras, The Formations company is one of the cheapest company formation agents in the UK. Beware of additional bolt-ons though that will push up the price. The business phone number incurs a monthly charge after the first 90 days and some of the monthly charges for things like registered offices and service addresses are more expensive than competitors.
The Formations company do offer accounting software and if you go for the pro package, they also offer a legal helpline and debt recovery service.
What Is a Company Formation Agent and What Do They Do?
Quick Summary
- Talk you through the various company formation options.
- Review & submit the application for you at Companies House
- Provide a registered business address and service address
- Issue you with the required documents and company registers
- Provide additional services like VAT & payroll registration and secretarial services
The best company formation agents carry out a number of tasks aimed at making it easier for you to setup your company.
This will start with them advising on the best structure and setup for your business. whilst a private LTD company is most common, there may be others that are more appropriate for your needs such as a limited liability partnership, limited by guarantee or PLC.
Company formation agents also helps setup companies for people non resident in the UK, where supporting documentation may be required.
The biggest reason for delays when forming a new company is incorrect information submitted to Companies House. If anything is wrong, it will need to be resubmitted via post and this means you’ll be left waiting for it to be reviewed.
The best company formation agents in the UK will review the information that you submit, prior to sending it to Companies House, meaning you stand a far greater chance of having your submission approved first time.
The reason many company formation agents can boast to having a 3-6 hour turnaround time is because they are experienced and have checked the information before submitting.
You will need to provide a registered business address when you setup a company and this is viewable at Companies House by the general public.
For that reason, many companies opt to use a third party for registering their business address for privacy purposes, especially if you don’t want to use your home address.
Company formation agents can provide companies with a registered address and will usually be a central London location. Some also argue that this appears more professional. If you opt for this service you can still use a trading address that’s your actual location, but this doesn’t need to be registered at Companies House.
A registered business address is not usually available on the most basic packages, so if this is something you’d likely want, then you will need to choose a higher tier package.
You should also factor in annual charges when opting to use a registered business address with a company formation agent. this will be in the region of £39 for your registered address and £26 for a service address.
When you form a company, it has a legal responsibility to create and maintain certain documents and registers. Company formation agents should provide the following
- Certificate of Incorporation
- Memorandum and articles of association
- Share certificate(s) for each shareholder
- Company registers
- Minutes of the first board meeting
The best company formation agents will offer a wide range of additional services (for a fee). Some of these may be worthwhile considering. Some of the services include:
- Free business bank account – Make sure you read our guide on the best business bank accounts for LTD companies
- Partner offers on accounting software and domain names
- VAT and PAYE registration services
- Drafting of bespoke articles of association and shareholders’ agreements
- Business telephone services and call answering
- Company secretarial services
- Legal helplines
- Debt recovery services
Do bear in mind that some of these services will come with an annual charge, so get the costs of these up front so you can budget for them.
How Much Does a Company Formation Agent Cost?
Quick Summary
- A basic company formation package costs from £9.99
- An all inclusive package costs from £89
- Consider what services you will need before starting
- Consider annual charges for services like registered addresses
You can register a LTD company using a company formation agent from as little as £9.99, but this is a bare bones service.
When pricing up how much it will cost to setup and register your business, think specifically about what you will require. Company formation agents can offer the following services
- Registered office and service address (Annual fees of around £70 will be charged for this)
- Printed company documents
- Confirmation statement
- Business address
- VAT registration
- PAYE registration
- Full company secretarial services
Many of the services above can be very valuable, so don’t discount them just because they come with an initial cost. Having a registered office that’s not your home address for example, can be beneficial for privacy.
If you think that you’ll require a number of these services, then an all inclusive package maybe a better option and this costs from approximately £89.
Are There Any Recurring Costs When Using a Company Formation Agent?
This will depend on the services that you decide to choose. If you opt for the most basic package, then there shouldn’t be any recurring costs. Below are a number of additional services that you can expect to pay a monthly or annual fee for.
- Registered office and service addresses
- Secretarial services
- Annual Confirmation statement filing
- Phone numbers and call answering services
- Domain names
How Long Does It Take To Setup a Ltd Company Using a Formation Agent?
As long as you have submitted all the required information correctly, you can have your LTD company registered in as little as 3 hours when you use a company formation agent.
The major benefit of using company formation agents is that they will check your submission before sending it to Companies House, meaning there is less chance of revisions being required, that will need to be submitted via post.
The best company formation agents in the UK also have software that will directly submit your application electronically, meaning a faster response time.
Why Use a Company Formation Agent?
Benefits
- They are experts and can talk you through your options to find the best solution for you
- Information checked before submitting to Companies House
- It’s fast and cost effective
- Keeps your personal data private
Can I Setup a Company Without Using a Company Formation Agent?
Absolutely you can, we’ve even written a step by step guide on how to setup a LTD company for free. It will cost you £12 to submit your application, but you will be required to fulfil all the duties and create all the documentation that are associated with forming a company.
A company formation agent can save you quite a lot of time because they have all the templates and documents ready to go and will send them as soon as your company is registered.
What Documents Will I Need?
Generally speaking you won’t need to submit any documents if you are a UK resident and are setting up a basic private LTD company.
However if you are based overseas or you are claiming to be part of a professional body or want certain qualifications represented as part of your company formation then you may be required to submit further documentation to support this. Your company formation agent should tell you what’s required during your initial conversation.
How Do I Know if a Company Formation Agent Is Legitimate?
Companies House maintains a list of company formation agents that are approved to submit electronic applications. You can view the list here.
Before you choose a formation agent it is worth checking to see if they are on the list. All the agents that we have selected are on this list at the time of writing.
Should I Use a Company Formation Agent?
The decision to use a company formation agent is ultimately yours to make. We’ve tried to highlight the benefits, which are
- An expert to talk you through the process and ensure you get the setup that is right for you.
- Review of your information before you submit to Companies House
- It’s quick, you can be up and running in as little as 3 hours
- The best company formation agents in the United Kingdom offer privacy services, such as registered offices
You can also talk to any prospective accountant about forming a company for you. They will probably be more expensive, but may have more knowledge of your current circumstances and can offer you advice accordingly.
You can also read our article on sole trader v LTD company to see some of the pros and cons of both structures.
To summarise, company formation agents are cost effective and can save both time and lengthy mistakes.
