Your business documents, stationery, and letters about your company's details are needed by law during certain pieces of correspondence. Here are some of the most important requirements to take into account:The full registered name of your company should be mentioned in all correspondence and documents, making it easier to read who exactly you are. This is extended as a legal requirement to:
- Notifications and corporate publications;
- All the business letters and forms to the company;
- Parcels, invoices, receipts, bills and currency, cheques, money, goods that intend to be signed on behalf of the company's revenue, such as letters of credit and bills;
- All of the company's websites. There`s no need to show your company name on each page, but it should be easy to read.Furthermore, you are required for the company website, orders, and letterheads. In addition to the registration of the company name, each of the following information is required:
- Where the company is registered in the United Kingdom - i.e. the UK, England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland;
- The registration number of the company;
- The registered address of the Company.
The equivalent of paper stationery requirements goes for e-mail correspondence as well. The relevant information is provided by many companies who send e-mail regularly. It is helpful to have company details automatically added on the footer of the email, so that it shows the necessary information.
There are many important stationery issues to consider, which may be specific to your company:
- That which is not a public company should note the fact that it is a limited company;
- If, as stated in Section 833 of the Companies Act 2006 yours is an investment company then this will need to be described;
- If it is a charitable company, it should be noted if the words 'charity' or 'charitable' are not included.
- There is no requirement to display the names of each director of the company, but it is best to either include them all or none, so as not to confuse the issue. A director of the company must be named, if there is no signature in the text. The same applies to the name of each director.
- If you choose to display the company's capital, it must display the amount paid out of the share capital.
If a company does not meet the legal requirements, the company itself, and all the company's employees are liable to a fine. This fine can cost £1,000 and £100 thereafter if the offense continues.In addition to these general rules as described, there may be other legislation and regulations that apply to your company. This is the case, especially with companies that operate in financial industries, where they have to state that they have the authority and provisions to the relevant regulator (Financial Conduct Authority).All legal requirements and industry-specific best practices can be found with your own trade body. There are also lots of valuable sources of information about which documents and stationery to include for all types of company and these can be found by talking to your own regulator.You can read more interesting articles on company formation and business advice here.
