Company Formation Services

There are any number of reasons why the life of a company has to come to an end ranging from insolvency through to having served its purpose and no longer being required. Whatever the reason, there are a series of processes to follow to close or dissolve a limited company.

Reasons for closing a company

The reason that you are choosing to close the company is part of the process as to how you can dissolve it. Therefore, understanding the reason will help any agents you use in the process understand what method needs to be used to close down your company.

If the company is solvent

If a company is financially secure and can pay its bills, it is termed as solvent. This means if you want to, you can apply for the company to be struck off the Register of Companies held at Companies House. Alternatively, you can start a member’s voluntary liquidation. These are the cheapest two ways to close down a company.

Striking off the public register

To have a company struck off the register, it must first comply with a number of requirements. These include:

• It has traded or sold any stock in the previous three months
• There have been no changes of company name in the last three months
• There is no threat of liquidation
• There are no agreements in place with creditors such as a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA)

Next you must apply to legally close down the company. To do this, you must announce your plans to anyone involved as well as to HMRC. Any employees must be treated according to current employment laws and any business assets and accounts must be handled correctly. People to be informed include members or shareholders, creditors, employees, managers of any employee pension fund and any directors not already having signed the application.You are also obliged to send your final accounts to HMRC and a Company Tax Return form but this doesn’t need to be filed with Companies House. All documents must be retained for 7 years after the business is closed.To strike off the business, you complete the form DS01 with Companies House. This must be signed by the majority of the company directors and all assets should have been dealt with before the form is completed. There is a charge of £10 to do this and you will receive confirmation that the process is complete, usually two months after notice is filed.

If the company is insolvent

If a company is in financial difficulty and cannot pay its bills, it is termed as insolvent and this where the company owns money to its creditors, whose interests come before those of shareholders or directors. In this case, you need to use the creditors’ voluntary liquidation process or the company may be forced into undertaking compulsory liquidation.To have a creditors voluntary liquidation of the company, a shareholders meeting is required and 75% of them (by value) must agree to pass a winding-up order. After this, the company must appoint an authorised insolvency practitioner as a liquidator to deal with all company assets. The liquidator will sell the business and send a copy of the resolution to Companies House within 15 days and advertise in The Gazette (The Official Public Record).

If the company has no director

If the company finds itself in the position where it has no director, say if the sole registered director has died, then the company may be struck off if they don’t appoint a new director to take their place. To do this, shareholders need to agree to appoint a new director and vote on it. If the sole director has died and there are no company shareholders, the executor of the estate can appoint someone to be the director, as long as this is catered for in the articles.

Dormant company

An option to think about when you first form a company is to create a dormant company. This is a company that isn’t actively trading at the present time. You can also make your company dormant if the company has stopped trading and is no longer carrying out any business activities or receiving any income. In this situation, although you will not be actively trading, the company will still be registered with Companies House and annual accounts and confirmation statements will still be required to be submitted on an annual basis. A company can remain dormant indefinitely if you wish.

Restoring a dissolved or struck off company

Once a company has been dissolved or struck off, this doesn’t have to mean that this is the absolute end for the company. You can restore a dissolved or struck off company as long the right paperwork is completed to do this. You can use a service to restore a dissolved or struck off company to undertake this process on your behalf and this will ensure it is done correctly. It usually taking around 4 to 6 weeks to complete. The process will include fees if there are any court proceedings to undertake as part of the process.

While it is a pretty straightforward process for a UK resident to open a business bank account here, it can be a little more complicated for a non-UK resident. Although it is not a legal requirement for you to have a separate UK bank account for your business, it will be wise for you to do so from a practical point of view.Without a business account for your limited company, it will be very difficult for you to manage your finances and sort your business accounting records from your personal ones. It will also be much more difficult for you to obtain business financing for your company as you may not be taken very seriously without a proper business account. A business will have much more credibility in the eyes of financial institutions if they are seen to be running professionally with a dedicated business bank account.As a non-UK resident you may be eligible for a business bank account from some of the major UK banks: Barclays International or Lloyds Bank for example. The second option you could try is to open a bank account overseas by legalising your company formation documents.

Verification

It is routine for banks to perform credit checks on all applicants wishing to open a business bank account. This is done to verify the applicants suitability. Checks will include providing them with photographic ID and proof of a UK address, both of which must be submitted in person at the bank you are applying to. With Lloyds Bank, you may be allowed to open an account for your business if at least one of the account signatories resides in the UK. With Barclays International, it may be possible for you to open an account if you can provide an initial security deposit along with your application.If you are yet to incorporate your business, then you may be able to take advantage of our Barclays Business Banking service available to our registered clients. Please contact us for more information.Here are some details for the requirements to open a business bank account in the UK:

Lloyds Bank

An account with Lloyds would be suitable for a limited company with at least one UK-resident signatory. Applications can be made online or by telephone. The UK based director will be asked to present photographic ID and proof-of-address documentation in person at a Lloyds bank branch. Overseas company owners and account signatories must send copies of their photographic ID and proof-of-address documents to the same Lloyds branch. The documents will have to be legally certified before presentation by a banking official, notary, solicitor or government body.Remember to take copies of your paperwork. Do not post your original documents just in case they get lost in transit. Get your copies legalised and post those instead.

HSBC Business Banking

An HSBC account may be suitable for UK registered limited companies with all non-UK resident shareholders and directors. To meet with the requirements of the bank, the shareholders of the company must travel to the UK to meet with an HSBC representative at a HSBC bank branch.

Barclays International

Barclays offer accounts that are suitable for companies with no UK-resident directors or shareholders. To apply you must go through Barclays International that is based in the Isle of Man. Usually, you will be asked for a security deposit of £10,000 for the first month after account activation. Your account will be classes as being offshore. However, your account will be based in London and you will be able to access the same facilities as any other type of bank account, such as credit cards, debit cards, cheque books, online banking and telephone banking.

Your Local Bank

Check to see if your local bank has a presence in London. If this is the case then if you go through them you may be able to get an account opened at their UK branch.

An International Bank with a Branch close to you

An international bank will likely have a branch in operation in the UK. Check with them to see about setting up an account with their UK branch.

Online Merchant Accounts

There are companies who offer merchant account facilities and a type of basic banking and even MasterCard, but they are not registered banks so banking regulations do not apply to them. Some examples are Paypal.com, Skrill.com, and Cashflows.com. They also charge much higher fees than regular banks, so you may find banks to be more cost-effective in the long run.If you have a registered company in the UK, but you want to open a business bank account in your country of residence, you can obtain an Apostille for your Certificate of Incorporation and the Memorandum and Articles of Association. These corporate certificates will be required by overseas banks and authorities as evidence of the legal existence of your UK company.It is quite straightforward to get your documents legalised by a Notary by going to a qualified lawyer specialising in Notarial Practice. They will sign your company documents and liaise with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London to obtain the Apostille Certificates. You can also apply online through the Legislation Office.

Google is the number one search engine across the world and is the search engine of choice for everyone from big businesses assessing their competition, students for conducting research, to millions of people who use it for shopping and entertainment purposes.It is almost like second nature for most people to open a browser and conduct a Google search, but are you actually making the best possible use of Google? How do you know that you are searching effectively for what you are looking for and getting the best results?We have put together a few helpful tips to make the most of your Google searches:

1: Check out the tabs in Google search.

Whenever you conduct a search in Google for something, the first screen that appears with your results will usually be displayed on the Web tab. However, if you look at the top of your search results page you will see a number of different tabs that run horizontally across the page. These tabs are usually named Web, Image, News, and More. Many people pay no attention to these alternative tab options and will only ever look at the results on the first page that comes up.You can use the different tabs to help you define what sort of results you need. Often you may find much more targeted results in a different tab to the default 'Web' tab that you have displayed automatically. For example, if you are wanting to catch up with all the latest industry news in your business sector, you may be better off entering your keywords to search and then clicking the 'News' tab. This tab will display all the latest press-releases and relevant media results for your chosen keywords.

2: Search using quotation marks

Google will always produce search results containing the keywords you choose, but you can take some of the guesswork out of the search by using phrases and keywords enclosed in quotation marks in your Google search. This helps to narrow down your search results to deliver a much more relevant selection. For example, if you were looking to buy someone a gift of a silver locket and chain for an upcoming birthday, then actually typing in “silver locket and chain” into your Google search will bring up results that contain those exact words in that order rather than a mixture of results using those words in any order.

3: Exclude unwanted words with a hyphen

You may want to do a quick Google search but the keyword you want may have an ambiguous meaning. For example, you want to look up some information on Cheddar, but you are more interested in the Somerset Town rather than the variety of cheese. To prevent your search results becoming overloaded with cheese references, use a hyphen to discount any cheese related results. You can do this by typing Cheddar -cheese into your Google search bar. This will effectively remove any cheese related links and provide you with information about the town only.

4: Get site specific results by using a colon

Sometimes you may want to catch up with news and articles about someone from once specific website or news source. Rather than having to wade your way through results from many other sources, you can narrow down your results to display only those from a particular website.Lets say for example that you typed in the following keywords: David Cameron site:BBC.comThe results that Google will provide will be content written about David Cameron, but only that published on the BBC website. This can be a great time-saver.

5: Discover sites that link to another

OK this is one that is quite an obscure trick, but nevertheless could be useful to find out who citing articles from other sites. So lets say you read Cosmopolitan magazine and wondered what other sites linked to it. You would type, link:cosmopolitan.com to find out which other websites were linking in with it. The URL you choose to add could be practicality anything, but the more specific it is, the less results you are likely to turn up.

6: Make use of the asterisk wild-card

The asterisk wild-card may not be very well known by many but is one of the most useful tricks on the list. Using asterisks (*) in your search terms will make Google leave placeholders that could be filled automatically later on. This can be a very handy way of discovering missing song lyrics, famous film lines or poetry quotations that you cannot remember too well. If you were to type in, we * fight them on the beaches, we shall fight * streets, it may look like complete nonsense, but Google will know that the asterisks can mean any word, so will look for phrases that closely contain these words and provide the results you will need. This quote is indeed the famous speech given by Churchill during WWII, but how many of us can remember it exactly word for word?

7: Similar site search

This is a useful site for businesses who want to keep up with their competition and see who is running a similar site to their own. It can also be used by anyone for entertainment purposes. For example if you are a fan of a band or an actor but were getting a little bored of the regular fan sites you visit, you can search for similar sites to find new places to go and get your information. Also great for shopping around and looking for a bargain on sale through a different site.Type in, related:eBay.com to come up with alternative sites other than eBay to browse through, or related:bradpittweb.com to find an alternative Brad Pitt fan club site.

8: Google mathematics

Did you know that you can use Google to do your maths homework for you? Either ask for basic maths solutions such as 8 * 5 + 5. The answer returned will be 45. You will also get a link to a calculator too if you need one.

9: Multiple word search

Due to the flexible nature of Google, you can search with a combination of words at once to get the results you want. Searching by single keywords may prove fruitless as the number of results given could be vast. By narrowing down your search using multiple words you will be more likely to find what you are looking for much quicker. Use complete questions or phrases such as 'how to prepare for a job interview' rather than simply typing in 'job interview'. This will give you more targeted results.

10: Search using numbers

This is a handy tip for those working in finance or who work with numbers and statistics on a daily basis. Basically you will use two dots and a number to discover what you want. So for example: Who won Wimbledon ..1973. This will tell Google to find results for that year only and no other years results should be included.

11: KISS

KISS is the acronym for Keep It Simple, Stupid. Google is great for searching out a lot of different information, but you don't have to be too specific to find the results you need. So if you wanted to find a local shoe shop, rather than type in something like: find me shoe shops in and around Birmingham city centre, you can simply type in: shoe shops nearby. Google will know your location and will deliver a list of shoe shops in your area with distances, web links, directions and map locations.

12: Add gradual keywords

If at first Google doesn't give you the exact results you want, then you can add more search terms to help narrow down your results further. So if you added: Job interview, but want more specific answers, then add in 'Job interview suit' for more targeted results.

13: Think like a website

When conducting your search, use words that websites would use. Most people use keywords that are the same as used for every day speech, but websites are not exactly human, so by using language that is more professional you stand a better chance of getting the results you want. So instead of typing 'I have toothache', try to use 'tooth pain relief'.

14: Use your main keywords

Google search works better by using your main important keywords to generate results. If you search with too many words, or use words that are a bit ambiguous, then the results can vary widely. Remember to cut the clutter when creating your search term to make it easier for Google to find the results you need.

15: Use Google shortcuts

Let's say you wanted to find out what the weather forecast is for the next 24 hours. Instead of doing a Google search for the Met Office, the clicking through to the weather map, then drilling down to the regional forecast and then selecting the 3 day forecast and scrolling through the information found on there, why not simply type in to Google search 'Weather' followed by your post code, so 'Weather SW1'. This will give you an instant weather forecast for your area.

16: Don't worry about your spelling

Google has evolved well over the years and can interpret simple grammar errors or when someone has a case of the 'fat fingers'. As long as the search term is pretty close to want you want, Google will work out what you mean and provide results that match.

17: Be descriptive

Don't be afraid to use descriptive words in your search term. The way Google interprets keywords is quite clever. Many things can be described in different ways, so be specific but also be descriptive. If you Google 'fork' you will get everything from cutlery to system calls and a copy of a repository! Do you mean a fork to eat with, a tuning fork, a river fork or a fork in the road?

18: Locating files

Google was always useful for finding specific files or file types, but this is often overlooked by people today. If you are wanting to download a specific PowerPoint presentation or PDF file that you remember looking at, you simply have to type in your search phrase followed by 'filetype:pdf' so for example: eat fat and grow slim filetype:pdf. Very useful for study purposes and also for business presentations too.

19: Currency conversion

Google also supply a very handy currency conversion calculator that is up to date with the current monetary values. It makes it easy to check the conversion rates between two different currencies, and also for when you are making overseas purchases and want to know how much the item will cost in Pound sterling. You can also convert miles to kilometres for when you are planning a journey.

20: Keep track of your packages

Many of the major delivery services such as UPS and DPD are now using track and trace to keep tabs on your deliveries. You can put your tracking number into the Google search bar and you will see the latest information about where your package is and when out for delivery, your expected time of delivery.

Conclusion:

Google is a very powerful search engine that is often underutilised by most people. By incorporating some of these handy tips and tricks into your search efforts you may well find better results or find what you are looking for much quicker without spending too much time scrolling around.

A business plan is an important piece of information, so you should take care to make sure your create one that will form a solid foundation for you to build your business upon. Simply put, it is a written document that accurately describes your business, outlines your business objectives, what strategies you plan to use for operation and marketing, and projections for your sales and financial forecasts.

How will a business plan help me?

You may have the perfect business idea in your mind, but actually writing out your business plan will help you to clarify your business ideas and help you to think about them in fine detail. Laying out your business plan can often show up potential weak spots or problems that you may not have considered, but will also allow you to set about solving them before they ever become an issue.Everyone that sets up a business will have goals to achieve. Your business plan will enable you to set your business goals, whether they be short-term ones that can be easily reached within a few short weeks or months, or longer-term goals for where you see your business in five or ten years time.You can also use your business plan as your guide as you grow your business and measure your actual progress against your set goals and milestones within your plan.Many businesses will look to secure financing from banks to help them start up or expand their business. You will need a sound business plan in place if you want to gain a business loan from a bank or seek investment from other financial bodies.Having a well thought out business plan can also help to establish your reputation as a serious business. It can help to build trust in customers and clients, convince suppliers that you are genuine, and also help potential new employees to believe in you and feel secure in their employment.

How much time does a business plan cover?

Your business plan will set out your strategy and plan of action. Most typical business plans initially cover the first one to three years, but sometimes this can be longer depending on the rate of growth you want to achieve.Putting your plan into writing will help you focus on each goal or idea and prioritise the most important ones to achieve first. Once you have sorted out your priorities and shelved any objectives that can be brought in at a later time, you can end up saving yourself a lot of precious time.What you originally thought may take three years to implement may actually take less than two to achieve once you have sorted out your most important objectives. Your business plan will act as your benchmark for your business performance. It can help to keep you on track to achieve your goals and prevent you wasting time on other actions that may not be as crucial right at that time.

Tailoring your business plan to suit others

As well as setting out your own business goals and objectives, your business plan may be needed to sell the idea of your business to others, such as investors, shareholders and bank managers. In this case you should base your plan on detailed financial information where possible. Investors may not be too interested in the minutiae of your operational and marketing strategies, so you can tailor your plan to suit their interests and needs.When applying for financial backing, try to keep the plan short. Use our checklist to make your business plan more appealing to investors:

• Keep the plan short
• Focus on what the investor needs to know
• Cut out any waffle or details that are not of their concern
• Check your spelling and grammar
• Overly detailed business plans are often quickly shelved

You might want to include:

• CVs of key personnel
• Detailed financial forecasts, projections and assumptions
• Market research data
• Product literature or technical specifications

Presentation is key

When presenting your business plan to others, the overall presentation is very important. Make sure it looks professional or else you may not be taken seriously. Put a cover on your plan and include an easy to read contents page at the front complete with page and section numbering.It would also be wise to start your business plan off with an executive summary as a nice introduction and overview for the reader. People will often make assumptions and judgements based on the summary you provide. This will basically summarise the key points of your plan to make it easier for your readers to understand. You should treat your business plan as an important and professional document, even when it is only ever going to be for internal use only.Put yourself in your readers shoes. Look at your business plan from your target reader's point of view. Does it make sense to you? Would it convince you to invest into it if you were approached for financing with this plan? Review and amend your plan until you are completely happy with it.

How to write your business plan

Going into detail about how to write your business plan and what to include in it would take up a lot of your reading time here, so instead we would like to recommend that you take a look at the Princes Trust website where you will find plenty of free tips on how to write your perfect business plan as well as free business plan templates that you can download and use in Word or PDF format. You will also find free downloadable business tables in Excel that you can use for your financial projections.

Setting up your company and business banking

When you have your business plan in place and are ready to make your new business official, you should take a look at our Company Formations service. Establishing a business can be a complicated process that involves a lot of paperwork and reporting to the correct authorities. Should you be unsure about any aspect of setting up your own company or even make a mistake with your registration, you could experience a whole range of problems later down the line.This is where we at Capital Office can help you. We have decades of experience in these areas and offer a fully comprehensive professional company formation service. No matter if you are looking at setting up as a Limited Company, a Limited Liability Partnership, or a company that is Limited by Guarantee, we have the right package for you. We can help and guide you through every step of your company formation process and ensure your new company is properly and expertly founded.

Barclays Fast Track Banking

You will want to set up a separate business bank account for your company and we can help you with this too. We provide all clients with Barclays fast track banking. We know how important it is to keep on top of your finances, and that is why Capital Office have teamed up with the UK's leading Bank and Accountancy Practice. Capital Office can help you get a Business Bank Account through Barclays, this is a fast track scheme which is available through us.

Formations companies have seen a steady growth in the level of sole-trader or micro-entrepreneur economy over the past few years in the UK. Something that a study conducted by insurance firm RSA confirms and claims that UK businesses are increasingly "micro" in size – and is something that is having a large impact on the economy.The UK has a very high level of registered SMEs in operation, however the RSA research has found that micro-sized companies are the only business category to have significantly grown their proportions of business stock by a notable 1.4 million, or 45%, since the year 2000.The new generation of micropreneurs, or zero-employee firms, have grown by 21.4 % since the recession hit, making them the fastest growing business sector analysed. It is thought that the recession heavily impacted on SMEs with the result that many companies are now intentionally forming as smaller micro-businesses.The growth in the micro-business sector is still happening despite HMRC trying to tighten the rules over the past few years on people running hobby businesses in their spare time from home. People working a business on the side have been encouraged to register their businesses even if they are are only trading on a very small scale using online selling sites such eBay, AirBnB and Etsy.In an effort to track down online micro-businesses, HMRC have been approaching online marketplaces for data so they can check to see if sellers have registered their businesses for a tax code with the HMRC. While most online hobby business owners are happy to pay tax on their profits, there are some people who either don't think it is fair to be treated in the same way as larger businesses, or they are simply unaware that they are supposed to pay tax on their profits.For those really small online sellers who may only be selling on their creative hobby creations, such as home-made crafts or home-baked cakes to generate a bit of spare spending money, the government has now announced that it will be introducing a new trading allowance from April 2017. This new allowance will mean that individuals operating very small online hobby businesses will not be required to pay tax on their profits up to the allowance limit of £1,000.With the rapid increase of the digital micropreneur, HMRC would be hard pressed to be able to track and monitor every single one of them, especially since the government are reducing the number of staff working for HMRC. The cost of the manpower and resources they would need to keep on top of everyone who dabbles in a profitable hobby on the side would far outweigh the amount of tax that could be recouped. Plus the fact that quite a lot of hobby business owners find the rules on tax to be a little overwhelming.So from April 2017, individuals with property income or trading income below the £1,000 allowance will no longer need to declare or pay tax on that income. This new allowance will also be of benefit for those micro-traders who earn over the allowance because they will be able to deduct the allowance amount from their profits instead of having to work out their exact expenses.This has seen a shift in attitude from HMRC where they will no longer be going after the online micro-trader to squeeze every penny from them, to instead be seen as a boost for small businesses such as hobby crafters and online marketplace traders. This will also encourage more entrepreneurs online because it gives them an opportunity to test out their new ideas on a small scale alongside working at their full-time jobs without having to worry about registering each business and paying tax on top.The allowance may seem small to some people, but if it allows the occasional trader and hobby crafter to cover their overheads while they get started in their business, then it will be a welcome relief for many future online entrepreneurs.As long as an individuals profits do not exceed the new trading allowance, any micro-business operators will not need to register their business with HMRC. But if the business takes off and starts to generate profits over the £1,000 limit, then they will be required to register their business with HMRC – usually as a sole-trader if it is an individual. However, once the business start to grow and employ others, then registering as a limited company would make more sense as it adds a layer of protection to everyone running the company.

When you are just starting out in business, it can often be difficult to project the right image to your peers and customers. Of course you want to be taken seriously, and you want to convey a feeling of trust and reliability to your customers and other businesses in your sector. But how do you go about it if you have no track record, or you are a very small company with only a handful of employees?The virtual office concept is worth considering when you are looking to establish a professional corporate image for your start-up. The great thing about this is that you can go down this route without breaking the bank!

Less hassle than the real thing

With a virtual office you don't need to lease or purchase any real office space. There is no need to worry about negotiating leaseholds or arranging insurance, no concerns about upgrading IT infrastructures or hiring fit-out contractors to remodel your working environment, and no large utility bills to pay at the end of each month.A virtual office can give your company that essential professional corporate feel without you having to do any of the legwork yourself!

Improve your image

Your customers or business clients will have a perception that a company needs its own office, live phone support, and all the usual trappings of a legitimate business operation. However, we all know that the costs involved in running a physical office can soon eat into your budget, and diving into this sort of set-up is often too much of a commitment for a new start-up business.However, the option of a virtual office you can have all the luxuries of a serious business operation without any of the ongoing costs of running a physical office. What's more, a virtual office provides a cost-effective way for new start-up business to gain credibility in their sector, as well looking just like a reliable major corporation to their customers.

Is a virtual office real?

A virtual office is not something that is invisible or doesn't actually exist in the real world. These are real, functioning offices staffed with live humans that will work for your company. For a very reasonable price, you can get a dedicated business line with a live assistant that will answer all you incoming telephone calls. You will get a professional business postal address, dedicated fax line and personalised voice-mail services for outside standard office hours.For a new start-up business or entrepreneur, a virtual office can offer them a way to grow and develop their business while at the same time keeping their overheads low, and cultivating a professional image and reputation for their business. The money saved on running a physical office can be reinvested back into the business, helping the company bottom line and improving their chances to acquire financing for future growth.

The benefits of a virtual office

Here are some pointers about how a virtual office can benefit your business:

1. A dedicated phone line with your own business number
2. Your own live receptionist to take your calls
3. A professional business address
4. Mail forwarding services
5. Personalised after hours voice mail service
6. Modern Business Meeting Rooms and Venues In Central London
7. Registered Office Address services

Many virtual office services will also offer you the use of business meeting rooms for meeting clients and conducting presentations etc. Your Virtual Office for example offers high quality unbranded air-conditioned meeting room spaces in central London that are fully functional and equipped with full rapid speed fibre optic Wi-Fi and cabled Internet solutions. These are great options for one-off or regular client interactions, and all bookings include complimentary refreshments including water, tea and coffee.Hiring a meeting room as and when you need it can be a useful way to stay in control of your budget, while still being able to impress important clients and business people that you are considering partnering up with. The virtual office staff will give the impression that these are your permanent offices, and you will get full use of all the facilities provided, including fibre broadband, secure phone and conferences call facilities, and a professional receptionist to meet and greet your clients in your absence should you be delayed for any reason.As you can see from the above information, hiring virtual office support can offer a great alternative for new businesses to establish their reputation, convey a feeling of professional trust to their clients or customers and save themselves a small fortune in having to take a leasehold on their own physical property.It doesn't matter what size of business you run, from a single person working from home, to a growing business without a permanent base, a virtual office can help you keep to your tight budget while looking and operating like a large corporation.

When you want to make your business official, it can be much easier than you think to register your own company – you can now do this quite quickly and simply online through a formations service, such as Capital Office, and you can be up and running within the day!We can take care of all the official notification work for you, such as registering your company with the registrar of companies at Companies House. All you have to is to decide what structure your company is going to take, and then follow our simple step by step process online to get registered.Here in the UK we have a choice of different legal structures that your company can take. Which one you choose for your company will depend on how you wish to operate. By far the most popular types of business formations are companies limited by shares, and sole traders. However, these two options carry some rules and regulations that need to be adhered to that you should be made aware of.For your information we have listed below the primary differences between these two structures, so you can see which one would be more suited to your type of business.

Limited Liability

For your greater protection it would make sense to register your business as a company limited by shares. This is because if the worst should happen, each shareholder or member of the company would only ever be liable to pay what their individual shares are worth. For example, if you and three friends or family members where shareholders in your company, and you each owned a share at just £1.00 each, then you would only be liable to pay £1.00 each should your company go bust. Their personal finances will remain unaffected and protected.This is not the case for a sole trader however. Because there is no distinction between a sole trader and their business, they would be held entirely liable for all debts run up by their business. So if the worst should happen and the business went bust, the sole trader would have to pay out costs from their own pocket. This can often be catastrophic as the sole trader would have to use their own personal finances to cover costs, and this can impact greatly on an individuals ability to keep up with their mortgage payments, bank overdrafts and credit card repayments.So you can see from the two examples listed above why it makes perfect sense to register your company with Your Company Formations and the process is very easy to complete. In fact, all you will need for your company formation process are the following details:

Your Company Name

What you choose to officially name your own company is down to personal choice, however under The Business Names Act 1985, you must make sure that the name you choose is not already owned by another UK registered company. It is worth doing an internet search to see if your preferred company name pops up as already being used by someone else.There are also some words that you cannot use within your company name without express permission, and obviously names that contain sensitive words such as swear words or profanities will not be acceptable by Companies House. Also use of words like “association”, “group”, “federation” and similar words within your company name is prohibited.If you are really confused about coming up with a suitable name for your company, then one of our friendly customer service team members will be on hand to help and guide you.

Registered Office – Your Company’s Official Address

This address will be your main company office base, and can be any UK address that you use. Most small businesses will operate and trade from just one address, but your company does not need to trade from the address you choose as your registered office.The address you choose to register should be an address that is staffed frequently so that all important and essential mail coming from HMRC and Companies House will be attended to right away. This address will also appear on the public register, so anyone looking for your company address will see your registered office address on display. Because your registered office address will be on display to the public, like many other company directors, you may prefer not to register your home address as your registered office.Capital Office offers a registered address service where you can have your registered office listed, and our mail-forwarding service will ensure that any mail sent to you at this address is sent on to an address of your choice promptly. You can find out more information about our registered address service on our website.

Your Company Directors

When you form your company, you can register as many directors as you wish, but you need at least one person to be appointed as a director at the time of formation. The directors are the people who run your company, so if you want to form a company and run it with three of your friends for example, you can register yourself and your three friends as company directors. This does not mean that you cannot add any more directors further down the line, so in the future you can appoint more directors if you want to.To appoint a director you need the following information from them: Their full name, their occupation, date of birth, nationality, home address, and their service address. The service address is the official address that is listed on the public register, in a similar way to the registered office. Again, many directors may not want their home address appearing on the public register, so they may choose to register their service address as the business address.

Your Shareholder details

Shareholders are the people who actually own the company through their shares. When you first form your company, you can form it with just one single shareholder if you so choose. The shareholder can also be a company director, so you can form your own company with just one person who takes on the role of director and shareholder.To register your shareholder(s) you will need the following information from them: Full name, service address, town of birth, eye colour, phone number, number of shares to be held, currency of shares, value of shares

The Memorandum and Articles of Association

Put simply, these documents outline how you will be running your company. There are many templates you can use to draw up your documents, and Capital Office can provide free support and advice via telephone, email and our website chat portal to help you with this if you need it.All companies are formed at Companies House through the UK’s registrar of companies. You can register your business online directly with them for a £15 fee. Many people new to company formations find it much easier to register through a formation company such as ourselves, and our formations packages start from as little as £10.99 – including the fee from Companies House!So you can see from the information above just how quick and easy it is to register your own company. The process is so easy that you can be up and running after a few short hours.

Teleworking, also known as telecommuting or teleworking, has revolutionised the way companies hire workers and achieve their objectives.For those who are not familiar with the term, telework is an agreement that allows employees to work remotely or from the location they consider most appropriate (from home, office co-working in a library, etc.)Although the concept is not new - the expressions telecommuting and telework were devised by Jack Nilles in 1973, it was not until the nineties that teleworking began to experience a major boom, mainly in the United States. The reasons that led to the adoption of teleworking can be summarised as:1) The technological advances that have allowed the reduction in the price of computers and mobile devices such as laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc., and reduced costs of information storage.2) The ubiquity of the Internet and advances in communication that facilitate the collaboration of people through email, chat, VOIP, video conferencing, cloud services, etc.3) A growing culture of freelance work or self-employment - working arrangements which can offer flexible work arrangements to teleworkers.

Benefits

Additionally, more and more companies adopt telework to achieve their financial objectives and social responsibility, as this form of employment helps to:1) Increase productivity and efficiency in operations2) Access to high-level professionals located anywhere in the world3) Save in infrastructure and energy costs4) Helping the environment5) Have a more motivated workforce, where employees have a more balanced work-personal life6) Minimise absenteeism7) Reduce staff turnover due to better job satisfaction rates

Challenges

Although the benefits of teleworking are clear, many companies have not yet adopted this way of working. The three main reasons why this has happened are:1) Employers want an efficient way to monitor the work of their employees. The perception of most traditional bosses is that this is only possible by direct observation, in which case the worker must be physically in the office.2) The traditional companies still measure the contribution of its employees in terms of hours spent and not necessarily achieved objectives or results delivered. When you hire a telecommuter, these companies can lose visibility on the number of actual hours worked.3) Employers fear losing control over confidential data shared with teleworkers.

The Future of Teleworking

All these challenges are very real, and that is why, although telework offers benefits to both companies and workers, the level of adoption of this way of working is not as high as it could or possibly should be.Countries like the United States and here in the UK are more advanced in this regard. Teleworkers in the United States account for approximately 15% of the workforce, while in Spain and France, this drops to only 8%. Likewise, in the UK, it is expected during the next three years that teleworking will show large increases of between 33% -65%.But not only companies are realising the benefits of remote working - governments and communities too: in a study conducted by Telework Exchange, it was estimated that if 53% of office workers worked remotely two days a week, this could save together about around £20 billion a year in petrol. And this is only one part of the story; you also have to consider increasing productivity by reducing the congestion of the streets and environmental benefits that would be achieved if more people teleworked.Because of all these reasons (new technologies, economic benefits, environmental benefits, benefits for workers, etc.), it is believed that telecommuting will increase considerably in the next decade. The governments around Europe, for example, have plans to actively promote telework. However, in there is still need for multiple successful platforms that allow companies to jump into the world of telecommuting and give them the necessary visibility to efficiently manage projects and make payments remotely.

Will virtual offices take over how our office workforce operate? They are certainly on the increase, so the possibility of this is not out of the question. In addition to reducing and eliminating costs such as electricity, telephone and rent, a virtual office keeps employees happier and lets them decide when to start their workday and not have to face the traffic. A virtual office can generate savings of up to 60%, but for this service to prove successful, it is not recommended to completely eliminate a physical space.

How does it differ?

You have access to a business centre, which you can use as you require, whether it is a common lounge area as a business, or you can take a shared or a private office. The terms and requirements vary and are incredibly flexible. Obviously the price changes, but what you will have is the ability to work in a comfortable office space and not have your meetings or work time in an internet café. With the virtual option, you have freedom, the office chairs are not for you to stay in eight hours a day. Having access to network in a business centre is much safer, and the image you give to your customers is one of definite professionalism.

How does a virtual office work?

With a virtual office, you have a proper direction to take, because you can take all your business cards and your stationery to the business centre; you can also take this as an address for your correspondence referred to as a London mail forwarding address; you have someone to answer all your calls on behalf of your business; you get a private telephone number that is only yours, is not a switch, and that can respond the way you indicate and then spend all calls to anywhere, to your mobile phone, your home etc.Whatever way works for you to stay in touch with your customers can be achieved by having a virtual office. The hours of your office time are flexible. Want to work through the night? No problem, many virtual offices are available 24 hours a day.

What are the advantages of a virtual office?

Many people do not realise that a virtual office in London may be the solution to their cost control. First, you cut all the fixed costs of having someone inside a building, and your employee is much happier because you simplify your mobility and can decide where to work from, (either home or virtual office.)Productivity increases when people are happy; about 70% of companies are planning to move to this way of working, because technology is making it not only achievable, but profitable and more enjoyable too.The companies will be able to save and give freedom to their employees; and in the past, another issue was that paper files, folders and documents had to reside from one fixed location. It was not possible to simply move the computer around, but now all that has changed and you can be connected at any time of day.

Tips for Managers

Managers do get a little afraid because they think the employee is going to stop working earlier or the employee will devote time to a longer lunch instead of working, but there are several tips to make the most of the service.The main mistake is that if the virtual office is not well managed, there comes a time when the employee may feel alienated and begin to have communication problems. To prevent this, you mustn’t handle everything by email, but pick up the phone, have weekly meetings, gather people from time to time, go and visit with respect, show that you trust them. The last thing they want is to feel like they are shirking their duties. Try to be very clear with the information because they often have no visual contact and so sometimes an indication can be misinterpreted. In summary, you must not fail to have a personal contact, even if they are virtual and/or mobile.

How will customers benefit?

What you’ll receive is a very professional looking office, at whatever size you require. So whether you need an entire floor, pretty pictures at customer reception, offices of different sizes for one person, or three to an entire team, with windows, without windows, rooms together or partitioned, the options are limitless.You’ll be able to give the customer a place to come the moment you sign the contract; you won’t have to worry about installing the Internet, hiring a secretary or telephone line because that will all be taken care of. Important details right down to the smaller particulars like being able to serve a cup of coffee, will all be arranged because when you start working in a virtual office there won’t be anything left to chance.And that's what will happen. Checking for the availability of rooms, a meeting space, office cleaning etc. All those details will be made for you so that your business will not be interrupted. The best way of summing up the service would be that your office will be managed, leaving you to manage your business.

What is a virtual office?

A virtual office is a space where you can conduct similar activities to those of a physical office. A virtual office often consists of a business mail forwarding address, telephone answering and modern meeting room space. The relationship between people is electronic, performing the work without being in a physical office. The work is done wherever and whenever the person may be connected to the network.Companies that use a virtual office are those seeking a low-risk solution as opposed to investing in a conventional office. Perhaps they want to try new products or service ideas, seek to establish a commercial presence in the place of establishment of the provider, improve their corporate image or seek business support services such as answering service, among others.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a virtual office?

As in all things, the virtual office is no exception and has advantages and disadvantages that must be taken into account when considering if it is a viable option to conduct your business and entrepreneurship from.

• The advantages of a virtual office

A virtual office has several advantages for a company. Among them are:-The savings for installation. Allow savings due to employees working from home.-Work will be more productive in times of contagious illness in the workplace that prevent the transfer of employees. The same applies for employees who would normally commute or use public transport in times of traffic jams, break downs or strikes. All these scenarios are averted because they will be working in their homes without being affected.-Benefits people with mobility difficulties, as they can perform work from the home.-Less installation cost. Companies do not have to have an office with as much space as some workers are elsewhere other than the main office. This reduces the cost of rent and expansion of a common office.-Less cost of equipment. The companies, instead of providing office equipment to each worker, can share much of the equipment.-Formal Network of communication. Because of the need to stay informed and receive instructions, companies are giving more attention to have a communication network, thereby leading to the development of better communication among workers.-Social Contribution. The virtual office allows companies to hire workers who otherwise would have no job opportunities, whether disabled, elderly or parents with young children. This also includes high-value employees geographically located away from the offices of the company.-The Virtual office provides a great opportunity to increase the activities of a company, and thus their productivity while reducing costs.

• The disadvantages of a virtual office

The virtual office also has disadvantages and it is important to know these to consider the risks:-A company that uses virtual office should make sure to provide its employees with the necessary for them to work from home tools. Also, it is important to have an efficient control from established offices and ensure closely monitored telephone calls of employees working remotely. It is important to maintain meetings in order to promote communication and motivation are conducted to carry out the activities.-Sensation of isolation. Having no contact continuously with the other employees of the company, means that they may lose the feeling of being part of a team.-Fear of job loss, decay in the mood, family tension. These disadvantages can bring related motivational and psychological aspects, which is why companies should pay special attention to both the stage of selecting candidates to work as teleworkers (workers in virtual offices), and to support activities, feedback, motivation and communication.

How do you work in a virtual office?

The way you work in a virtual office is very similar to that of a physical office. However, it is important to maintain the following activities:-You must have an address and in turn be responsible for the area, to report on this every day about what each person has worked on in the respective area to which they belong through an activity report.-To keep up with a selection of work and more importantly, meet the objectives and tasks set.-To be engaged in the work involving initiative.-To control the pace of work.-The worker must be connected wherever you are to maintain communication with the central office. In this mode it is known as telecommuting.-There's a person taking on the role of the correspondence, faxes, e-mails, phone calls and visits to call attention.

What characteristics should the personnel working in a virtual office have?

Some of the most important features that personnel working for a virtual office should be:-Responsibility and maturity-Ability to organise-To use initiative-Have a suitable atmosphere and work area at home-Professional temperament-Ability to communicate-Adaptability

What activities are most fit a virtual office?

The activities that most fit a virtual office are:-Sales-Consultancy-Accounting And billing-Software development- Computer Programming-Work Publishers-Journalism and advertising-Teaching and training-MarketingThe virtual office is a step ahead in the use of technology and is definitely an option for the future of business, an alternative for those who have to travel constantly to close agreements. As a result, work and communication becomes more effective.