Someone the other day asked me how easy it is to set up a business legitimately in the UK, to which I responded easier than most things and it is. It’s incredibly easy to start - its the continued effort or the ‘fake it till you make it’ that people have problems with.
Anyway for anyone wondering how to go about starting a company in the UK one of the main things you will start with is opening a business bank account. This can be done simply and I would recommend doing it as soon as you start work on a new business because when you go to apply for credit card processing or similar (you will likely need if working online - cheaper than paypal) then the longer the account has been running for the more chance you will get credit card processing easily. If you run a business bank account well for 6 months then it will be easy to do so.
So to get a business bank account:
- Make some headed paper - You will need 1 sheet so you can literally print your own from an inkjet printer - unless you are sure enough to order a few thousand pages (but you don’t need to for this.) - Make sure the headed paper has your address, contact details and a logo as well as your Company Name. With company names if you are just starting a little company with intentions to trade a bit before investing then use your company name at the top, and at the bottom write: “yourname T/A COMPANY NAME” (T/A means Trading As - in the UK a person can trade as a company name until they earn a certain amount - this is legal.)
- Choose a bank - You might want to shop around, I would recommend HSBC and not Barclay’s - but that’s my choice - they are all fairly similar if they are on a highstreet. Things to consider are interest rates, services they offer, business bank managers etc.
- Get an appointment - Easy to do, either phone your local branch (if they allow you too) or go in and ask for an appointment to set up a business bank account - this is because you may need to speak to a business specific banker. You MIGHT be able to walk strait in without one if its a big branch…
- Walk in with headed paper and tell them - ..Your details - they will ask you whether you are seeking finance, business address, your name, what your trading in, as and expected sales cash, offer you all sorts of crap (if your small start up its probably not cost effective to take an expensive option)
- Walk out with a business bank account - Its that easy - you’ll get a business debit card in 5-7 days along with a cheque book and paying in book and probably online business banking info. Done.
It’s that easy - the key is doing it early to start building a record of your company up - don’t hesitate or it might slow things down later.
Interested in starting a business? check out a few of my other business posts: