My currrent agent has become slighlty sloppy (e.g. sending invoice to client rather than us!) so am looking for an alternative.
Not looking for the cheapest, just a minimum quality at reasonable prices. Dedicated service for accountants would be a bonus.
We use Iris but have not looked at their company formation software yet - any good?
Replies (25)
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Go for Iris
We've used Stanley Davis for years, excellent, straight forward online formations, plus help with Co Sec stuff.
Switched to IRIS Co Formations last year and once you get to grips with it's funny ways it's good and cheap. Best thing is only having to put the company & directors' info in once.
It's funny ways would be easy to follow if it's guides were up to date and made any sense at all, but they don't and so, even though they have promised faithfully they will update them I'd wait till they do. Better still, as a favour to me, say you're really interested in Co Formations but you'd heard that the main "how to" guide was rubbish and written for the system 3 years ago and not today.
Good Luck
A1 Company Services
We use A1 Company Services Ltd - and have negotiated a fee with them, which is waived if our client opens a bank account with Barclays.
They provide a quick and efficient service - and have had no problems to date.
Please also name and shame your sloppy agent (if you see fit) - so other Aweb memebers will know avoid them.
Quick Formations
I use Quick Formations and they are efficient and reasonably priced.
https://www.quickformations.com/
Simple Formations
I quite like simple formations:
http://www.simpleformations.com/
Not always the cheapest (about £30 for the standalone, but you can get an agent discount), but the form is really easy to use and if (like us) you like your clients often fill in the form themselves it rarely raises any questions. They have a free helpline too for questions.
Company formation
Here's an idea. Why don't we all get together and negotiate an exclusive deal with a reputable company formation agent with agreed service standards for all accountants in practice.
Do you normally add on £ to your client or get a commission from the agent?
Company formation
Our experienced team will be more than happy to talk to you about tailoring a company formations package (and price!) to suit your requirements. Email [email protected] or call 0117 918 1344
Jordans
I thought Jordan's was ridiculously expensive! I looked on their website and it's £119 + VAT for a basic company formation,
What's included in the price?
When talking prices (a range £16.99 to £119.00 ex VAT) it would be useful to know what's included (and if it's all necessary):-
Minutes of first directors meeting includedShare certificates preparedRegister of applications and allotments written upRegister of transfers written upRegister of shareholders written upRegister of directors interests written up
Some of the cheapy formations that I've seen over the years lack some of all of the above, creating work for accountant or client - and it is most certainly NOT a "5 minute job" to prepare the above paperwork which I personally think is necessary, but some other people don't judging by some of the "blank" statutory books that I sometimes come across.
Why registers?
I don't see the point of wanting the registers when Excel can do a good job. I get pdf's of cert, memo & arts, paper cert for about £25 plus VAT. I also have to pay for Companies House fee.
I also have Digita Company Secretarial software.
For £16.99 + VAT
The company is formed and the certificate of incorporation is e-mailed to me for this price (and it includes the Co House fee). I have invested in a pack of buff coloured card so I can print off the certificates of incorporation (go to Rymans). You can pay a bit more and get certificates etc sent over if you don't want to do this, but it does not take me long to do my own - I have an excel template into which I put the data and share certificates, minutes etc pop out. No frills.
Smudged
I bought the recommended colour and weight cards but when I tried to print a certificate it smudged so I pay extra to get it in the post!
.
We just forward the formation docs as a PDF to our clients via email.
Banks dont seem to have any problem accepting whatever the client prints out for their bank account application.
Flexibility
Interesting that so many replies talk only about how cheap can you go.
I use London Law, approx £75, but their software & service allows me to tailor the Articles, eg Pre-emption rights. I wonder if some of us accountants are selling client's short if we save 50 quid on a formation & give no advice/make no provision for things that could cause huge problems down the line.
Iris - Model Articles
Used to use IRIS but was shocked when CA2006 came in & they could only do short form articles, (ie using the new model articles) - have they changed that now?
Company formation
Like all the other agents who have replied, we would very much like to have you as a client.
We have been providing company formations and related ervices since 1987 and believe we have a first class reputation for excellent, friendly service at a reasonable price. Most of our work comes from accountants and solicitors. We can provide you with contact names for professional references, if you wish. There are some on our website www.incorporationservices.co.uk.
Frankly, there are some very competitive on-line services available at silly prices, even 'free' services, as highlighted on Accounting Web this morning. Many of these are very mechanical, on-line services and some offer very little advice of a professional standard. Rather than looking at the such things as how many copies of the articles, etc., I suggest you consider how well the formation agent will advise on the acceptability of the name (not just the straightforward question 'can it be registered?' - it is more complex than that; what provisions do the articles contain? - this should be considered in relation to each particular company, and the new Model Articles are not ideal in many situations: what back up can they give you on non-standard requirement?
We have the knowledge and experience. Check out our full range of services on www.companylawsolutions.co.uk and our free company law service on www.companylawclub.co.uk. We also specialise in charities and community companies on www.communitycompanies.co.uk.
Good luck with whoever you choose.
-- Jim Lowe Company Law Solutions Limited Q16, Quorum Business Park, Benton Lane, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE12 8BX www.companylawsolutions.co.uk
Advice?
"I wonder if some of us accountants are selling client's short if we save 50 quid on a formation & give no advice/make no provision for things that could cause huge problems down the line."
I don't think anybody has indicated they don't give any advice. I don't know why anybody would mention what advice they would give in a discussion about company formation agents.
Advice
Peter,
I am not implying that accoutnants are nto advising; what I am saying is that many people, who I think should know better, (not necessarily on this discussion), feel they have to use the cheapest option rahter than one that provides some faciltiy to act on advice.
Company Formation Agent
Hi,
My name's Mathew. I work at CompaniesMadeSimple (www.companiesmadesimple.com) a Limited Company Formation Agent. We offer competitive pricing (Private Limited by Share Companies from £16.99 plus VAT) and normally have Companies formed within 3 working hours.
We also offer wholesale services for accountants as well as a free to use company secretarial system (accredited by ICAEW).
The secretarial system allows you to upload your limited companies (all you need is the company number and authentication code) and carry out general maintenance for your companies such as:
appoint/resign directors & secretariesupdate director/secretary detailsupdate Registered Office addressfile annual returns (£21.20, includes the £14 Companies House filing fee)sort through your companies to find upcoming due dates for both returns and account
If you're interested feel free to visit our site or dm me.
www.companiesmadesimple.com - our general website
http://www.companiesmadesimple.com/cosec/ - our company secretarial site
Company formation for accountants - you'll be hard pressed to be
If you require a reasonably priced service aimed at accountants we at www.formationsdirect.com can help you.
Since 1994 we have provided advice and guidance free of charge and we even pay for the phone call . Alterations of Articles are part of the service at no extra charge and we'll print your firm's details on the Articles so you get free advertising - at NO extra cost.
0800 085 45 05.
We offer FREE formation if your client opens a bank account at Barclays or HSBC , and we have FREE usage of our groundbreaking Vectis secretarial software.
Give us a ring to see how we can help you
The team at FD - 0800 085 45 05
Don't touch Companies Made Simple
Companies Made Simple are fine while its all straightforward but the second you have a question you're scuppered - they'll take well over a week to bother answering (by which time you've gone elsewhere and spent more money to perform a simple service for your client) and that's a week per question. Absolutely atrocious.
I'd recommend companyformations247.co.uk - really fast service when I had a query & far quicker formation than Companies Made Impossible.
Companies Made Simple Cosec System
We're sorry you feel that way. We pride ourselves on our customer services and take all feedback from our customers seriously.
http://www.companiesmadesimple.com/reviews.html
We really are very proud of our cosec system and the customer services we provide along with it.
Hi, I wouldn't recommend that you ever pay for company formation software. If anything, you should really be using a web-based solution. It's a lot quicker and a whole lot cheaper. If it helps, Companies House maintains a list of fully-approved formation providers here: https://www.gov.uk/company-filing-software/filing-other-information
That being said, I would advise that you simply using our website for company formation and company maintenance activities: https://www.formationsfactory.co.uk
Not only will it save you money, but you’ll also receive unlimited support from our highly trained staff.