OK to leave company dormant and then hiring accountant once I have got a job?

[yri768]

1. Annual return - which is a noddy thing on the Companies House website
2. Annual accounts with Co House
3. CT return with HMRC.

Though you can do 2 & 3 together via their PDF form.

And that is all, unless you register for VAT and PAYE.

If you're going to do this you might want to sort out your Government Gateway ID sooner rather than later.

Hi thanks. How do I find out the exact dates I need to do these things by?

[northernladuk]

Hi thanks. How do I find out the exact dates I need to do these things by?

Your accountant will advise.

[yri768]

Your accountant will advise.

Ah it seems that you can sign up for an email alert at https://www.gov.uk/prepare-an-annual...ompanies-house

[Andrew@Wisteria]

Ah it seems that you can sign up for an email alert at https://www.gov.uk/prepare-an-annual...ompanies-house

That's just for the annual return by the way.

[Yonmons]

I'd wait until you've got a contract sorted.

Companies can be incorporated in ~1 working day. Yes getting a bank account/VAT registration in place do take a little longer, but typically you only need those in place for when you come to send your first invoice, rather than before you can start work.

Risk if you do it all now is that:
1) you never get a contract, so end up wasting effort and having to close the company down in a while without it doing anything.
2) you do get a contract in (say) 9 months time. At that point you appoint an accountant, and they insist on an up front fee because your year end is only a few months away.

I am doing exactly this, the job I was going to use the LTD Co for fell through so rule 1 applies,
being with an umbrella company on my current contract I could see rule 2 applying so I am 6 weeks into the close down procedure with companies house.
Setting up a Ltd co really is no big deal, and you can whistle through the procedure including opening a bank account in a week.
I didnt want to take a contract on, then (even though I hadnt previously used it) end up having to pay an accountant for year end books. He would make more money on the deal than me.

[Eirikur]

Well I just thought that it might take longer (like longer than a week) to start the company up / set bank account and so wanted to do this myself and then hire an accountant when I get the job. If I did this and ended up in the (hopefully unlikely) circumstance that I am unable to find a job in a year, then I will have to make the filings to HMRC/Company house myself.

So would the accountant typically set up the bank account as well? Thanks

Took me less then few hours to find accountant who set up and registered the company, for me all on the same day as I received my offer for a contract. VAT registration took two weeks to come through but that was no problem as the agency had a 4 week payment term anyway and the bankaccount request was done by the accountant as well and all done and dusted within a week or so.