Registered office at accountants

[spig]

I've finally decided to go Ltd again, after being permie/brolly for a while. My old Ltd company is long gone, I used to use my home (rented) as the companies registered office. I've seen mentioned on here some people use thier accountants offices as thier registered office.

I'd like to minimise the amount of paperwork etc I have to deal with but I'm not sure exactly how much this will save as I believe some paperwork will still come to my home, such as VAT returns.

There's a small monthly charge for doing this with my chosen accountant, I'm wondering if it's worth it or if there are any drawbacks to doing it this way. Seeing the recent thread on VAT inspectiors demanding to come round to the regsietered office makes me think it would be better at the accountants rather than my small flat. Can anyone offer any advice on thier experiences in this area?

[Gonzo]

I always used my accountant's offices as the registered office address for which he charged a small fee.

It is really only a presentational matter. You are required to put the registered company address on all correspondence, so if your flat is 27f tulipe street you might be reluctant to present that to your customers as your business address.

I really only did that, in conjunction with a PO Box, so that my home address was hidden from clients and their staff.

With VAT, I am fairly sure that they will want to send correspondence to the physical premises from where the business is carried out (or the head office so to speak), so in my case they still wanted to send all correspondence to my home address not the PO Box or the company registered office, although I never pressed them on that so I can't offer the definitive guide.

[PhilAtBFCA]

Registered Office

Hi Spig,

There is nothing wrong with having your registered office at the accountants. But we actively encourage clients to have it at their home address, unless their is a good reason not to. It shows your intention to run your own business and take responsibility for the business. Both VAT and PAYE normally needs to be at your home address anyway so why not your Ltd Co official address. It is also simpler, I think, it makes sure you see all the documentation that remains your responsibility even if your registered office is at your accountants. However I do not think that all accountants agree with this view, there is no real "right or wrong" with this !

[d000hg]

I was advised that running a business from my home makes me liable to council tax problems, since I actually work at home 100%. I don't know if it actually makes any difference but Quay were happy to do this for free IIRC.

[Fred Bloggs]

Take care with the MSC regulations. I do as much as possible myself, keeing the accountant at arms length, just relying on them to double check my figures and to ensure the correct deadlines are met for all the paperwork. I want to make sure my position versus the MSC regulations is crystal clear. HTH.

[Little'Old Me]

I was advised that running a business from my home makes me liable to council tax problems, since I actually work at home 100%. I don't know if it actually makes any difference but Quay were happy to do this for free IIRC.

That old chestnut..... The only time I know some-one who had a "problem" was when a neighbour complained to the council about his running a business from home. Someone turned up from the council for a chat - The business was doing Sign-writing employing 4 people. They also were doing the sides of vehicles on the street! He just got told to close the curtains, and stop doing stuff in public! No threat of extra council tax - he was told if had been employing more than 5 people he would then apply for permission for change of use before they could charge business rates! Otherwise they weren't interested.

If a client asks me to do company secretarial work on their company, it is easier (as their accountant) to let them use my address as the Registered office. It certainly makes it easier for me to keep on top of making sure everything is done on time. I don't charge extra for this - but about 10% decide not to use this free service.

[Little'Old Me]

Of course what I forgot to mention is that although the registered address may be "the accountants" - the trading address is always the clients/directors where ever they work - so there are no problems with MSC!

Payroll registration is at the trading address, but all correspondence to the accountant. Bank Statements etc..... to Trading address......