Best time to set up Ltd company

[dkennedy1001]

Hi,

I am going to go contracting for the first time and wondered should i set up my Ltd company as close I can to the contract start date or if I do it a few weeks before does it matter for any particular reason I haven't thought about?

I know the sooner I do means I can get a vat number which would help with claiming that on my first invoice but any other benefits/issues?

Thanks

[TheCoconutDog]

What about getting bank accounts opened ready to accept funds? Agencies won't just hand over money into any old account.

[NotAllThere]

Get it done in advance, while you've still got plenty of time on your hands.

[PerfectStorm]

What about getting bank accounts opened ready to accept funds? Agencies won't just hand over money into any old account.

I seem to remember that they'll do the first month into personal ?

[TheCoconutDog]

I seem to remember that they'll do the first month into personal ?

You might be right - but wasn't there a thread on here recently with a tale of woe about not being able to get paid gross and having to get paid PAYE?

Why bother with the hassle when you can put things in place at a relaxed pace?

[dkennedy1001]

Thanks everyone, I'll go about putting everything in place asap. I think I was concerned that running a business without doing anything for a month may be less tax efficient or something so I should wait till the last moment.

Obviously not, must start reading more of the guides on here now.

Cheers

[BolshieBastard]

Hi,

I am going to go contracting for the first time and wondered should i set up my Ltd company as close I can to the contract start date or if I do it a few weeks before does it matter for any particular reason I haven't thought about?

I know the sooner I do means I can get a vat number which would help with claiming that on my first invoice but any other benefits/issues?

Thanks

Why do people think there's a best time to set up a limited? It just needs to exist in time to be put on the contract before its issued.

You can extend the accounting period once in the life of a limited so even if you set it up and dont start trading for 3 months, you can still change the year end so it cover 12 months of active trading.

[dkennedy1001]

Why do people think there's a best time to set up a limited?

Because they have zero experience of contracting or limited companies maybe...

[SueEllen]

Main benefit is if you join a bank that takes weeks to open a business account then it should still be open in sufficient time to allow you to invoice an agency in a month.

[PerfectStorm]

Yeah the bank bit took weeks of chasing in my experience. Plus you need a registered company first, though that bit pretty much happens overnight.