What to look when checking an Agency on Companies House

[DeadEyedJacks]

Dealing with agencies

Companies house is primarily historic,

But look for companies ultimate owners.

Any history of phoenixing under a new / similar name ?

Avoid companies bailed out by private equity backers.


Any late filings should be a red flag.

Directors resignations definitely a red flag.


Slightly more timely, is credit checking services.

Look for a rise in credit enquiries.

Any late payments = red flag

CCJs = run to the hills !


Have a debt collection agency ready.

They will know sooner than credit agencies regarding late payments.

Always Dunn and chase payments rapidly over a short timeframe.

Cease work as soon as a payment is late, don't resume until all payments are up to date.

If agency won't make good payment within three days, then terminate.



And finally get insurance against client / agency default.


From recent real world experience :-(

[Andy Hallett]

You might be a little short-sighted with this approach. A lot of agencies (consultancies) will put the eventual contract through a larger agency. You need to check who the contract is with, not the company the agent works for.
And you can't always do that until the contract comes through.

Even so. Big agency are not going to bail out little agency, in the same way the client wouldn't.

Some general good advice on here:

- Look for reviews (Google is your friend)
- Look at the balance sheet (CompanyChecker.co.uk)
- Look at the movements of directors etc.

General rule of thumb is the older and bigger the better.

[FrontEnder]

You might be a little short-sighted with this approach. A lot of agencies (consultancies) will put the eventual contract through a larger agency. You need to check who the contract is with, not the company the agent works for.
And you can't always do that until the contract comes through.

If I remember rightly, I didn't hear back from either of them. If I'd had an offer I'd possibly have looked into it more.

[Lance]

I checked out one or 2 small agencies who approached me. Was clear they were 1 man bands and their capital position was only about 10k. I'd be invoicing more than that in a month so I would never have taken a role through them.

You might be a little short-sighted with this approach. A lot of agencies (consultancies) will put the eventual contract through a larger agency. You need to check who the contract is with, not the company the agent works for.
And you can't always do that until the contract comes through.

[theroyale]

Look at:

- solvency and net assets on last balance sheet
- recent additional charges (secured borrowing)
- multiple name changes
- recent officer changes
- shareholders and officers, and other business connections including serial failures

Also look at agencies web site, is there clear contact details with

- legal name of company
- legal name of parent
- correspondence address
- registered address
- statutory details like co reg number, vat number

On the latter, contact details, it's surprising how many people pour £000s into a website and miss the basics for credibility.

Thank you I will be bookmarking this. Cheers!

[Jessica@WhiteFieldTax]

Look at:

- solvency and net assets on last balance sheet
- recent additional charges (secured borrowing)
- multiple name changes
- recent officer changes
- shareholders and officers, and other business connections including serial failures

Also look at agencies web site, is there clear contact details with

- legal name of company
- legal name of parent
- correspondence address
- registered address
- statutory details like co reg number, vat number

On the latter, contact details, it's surprising how many people pour £000s into a website and miss the basics for credibility.

[FrontEnder]

I started contracting after being made redundant. The company offered help finding new work through Penna. We got credits that could be used for stuff like courses on CV writing or starting a business, which was nice. However the most useful thing I found was access to an site that allowed you to check company accounts etc.

It gave you the full account history going back a few years. I'd mainly check what their capital position was like. If they've got a lot of cash on their book, paying shouldn't be an issue.

I checked out one or 2 small agencies who approached me. Was clear they were 1 man bands and their capital position was only about 10k. I'd be invoicing more than that in a month so I would never have taken a role through them.

[SueEllen]

You can credit check agencies.

However it takes a couple of months before you know they are screwed.

[theroyale]

Been following the thread on Coal IT's troubles, and I realised that while I do have a quick look on Companies House before signing a contract with an agency, I don't really know what I'm looking for. What are the red or even amber flags?

Can the better-informed shed some light?

Thanks