Finally taken the plunge.....

[Sausage Surprise]

Another vote for NW here. From what I can remember my bank account with cater allen was set up quite quickly.

[Waldorf]

Cheers guys.

Will chat to Nixon Williams and Uptons and see what they both have to say.

Will probably go for Abbey as reccomended - also a local branch, and my mortgage is with them, so would make life easier if I move and need a new mortgage. Mind you, as Cater Allen is also part of Abbey and I have a local RBS for deposits will also consider this - is one better than the other? Thinking of going to Nxon Williams and let them deal with Cater Allen unless somebody cries stop!

I have used Nixon Williams for nearly a year now and they have been great, they helped with the bank account, and they also supplied the company for me, but I know this is too late for you.

[r0bly0ns]

It is literally now just a case of choosing an accountant and following their advice I guess - assuming they will also advise me for the company house steps I need to take.

I can't speak for Nixon's, but Uptons gave us all the help we needed in the early days with the company formation and admin.

[Wilmslow]

Cheers guys.

Will chat to Nixon Williams and Uptons and see what they both have to say.

Will probably go for Abbey as reccomended - also a local branch, and my mortgage is with them, so would make life easier if I move and need a new mortgage. Mind you, as Cater Allen is also part of Abbey and I have a local RBS for deposits will also consider this - is one better than the other? Thinking of going to Nxon Williams and let them deal with Cater Allen unless somebody cries stop!

Thanks again for the advice chaps, much appreciated.

It is literally now just a case of choosing an accountant and following their advice I guess - assuming they will also advise me for the company house steps I need to take.

[r0bly0ns]

HSBC for bank accounts and UptonAccountants for accountants.

Choose your accountant wisely, take a bit of time over it

Definately good advice, we looked into lots, went to see a few and talked to others on the phone asking them what they could do for us and why we should choose them before we decided on Uptons.

[Gary_Jones]

I use abbey for my bank account and have had no issues at all and a fairly good interest rate on the deposit account. It's also free.

As far as starting up goes - the slowest parts, for me were:

Setting up company bank account (about 2 weeks I think, waiting for all docs to come through).

Getting VAT registered , if you choose to do so.

Choose your accountant wisely, take a bit of time over it - I was a panicker when I started up and wanted everything done quickly , with hindsight its not really necessary to rush.

[~Craig~]

In anticipation of a renewal in the next couple of weeks I have used the Contractor UK Company formation service.

I am now the proud owner of my own company - also bagging the co.uk website with the same name.

Feeling very pleased, yet nervous all at the same time!

I am guessing the next stage is to get myself a good accountant to drop the brolly for the hopefully imminent renewal.

Can anyone advise who could hold my hand, and not fleece me royally?

Also, I thought the UK Contractor pointed me to a business bank account - not seen anything as part of this set-up process.

I would appreciate a helpful friendly reply before I get a smarty pointing to the search button - taken a look, and am rather confused, hence would appreciate a little guidance in a nice way

If it is of any relevance I am a software tester, currently working as a Quality Consultant.

Thanks in advance.

Good move! it's not nearly as difficult as it seems, providing you have a good accountant. I and many others go through Nixon Williams and they're really good; there's very little I have to do myself which is nice

PM me and i'll forward the contact details.

I went for the HSBC bank account and just went into a branch with my documents and it was open the same day, so far they've been good too. A lot of people seem to use Cater Allen but I beleive it can take a while to open.

Good luck

[Wilmslow]

In anticipation of a renewal in the next couple of weeks I have used the Contractor UK Company formation service.

I am now the proud owner of my own company - also bagging the co.uk website with the same name.

Feeling very pleased, yet nervous all at the same time!

I am guessing the next stage is to get myself a good accountant to drop the brolly for the hopefully imminent renewal.

Can anyone advise who could hold my hand, and not fleece me royally?

Also, I thought the UK Contractor pointed me to a business bank account - not seen anything as part of this set-up process.

I would appreciate a helpful friendly reply before I get a smarty pointing to the search button - taken a look, and am rather confused, hence would appreciate a little guidance in a nice way

If it is of any relevance I am a software tester, currently working as a Quality Consultant.

Thanks in advance.