Starting a new Ltd Company

STaN

I just have a few questions as i will be setting up 1 in the near future.

1) what are the steps you need to partake in to get registered
2) are they the same for a VAT number
3) the requirements for a company bank account/credit card & setup
4) the requirements for a merchant back account & setup
5) finding out about tax liabilities and what can be written of against tax, tax refunds etc etc

I think thats about it.

Graham

The easiest way to create a LTD company, is to use a company formation agency. This will usually cost around €400 and for this they will complete all the necessary documentation, supply you with a company register, company seal, memorandum and articles of association and share certificates. (try www.formations.ie)

You can do it yourself by getting the necessary forms from the companies registration office (www.cro.ie). This will be cheaper, but think very carefuly before taking this approach, get it wrong and you could find yourself in a whole world of pain later.

Also remember that after registering a LTD company you have many statutory requirements to fulfil, e.g. annual returns etc. Budget around €1000 - €1500 per year in legal and professional charges for this.

Once this is completed you can then register for VAT (although you dont have to be a LTD company to do this).

The revenue commission usually get in touch soon anyway to remind you to setup a PAYE scheme for your company.

Now you can open a bank account, this is usually easier at a branch that already know you (e.g. the branch where you have your personal account). They may also ask for a Business Plan, Cashflow Forecasts, Balance Sheet Forecasts and Profit & Loss Forecasts (particularly for the next step).

Now you want your merchant account, (GOOD LUCK getting one from your Irish bank)!! If you do manage to persuade them all thats left to do is persuade them to alow you to accept cardholder not present, or on-line transactions. Then you need to sign up to an online payment service (e.g. clickpay or worldpay).

An easier way to accept creditcards is to use one of the large credit card bureau that don't require you to have your own merchant account (try www.worldpay.com they also offer facilities to accept laser cards). You dont need to be a LTD company to use worldpay, so again think carefuly before incorporating.

Once all this is completed, find yourself a reasonable accountant (or alternatively get an accountant to complete all of the above for you). An accountant is almost essential in advising you as to your tax liabilities, what can be offset against tax etc etc etc. Again you can do this yourself, but get it wrong and prepare to suffer. Plenty of free pubications about tax (personal and corporate) at www.revenue.ie

That's it, now you're ready to become an internet millionaire

Hope all this helps.

PS any companies and URLs detailed above are the first examples that came to my mind, I am not associated with any of them and cannot guarantee their suitability/reliability.

STaN

Very informative, thanx.

Is there a better way to go than through a LTD company. We are only going to have 2-3 employee's including myself, but i would be the only shareholder.

The thing is, i dont think id be using my current back, BOI, because the majority of the transactions will be through sterling and we would be charged for currency conversion each time we make a transaction?

Is it though to get a merchant account? I suppose you need a good reason for wanting it? I'd mainly be after it for online credit card payments (through sterling making about 60% and euro's 40%).

Will the accountant draw up all the forecasts when i go through him to register the company? I'm sure i could do it myself, once i have the correct format and requirements. Is there a place where you can read examples and give instructions on what is needed to DIY.

mneylon

For online payments you could use a third party processor. Depending on what you are selling there are quite a few to choose from eg. HostCharge 2Checkout

RainyDay

STaN - Check out the guide to starting a new business on McGibney's Accountants - It gives a pretty good explanations of the pro's & con's of a limited company vs a sole trader. A limited company is definitely not ALWAYS the best way to go.

DMC

I might be considering going down this route shortly myself.... is the FÁS course "Starting Your Own Business" any good? The course guide is here Anyone do it in the past? What were your opinions of it?