Many people set up a company through their accountant and use their accountant’s address as their registered office.  There are a number of reasons why this just isn’t a good idea.

You, as a director of the company, are wholly responsible for the administration of the company.  If your accounts aren’t filed on time or your confirmation statement isn’t submitted then it is your responsibility, not your accountants. 

If your registered office is at your accountants’ address, then all of your correspondence from Companies House and probably also HMRC will be delivered to the registered office.  If you miss submitting your confirmation statement on time then the chances are that you probably wouldn’t even know because you wouldn’t be receiving the correspondence.  The penalties for not filing your accounts on time start at a small fine of £100, rising through £300 to £1,000, depending on the lateness of filing.  The penalty for not submitting your confirmation statement in time is that your company could be struck off.

If you’re wholly responsible for your company’s affairs, then it only makes sense for you to be in full knowledge of what goes on with your company so you need to be receiving the correspondence yourself.

If your accountant is letting you use their office as a registered office then they will be charging you for this service (even if it’s hidden within the annual fee).  Charges can be between £50 and £300 per year just for using their address.

If an accountant sets up your limited company for you and automatically uses their address or if they persuade you to use their office as the registered office address then you might need to think about their motivations in doing so.  On the one hand, it does make life easier for them in that they receive the correspondence so then they know when your confirmation statement etc. is due (they can actually sign up to email reminders), on the other hand it also means an additional and very easy revenue stream for them.

We don’t let clients use our address as a registered office address as we want our clients to retain some autonomy over their own affairs.  If you want to find out more about our all inclusive services then please give us a call on 0333 305 8772.

Helen Fielding

18 May 2018