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Company formation agent vs an accountant: many accountants offer companies registration services as part of their packages these days, so why do so many opt for a company formation agent instead?

It is no bad thing to speak to an accountant before you even get to the formation stage, they will have solid advice on the corporate structure you need. If you are not sure if you should be a sole trader, limited company, part of an LLP or more then you should certainly see an accountant and make sure everything is fully explained.

At this point, it can be the path of least resistance to stick with the accountant and instruct them to handle your company establishment, rather than go to an outside agency, but it is often the wrong move.

For one thing, accountants often than simply hand over the job to a company formation agent, with a large mark-up for the client. Secondly, things can get complicated.

If your accountant offers any kind of registered office service, or a corporate secretary as a nominated director, then they are truly involved in your business. Then if you lose faith in your accountant, for whatever reason, it can be exceptionally difficult to extricate yourself from the arrangement. For many, it becomes easier to start a completely new business, which triggers the start-up costs all over again and can be a stressful time for all involved.

Therefore, by keeping your accountant and a company formation agent with its registered offices separate, you are less likely to encounter problems down the line. You can change accountants and the business start-up agent will simply maintain the address and other things like nominated directors, so you can get on with running your organisation safe in the knowledge that the two parts are truly separate.

A company formation agency like Coddan can also help you with other, more complicated transactions, like registering a VAT-registered business with a domain name that is ready to go. You may want another non-standard article, too, which the business starting up agent will be able to achieve for a much smaller cost than an accountant producing everything on a bespoke basis. Even a complicated business can be ready within hours, which is sometimes the most important factor. A company formation agent will also carry out extensive checks to make sure your proposed name does not clash with another entity. Your accountant can perform a similar service, but a company registration agent is set up for this task and will likely do a more thorough search.