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Registering a company

What is the difference between the Sole Trader packages?

The Basic Sole Trader package includes your business registration at HMRC and all our ongoing help and support.

The Protected Sole Trader package additionally includes protecting your business name. Protecting your company name means that it can’t be registered by another business on the Companies House register. To do that we register your business name as a LTD company, keep your details off the public register (by using our own) and complete all the paperwork for you. There’s absolutely nothing for you to worry about!

There are two reasons why you might want us to register your business name at Companies House:

  1. Firstly, reserving a company name means that it can’t be registered by another business on the Companies House register. Registering a Sole Trader business will not protect its name, and so to keep it safe, it’s standard practice to register a dormant Limited Company.

    This is because you cannot register a company with Companies House using a name that’s the same or too similar to one that currently exists. This will prevent someone from registering and trading off your good reputation. Registering the name proves that you asserted your rights on the name which can be useful if you ever get involved in a name dispute.

  2. Secondly, if you intend to move to a LTD structure once your business grows, it’s a good idea to ensure that you have the name available for your use.

Other Registering a company FAQs