Can I just register the name of a company with companies house to enable me to be a sole trader?

I want to get a cash and carry card, howdens trade card etc. make sense?
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Maybe I have to be VAT registered?

Hello,

(ANS) The answer I think you will find is No!, Why? because by its very nature in UK law a sole trader doesn't have a company. A company as in a "limited" company is a specifically defined legal entity. A sole trader is NOT a company.

However, you can of course set up your own limited company but this does require a formal registration process. You can buy a company formation pack, from an organization such as Law Pack, they have a website and a quick search would easily find them. Company formation packs cost about Â£20.

**NOTE:- you can create a limited company of your own, and it can employ x1 person i.e. yourself as an employee of that company. I did this some years ago myself in order to work as a freelance IT computer consultant.

**If you do the above you will require x1 other person in order to act as the company secretary i.e. a sleeping partner. Who is NOT employed by the company but only acts on behalf of the company for admin or legal setup reasons. You will also require the services of a solicitor to formally register the company.

**as a limited company you would also have to define a tax year & submit an annual set of accounts i.e. do some book keeping of your trading over 12mths.

**Sole Traders DON'T function in the same way as Limited companies and they have different rights & responsibilities from limited companies too.

Hope that's useful?

Regards Ivan

Being a sole trader just means being self employed. Companies House lists all limited liability companies so if you want to trade that way you can. There's a charge i think and you have to submit your annual accounts to them and they can be accessed by any intrested parties. I've just shown my buiness card to get a cash and carry account, without the need to be a limited company.

A number of alternatives are available. Advantage of a limited company is that word 'limited'. I.e. your liability as a director in the case of any financial failure is limited (except for some criminal activities)

Business link has a lot of information on business models and startups all for free

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