Company Searches Making The Riddle Of Your Competitors Clear

Company searches can change your business life, if there aren’t regular searches taking place as part of your competitor analysis you will remain uninformed on your competitors activities. They certainly aren’t going to be telling you what they are doing themselves, but there is always insight to be drawn from publicly available information.

The way that you interact with business data can truly change the way your business functions. By promoting a data-led approach to competitor analysis you create business intelligence that is much more reliable than guesswork and hunches.

So when you undertake company searches the mysteries of your competitors will be revealed. But in what ways can they solve the riddles of the people vying with you in your sector?

Well, the following questions can be answered:

• Financial – The most important question about your competitors is – how well are they doing financially? It’s something you can see with a company search. Credit ratings and limits can be retrieved with a company search. This allows you an independent view of how creditors see your competition. You can also find detailed account information too.
• Legal – The process of doing business means you are part of a series of interconnected systems, one of them being the justice system. Complaints, writs or other legal issues can arise in the course of business – and with a company search you can find the details on your competitors and find where they’ve had legal issues to contend with – which can then help you to avoid these same problems yourself.
• Structural – Finding out information on directors and company structure is a key way of unlocking the mysteries of your competition – namely, exactly who they are. This allows you to find all you need to know about how the businesses competing with you are setup and make use of the information – whether that’s for things like finding a business name or director – or an address, it’s all valuable.

Basically the concept of company search is a big magnifying glass that lets you see all the little details about your competitors. You could even run a company search UK on your own business, for a look at how other companies might view you.

 For More Info- www.companysearchesmadesimple.com

By Alex Novakovic at MadeSimple – Follow Alex on Google+

Originally Published - www.accountingweb.co.uk

Business Lessons To Learn From Frank Underwood Company Formation – Companies Made Simple

Here at MadeSimple we are big fans of the the Netflix sensation House of Cards – which has just seen its fourth season released. It’s a fantastic show full of political intrigue, deception and scheming – starring Kevin Spacey as the ruthless politician Frank Underwood.

Frank is the ultimate strategist and a master of psychology, which he uses to aid his enormous ambitions. As amoral as Frank is, we think that your business can learn some important lessons from this political schemer. Let’s take a look.

Lesson One – “Do not start a war you know you’re gonna lose”

Are your business goals possible? You should not make unrealistic forecasts, such as your company becoming a global giant within 6 months, as this is unlikely to happen. Instead, create small achievable goals that can be met within a specific time frame, such as get a certain amount of funding or create a new product. Whatever it is, make it feasible.

Lesson Two – “We are nothing more or less than what we choose to reveal”

This is a great lesson that should be applied to your content marketing strategy. You need to think very carefully about the type of messages you send out to your audience – after all, you are what you share. Is it consistent with your brand? Is it relevant to your business? Will your audience be interested? And remember, if someone else is running your marketing activity, make sure they’re clear on your strategy.

Lesson Three – “Let me be clear, you are entitled to nothing”

When starting a business do not assume that your company is going to grow just like that. It’s unlikely that success will come to you instantly. You must be willing to do everything it takes to make your venture great. No matter how good you think your idea is – you need to put the work in.

Lesson Four – “There are two kinds of pain. The sort of pain that makes you strong, or useless pain. The sort of pain that’s only suffering. I have no patience for useless things”

In the life of a business – particularly one that is a startup – you are bound to go through some challenging moments. By handling these tough moments and navigating through them you will be all the stronger for it. However, it is important to recognise when something might not be working. For example, an employee (if you have any) might not be pulling their weight or your company website might not be particularly user friendly. It’s important to identify problems and things which serve no benefit to the growth of your business. Once you know the problems, be like Frank and quickly take them out the equation (in a legal way!).

Lesson Five –  “There’s no better way to overpower a trickle of doubt than with a flood of naked truth”

There’s nothing wrong with getting things wrong from time to time as mistakes can and do happen. If you experience a problem providing a service to a customer, be honest, explain what has happened and tell them how you’re going to fix it. People understand that in business not everything works like clockwork – if you are transparent about problems, customers will be surprisingly understanding.

Lesson Six – “Pay attention to the fine print, it’s far more important than the selling price”

It is imperative that you look into the finer details in everything that you do as a small business owner. Don’t get involved in anything without reading the terms and conditions very closely. Be thorough!

We hope that you enjoyed this post and that in some way, Frank Underwood can help your business! If you would like to read more blogs like this, take a look at our dedicated small business blog here.

Originally Published - Companies Made Simple

Company Director Check – Find Out What Personal Information is Publicly Available

If you’re a limited company director, or thinking about becoming a limited company director, it’s important to understand what personal information other people can find on you via a company director check. Not only is checking yourself important for security purposes (ie what address do you use when becoming a director?), it’s also useful to know how other people view you and the companies that you’re associated with.

The following information is available, on any UK company director, when using Company Search MadeSimple’s free Company Director Check service:

General Information

• Title
• Name
• Date of birth
• Director ID number
• Nationality
• Address (the Service Address which is the director’s official address and not necessarily where they live or work)

Summary Information

• Number of current director appointments held
• Number of past director appointments held
• Period of time since first appointment

Current Appointments

• Names of the companies*
• Company status (active, dormant, dissolved)
• Duration of director’s position

Previous Appointments

• Names of the companies
• Company status (active, dormant, dissolved)
• Duration of director’s position

*With Company Search MadeSimple, you are able to click on the company name and then find out more information – with reports available for £5.99 plus VAT.

As you can see, this is a quite a lot of information – and unless otherwise stated,  it’s absolutely free to get. Take a look here for more information on available Free UK Director Search Reports.

Originally post – arkansasconsumer.org

Director Search Giving Clues On The Mysteries Of Who Is Running Your Competitors

---

The process of finding out the inner workings of a company might sound a little bit daunting. However there are techniques that make the process extremely simple. By undertaking director searches you can find a much more detailed report on who is running a business than you might be able to get on their business website.

This is not only because competitors are shy about giving away their information — it’s also because the information is a matter of public record and can be found through Companies House. This can be a bit of a bother, but undertaking a director search with company search providers makes the process much easier.

You are able to get reports, track company changes and find the latest information on a range of things. Director search specifically allows you to find out the following insights:

• Other Directorships — Maybe you know the director of a company, but what a director search can reveal is the other companies that this person is involved in. It’s not uncommon to serve as a director on more than one company. Is the director of that marketing agency also a director of a paid search specialist? Well, no wonder they’re nailing paid search — these are the kinds of insights you can get from director search.
• Address — Sometimes making contact with a competitor is difficult, but with a director search you get a mailing address which can serve as a point of contact. There are other things to consider including total current directorships, which is shown in the report, and dates of birth.
• Group Structure — With a director search you are able to see the group structure of a company. This is a good way to find out how a company, particularly a larger one, is structured — and judge just how effective it is. If you can see the group structure you’re much more able to see the ownership details for a group of companies — and find out what ones the director owns shares in.

There is a lot of information at the top level of a company, and director search makes it easily accessible. You can even add a company tracker to receive notifications on any new changes on your.

When you’re looking for clues to solve a little mystery on your competitors a search of Companies House data, and specifically director search reports, can yield extremely valuable insights.

Article publish by — Company Searches Made Simple

---

Originally published at www.turnonyourbrand.net.

A Record Year To Register Your Company

Figures from Companies House have shown that 2015 was a record year for companies being registered. Statistics from research that was conducted by The Centre For Entrepreneurs have revealed the extent of massive improvement in the number of companies being formed.

Companies House data illustrates that 608,110 new UK businesses were formed compared to 581,173 in the previous year. A considerable increase in new businesses starting up.

According to Luke Johnson – Chairman of The Centre For Entrepreneurs – these are encouraging statistics:

“We have seen a record number of new businesses created for four consecutive years, proving that entrepreneurship has become ingrained within the UK’s business culture. This is something we should celebrate and something we should continue to nurture through sensible and incentivising government policies”

Other key findings from this research:

• London dominates the figures with over 200,000 new companies being formed in the capital.
• Other areas such as Greater Manchester and the West Midlands are notable too. Greater Manchester – on a per capita basis – are doing particularly well.
• Seaside towns such as Brighton, Southend and Poole have also had a good year and make up the top 20 on a per capita basis.
• Areas just outside of London are showing signs of growth. Woking and Surrey Heath have 10 startups per 1,000

Here’s to 2016 which will hopefully break even more records!

Article Published by- Companies Made Simple

Originally Post- www.answerchamp.com

Online Company Formation Providing A Boost To UK Businesses Overseas

Through Online company formation agents you are often given the option of forming your company in an overseas jurisdiction.

There are many jurisdictions which are typically used by online company formation agencies for customers to choose from. These would typically include places known for favourable tax breaks such as Belize, Seychelles, Anguilla. Dominica and many others.

There are a multiple benefits to be had from doing so. This includes the following:

• Minimise tax obligations
• Confidentiality
• Asset protection
• Reduced administration
• More simple company reporting requirements

These will of course vary depending on where you choose – but these are typical of most jurisdictions which offer offshore company formation.

According to Investopedia whilst associations of anything offshore can be negative

 “The vast majority of offshore investing is perfectly legal. In fact depending on your situation, offshore investing may offer you many advantages.”

So why not use an Online Company Formation platform to form your company in an overseas jurisdiction and see the benefits for yourself.

For more information on this see here.

How To Choosing A Business Structure

After the start of a brand new year, changing something about the way you do business can make you feel like you’ve turned a new page. This could be anything from launching a new product or service, redesigning your company logo to ordering new office stationery.

Switching your business’s structure is one such way of changing the way you do business. Sole traders, having recently struck up a good relationship with another like-minded individual, might be thinking about entering a partnership. Having eyed up the potential tax advantages, existing partnerships may be looking into the process of incorporation.

However, changing the structure of your business is not something that should be done on a whim. Uprooting a business from its foundations can have dramatic effects if your planning is insufficient or if there are no tangible benefits to changing in the first place.

Before you embark on any structural changes, you should ask the question: is this really necessary?

Becoming a sole trader

Working as a sole trader represents the most rudimentary form of doing business. There is minimal paperwork involved, organising tax affairs is simple (at least compared to limited companies) and there are few statutory obligations to meet.

Things get slightly more complicated if you earn more than £82,000 a year, at which point you’ll need to register for, collect and pay VAT.

Employing other people will also mean that you’ll need to set-up suitable payroll infrastructure and submit separate returns.

The degree of freedom attracts many to the idea of being a sole trader. You are your own boss, and you alone control the direction of the business. The downside is that you are solely responsible for your business’s liabilities; if debts remain unpaid or if you make significant losses your personal assets will be at risk.

Contact us today to talk about sole trading.

Forming a limited company

Incorporating your business is an entirely different process to setting up as a sole trader. The opportunities for tax planning are more comprehensive but administration can be complex and there are additional regulations to comply with.

A limited company is owned by its shareholders and run by its directors. Unlike sole traders, a limited company is legally separate from its owners. Directors therefore only take on limited liability, meaning that they are only liable for what they have invested in the business.

Compliance with the Companies Act can seem intimidating for those thinking about incorporating their business. After registering with Companies House your business will need to:

• File and maintain statutory accounts
• Pay corporation tax, PAYE and national insurance (NI) bills
• File VAT returns if applicable
• Comply with auditing requirements (if your business is above the small business auditing threshold).

While limited companies face the additional burden of corporation tax, various tax reliefs are able to mitigate this and extracting profits via dividends and salaries can lower exposure to income tax and NI for directors and shareholders.

Contact our team about limited companies today.

Entering a partnership

Partnerships offer an alternative for those who want to go into business with other people, but don’t want to set up a limited company.

Running the business and paying tax are responsibilities shared by partners, as are the profits. Partners pay income tax and NI on their individual shares of the profits, and each partner must send separate self-assessment tax returns.

There are 3 main types of partnership:

Business partnership

Business partnerships (also called ‘ordinary’ partnerships) are the simplest way for 2 or more people to go into business together. All partners in a business partnership are personally liable for losses incurred by the business.

Limited partnership

In a limited partnership (LP), debt liability is unequally shared among partners who fall into 1 of 2 categories: general partners and limited partners.

General partners are those with primary responsibility for managing the business and take on personal liability for all of the business’s debts.

Limited partners are only liable for their initial investment in the business.

Limited liability partnership

Limited liability partnerships (LLP) function also allows partners to assume limited liability on unpaid debts; they will not be held personally liable for the business’s debts, only for the money they have put into the business.

LLPs are more complex and cost more to set up than other types of partnership; limited liability means that you will need to maintain accounts and submit them to Companies House and a legally-binding LLP agreement will need to be drawn up by a solicitor.

There are different rules for Scottish partnerships.

Contact us for further information.

Sole trader vs partnership vs limited company

This guide has provided an introductory overview of the main differences between common business structures, and should not be the sole basis of your final decision. Your situation should be professionally assessed and proper expertise should be sought before you decide to change your business’s structure.

Contact us for further information.

Setting up a Business Online Making 3 Hour Formations Common

There was a time in the UK where it was rather more difficult to form a company than it is now. Whether that was due to the fact that there were greater barriers to forming in the past, or just the fact that there were less accessible paper based methods of starting a company, this period is now over.

These days digital company formation is very much possible. This has meant that there is accessibility to formation for everyone with an web connection. This accessibility, usually completed within 3 hours, is giving people who would normally never form a company the ability to do so.

This is beneficial in the following ways:

• New Entrepreneurs – Entrepreneurial spirit is different from the ability to deal with official barriers and processes to company formation. By removing these barriers it is possible for people to form who ordinarily would be put off.
• Old Entrepreneurs – It’s not just youngsters who are put off by barriers to business, it’s older people too. The increased simplicity has made it much easier for hobbyists, retirees and would be consultants to form their own company with ease.
• More Entrepreneurs – The economic conditions of the latest recession have made it easier than ever for people to go into business for themselves. You can form a business in a downturn and make the most of it once times improve.

Setting up a business is now a simple 4 step process accessible to anyone with an internet connection. If you’ve got a business idea you only need a few clicks to start trading within three hours.

Of course, the success of a business is not contingent on how easy it is to form. However the ease of formation does make the accessibility of business, and the associated opportunities, more in reach.

Overall the barriers to business have been lowered, not just in terms of ease of use and accessibility – but also with speed.

3 hour company formation puts business in the hands of many people who might not otherwise have it.

For more advice at- www.companiesmadesimple.com

Originally Published at- https://trafficgo.co

What Is the Process of Registering a New Company – Am I Ready for Starting a Business?

When you’re thinking about starting a business one of the most common questions is when to take the plunge and actually do it – but there are some good techniques that can help you to be certain.

Here we will discuss when the most appropriate time to think about forming a business – and what you should do, so that when you do decide that registering a company is something you need to do imminently – you know you’re doing the right thing.

Tips to help find out when exactly to register include the following. They are essentially business planning related. It’s fair to say that you need to find the right balance of preparation if you’re going to be successful. So bear these points in mind:

• Business Plan – You might have a sudden rush of inspiration – but are you really quite ready yet? There are numerous ways of determining – but a key one is asking yourself whether you have a sound business plan formulated. If not, then it’s back to the drawing board. You can find great resources to plan online, including Virgin Startups handy template.
• Web Presence – You can’t have a business without a website these days. Well, you could technically but the odds are there aren’t going to be many people interested if you don’t get the word out online. So, if you haven’t got a website sorted (or at least planned) then registering a company might not be something to do so soon. Building a website can be done once you’ve registered, but it’s also beneficial to have it made so it’s ready for launch – even if it’s a placeholder or a site you plan to build upon later.
• Marketing – You need to have a sound strategy to sell your wares, your marketing plan needs to be tip top if you are to make any impact. You need a very well-rounded and established plan that makes use of digital techniques – including SEO, social media, content marketing and whatever else you think will be important for your business.

One of the most important things to remember about registering a company is doing it at the right time is important – there are many ways to be certain. But the most important indicators is whether it feels right ‘in your bones’. Starting a business will change your life, so you’re not going to make the decision lightly. It can change your life for the better though – so remember that you aren’t necessarily going to need a lot of confidence, but it’s got to feel right and you need to be properly prepared.

For More Info@ www.companiesmadesimple.com

Articles Source- https://trafficgo.co

Credit Check Companies Ensuring Companies Don’t Do Bad Business With Suppliers

In business it’s quite easy to find that the customer is difficult to deal with. After all, you’re allowing someone to come to you and make a judgment — they don’t want to part with their hard earned money and believe me — customers are fickle and will ditch your company if they think there is a better alternative.

But it’s not just customers that are problematic, it’s also about the suppliers. Think of that, you make all the effort to from your company and provide a quality service to customers and then your suppliers let you down. Not a great prospect. However, credit check companies can help prevent this.

Using company search providers you will find the following data that can be used as a guide to determine the viability of your suppliers:

• Determine Credibility  — The most accurate measure of credibility, aside from previous good experiences, is looking at a suppliers credit limit. This shows the amount that a lender is willing to give to the supplier, which is a great way to measure how credible they will be in business.
• Determine Consistency  — A good supplier is consistent. This means they have longstanding relationships of credit and debit that show up in their credit score without a proper look at the consistency of your suppliers in paying back credit you can’t really get an idea of how consistent they are. This is a huge benefit to using credit check companies.
• Determine Feasibility  — You need to be certain of certain things, and one of those is whether your supplier is genuinely able to meet your needs! If not, it’s probably advisable to look elsewhere. Company searches can also show you detailed accounts, which can help determine how feasible it is that a supplier will be able to meet your needs.

There are innumerable problems in business when it comes to things like creating reliable relationships with suppliers. The process of doing business is rarely entirely smooth, but by utilising company search capabilities from credit check companies you can at least ensure it is as smooth as possible.

Potential bad relationships with suppliers are amazingly damaging to business, so it’s best to make every effort to avoid them and assess your suppliers before doing business with them for a more effective working relationship for both you and your suppliers.

Get assistance help us- www.companysearchesmadesimple.com