1. Is your chosen name available? Check if your chosen name is available here

2. Who are your shareholders? - you will need their names and addresses

3. Who will be your Director(s)? - you will need their occupation, address and date of birth

4. If there are 2 equal shareholders, have you considered having a 3rd independent minority shareholder to enable conflict resolution?

5. Authorised Share capital - the standard is to have 1,000 Ordinary £1 Shares.

6. Issued Share capital - if there is only one shareholder, then only issue a small amount (eg: 2 x £1 Ordinary shares).

7. Registered office - remember that this will need to be shown on your official stationary and web-site.

8. Tell HM Revenue & Customs that you are now a Director.

9.  Use a Formations Agent to aid you throught the process - see our recommendations here.

10. Choose the right accountant to assist you with meeting all of the filing deadlines - see our filing deadlines sumamry here, and our guide to choosing the right accountant for you here.

11. If you have chosen your home address as the Registered Office, you will need a very clear sign displayed near the entrance with your Company name on it.

12. Choose the standard Memorandum and Articles of Association.