Limited Company Startup Accounting?

[waggles]

OK, So I have registered my limited company and paid for it off my own card, and bought mail forwarding and stuff also on my own card, before having opened a business bank account.

Can I basically say that the money I have spent has in effect bought my shares? How would I account for this?

In general, how would I account for things bought prior to having opened the company bank account?

[helen2263]

OK, So I have registered my limited company and paid for it off my own card, and bought mail forwarding and stuff also on my own card, before having opened a business bank account.

Can I basically say that the money I have spent has in effect bought my shares? How would I account for this?

In general, how would I account for things bought prior to having opened the company bank account?

I am not sure what you mean about shares. If I remember rightly anything you buy under the business names and paid for it from your own pocket then the company owed you the money which mean you will count that as an expenditure or money the company borrow.

You need to open a Bank Account under your business name pronto otherwise you won't know where you are also any income you make under your business name will have to be accouted for.

I hope this helps.


helen

[Indizine]

If you bought stuff for the business equal to £100, and you allocated yourself 100 shares at £100 (£1 each) from a max 1000 shares you created, then you would just show them as transctions in your accounts, and no money need physically exchange as they would balance each other in the books. It depends how many shares you created and then alocated to yourself, and how much stuff you have bought,m as to whether you still need to owe the company some money, or whether it owes you.

Anything you buy is accounted for as start up expenditure but as a normal purchase in any case.

[Paul Norman]

I often say this on forums, and will again. I cannot emphasise enough the value of getting an accountant, right now, at the beginning.

Keeping the companies house and HMRC at bay will keep you ragged. An accountant will give you peace of mind, and potentially save you money.

And give you answers to the little questions along the way, such as this.

The government is starting to get VERY aggressive with businesses who make even the simplest of mistakes. They are dishing out fines that make accountants fees, not much for a small business, seem very good value indeed.

[helen2263]

I often say this on forums, and will again. I cannot emphasise enough the value of getting an accountant, right now, at the beginning.

Keeping the companies house and HMRC at bay will keep you ragged. An accountant will give you peace of mind, and potentially save you money.

And give you answers to the little questions along the way, such as this.

The government is starting to get VERY aggressive with businesses who make even the simplest of mistakes. They are dishing out fines that make accountants fees, not much for a small business, seem very good value indeed.

You have to be careful getting an Accountant when you already don't have any money to start with the Accountant is going to want payment and can be costly, when i ran my business 5 years ago and got an Accountant to balance my book he charged £500 before he even start, I did my accounting myself and it cost me nothing, I would say that my main career is Office Manager/Accounting so it helps me a lot. The best thing he can do is learn basic book keeping and go from there. A genuine trustworthy Accountant is hard to find.


helen

[Indizine]

I would disagree that a good, trustworthy accountant is hard to find. it depends what lengths you go to to ensure you choose a good one. if you hunt for the cheapest...it says a lot about what you are expecting. If you take their word and don't follow up references, or query what you don't understand, then it's your fault for not taking responsibility to a larger extent in your business.

The OP hasn't said they don't have any money, so not sure where you get that from Helen, they merely have spent an amount and want to know if and how they can off set that against shares they owe for.