Guides
Straight answers on company deadlines, dividends, share transfers and the rest of the paperwork — written for the people who actually have to do it.
Companies House reform: what's changed for small companies, and what to do
Identity verification, the register changes, the beefed-up confirmation statement, and the accounts reform now confirmed for 2028 — everything ECCTA changed at Companies House, and the short list of what to actually do.
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How to transfer shares in a limited company: the J30 form, stamp duty, and your register
What the J30 form is, when stamp duty applies, and the company records you must update — including the one that legally completes the transfer.
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Do I need board minutes as a sole director?
If you're the only director, do you really need minutes? The honest answer — and the difference between minutes and written resolutions that most guides miss.
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What happens if you miss the confirmation statement deadline?
No automatic fine — so it feels safe to leave. It isn't. What missing it actually triggers, and why it's more serious than a late-accounts penalty.
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Unlawful dividends: what counts as one, and what it costs you
A dividend can be unlawful two ways — not enough profit, or not enough paperwork. What makes one illegal, and why you can't fix it after the fact.
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How to pay yourself in dividends (the right way)
The salary-plus-dividends structure, the 2026/27 rates, and the two rules that keep a dividend lawful — plus exactly how to pay one without tripping over the paperwork.
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The UK limited company admin checklist: everything you have to file, and when
Every filing a UK limited company owes Companies House and HMRC, on one page — with the deadlines that do the damage and links to the detail on each.
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Dormant companies: what counts, what you still have to file, and how to make one dormant
Dormant doesn't mean do-nothing. The two definitions of dormant, the accounts and confirmation statement you still have to file, and the small transactions that accidentally break it.
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Confirmation statements explained: what they are, what's changed, and how to file one
What a confirmation statement is, the deadline, and the new ECCTA rules now baked into filing it — identity verification, lawful purpose and the rest — explained for people who just have to get it done.
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Annual accounts and corporation tax: the deadlines, the rates, and the trap that catches people out
When your accounts and corporation tax are due, the rates, and the pay-before-you-file trap built into the deadlines — the financial-filing half of company admin, made clear.
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Company statutory registers: which ones you still have to keep (and which you don't anymore)
Recent reforms abolished most local company registers. Which one you still have to keep, what moved to Companies House, and whether the others are worth keeping anyway.
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Allotting new shares: the SH01 form, and how it differs from a transfer
Issuing new shares isn't the same as transferring them. What an allotment is, the SH01 return and its one-month deadline, and how it differs from a J30 transfer.
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