6 Things a New UK Limited Company Needs in Its Finance Setup in 2026
A short online application is all it takes to incorporate a limited company, yet the finance and admin afterwards are a big step up from being a sole trader or running a side project. As a separate legal entity, the company has its own money, its own tax obligations and its own filing deadlines with Companies House and HMRC. Directors also have legal duties, and mixing company and personal finances can cause tax problems that take time and money to unpick.
Getting the setup right is easiest in the first few months, before transactions mount up and habits form. The six things in this list are what every new UK limited company needs in its finance setup, beginning with the accounting software that sits at the centre of it all.
1. Sage Accounting: Books, Invoices, VAT and Payroll Together
From day one, Sage Accounting gives a new company a proper set of books. Once your business bank account is connected, transactions flow in automatically and automatic bank reconciliation matches them against your records. You can create and send sales invoices, keep track of what you are owed and let customers pay online through GoCardless and Stripe.
Sage Accounting grows with the company as it grows. After you register for VAT, it calculates and submits your VAT returns and keeps you Making Tax Digital ready, which means VAT returns can be submitted to HMRC from your digital records without manually re-entering the figures. Sage Payroll and essential HR features integrate with Sage Accounting, making it straightforward to run payroll alongside your accounting records, and Sage Copilot helps with routine admin and highlights trends in your figures.
2. NEST: Workplace Pensions for First Employees
Hiring your first employee brings new duties, workplace pension auto-enrolment among them. NEST is the government-backed workplace pension scheme set up to support auto-enrolment. It accepts any employer whatever its size, which makes it a common choice for new companies.
Usually, a company whose only staff are directors without employment contracts has no auto-enrolment duties, but check The Pensions Regulator's guidance instead of assuming every director is exempt. If you set up a scheme before your first payday, you stay on the right side of The Pensions Regulator from the start.
3. Stripe: Online Payments for Your Company
When a new company is building up cash reserves, being paid quickly matters. With Stripe, you can accept card payments online, whether through payment links, on your website or for recurring services, and funds are paid into your business bank account.
It handles Strong Customer Authentication and supports payments in many currencies, useful if your first customers are based overseas. Each payout is also easier to match in your accounts thanks to clear reports of every payment and fee.
4. Hiscox: Insurance for Your Business
A limited company shields your personal assets from many business debts, but the company itself is not protected from claims. Hiscox provides business insurance for small UK companies, covering professional indemnity, public liability and employers' liability, with policies you can buy and manage online.
For most companies, employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement once they take on staff, and many clients will ask for proof of professional indemnity or public liability cover before they sign a contract. Putting the right policies in place early avoids delays when your first big opportunity comes along.
5. Pleo: Expenses and Company Cards
One of the problems new directors run into most often is paying company costs on a personal card and losing track of what they are owed back. Pleo supplies company cards, physical and virtual, so business spending comes directly from the company's money instead of yours.
Receipts are captured on your phone at the point of purchase, and you can set spending limits on each card as team members join. Separating company and personal spending from the start also avoids confusion over your director's loan account.
6. Inform Direct: Companies House Filings and Statutory Records
Every limited company has to keep statutory registers, including registers of members, directors and people with significant control, and must update Companies House whenever anything changes. Inform Direct, a company secretarial software product, keeps these records in one place and lets you file changes and confirmation statements with Companies House online.
Deadline reminders help ensure nothing is filed late, and organised company records from the outset make it far easier to bring in investors, add shareholders or issue new shares later.
Deadlines to Know in Your Company's First Two Years
Several deadlines fall at different points for a new company, so knowing what is coming helps.
Within three months of starting to do business: Register the company with HMRC for Corporation Tax.
Before your first payday: If you will run payroll for yourself or employees, and your payroll meets HMRC's registration criteria, register as an employer for PAYE.
12 months after incorporation: The period covered by your first confirmation statement ends, and you then have 14 days to file it with Companies House.
21 months after incorporation: Your first set of accounts must be filed with Companies House.
Nine months and one day after your accounting period ends: Any Corporation Tax due must be paid, with the Company Tax Return itself due 12 months after the period ends.
New Limited Company FAQs
As a director, can I run my own payroll in Sage Accounting?
Yes. Sage Payroll works alongside Sage Accounting, so you can pay yourself and your first employees from the same system as your books. It is worth agreeing the right balance of salary and dividends with your accountant, as it depends on your circumstances.
Is a separate company card really necessary?
It makes life much easier. When company costs are paid from company funds, your records stay clean and you avoid lots of small amounts building up on your director's loan account that your accountant would otherwise need to unpick.
Where is the best place to keep our statutory registers?
Somewhere secure and easy to update whenever something changes, for example a new director or shareholder. Company secretarial software holds the registers alongside your filing history and reminds you about upcoming deadlines.
At what point should we set up VAT in our accounting software?
As soon as you register for VAT, whether voluntarily or because taxable turnover has passed the threshold. From your records, Sage Accounting can then calculate and submit your VAT returns under Making Tax Digital.