29 June 2022

Setting up a business as a sole director? We can help

If you want to start and run your own business, you may benefit from a notary.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Thousands of people start their own businesses every year in the UK. If you’re thinking of doing it, it’s important you understand what’s required.

Many people become the sole directors of their own businesses – whereby you take charge of the general running of the company. This, while commonly done, comes with challenges when it comes to keeping your records in check.

It’s important that you understand the role a notary can play in the running of your new business – a notary service provider like ours can help you access opportunities to grow your business.

Why might your company need notary services?

Regardless of industry, businesses often need a variety of notary services to formalise the agreements they make with clients. A notary public can provide both parties of any such agreement with the legal protection they require. Below are some of the most common services we can provide to your business:

acknowledgements
jurats
affirmations
oaths
document certification

The checks we do before working with your company

As a certified notary public, we are obliged to check the nature of your business to ensure it operates in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations. We are unable to handle your documents should we not be able to ratify this. Below is a list of some of the things we check:

that your company is active on Companies House
that there is no strike off notice in the London Gazette
your company’s articles of association (detailed below)
your company’s memorandum of association.

In addition, other jurisdictions commonly want other documents like a certificate of incorporation or a certificate of good standing (mentioned below). It’s therefore important to ensure that your company documents are in order and well kept before you seek our services.

Articles of Association

Having a sole director has to be permitted by the company’s articles of association. These are made by the company’s owners – in this case you – and they lay out the way in which your company needs to operate.

When you come to set up your company, you will have the option to adopt the Articles of Association set out by The Companies (model articles) Regulations 2008, or you can write your own.

Articles of Association sometimes stipulate the minimum number of directors required and, should you seek help from us, this will be checked to ensure that we can legally direct you.

Many single director companies are also single member companies, in companies like these decisions are automatically approved by the shareholder. In this case, the articles of association are not relevant as anything that the shareholders (you) can do by formal resolution can also be done informally. It’s best to keep a solid record of any decisions made, however, as a matter of good record-keeping.

Your duties as a sole director

The UK government stipulates that, as a sole director, you must fulfil seven duties – as is laid out in the Companies Act 2006. The duties are as follows:

promote the success of your company
follow the company’s constitution
exercise independent judgement
avoid conflicts of interest
exercise reasonable care, skill, and diligence
declare any personal interest in a company transaction

Your responsibilities to Companies House

As a director of a company, you are legally responsible for running the company and making sure the correct information is sent to Companies House on time. The information you need to provide includes but is not limited to:

the confirmation statement
the annual accounts
a change to your company’s registered office
allotment of shares

If you require our notary services, and wish for us to handle your company’s documents, it’s likely that we will seek a certificate of good standing from Companies House.

Business notarial services you can trust

Woodcock Notary Public is highly experienced in assisting with your business’s notary needs. Let our experts assist you with professional advice and trusted notarisation of your company’s important documents.