The company is not you
A limited company is a separate legal entity from the people who own it. That is the point of it, and it changes how money should move. Business income belongs to the company. What you take out is a decision with its own consequences, not a transfer between pockets.
The practical start is a business bank account used only for company money. When personal and company spending mix, every later job gets slower: the accounts, the tax work and any attempt to understand how the business is doing.
Keep records from day one
Directors are responsible for the company’s records, and the official guidance explains what must be kept. Read it at the start, not at the year-end: GOV.UK: company and accounting records. The routine matters more than the tool. Whatever system you use, every sale and every cost should be recorded close to when it happens, with the invoice or receipt to support it.
Questions to settle early
None of these needs an expert to ask. Each saves a difficult conversation later.
- How will I be paid, and who decides when and how much?
- Who looks after the bookkeeping, and how often is it brought up to date?
- Which dates in the company’s year carry deadlines, and who is tracking them?
- What will I need to set money aside for, so it is there when it falls due?
- Where do I keep invoices, receipts and contracts so they can be found?
A worked example
A consultant pays a client invoice into the company account, then buys a laptop on a personal card and groceries from the company card. Nothing is lost, but at the year-end someone has to work out which items were business, which were personal and what the company owes the director. Two bank accounts and a monthly habit of recording items would have made that unnecessary.
Where to go next
For the formal steps of setting up, use the official source: GOV.UK: set up a limited company. For what comes later, the guidance on GOV.UK: prepare and file annual accounts for a limited company is worth reading before the first year is over, so nothing in it is a surprise.