There's no question that you understand that a company formation will involve some costs. These cost can be quite unexpected if you are not aware of them. The inability to pay the costs when they are due can delay the processing of paperwork necessary to the completion of your company formation. Let's take a look at the costs involved in processing your company formation.

You can complete the registration of your company formation directly with the Companies House but this is not mandatory if you are not present in the UK to do so. Instead, have a company formation agent, a solicitor or any accountant to complete the registration for you. Registration made directly with Companies house is ?20 for standard service and an additional ?50 for same day registration service.

Articles of Association must be procured from a company formation agent or a law stationer and can cost anywhere from ?20 to ?30. An additional cost associated with the Articles of Association includes the price for having 12 witnesses. This added cost is approximately ?10. The Memorandum of Association is another form that must be filed. The cost for filing this form the same as for the Articles of Association, meaning it can range from ?20 to ?30.

You may want to consult a services director to gain access to the company formation agents, solicitors and accounts that can handle this whole process for you so that you are not farming out different documents to different agents. The Companies House is available to offer consultation on the basic registration process, but they will not help you complete the necessary documentation.

The cost of the fees to have professional advice can vary greatly. Seeking out a professional will help you to get the advice needed as well as completion of the forms and registration with the Companies House. The range of these services can be from ?25 to ?500. The cheapest as well as the most expensive may neither provide the best service.

Processing more than one company formation packet at the same time may allow you to save costs on some of the procedures such as the witnessing. However, it should not be assumed that you will be able to discount any of the other services you require since each company formation has separate documents that must be completed in accordance with the particular company's guidelines.

Failure to provide for costs at the time of incurrence can not only delay the process of formation of your company but can also offset any grand opening plans or announcements you may have scheduled. The Companies House has a website that can help with company registration in Northern Ireland. The business directory of other areas will have listings for contact with solicitors, accountants or agents who offer complete services and provide a fee schedule of what costs are involved in completing the necessary documents as well as to register those documents with the necessary authorities. It may help to create your own checklist of obligations associated with your company formation, just to be on the safe side.