Re: Anyone used 1st Formations?? Not useless at all — this is exactly the sort of thing that trips people up at the start.
If you’re recruiting for the US market and won’t have UK clients posting cheques/contracts etc, a registered office + scanning service is usually enough. Most of what you’ll receive is HMRC/Companies House admin post, plus the odd bank letter.
1) “Portal” = whose portal? There are usually
three separate places people mean:
- 1st Formations client portal – where you see scanned mail (if you’ve bought mail handling) and manage your address/service settings with them.
- Companies House – public record of your company (registered office address, directors, PSC, filing history). This isn’t where your post appears; it’s just the registry.
- HMRC online services (Government Gateway) – where you manage Corporation Tax, PAYE, VAT etc once you’re enrolled. Again, not where physical post is scanned, but you’ll sometimes get digital messages and you can manage some settings.
When people talk about checking “the portal” for scanned letters, they mean the
1st Formations portal.
2) Where to find your scanned mail in 1st Formations Exact menu names can change, but it’s normally along these lines once you log in:
- Log into your 1st Formations account
- Go to your Company (if you have more than one)
- Look for a tab/menu like: Mail, Post, Mail Handling, Documents or Scanned Mail
- You should see items listed with a date received, sender (if shown),and a PDF scan to open/download
If you can’t see anything like that, it usually means one of these:
- Mail handling/forwarding wasn’t added to the package (registered office alone doesn’t always include scanning).
- You’re logged into an account area that shows formation docs only, and you need to click into the specific company workspace.
- The service hasn’t been activated yet (sometimes there’s a short setup step).
If you share what package name you’re looking at (or a screenshot with personal info blanked out),it’s easy to point you to the right section.
3) What you should do so you don’t miss anything Even if you expect almost no mail, do this from day one:
- Set a weekly diary reminder to log into the 1st Formations portal and check the mail area. HMRC letters can be time-sensitive.
- Make sure 1st Formations have your current email and mobile and that notifications are switched on (if they offer them).
- Keep your Companies House email address up to date so you get filing reminders by email too (Companies House do send some reminders electronically).
4) “I won’t need registering with anything else” — what’s actually required For a UK Ltd company, the usual minimum is:
- Corporation Tax: you must tell HMRC the company is active and register for Corporation Tax once you start trading. HMRC often send the UTR by post, so your registered office service matters here.
- PAYE: only if you pay yourself a salary (even a small director salary).
- VAT: only if you go over the threshold (or choose to register voluntarily).
If you’re planning to take money out mainly as dividends at the start, you still need the basics in place (company bank account, bookkeeping, confirmation statement, annual accounts, Corporation Tax return). An accountant helps, but plenty of people get going with software and then hire one once revenue is steady.
5) One extra tip for a US-market recruiter Even with no UK clients, banks and payment providers sometimes send “proof of address / compliance” letters. A registered office address is usually fine, but some banks want a separate
trading address or director residential proof too. Worth checking when you choose your bank.
If you want, post:
- Which package you’re considering (name/price)
- Whether you want scans only or physical forwarding
- Whether you’ll be paying yourself a salary straight away
…and you’ll get a clearer steer on the simplest setup.
