Showing posts with label trading names. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trading names. Show all posts

Friday, September 2, 2011

Pros and Cons of using a Trading Name


Many people believe that a Company has to use its name as its brand when it communicates with its clients. But it does not have to be. A Company can use a trading name instead. Or even more than one.

A trading name is just a name used instead of the legal name. There is no need to file anything at Companies House nor at HMRC when creating a trading name but there are a still a few things to keep in mind:
  1. You will need to inform the bank of those trading names so that you can cash cheques for example. While you can create separate accounts, you don't have even though it's good practice. 
  2. Even though no registration is required, the same rules that apply to company formation apply to trading names. For example, the trading name cannot be similar to another company or business name in a way that might be confusing. Also, the use of sensitive words is prohibited as part of a trading name in much the same way as it is for limited company names. You cannot use words like “association”, “group”, “federation” for example.