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Clients & onboarding
Onboard a Limited Company Client in Minutes
The specific steps a limited company client needs — and where firms lose time.
Built by a practising Chartered Accountant · Unlimited users · Free for 60 days
Companies House sync
Import company details and filing deadlines.
- Premier Books Consultancy
- Cranleys Chartered Accountants
- CJM Accountants
- Towpath Accounting Solutions
- Auditax International
- RS
Quick answer
Onboarding a limited company client involves Companies House and HMRC authorisation, director and shareholder details, a signed engagement letter, AML checks and gathering opening balances or previous accountant handover information. Doing this consistently, with reminders and a shared checklist, avoids delays to the first year-end job.
What does onboarding a limited company client involve and why does it matter?
Limited companies bring statutory obligations from day one — filing deadlines, director duties and Companies House records — so onboarding has to capture more structured data than a sole trader.
Unlike a sole trader, a limited company has its own legal identity, a Companies House filing history, directors and possibly multiple shareholders. Getting the company record right at onboarding — accounting reference date, incorporation date, SIC code, registered office — avoids errors surfacing later at year-end.
It also usually means a change of accountant: professional clearance from the previous firm, transfer of records, and re-registering the client for HMRC services under your agent code.
Why does limited company onboarding take longer than it should?
Manual data entry from Companies House
Typing incorporation date, SIC code and accounting reference date by hand from the Companies House register is slow and error-prone across many clients.
Professional clearance delays
Waiting on the previous accountant to respond to a clearance letter can stall the whole onboarding process for weeks.
Multiple directors, one contact
Firms often only capture the main director's details and miss other directors relevant to filings and AML.
Deadlines not set immediately
If the accounts and confirmation statement deadlines aren't diarised the day the client is onboarded, the first filing can creep up unnoticed.
What does slow limited company onboarding cost a firm?
Delays push the first filing closer to the statutory deadline and increase the risk of errors in company details that surface at year-end.
Private limited company accounts are due 9 months after the company's year end, and the confirmation statement has its own annual deadline. If onboarding drags on, the window to plan and complete the first job shrinks, increasing pressure at exactly the point you want to make a good first impression.
| Item | Typical timing |
|---|---|
| Annual accounts (private company) | 9 months after the company's year end |
| Confirmation statement | Annually, based on the review period |
| Corporation Tax payment | 9 months and 1 day after the accounting period ends |
| CT600 filing | 12 months after the accounting period ends |
How do you onboard a limited company client? Step by step
- 1
Capture company details
Record company number, incorporation date, accounting reference date, registered office and SIC code from Companies House.
- 2
Record director and shareholder details
List all directors and significant shareholders for filing and AML purposes, not just the main contact.
- 3
Send professional clearance if applicable
Write to the previous accountant requesting clearance and records where the client is changing firms.
- 4
Complete AML risk assessment
Carry out and record a risk assessment appropriate to the client's structure and industry before work begins.
- 5
Issue and sign the engagement letter
Send a letter covering the specific services agreed — accounts, corporation tax, payroll — and get it signed before starting chargeable work.
- 6
Diarise statutory deadlines immediately
Set accounts, confirmation statement and Corporation Tax deadlines as soon as the year end and incorporation date are known.
- 7
Request opening information
Ask for prior-year accounts, opening balances and any outstanding HMRC or Companies House correspondence.
How does Remindoo help with onboarding limited company clients?
Companies House sync pulls company details — incorporation date, accounting reference date, SIC code and filing history — straight into the client record, cutting out manual re-typing and the errors that come with it. Detailed task creation lets you set up the accounts, confirmation statement and CT deadlines the moment the client is added, so nothing is left until closer to the date. Client onboarding automation applies your standard limited company checklist — clearance letter, AML, engagement letter, opening information — as linked tasks with owners and due dates. Centralised client information keeps directors, shareholders and documents on one record, and the client timeline shows the full onboarding history, which is useful if a review or clearance query comes up later.
Companies House sync
Import company details and filing deadlines.
See featureDetailed task creation
Set priority, assignee and deadline on every job.
See featureClient onboarding automation
Standardise requests, checks and first services.
See featureCentralised client information
Services, documents and notes in one record.
See featureClient timeline
Full history of notes, emails and actions.
See featureSpreadsheets vs Remindoo: what changes?
| Area | Spreadsheets & email | With Remindoo |
|---|---|---|
| Company details | Typed manually from Companies House | Synced directly to the client record |
| Statutory deadlines | Set once the accountant remembers | Set automatically at onboarding |
| Director records | Main contact only | All directors and shareholders recorded |
| Clearance and AML | Tracked informally by email | Linked tasks with owners and dates |
| Opening information | Requested piecemeal | Single request list on the client record |
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Frequently asked questions
What information do I need to onboard a limited company client?
Company number, incorporation date, accounting reference date, registered office, director and shareholder details, plus signed engagement letter and completed AML risk assessment.
How long does professional clearance normally take?
There's no fixed statutory timeframe, but ICAEW and ACCA guidance expects the outgoing accountant to respond promptly; in practice allow a few weeks before chasing.
When is the confirmation statement due?
It's due at least once every 12 months, based on the company's review period, and can be filed earlier if details change.
Can Remindoo pull data straight from Companies House?
Yes — Companies House sync brings company details and filing history into the client record, reducing manual entry when onboarding a new limited company.
Is there a free trial for limited company onboarding features?
Yes, Remindoo is free to trial for 60 days, so you can onboard real limited company clients and test the workflow before paying anything.
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Sources
Comparing options? Read our guide to crm for accountants.
Last updated: . General guidance, not regulatory advice. Check with your professional body.
Why a single client record matters
When client details, deadlines, documents and conversations are spread across inboxes and spreadsheets, time goes on searching instead of on client work.
One version of the truth
Everyone sees the same services, contacts, deadlines and notes for each client.
Accurate deadlines
Companies House sync brings in company details and filing dates, reducing manual errors.
Better client service
A full timeline means anyone can answer a client question with the history in front of them.
Secure document sharing
A client portal is safer than sending financial documents as email attachments.
Practical tips from UK practice
- Import companies from Companies House rather than typing details by hand.
- Record every service a client takes, so recurring work is created automatically.
- Add a short note after every important client call.
- Ask clients to upload documents through the portal rather than by email.
Related Remindoo features
Written and reviewed by Waqas Sagar ACA FCCA FMAAT, Chartered Accountant with 18+ years in practice. Founder and MD of Accotax, an ICAEW, ACCA and AAT regulated London practice that has served over 5,000 clients, and founder of Remindoo. Guidance is general; check current GOV.UK and professional body guidance for your firm.
What UK practices say about Remindoo
Read all reviews on Trustpilot“With Remindoo, everything from the first enquiry to onboarding and ongoing client management is tracked in one place… It saves us hours and gives me, as a practice owner, complete visibility of where the firm stands.”
“The biggest benefit is having clients, tasks, deadlines, workflows, proposals and communication all organised in one place.”
“During my trial, the team were absolutely amazing. They helped onboard my clients, set up my settings and made sure everything was ready for me to use… they made the whole process completely stress-free.”
“It brings client information, tasks, recurring deadlines, workflows and reminders together in one place, giving us much better visibility across the team.”
