Frequently asked questions

Anything that is not illegal or regulated. It is your responsibility to make sure that your business complies with the applicable law and regulations. We are not qualified to advise you on the legality of your business.

In order to satisfy the requirement of not operating in the UK, you must not have a UK office or branch, own UK property, make passive income in the UK, or deal with goods that are at some point located in the UK, including for delivery to a customer.

Companies are often set up with a payment account within one month from order if you have provided all of the the required documents. Getting a VAT number generally takes around one extra week. You can start using your company before obtaining the VAT number. In some unusual cases, the whole process can take up to 3 months.

An important factor when determining how fast the process goes is whether the applications for payment accounts get accepted easily. Sometimes payment service providers refuse prospective clients because they deem their business too risky. If that happens to you, we will attempt to open an account at another provider. That would lengthen the process.

In order to set up your company, you need a copy of your passport and a proof of address which is less than 3 months old. We accept utility bills, bank statements and government-issued documents as proofs of address. You also need the same documents for all of your business partners, and a copy of the passport of your investor (see "What is an investor?" below).

If you request a VAT number or exceed the limits of the Basic plan (85,000 British sterling pounds per year of sales and purchases), we will also need a birth certificate and a home lease agreement. You can replace wither of those documents with a mortgage statement, a certificate of marriage or registered partnership, a divorce ruling, or a document from your employer that contains your name, date of birth and tax identification number.

Additional documents may be requested by the payment service providers and credit card payment processors.

You can pay by bank transfer, cryptocurrency or credit card. We recommend bank transfer or cryptocurrency when possible.

For bank transfers, our bank is located in the United States. It also possible to make a local transfer from a bank account, that belongs to another company, and that is located in Europe (SEPA area), the UK, Singapore, Japan, Canada, or Australia.
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We also accept all major cryptocurrencies.

We always assume that the company has no permanent or fixed establishment. If that is not the case, you cannot use our services. If that assumption is correct, the following rules will apply:

Neria companies are partnerships rather than limited companies. As such, they are not subject to corporate income taxation. The company therefore has no corporate income tax to pay in the UK. You may have to pay taxes in your country of residence or source of your income. This depends on the local regulations, so you should consult a local adviser.

In most cases, you will not be subject to British VAT either. However, there are cases in which you may have to pay VAT in the UK or in the country where your clients belong.  The British VAT rate can go up to 20% depending on what you are selling. The following guidelines apply:

For services sold to businesses
If you have requested a VAT number, or if you exceed the limit on sales and purchases of the Basic plan, you will have to pay British VAT on the services you sell to businesses that belong in the UK. However, sales of services to businesses that do not belong in the UK will not be subject to British VAT. Special rules may apply to services related to a specific location, such as transportation or real estate services.

For services sold to consumers
If you have requested a VAT number, or if you exceed the limit on sales and purchases of the Basic plan, the general guideline is that you will have to pay VAT on the services that you sell to consumers. However, when you sell services to consumers that do not belong in the UK, you may be covered by an exemption. For example, you are covered by such an exemption if you provide services of an advisory nature with a high degree of intellectual character. As a result, qualified coaches do not have to pay VAT in the UK. Special rules may apply to services related to a specific location, such as transportation or real estate services.

For goods
You will need to check the rules that apply in the countries in which your goods are located. If the goods do not come to the UK, you will have no VAT to pay there.

It depends. In some cases you will be able to get the VAT you payed back.

For services you buy from a provider outside of the UK
Your supplier will generally not charge you any VAT. If that is the case, you will not be able to claim the VAT back.

For services you buy from a provider located in the UK
You will have to pay VAT and there will be no easy way to reclaim it. If you still want to do it, contact us and we will discuss how that can be arranged.

For goods
You will have to arrange potential VAT repayments by yourself in the country in which the VAT is levied.

Sure! If your company needs a British EORI number to make goods transit across borders, we will be able to provide it on request once your company is set up.

All of the payment accounts support at least euro. If you need any other major currency, please contact us before placing an order.

We open accounts at banks and electronic money institutions that offer fully online services. That way, we ensure that you never have to travel for your banking.

If you intend to charge credit cards over phone calls, expect fees of 5 to 10% on those transactions. For other cases, expect fees within usual customary limits.

Yes. You, and your business partners when applicable, (but nor your investor) will be the legal representatives of the company. As such, you will have full power to enter into agreements on behalf of the company.

Because of legal requirements, you need to appoint someone as an investor in your business.

That's mainly for the paperwork though. That investor will invest just 1 British pound sterling (less than $2 or €2) in your business and be entitled to 1% of the profits. The investor will not be involved in the company's business and management and will not be liable for its potential losses. The name of that investor will appear on the public record, but no other details will be available.

We recommend appointing a trusted relative, such as a spouse, parent or close friend, because the investor may need to provide his details when opening the company's payment and credit card processing accounts.

We set up limited partnerships in Scotland. The main benefit of those partnerships is that they do not have to pay corporate income tax. The main inconvenience of those partnerships is that they require an investor (See "What is an investor?" above).

You will be the owner of the company. You can also decide to own and manage the company along with business partners. The profits of the company will then have to be distributed in equal shares to you and your business partners. If you want to share the company's profits in different proportions, you need to request it through the "Contact us" link at the bottom of this page, before ordering your company.

No. You will have unlimited liability for the debts of your company. As a result, if you intend to run a high-risk business, other business structures may better fit your needs.

The liability of your investor is always limited to the amount of their investment (1 sterling pound).  As long as he is not involved in the management of the partnership, he will not be concerned with its debts.

No. While that would be technically possible, having a legal person (such as a corporation) as a member of your partnership would significantly increases the amount of required paperwork. That burden would negate the essence of the low-paperwork and worry-free services that we provide.