Setting up your Tide business account after formation

Your first week

Most of the useful set-up happens in the first few days, while the reward windows are open.

1. 1

   Activate the card and secure the app.

2. 2

   Record how the company was funded: share capital or a director's loan.

3. 3

   Add regular payees and suppliers.

4. 4

   Diary the 7-day and 30-day reward deadlines.

5. 5

   Share the account details on your invoices.

Keep company and personal money separate

A limited company is a separate legal person. Money in the business account belongs to the company, and taking it out needs a proper route: salary, dividends from profits, expense reimbursement or a director's loan.

Bookkeeping and receipts

Categorise transactions as you go and store receipts. If you use accounting software, connect it early so the history is complete when your accountant prepares the first accounts.

Payroll and PAYE

If you plan to pay a director salary or hire staff, register as an employer before the first payday. Tide offers free PAYE registration as part of its formation package.

Deadlines to set now

Put these in your calendar now so nothing creeps up on you; our filing calendar can export them.

• Corporation Tax registration within three months of starting to trade.
• First confirmation statement within 14 days of the first anniversary of incorporation.
• First accounts, usually 21 months after incorporation.
• VAT registration if taxable turnover passes the threshold.

Setting up the account properly in week one

The first week is when good habits form. Before money starts flowing, set up the account the way you would want it to look at year end. Add the company's legal name and number to your invoice templates, connect bookkeeping software if you use it, and decide who in the business can make payments. If there are two directors, think about whether both need access and what limits are sensible.

Order or activate the card and add it to your phone wallet if you prefer. Use it for business costs from the start; this both keeps your books clean and helps with the card-spend part of the reward if you used the code. Set up notifications so that you see every payment in and out.

Finally, make a simple folder structure for receipts. Tide and most accounting packages let you attach a photo of a receipt to each transaction. Doing it as you go is far easier than reconstructing a year of spending in month eleven.

1. 1

   Confirm the account name matches the company name exactly.

2. 2

   Activate the card and set up spending notifications.

3. 3

   Connect your bookkeeping or accounting software.

4. 4

   Update invoice templates with company name, number and bank details.

5. 5

   Add any second director or team member with appropriate permissions.

6. 6

   Start attaching receipts to transactions from the first purchase.

Free plan versus paid plans: what to look at

The formation offer includes an account on a plan with no monthly fee. That is genuinely useful for a new company, but "no monthly fee" is not the same as "no fees". Transaction-level charges may apply to some transfers, cash deposits, ATM withdrawals or other services, and paid plans add features in exchange for a monthly fee. When we checked Tide's pricing page in October 2026, the Free plan charged 20p per UK transfer (five free a month), £1 per cash withdrawal, £2.50 for Post Office cash deposits up to £500 and 2.75% on foreign-currency card use; paid plans were Smart £12.49, Pro £27.49 and Max £69.99 a month. Instant Saver paid 1.5% AER on the Free plan. Prices change, so check before relying on them.

Work out your likely monthly activity before upgrading. A company that sends a handful of payments a month and never handles cash may find the free plan perfectly adequate. A company with frequent transfers, team cards or cash takings should compare the total cost of each plan against its own usage, and against other business accounts.

Keeping company and personal money separate

A limited company is a separate legal person. Its money is not your money, even if you own every share. This is the most common misunderstanding among new directors and the cause of most early tax problems. Paying personal bills from the company account, or business bills from a personal account, blurs the line and makes bookkeeping difficult.

There are only a few proper ways to take money out: a salary through payroll, dividends from profits after tax, reimbursement of genuine business expenses you paid personally, or repayment of money you lent the company. Anything else is likely to be a director's loan, which must be tracked and can have tax charges if it is not repaid within nine months of the year end.

The free PAYE registration offered with Tide's formation helps if you plan to pay yourself a salary. Registering as an employer is a separate step with HMRC; you need to do it before the first payday and run payroll in real time.

Registrations to complete alongside the account

The account is one piece of a set of early registrations. HMRC usually sends a Unique Taxpayer Reference for Corporation Tax after incorporation, but you still need to register the company for Corporation Tax within three months of starting business activity. VAT registration becomes compulsory if taxable turnover exceeds the threshold (currently £90,000 in a rolling 12 months) and can be done voluntarily below that. PAYE registration is needed before you pay anyone, including yourself, through payroll.

Check whether you also need business insurance, data protection registration with the ICO, or sector licences. None of these depend on the bank you choose, but the start-up weeks are the natural time to tick them off.

A simple monthly bookkeeping routine

Thirty minutes a month keeps the company in order. Reconcile the bank feed, match receipts, chase unpaid invoices and set aside money for tax. A common rule of thumb is to move a percentage of profit into a separate pot for Corporation Tax as you go, so the payment nine months after the year end is not a shock. Your accountant can suggest a realistic percentage for your profit level.

Common questions

Official sources & further reading

This guide draws on the official guidance below. Rules, fees and individual circumstances can change; check the relevant source before acting.

• Tide company formation offer (NEW200)
• GOV.UK: Running a limited company

General UK information, primarily for private companies limited by shares. This is not personalised legal, tax or financial advice. An accountant or solicitor can help apply the rules to your situation.