Having set up my own company last year I can recommend that the best thing to do is spend a little bit of money now getting the best advice you can afford, and once you find someone good to ask the questions of, don't be afraid of looknig stupid! Ask them absolutely everything you want to know - get your money's worth! First, I went to a solicitor and told him I was thinkign of starting a business, and he set up the company (ltd.) for me, including the memo and arts and the A1 and everything else I needed. He was able to give me advice on things I didn't even think to ask questions about at the time, like trademarks etc.. He/she will also advise on the best type of company for you. If you have a partner it's also a good idea to draw up a partnership agreement, which addresses how the company might be dissolved should one partner want out or if one partner dies -etc. Separately, an accountant will give you advice about your tax obligations, as well as help you prepare your projections etc. If you need to go to a bank or somewhere else for a loan to start your business, they'll look for a business plan, which you can do yourself, with financial projections of at least 3 years. She also advised us of how to pay VAT, how to set up our employees salaries etc and pretty much everything else. My opinion is that if you don't know a lot about setting up a company it might be best to buy sound advice now to save any nasty surprises later! Build the fees into your projections and in the scheme of things, it won't seem that much. Also, try your local Enterprise Board which is aimed at this type of thing and offers good advice. Hope that helps a bit.