Well after almost a year of planning, some market testing and a whole lot of soul searching the launch of our new company is nearly here.  Fair Eire (Ireland's newest Fair Trade retailer/wholesaler) will begin trading on 1st March...YIPEEEEEEEEEEE.

 

We are just waiting for the business to become an LTD - gives us this great corporate tax break for three years.  This meant we have now managed to register (and dissolve) a partnership and a sole trader name with Companies Registration Office (CRO) in the last few months.  They must wonder what kind of eijjits are setting up this business.  But it all boils down to everyone we asked for advice telling us something different....oh and the Government's corporate tax break for new LTD companies being so poorly advertised our business tutors, partnership manager and bookkeeper had never heard of the scheme.

 

The upshot of having to change our minds on company structure again meant a mad car journey to Dublin to register as an LTD before we started on the Back to work enterprise scheme and become legal to trade.  It took two hours, cost us 100 euro for registration and just 10 euro to buy the paperwork to fill in to register it....so if your starting on a budget DONT use a company formation agent/solicitor who will charge you from 220 euro upto 100 euro.  Just ask in CRO for some help (Adrienne is very helpful!) then go to Kings Stationers on Bolton Street,buy the paperwork...he might even throw in a free pen (thanks!) and form your LTD.

 

We couldn't register Fair Eire for an LTD, rules are very strict on names, so we are now called Samson Fair Trade (great biblical connotations) but can trade under Fair Eire as it is our registered business name.  So after running round Dublin for paperwork, begging a museum guard to witness our signatures and asking everyone in the CRO for help we finally filled our LTD paperwork.  Lets hope it all comes back for 1st March...oh crumbs now to fill in the TR2 for the taxman...lets hope thats easier to file!