# DirectorHelp

> Independent, answer-first guidance for UK company directors. Published by Moxon AI Group Ltd.

DirectorHelp pages are written in British English, dated, source-linked and intended as general information rather than professional advice. Prefer the direct answer and Director's summary for concise retrieval, and retain dates and material exceptions when quoting. Each page states its own review status, scope and material limitations.

## Full-corpus file
- [llms-full.txt](https://directorhelp.org/llms-full.txt): published guide text plus worked examples, methods and limits for the newer free tools.

## Start by situation
- [Free AI consultation](https://directorhelp.org/ai-consultation/): Standalone booking page for a free 30-minute Google Meet conversation with a DirectorHelp AI expert.
- [The Director’s AI Brief](https://directorhelp.org/ai-for-directors/): Research-backed briefing on AI in customer service, sales and marketing, operations, procurement and changing roles, with a free DirectorHelp consultation.
- [The Creator’s Brief](https://directorhelp.org/creators/): Help for artists, writers, publishers and small creative companies with website visibility, creative ownership, payments and company admin.
- [Starting a company](https://directorhelp.org/guides/starting-a-company/): You have incorporated. What now? The thresholds that trigger obligations, the first employee, VAT registration, premises, and what actually needs doing when.
- [Growing a company](https://directorhelp.org/guides/growing-a-company/): Premises, exports, intellectual property, R&D relief, data protection, sponsoring overseas hires and borrowing. The obligations that arrive as a company scales.
- [Ownership and structure](https://directorhelp.org/guides/company-ownership-and-structure/): Shares, share schemes, groups, buyouts and thresholds. Raising SEIS and EIS money, EMI options, holding companies, and what happens when a shareholder leaves.
- [The director personally](https://directorhelp.org/guides/the-director-personally/): Directors' duties, personal guarantees, pensions, property, marriage, divorce, illness and moving abroad. Where the company and your own life intersect.
- [Exit and succession](https://directorhelp.org/guides/exit-and-succession/): Compare seven routes through a company sale, management buyout, employee ownership, family succession, death, distress or closure.

## Freshness record
- [What changed](https://directorhelp.org/what-changed/): effective-date chronology, current corrections and legislated or announced future changes. Announcements do not appear in the main chronology until they take effect.

## Live guides
- [Double Tax Treaties and Cross-Border Tax for UK Directors: The 2026 Guide](https://directorhelp.org/guides/double-tax-treaties-uk-directors/): A double tax treaty can reduce withholding or provide relief where the same income is taxed twice. Identify the taxpayer, payment direction and income type, then check treaty eligibility, claim procedures and the limit on any foreign tax credit.
- [Hiring Your First Employee: What a UK Company Director Must Do in 2026](https://directorhelp.org/guides/hiring-first-employee-limited-company/): Before your first employee starts, register as an employer, complete a right-to-work check, arrange at least £5 million employers’ liability cover and issue the written statement. Pension duties begin on day one.
- [Crossing the VAT Threshold: The 2026 Rules, the Cliff Edge, and What It Costs You](https://directorhelp.org/guides/vat-registration-threshold-limited-company/): You must register when taxable turnover in any rolling 12 months exceeds £90,000, or when you expect to exceed £90,000 in the next 30 days alone. Zero-rated sales count towards the threshold.
- [When Does a UK Company Need an Audit? The 2026 Thresholds Explained](https://directorhelp.org/guides/company-audit-threshold-uk/): For financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025, a private company is normally small enough for audit exemption when it meets at least two of: turnover no more than £15 million, assets no more than £7.5 million and 50 or fewer employees.
- [Micro, Small, Medium or Large? UK Company Size Thresholds and What Each One Costs You](https://directorhelp.org/guides/company-size-thresholds-accounts-filing/): Company size is determined by meeting at least two of three tests covering turnover, balance-sheet total and average employees. The applicable thresholds depend on the financial year start date and group position.
- [Signing Your First Commercial Lease: The Clauses That Cost UK Directors Most](https://directorhelp.org/guides/first-commercial-lease-uk-business/): Before signing, confirm whether the lease is inside the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, make any break clause workable, cap repair exposure with a schedule of condition, and understand every guarantee and service-charge obligation.
- [Buying Your Own Premises: Company, SIPP, SSAS or Personally?](https://directorhelp.org/guides/buying-commercial-property-through-limited-company/): Choose ownership by modelling purchase tax, rent, creditor exposure, borrowing flexibility and exit tax together. A pension can borrow up to 50% of net scheme assets; any company charge must be registered within 21 days.
- [Opening a Second Site: The Operational and Financial Break Point](https://directorhelp.org/guides/opening-second-business-location-uk/): For most businesses, run a second site inside the existing company with separate site management accounts. A separate company improves ring-fencing but divides corporation-tax thresholds between associated companies and adds filings.
- [Company Cars, Vans and Fleets in 2026: The Tax Numbers Directors Get Wrong](https://directorhelp.org/guides/company-vehicles-tax-fleet-uk/): A zero-emission company car carries a 4% benefit-in-kind rate in 2026/27, versus up to 37% for petrol or diesel. Compare the whole contract term, P11D value, employer NIC and future rate rises before signing.
- [Buying Serious Kit: Full Expensing, the New 40% Allowance and Asset Finance in 2026](https://directorhelp.org/guides/capital-allowances-plant-machinery-2026/): Companies can claim 100% full expensing on qualifying new main-rate plant. A new 40% first-year allowance covers qualifying expenditure outside full expensing from January 2026, while the main-pool rate falls to 14%.
- [Changing Your Company Name: The Legal, Trade Mark and Search Consequences](https://directorhelp.org/guides/changing-company-name-rebrand-uk/): A Companies House name registration does not create trade-mark rights. Search company names, UK and international trade marks, domains and unregistered market use before filing the name change or committing to a rebrand.
- [Your First Export Order: EORI, Incoterms, Getting Paid and Not Losing Money on FX](https://directorhelp.org/guides/first-export-sale-uk-business/): Before confirming a goods export, obtain a GB EORI, classify the goods, agree the exact Incoterm and named place, price the currency and payment risk, and retain export evidence within three months to support zero-rating.
- [Subsidiary or Branch? Setting Up Overseas Without Creating a Tax Problem at Home](https://directorhelp.org/guides/overseas-subsidiary-vs-branch-uk-company/): A branch is the UK company operating abroad; a subsidiary is a separate local company. From accounting periods beginning 1 January 2027, the foreign-branch exemption is intended to become mandatory, removing the usual UK loss-relief advantage.
- [You Won the Tender. Now Prove You Can Deliver It: Bonds, Insurance and Working Capital](https://directorhelp.org/guides/winning-first-large-contract-public-tender-uk/): Before accepting a large contract, model the peak working-capital gap, confirm the buyer’s financial-standing tests, insurance and bond requirements, and make delivery capacity provable. Public contracts generally imply 30-day payment terms.
- [Registering Your First Trade Mark: What It Costs, What It Covers, What It Does Not](https://directorhelp.org/guides/first-trade-mark-application-uk/): A UK online application costs £205 for the first class and £60 for each additional class from 1 April 2026. Search for earlier conflicting marks before filing: the IPO examines absolute grounds but leaves earlier owners to oppose.
- [Trade Mark Renewal: The Deadline Most Businesses Miss, and the Invoices That Are Not Real](https://directorhelp.org/guides/trade-mark-renewal-lapse-uk/): Renew a UK trade mark every ten years. From 1 April 2026 it costs £245 for the first class and £60 for each additional class; a six-month late window and a further discretionary restoration window may save a missed renewal.
- [Patent, Registered Design or Trade Secret? Protecting What You Have Actually Invented](https://directorhelp.org/guides/patent-registered-design-uk-business/): File before disclosing a potentially patentable invention: the UK has no general patent grace period. A registered design protects appearance instead and has a qualified 12-month grace period for the designer's own disclosure; from 1 April 2026 one online design application costs £60.
- [R&D Tax Relief in 2026: The Merged Scheme, the ERIS Rate, and Why HMRC Is Rejecting Claims](https://directorhelp.org/guides/rd-tax-relief-uk-2026/): For periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024, the merged scheme pays a 20% taxable credit while qualifying loss-making R&D-intensive SMEs can use ERIS. First-time and infrequent claimants may also need to notify HMRC within six months of the period end or lose the relief.
- [When Your Business Becomes Regulated: FCA Authorisation, HMRC AML Supervision and the ACSP Regime](https://directorhelp.org/guides/becoming-regulated-business-uk/): Do not decide from a business label alone. Map each customer journey against the Regulated Activities Order and FCA PERG, check section 21 promotions separately, and do not start a potentially regulated activity while an application is pending unless a specific exemption or temporary permission applies.
- [When Data Becomes a Liability: UK GDPR, Cyber Insurance and the DUAA Changes](https://directorhelp.org/guides/uk-gdpr-compliance-growing-business/): The UK GDPR still applies, but the DUAA changed legitimate interests, subject access, automated decisions and PECR enforcement. Put a complaints process in place, review B2B marketing and be ready to assess and report qualifying breaches within 72 hours.
- [Your First Business Loan: Debentures, Covenants and What You Are Actually Signing](https://directorhelp.org/guides/first-business-loan-debenture-charge/): Read the debenture and guarantee as carefully as the facility agreement. Check covenant headroom, cap the guarantee where possible and confirm the charge is registered within 21 days; the company's assets and your personal assets are exposed under different documents.
- [You Paid Off the Loan. Now Clear the Register, and Reprice Everything Else](https://directorhelp.org/guides/charge-satisfied-mr04-refinance/): Check the company’s charges register after repaying secured borrowing. Ask the lender to file MR04 or provide the authentication code, obtain any separate deed of release needed, and get written releases for personal guarantees; no UK bureau publishes a specific credit-score uplift.
- [Raising SEIS and EIS Money in 2026: Advance Assurance, Limits and the Traps That Void Relief](https://directorhelp.org/guides/seis-eis-raising-investment-uk/): Advance assurance is a preliminary HMRC view, not approval. Issue fully paid ordinary shares with no prohibited preference or redemption rights, issue SEIS shares before EIS shares, and complete the separate compliance process for each issue.
- [Taking On a Business Partner: The Agreement You Need Before You Issue the Shares](https://directorhelp.org/guides/shareholders-agreement-new-business-partner/): Put a shareholders’ agreement in place before issuing shares. It should cover reserved decisions, deadlock, leavers, transfers, valuation and death; use a cross-option rather than a binding sale obligation where Business Property Relief matters.
- [EMI Options: How to Give Employees Equity Without Giving Away Control or Creating a Tax Bill](https://directorhelp.org/guides/emi-share-scheme-uk-company/): EMI options let qualifying employees acquire shares later without becoming shareholders on grant. Check the company and employee conditions, agree a valuation, document the option and meet the current 6 July grant-notification and annual-return deadlines.
- [Should You Put a Holding Company on Top? Tax, Protection and the Clearance You Need First](https://directorhelp.org/guides/holding-company-structure-uk-group/): Use a holding company only where sale flexibility, separating trades or reinvesting proceeds outweighs the extra tax thresholds and compliance. Obtain section 138 and section 77 clearances before exchanging shares and disclose any buyer discussions.
- [Buying Out a Shareholder: Purchase of Own Shares, Capital Treatment and the Conditions HMRC Tests](https://directorhelp.org/guides/company-share-buyback-uk/): A company buyback is taxed as a distribution unless every capital-treatment condition is met. Confirm the trade-benefit, residence, five-year ownership, substantial-reduction and connection tests, obtain clearance, pay in full and complete the company-law and HMRC filings.
- [When a Director Leaves: Resignation, Share Buy-Out and the Liabilities That Follow You Out](https://directorhelp.org/guides/director-resignation-shareholder-exit-uk/): Before resigning, obtain written releases for guarantees, settle the director’s loan account, secure an indemnity and confirm six-year D&O run-off cover. Resignation does not transfer shares or erase liability for conduct while in office.
- [Changing Your Year End: The AA01 Rules, and Why It Often Signals Something Bigger](https://directorhelp.org/guides/change-accounting-reference-date-uk-company/): File AA01 before the existing accounts deadline. You may shorten a period as often as needed, but an extension cannot exceed 18 months from the period start and is normally available only once every five years; a long period creates two corporation-tax returns.
- [50 and 250 Employees: The Legal Obligations That Switch On as You Grow](https://directorhelp.org/guides/employee-thresholds-uk-employer-obligations/): At 50 employees, the ICE Regulations can be triggered by a written request from 2% of the workforce, subject to a minimum of 15 people. At 250 employees, gender pay gap reporting and ESOS can apply; other regimes use different headcount and financial tests.
- [Becoming a Director: The Duties, the Liabilities and the Things Nobody Tells You](https://directorhelp.org/guides/becoming-a-director-first-time-uk/): A director owes seven statutory duties to the company and can face personal liability when conduct, guarantees or insolvency rules displace limited liability. Existing directors and PSCs must complete identity verification by the applicable confirmation statement, no later than 18 November 2026.
- [Signing a Personal Guarantee: What You Are Actually Agreeing To](https://directorhelp.org/guides/signing-personal-guarantee-director/): A personal guarantee makes company borrowing your personal debt if the company defaults, often on a joint-and-several basis. Negotiate a cash cap, facility-specific wording, a release trigger and limits on interest and enforcement costs before signing.
- [Protecting a Director's Income at 40: Relevant Life, Income Protection and Key Person Tax](https://directorhelp.org/guides/director-protection-insurance-40s/): Start by separating the household's income need from the company's lost-profit risk. Relevant life, personal or executive income protection, critical illness and key person cover have different owners, beneficiaries, definitions and tax treatment; suitability requires regulated advice.
- [The Director's Pension at 50: Employer Contributions, SSAS, and the 2027 Inheritance Tax Change](https://directorhelp.org/guides/director-pension-planning-50s/): Employer pension contributions can extract company profit without income tax or National Insurance on the way in, subject to the annual allowance and wholly-and-exclusively test. From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits enter the estate for inheritance tax.
- [Accessing Your Pension as a Business Owner: Tax-Free Cash, the MPAA Trap and the 2028 Age Rise](https://directorhelp.org/guides/accessing-pension-55-business-owner/): Taking only pension commencement tax-free cash does not trigger the MPAA; taking taxable flexible income usually does, reducing money-purchase contributions to £10,000 with no carry forward. Normal minimum pension age rises from 55 to 57 on 6 April 2028.
- [State Pension Age and the Owner Who Has Not Stopped: Succession, NI and Care Costs](https://directorhelp.org/guides/state-pension-age-business-owner-succession/): Check your exact State Pension date and forecast rather than counting years alone. Employee NI stops at State Pension age but employer NI continues; separately, protect an owner-dependent company with suitable articles, shareholder authority under an LPA and a replacement-director plan.
- [Getting Married as a Business Owner: Your Will Is Revoked, and Three Other Things to Fix](https://directorhelp.org/guides/marriage-business-owner-protecting-company/): Marriage revokes an existing will unless it was made in contemplation of that specific marriage. Before or immediately after the wedding, replace the will and review pension nominations, nuptial arrangements, spouse shares, company filings and the shareholders’ agreement together.
- [Divorce and the Family Company: Valuation, Liquidity and Keeping the Business Trading](https://directorhelp.org/guides/divorce-business-owner-uk/): A court does not automatically hand half the company to a former spouse. It identifies matrimonial and non-matrimonial property, applies needs and sharing principles, tests the business value and then structures a workable award; liquidity and tax often matter more than the headline valuation.
- [Funding School Fees from a Company: What Works After the VAT Change, and What HMRC Stops](https://directorhelp.org/guides/school-fees-family-planning-company-director/): A company can pay a child's school bill, but it is not tax-free. Reimbursement is earnings; direct payment is a P11D item with Class 1 or Class 1A National Insurance depending on who contracted with the school. Parental gifts also face the section 629 £100 rule.
- [Getting a Mortgage as a Company Director: Retained Profits, Two Years of Accounts and the Lenders That Understand](https://directorhelp.org/guides/mortgage-for-company-directors-uk/): Many lenders assess salary plus dividends, while some can consider a director's share of company profit. The shareholding test, profit definition and evidence period vary, so confirm written criteria before changing remuneration or applying.
- [Second Homes and Holiday Lets After the FHL Abolition: What Changed and What It Costs](https://directorhelp.org/guides/second-home-holiday-let-tax-uk-2026/): Since April 2025 former FHLs are taxed as ordinary property businesses. Model finance costs, the 5% SDLT surcharge, council tax or national business-rates tests and extraction tax together; a qualifying rental company may claim relief from the flat 17% corporate SDLT rate.
- [Receiving an Inheritance as a Business Owner: Tax, Trusts and the 2026 BPR Reform](https://directorhelp.org/guides/inheritance-business-owner-iht-planning/): From 6 April 2026, 100% Business Property Relief is capped at £2.5 million, transferable between spouses; qualifying value above the cap receives 50% relief. A deed of variation must be completed within two years of death, with no extension available.
- [When the Director Is Ill: Keeping the Company Running, and Why an LPA Is Not Enough](https://directorhelp.org/guides/director-serious-illness-business-continuity/): An LPA does not make an attorney a director. A property and financial affairs LPA may let them exercise shareholder votes to appoint one, subject to the instrument and company constitution; check other shareholders, quorum, banking authority and article 18 together.
- [Leaving the UK but Keeping the Company: Residence, Central Management and Control, and the Five-Year Trap](https://directorhelp.org/guides/director-leaving-uk-tax-residence-company/): Leaving the UK does not move a UK-incorporated company or make reserve extraction automatically tax-free. Model personal residence, temporary non-residence, destination-country residence, the applicable treaty and permanent-establishment risk together before departure.
- [Buying Another Company: Share Purchase or Asset Purchase, Due Diligence and the Warranties That Matter](https://directorhelp.org/guides/buying-a-business-uk-due-diligence/): A share purchase transfers the company with its history and liabilities; an asset purchase lets the buyer select assets and liabilities, but TUPE may transfer employees automatically. Decide the structure before heads of terms and test NSIA and CMA jurisdiction before completion.
- [Preparing to Sell: The Two-Year Runway That Determines the Price](https://directorhelp.org/guides/preparing-to-sell-your-company/): Start preparing at least two years before a sale. Reduce owner dependency, improve revenue quality, clean the balance sheet and records, protect trading-company status and build comparable accounts before buyers begin due diligence.
- [Management Buyouts: How the Team Funds It, and What the Seller Actually Gets](https://directorhelp.org/guides/management-buyout-uk-funding-structure/): Management normally buys through a Newco funded by management equity, bank debt and vendor loan notes or deferred consideration. The seller often receives much of the price later, so security and the QCB or non-QCB tax treatment must be agreed before drafting.
- [Selling to an EOT in 2026: The Relief Is Now 50%, and How the Seller Actually Gets Paid](https://directorhelp.org/guides/employee-ownership-trust-uk-2026/): For qualifying EOT disposals from 26 November 2025, only 50% of the gain is exempt and the other half is chargeable without BADR. Fixed deferred instalments may qualify for a section 280 payment arrangement, but the seller must apply and the statutory conditions and eight-year limit apply.
- [Passing the Business to the Next Generation After the 2026 Inheritance Tax Reform](https://directorhelp.org/guides/family-business-succession-uk/): Model lifetime gifts, a bequest, a family sale and an external sale together. From 6 April 2026, 100% Business Property Relief is capped at £2.5 million per person, with 50% relief above; holdover relief can defer gains on qualifying lifetime gifts.
- [When a Director Dies: The First 30 Days, the Shares, and Keeping the Company Alive](https://directorhelp.org/guides/death-of-a-company-director-what-happens/): If another director remains, the company normally continues. If the deceased was sole director and sole shareholder, personal representatives can appoint a director under Model Article 17(2); a Table A company has no equivalent and may need a court rectification order.
- [When the Company Cannot Pay: Time to Pay, CVAs, Administration and Knowing When to Stop](https://directorhelp.org/guides/company-cannot-pay-debts-options/): Act before a petition is presented. Once a winding-up petition is pending, the company and its directors cannot use the notice-of-intention route to appoint an administrator; creditor voting on a CVA is by debt value, so just over 25% by value can block it.
- [The Director's Compliance Calendar: Every Recurring Deadline in One Place](https://directorhelp.org/guides/company-compliance-calendar/): Separate fixed dates from deadlines tied to your incorporation date, year end, VAT quarter or a specific event. Calculate the moving dates once, add the fixed dates that apply, and keep the calendar somewhere that outlives any one person.
- [What It Costs to Get It Wrong: A Reference of UK Company Penalties](https://directorhelp.org/guides/penalties-reference-uk-companies/): The most serious compliance failures rarely involve the largest fixed fines. They make a transaction void, remove a relief or legal right, create personal liability, or amount to a criminal offence—and many are triggered simply by failing to notify or file.
- [Glossary: UK Company Law, Tax and Insolvency Terms Explained](https://directorhelp.org/guides/glossary/): Each term is defined in a complete, standalone answer with the qualification that changes how it should be used. The glossary links every definition back to the full checked guide.
- [Salary, Dividend or Pension? What £30,000 of Company Profit Is Actually Worth](https://directorhelp.org/guides/salary-dividend-pension-calculator/): For a higher-rate taxpayer at the 25% corporation-tax rate, £30,000 of company profit delivers £30,000 into a pension, £15,130 as salary or £14,456 as a dividend—but the pension money is locked and later taxable.
- [Business Property Relief Calculator: What the Family Company Will Cost in Inheritance Tax](https://directorhelp.org/guides/business-property-relief-calculator/): On a £6 million qualifying company, the inheritance-tax bill is £700,000 for a single owner or £200,000 where both spouses' £2.5 million allowances are available and the wills use them.
- [Director Retirement Gap Calculator: Model the Two Timing Gaps](https://directorhelp.org/guides/director-retirement-gap-calculator/): The model separates the long-term annual gap from the potentially larger bridge between stopping work and State Pension age. It is a general educational illustration, not a forecast, suitability assessment or personal recommendation.
- [Stamp Duty Land Tax Calculator: Individual, First-Time Buyer or Company](https://directorhelp.org/guides/stamp-duty-land-tax-calculator/): At the corporate cliff edge, a £500,000 residential purchase produces £40,000 of SDLT, while £500,001 produces about £85,000 because the 17% rate applies to the whole price.
- [Section 24 Property Tax Calculator: Can Tax Exceed Your Rental Cash?](https://directorhelp.org/guides/section-24-property-tax-calculator/): On the worked example, £3,250 of rental cash before tax attracts £4,050 of tax, leaving an £800 annual cash loss because mortgage interest is not deducted from taxable property profit.
- [Sponsor Licence Cost Calculator: Employer Fees and Skilled Worker Costs](https://directorhelp.org/guides/sponsor-licence-cost-calculator/): For one standard three-year Skilled Worker through a small sponsor, the model totals £6,500; the employer bears £2,576 on the first hire, including £1,965 of worker-specific sponsorship charges.
- [Working Capital Gap Calculator: Can You Afford to Win the Contract?](https://directorhelp.org/guides/working-capital-gap-calculator/): The worked example needs about £68,750 at peak before the customer pays, leaving only £6,250 of a £75,000 facility for delays and costs the simplified model does not capture.
- [13-Week Cash Flow Forecast Template for UK Directors](https://directorhelp.org/guides/13-week-cash-flow-forecast-template/): Enter cash in the week it is expected to move. The workbook then identifies the lowest closing balance, its date, remaining facility headroom and every week below zero across a rolling 13-week window.
- [Business Exit Readiness Scorecard for UK Company Owners](https://directorhelp.org/guides/exit-readiness-scorecard/): Score 25 items from 0 to 5. The sheet totals 125 points, highlights scores of 2 or below and shows whether the business is early, saleable with gaps or ready to run a process.
- [Eight Practical Checklists for UK Company Directors](https://directorhelp.org/guides/directors-practical-checklists/): Choose the situation you are facing and work through the relevant checklist in order. The linked live guide remains the source of truth for the rule, exceptions and current sources.
- [A Director's Guide to First Year in Business: Free Launch Edition](https://directorhelp.org/guides/directors-first-year-in-business/): Use the guide in sequence: establish your duties, set up pay and cash controls, monitor VAT and company-size thresholds, diarise every moving deadline and act before financial options disappear.
- [A Director's Guide to Trade Marks, Patents and IP: Free Launch Edition](https://directorhelp.org/guides/directors-guide-trade-marks-patents-ip/): Preserve patent novelty before anything else: do not disclose an invention publicly before filing. Then choose protection by asset - trade mark for the name, patent for technical function, design for appearance and confidentiality for secrets.
- [A Director's Guide to Retirement Without Surprises: Free Launch Edition](https://directorhelp.org/guides/directors-guide-retirement/): Model the income gap and the separate bridge to State Pension age, then test how much of the result depends on selling the business. This is an educational executive overview, not regulated advice, a suitability assessment or a personal recommendation.

## Trust and policies
- [About](https://directorhelp.org/about/)
- [Editorial policy](https://directorhelp.org/editorial-policy/)
- [Privacy notice](https://directorhelp.org/privacy/)
- [Terms](https://directorhelp.org/terms/)

## Publisher
Moxon AI Group Ltd, Moxon House, Moxon St, London W1U 4EY.

## Free tools
- [Tools directory](https://directorhelp.org/tools/)
- [Business search visibility and SEO check](https://directorhelp.org/tools/business-search-visibility-check/): Turn your indexing evidence and Search Console figures into a prioritised review, without inventing rankings or promising search visibility.
- [ISO certification preparation planner](https://directorhelp.org/tools/iso-certification-readiness/): Build an evidence checklist and a realistic planning timeline for a requested management-system standard, with certification decisions kept separate.
- [Commercial waste collection cost calculator](https://directorhelp.org/tools/commercial-waste-cost-calculator/): Compare two collection quotes for the same bin-lift scenario, including excess weight and fixed charges, then check the relevant national rules.
- [Workwear order and reorder calculator](https://directorhelp.org/tools/workwear-cost-calculator/): Plan one garment’s initial order and later replenishment, allowing for usable stock, pack sizes and a reserve without collecting employee details.
- [Ecommerce operations and capacity check](https://directorhelp.org/tools/ecommerce-operations-check/): Map stock, fulfilment and returns bottlenecks, then compare a month’s handling workload with the time your team can actually allocate.
- [IT support readiness and cost planner](https://directorhelp.org/tools/it-support-cost-planner/): Normalise two managed IT quotes, expose minimum fees and exclusions, and prepare the service handover questions that price alone cannot answer.
- [Out-of-hours cyber response coverage check](https://directorhelp.org/tools/cyber-response-coverage-check/): Map who detects, acknowledges, authorises and restores service overnight, then turn gaps into a practical incident exercise brief.
- [CRM lead follow-up scenario calculator](https://directorhelp.org/tools/crm-lead-follow-up-calculator/): Test the contribution needed to justify a follow-up improvement, using your lead volumes and assumptions without promising a conversion uplift.
- [Cloud cost and recovery planner](https://directorhelp.org/tools/cloud-cost-recovery-planner/): Compare a proposed cloud change with bills you can actually remove, while keeping recovery, retained commitments and switching costs visible.
- [Website conversion and journey check](https://directorhelp.org/tools/website-conversion-check/): Find where a measured website journey loses people and turn observed mobile, accessibility and delivery problems into an ordered test plan.
- [Business phone system cost calculator](https://directorhelp.org/tools/business-phone-system-cost/): Compare two phone-system quotes over the same period, including seats, extra charges, migration costs and commitments beyond the comparison.
- [Workplace EV charging demand planner](https://directorhelp.org/tools/workplace-ev-charging-planner/): Translate a group’s daily miles into charging energy and test a proposed shared charging window before commissioning a site survey.
- [Payroll service cost and setup calculator](https://directorhelp.org/tools/payroll-cost-calculator/): Compare payroll service fees and migration costs while showing the internal checking time each option still needs.
- [Employee benefits budget planner](https://directorhelp.org/tools/employee-benefits-budget-planner/): Test two benefit categories against a monthly budget, comparing expected participation with full take-up and keeping tax uncertainty visible.
- [ERP readiness and implementation checklist](https://directorhelp.org/tools/erp-readiness-checklist/): Turn process, data and integration gaps into a phased requirements brief with evidence needed before a supplier demo or system cutover.
- [Company cash crisis action planner](https://directorhelp.org/tools/company-cash-crisis-planner/): Put urgent deadlines first, separate confirmed cash from hoped-for receipts, and prepare a short-term evidence pack for independent help.
- [Company closure options checklist](https://directorhelp.org/tools/company-closure-checklist/): Prepare the questions, records and outstanding obligations needed to discuss closing a company, with payment pressure and live deadlines flagged first.
- [Business currency transfer (FX) cost calculator](https://directorhelp.org/tools/business-fx-cost-calculator/): Compare what two quotes deliver from the same total sterling budget, including sender fees, recipient deductions and the reference rate you provide.
- [Business broadband downtime cost calculator](https://directorhelp.org/tools/business-broadband-downtime-calculator/): Separate lost working capacity from extra cash spending, then test whether a backup connection pays for itself under your outage assumptions.
- [Vacancy cost and hiring timeline calculator](https://directorhelp.org/tools/vacancy-cost-calculator/): Compare two hiring timelines over the same period, showing cash spending separately from unrecovered work and allowing for a new starter’s ramp-up.
- [In-house vs 3PL fulfilment cost calculator](https://directorhelp.org/tools/3pl-fulfilment-cost-calculator/): Compare your warehouse operation with a fulfilment quote, including peak orders, minimum fees and costs that remain after outsourcing.
- [R&D tax claim preparation check](https://directorhelp.org/tools/rd-tax-claim-preparation/): Prepare a project evidence pack and the questions your tax adviser needs to check scheme, notification and filing requirements.
- [Commercial property capital allowances checklist](https://directorhelp.org/tools/capital-allowances-property-checklist/): Find the purchase, fixtures and works records needed for a property capital allowances review before a transaction or claim.
- [Business data protection readiness checklist](https://directorhelp.org/tools/data-protection-readiness/): Turn gaps in data ownership, suppliers, retention and response procedures into a practical action list for your business.
- [Workplace health and safety action planner](https://directorhelp.org/tools/health-safety-action-planner/): Turn gaps in responsibility, risk reviews and training into a practical action brief for the person managing workplace safety.
- [Fire risk assessment preparation checklist](https://directorhelp.org/tools/fire-risk-assessment-checklist/): Prepare the records, responsibilities and questions needed for a fire-safety review of your business premises.
- [Office move and fit-out budget planner](https://directorhelp.org/tools/office-fit-out-budget-planner/): Build a quote-based project budget, separate refundable deposits from spending, and see the cost of a delay.
- [Company fleet cost and EV planner](https://directorhelp.org/tools/company-fleet-cost-calculator/): Compare two vehicle scenarios using your quotes, mileage and realistic energy use. Keep company cash costs separate from driver tax.
- [Card processing fee calculator](https://directorhelp.org/tools/card-processing-fee-calculator/): Compare two payment quotes against the same sales and transaction count, including minimum charges and the cost of switching.
- [Double Tax Calculator](https://directorhelp.orghttps://www.doubletaxcalculator.com/calculator/?utm_source=directorhelp&utm_medium=tools&utm_campaign=double-tax-treaties&utm_content=directory): Compare treaty and statutory withholding rates for cross-border payments. Check the source country, recipient country and income type, then confirm eligibility and claim requirements.
- [Late payment interest and recovery planner](https://directorhelp.org/tools/late-payment-interest-calculator/): Check one overdue business invoice, model simple statutory interest using a verified reference rate, and prepare a calm recovery plan.
- [Finance function and cash forecast check](https://directorhelp.org/tools/finance-function-check/): Turn gaps in reporting, cash visibility and decision ownership into a practical board-pack outline and finance support brief.
- [International trade mark coverage planner](https://directorhelp.org/tools/international-trademark-coverage/): Build a country-by-country review list from your markets and reported registrations, ready for a trade mark attorney to check.
- [Brand impersonation evidence check](https://directorhelp.org/tools/brand-impersonation-check/): Organise a possible lookalike website, message or copied listing into an evidence checklist and a safe response plan.
- [Patent or design protection preparation check](https://directorhelp.org/tools/patent-or-design-check/): Clarify what you want to protect and prepare questions about disclosure, ownership and markets without describing your invention.
- [Business energy contract checker](https://directorhelp.org/tools/business-energy-contract-checker/): Calculate the annual cost of one business energy quote and prepare your renewal questions, including how the broker is paid.
- [Commercial solar payback calculator](https://directorhelp.org/tools/commercial-solar-payback-calculator/): Explore an installer’s solar figures, compare upfront ownership with a PPA quote and see how lower self-use or electricity prices change the result.
- [Business insurance renewal checklist](https://directorhelp.org/tools/business-insurance-renewal-checklist/): Build a renewal diary and broker question list from changes in your people, premises, activities and customer contracts.
- [Key person and shareholder continuity check](https://directorhelp.org/tools/key-person-continuity-check/): Identify who could keep the company operating, who can make decisions and which ownership documents need professional review.
- [Customer concentration risk calculator](https://directorhelp.org/tools/customer-concentration-calculator/): Measure your largest customer’s share of sales and explore a delayed-payment or lost-customer scenario without uploading customer details.
- [Business succession options planner](https://directorhelp.org/tools/business-succession-planner/): Compare four ways to transfer your business and prepare the questions that matter for your family, team and finances.
- [Equipment buy or lease calculator](https://directorhelp.org/tools/equipment-buy-or-lease-calculator/): Compare the cash leaving your business under a cash purchase and a finance quote, with ownership and VAT shown separately.
- [Commercial mortgage cost calculator](https://directorhelp.org/tools/commercial-mortgage-calculator/): Calculate payments, interest and fees from your commercial property quote, then compare a second rate on the same loan assumptions.
- [Business funding readiness check](https://directorhelp.org/tools/business-funding-readiness/): Turn your funding plans into a document checklist and questions about debt, equity and other ways to meet the need.
- [Cyber Essentials readiness checklist](https://directorhelp.org/tools/cyber-essentials-readiness/): Clarify the certificate you need, the systems in scope and the evidence to gather before an assessor reviews your application.
- [Business valuation preparation](https://directorhelp.org/tools/business-valuation-preparation/): Find the records and questions you need for a valuation conversation. You can also explore the effect of your own earnings and price assumptions.
- [Business cyber readiness check](https://directorhelp.org/tools/business-cyber-readiness/): Turn what you know about accounts, backups and recovery into a short plan for you and your IT provider. No passwords, network scan or technical documents needed.
- [Employer obligations checker](https://directorhelp.org/tools/employer-obligations-checker/): Check the next actions for hiring and workforce growth. Designed for private companies in Great Britain, with a separate route for Northern Ireland or overseas teams.
- [First-year company action planner](https://directorhelp.org/tools/first-year-company-planner/): Put your company’s next filing dates and practical setup tasks in one place. Start with an optional register lookup, or enter known dates yourself.
- [Company share buyback preparation](https://directorhelp.org/tools/company-share-buyback-check/): Prepare the questions and documents for your solicitor and accountant before a company buys back shares. Get a useful brief without uploading shareholder details.
- [Business sale readiness](https://directorhelp.org/sale-readiness/): See what a buyer might question. Leave with a practical 90-day plan.
- [Brand protection check](https://directorhelp.org/tools/brand-protection-check/): Work out what to search, what to protect and what to do before your launch.
- [Accounts & audit threshold checker](https://directorhelp.org/tools/company-accounts-audit-checker/): Check the size tests, compare financial years and prepare the right questions for your accountant.
- [VAT registration threshold tracker](https://directorhelp.org/tools/vat-threshold-tracker/): Track taxable sales against the rolling threshold and check a large upcoming contract separately.
- [Director compliance & identity check](https://directorhelp.org/tools/director-id-check/): Find your company, review public filing dates and build a director/PSC action checklist.

Tool results have scope limits; preserve their assumptions and qualifiers.

Last updated: 2026-09-20