Before setting up your marketing business, you will need to incorporate your business. During the company incorporation process on Companies House, you will need to provide your company’s SIC code based on the nature of your business and services. There are over 600 SIC codes to choose from which can be overwhelming. This article explains what a SIC code is and how to choose one for your new marketing company.
What are standard industrial classifications?
A Standard industrial classification code (SIC code) is a five-digit business code which describes a company’s economic activities and business services. These codes help the Office for National Statistics (ONS) track the state and growth of United Kingdom (UK) companies. The condensed UK SIC code list maintained by Companies House is available on the gov.uk website. A private limited company (the most popular type) can have multiple SIC codes. Dormant companies and non-trading companies are also required to have a SIC code.
Your marketing business can have multiple SIC codes if it has multiple business activities. SIC codes can also be updated via a confirmation statement if ever the business’ activities evolve.
Curious about automated data extraction from documents?
What SIC code should I use for my marketing business?
As you will be aware, marketing is a very broad industry group with a variety of different related activities and related services. For example, some marketing agencies might focus on producing advertising material as part of their broader advertising services, others might provide more creative services, some might simply lead market research and others might assume a marketing management role for another company through planning whole marketing campaigns. Some agencies might be focused on SEO and specialise even further and provide law firm SEO services.
Choosing a hard and fast SIC code for all these activities is therefore not an easy task. To choose the SIC code for your agency you might want to consider firstly whether your business will be heavily involved in advertisement. If this is the case, you might put SIC code 73110 that covers advertising agencies. Conversely, if your marketing agency is heavily consultancy based, the SIC code 70229 might be more appropriate as this concerns management consultancy activities other than those relating to financial management.
These SIC codes might still not resonate with your marketing business plan. If this is the case, you might want to consider using the SIC code 62090 that includes business lists that cover other information technology service activities, such as content creation.
Are you ready to start a business?
Companies MadeSimple helps you register a limited company online, in four simple steps. A Companies House authorised agent, we’ve formed over 1 million companies to date. With company formation packages that can include a registered office address and mail forwarding services, you’ll find what you need to register a company right. Search for a company name and set up a UK company using Companies MadeSimple now.
Conclusion
Once you have chosen a SIC code for your marketing business and finalised the incorporation process, you will need to generate legal contracts to structure your business activities. Creating lawyer-approved agreements can be costly and it can be tempting to download free templates online. However, this process is risky and unnecessary thanks to contract management platforms like Legislate. Legislate allows to tailor the essential agreements to hire and grow your business such as employment, consultancy and internship agreements. To create a lawyer-approved contract for only £9.95, sign up to Legislate today!
The opinions on this page are for general information purposes only and do not constitute legal advice on which you should rely.