Before setting up your animal 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 animal 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 animal 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.
What SIC code should I use for my dog walking business?
Whilst a popular business, there is no exact SIC code a dog walker should use when incorporating their dog walking business. In this case, you might want to consider using the code 96090 which is used where the nature of the business service activities are not elsewhere classified and are described as other personal services.
You should use this code if you area an:
- Animal day care provider, including animal pick up(such as doggy day care);
- Animal cleaning service;
- Animal pet sitting service;
- Pet animal boarder or kennel provider, or;
- Animal trainer
Whilst there may not be a specific SIC code used for dog walking services only this does not affect the success of your business’ incorporation. You should ensure that you keep relevant company records and that when serving invoices to your customers you should make sure that you always include your company number and registered office address on the page.
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What SIC code should I use for my animal breeding business?
Unlike the activities mentioned above, there is a specific SIC code for pet animal breeding businesses, such as dog breeding providers. If this case, you should use the SIC code 01490 for any business you operate that breeds pet animals (with the exception of fish).
What SIC code should I use for my veterinary business?
Similarly, there are also specific SIC codes relating to the healthcare of animals. Veterinarian and animal hospital businesses should use the SIC code 75000 which describes businesses involved in animal health care and control activities. This SIC code extends to all animal health businesses offering treatment to all animals- not just pets- such as farm animals and racehorses.
What SIC code should I use for my pet shop
There are also specialised SIC codes relating to the retail of pet care. If you are a retailer suppling pet food or a pet shop you should use the SIC code 47760. If you are a pet shop that also sells pet animals you should also use the same code.
Are you ready to start a business?
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Conclusion
Once you have chosen a SIC code for your animal 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.