Quick summary:
The Inform Direct set-up wizard is used when you first import a company so that you can review and tidy the information received from Companies House. It helps you identify and fix duplicate or incomplete people and addresses, and then shows you a summary of any changes.
Inform Direct does not automatically update Companies House from this process: where a change is significant enough to require a filing, the wizard will display the proposed submission and you must choose either Send now (to submit the change to Companies House) or Resolve later (no submission is made and a data discrepancy is created instead).
This ensures that Companies House is only updated when you explicitly approve the filing.
Step-by-step guide
Companies House send over their current records for a company when it is imported. Inform Direct looks to ensure those records are tidy and consistent using our set up wizard.
If you are signing up for the first time and need assistance with where to get started please see How do I get started?
When adding a company to an existing account, the correct authentication code should be entered, Companies House will then send the current records to Inform Direct. If you do not yet have the authentication code, a reminder can be requested, and in the meantime the company filing due dates will appear.
The steps below explain how Inform Direct brings a company into the software.
1. Firstly, you can check for any duplicate persons or corporations. For a full explanation (including some worked examples) of what Inform Direct will do at step 4 and how you can override or amend any assumptions if necessary, please see:
What does step 4 of the setup wizard do?
How Do I Merge Records During the Import Process?
2. Next you can check for any incomplete addresses or duplicate addresses. If an address is missing some information e.g. if there is no Building Name / Number, then a red ring will appear around the field.
Why does Building Name / Number have a red ring?
Inform Direct will also look for any duplicate addresses. If it finds any it will associate them. This will make future administration of the company much easier to manage.
What is the benefit of merging addresses?
What does step 5 of the set up wizard do?
3. This is simply a summary page. There will either be:
No changes made in steps 4 or 5 in which case the set up will be complete and you can view everything for the company just imported by clicking on the green 'Proceed to dashboard'.
If a change is large enough to require notification to Companies House, Inform Direct will display the proposed submission and show a red Submit button. For each such change you can choose:
Send now – Inform Direct will submit the change electronically to Companies House as soon as you complete the import.
Resolve later – no filing is sent; instead a data discrepancy is created on the company dashboard for you to review later.
This means no address or other detail is ever changed at Companies House automatically from the import process. A filing is only made when you explicitly choose Send now.
Should there be a change big enough to generate a submission, Inform Direct will display the changes and a red submit button to bring them to your attention.
Address records are never changed at Companies House automatically without approval from the set‑up wizard.
Next steps.....
If this is the first company you have registered, then you will be taken to the Dashboard for the company.
What Actions Should I Take After Importing a Company?
If you have already registered a company with Inform Direct, then each time you complete the set-up for another company this will be added to your Portfolio.
How do I add another company to my Portfolio?
Troubleshooting: If you encounter a setup error message, check that every officer & PSC record includes a complete date of birth and address. Missing data at Companies House will cause errors in Inform Direct.
Common FAQ's
"Do changes to addresses during import automatically update Companies House?"
No. When you import a company, Inform Direct will check for incomplete and duplicate addresses and may propose updates to tidy your internal records.
Only where a change is significant enough to require notification to Companies House will Inform Direct prepare a potential filing. You must then choose either Send now (to submit the change to Companies House) or Resolve later (no filing is made and the discrepancy is left for you to review later). Address records are never updated at Companies House without your explicit approval to submit the filing.