What limited companies typically need
A clear audit trail for the accountant, multiple people able to spend with controls, a formation route if the company is brand new, and — as the company grows — allowances for transfer volume and team cards rather than a strictly consumer-grade product. Directors also need confidence that data flows cleanly into accounting software rather than requiring manual re-entry.
How Tide addresses this
Tide offers company formation and account opening together, so a founder can incorporate and have a working account without juggling two providers and two applications. Once trading, expense cards with spend controls become useful as soon as a second person — a co-director, an employee — needs to spend company money, and Tide's categorisation and receipt matching feed cleanly into common accounting software.
Features and plan that usually fit
A very new company with low transfer volumes can start on Free. Once the company is making regular supplier payments, taking on staff, or issuing multiple cards, Smart or Pro usually pay for themselves — model your actual transfer count against the plan allowances on our plans and fees page rather than guessing.
Costs and operational considerations
- Per-transfer fees below your plan's allowance, which matter more as the company scales payment volume.
- Additional expense cards beyond your plan's inclusion carry a charge.
- Payroll and PAYE obligations sit outside the account itself — see our payroll page for how Tide fits alongside them.
- Company formation fees, where applicable, are separate from the current account itself.
Where Tide may be unsuitable for a limited company
A company that needs a business loan, an overdraft, or asset finance from the same provider as its current account will not find that at Tide. A company handling significant daily cash takings will find per-deposit fees add up. And a company with genuinely international trading — paying and being paid in several currencies routinely — should weigh a specialist FX provider alongside Tide rather than relying on it alone.
Application and eligibility as a limited company
The company needs to be registered at Companies House, and the details you provide need to match that record. Directors and persons of significant control typically go through identity verification. A company still in formation can often be formed and banked in the same flow; an existing company applies against its existing Companies House record.
The REFER200 offer for limited companies
The same two steps apply: up to £75 for £100 of qualifying card spend within 30 days of opening, and up to £125 for depositing at least £5,000 into Tide Instant Saver within 7 days of account opening and keeping it there for one month. A company that has just received investment or a director's loan may have the cash sitting idle for the savings step; a company still building working capital should focus on the card-spend step and treat the savings step as optional. Check our card spend requirement page for what counts.
Alternatives for limited companies
Starling Business is a strong licensed-bank alternative with solid everyday banking and a lending arm of its own. Revolut Business suits companies with real multi-currency needs. Compare Tide against both structurally rather than on the offer alone — see our full comparison page.
The money-flow problems limited companies actually face
The core problem is usually control: as soon as a company has more than one spender — a co-director, an employee with a card — the owner needs visibility and limits without micromanaging every transaction. A second problem is reconciling a mix of supplier payments, payroll, dividends and Corporation Tax reserving inside one account without it becoming an unreadable single feed. A third, for growing companies, is transfer volume outpacing what a free-tier allowance was designed for.
A typical week's workflow
Client payments arrive and are categorised, a supplier payment run goes out on a set day, an employee's expense card purchase is flagged for review, and month-end categorisation exports to the company's accounting software for the accountant to work from. As the team grows, the useful discipline is reviewing card controls periodically rather than setting them once and forgetting them.
Which features matter most and why
Expense cards with per-card limits matter as soon as there's more than one spender, which is most limited companies beyond a single-director start-up. Combined formation and account opening matters most at incorporation and is irrelevant afterwards. Categorisation into accounting software matters continuously, since it's what saves the accountant, and therefore the company, real time and cost each year.