How should you choose a name for your accounting firm?

The short answer

Choose a name that tells a stranger what your firm does, that you can say once on the phone without spelling it, and that your professional body and Companies House will allow. Shortlist three to five names, check each against the rules and the registers, then test the survivors on real clients before you buy anything with the name on it.

UK accountants have more to check than most businesses. Words such as "Chartered" and "Associates" carry rules, a sole practitioner cannot sound like a partnership, and a bookkeeper should not sound like an accountancy firm. This guide covers the naming styles, the rules and where to check them, and how to test a shortlist. It is general guidance on professional practice, not legal advice.

What a good practice name does

A good practice name does four jobs. If a name fails one of them, keep looking.

• It says what you do. Someone who sees it on a sign, a LinkedIn post or a search result should guess that you are accountants, bookkeepers or tax advisers.
• It is easy to say, spell and remember. Most new clients come from a recommendation. The person passing your name on has to remember it and spell it into a search box.
• It is allowed.It must pass your professional body's rules, company and business name law, and other firms' trade marks.
• It will still fit in ten years. If you add partners, open a second office or move into advisory work, the name should not need to change.

Notice what is not on the list: being clever. Clients choose an accountant they trust to be careful. A name that sounds steady usually serves a practice better than one that sounds like an app.

The four naming styles

Most accountancy practice names fall into one of four styles. Each has a different trade-off between sounding personal, saying what you do and being easy to protect. The examples below are made up to show the style; check any real name you like against the registers in the next sections.

Surname-based

Examples: "Patel & Co", "Hughes Accountants", "Ward Taylor Tax". This is the traditional style for a practice. It sounds established and personal, and it rarely causes trouble with name rules as long as the structure words are accurate. It says nothing about what you do unless you add a descriptor, it can be hard to spell, and it ties the brand to people. That matters when a named partner retires or when you sell the practice.

Descriptive

Examples: "Bristol Small Business Accounts", "The Contractor Tax Team", "Farm Accounts Wales". A descriptive name tells people exactly what you do and often who for. That helps clients find and remember you. The drawbacks are that descriptive names are hard to protect, because the words are common, and easy to outgrow if you widen your services or your area. Check that every word is true of your firm today.

Invented

Examples: "Numora", "Ledgerly". An invented word is the easiest to make unique, which makes the web address, social handles and any trade mark simpler to get. It also means nobody knows what you do until you tell them, so it needs a descriptor every time it appears, such as "Numora Accountants". Invented names suit firms that plan to grow into a recognisable brand. They suit a one-person local practice less well.

Symbolic

Examples: "Keystone Accounting", "Lighthouse Tax". A real word used for what it suggests, such as strength, guidance or clarity. These names are memorable and easy to spell, and the descriptor does the work of saying what you do. The risk is that the good words are popular, so another firm may already use yours. Do the register checks early.

Make the name say what you do

The descriptor is the part of the name that tells people your trade. Choose it to match what you are qualified and regulated to do, not what sounds biggest.

AAT's guidance on marketing and promoting your businessgives examples of names that would mislead the public. They include using "accountancy" or "tax advisors" when the member is only qualified and regulated to provide bookkeeping services, describing a UK-only business as "international", and using "Associates" when operating as a small sole practitioner.

• Bookkeeping practice:"Bookkeeping", "Bookkeeping Services" or "Payroll & Bookkeeping" are accurate. "Accountancy" may not be.
• Accountancy practice:"Accountants", "Accountancy" or "Accounts & Tax".
• Tax specialist:"Tax" or "Tax Advisers", as long as the qualification behind it supports the claim.
• A niche:"Contractor Accountants" or "Landlord Tax" tells your target client at once that you are for them. Only do this if you are sure of the niche, because it will be expensive to drop later.

A place name works the same way. "Harrogate Accountants" helps local clients find you, but it boxes you in if you later serve clients across the country online. If you use a place, make it the area you will always serve.

The telephone and domain test

Before you fall for a name, say it aloud as you would when answering the phone, then ask someone to type it into a browser from hearing it once. If they misspell it or ask how to spell it, the name will cost you referrals.

• Spelling.Avoid made-up spellings of real words, doubled letters and anything that sounds like a different word. "Kwik Accounts" will be typed as "Quick".
• Length. Two or three words is plenty. Long names get shortened by clients anyway, so decide the short form yourself.
• Initials."JPW Accountants" is easy to say but hard to remember and easy to confuse with other firms. Initials work best for a firm that is already known by them.
• Web address. Check that a clean .co.uk or .com is free, ideally without hyphens. For a UK practice, a .co.uk is common and signals a UK business. If only a hyphenated or very long version is free, treat it as a warning that the name is crowded.
• Social handles. Check LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram for the same or a close name. You want one handle that matches across them all.

Run these checks before you buy anything. A domain costs a few pounds; a name you have printed on signs and stationery costs far more to undo.

Your professional body's rules

Your professional body has rules on practice names, and they go further than company law. Read your own body's guidance before you shortlist, not after. Here is what the two pieces of guidance we read say.

ICAEW

ICAEW's helpsheet on practice names and letterheads, last updated on 24 January 2022, says a practice name must comply with legal requirements, including Part 41 of the Companies Act 2006 on business names, and be consistent with the dignity of the profession. It should not be misleading or imply superiority. Its specific points:

• Structure words must be true.A sole practitioner should not call the practice "& Partner(s)" or "Limited".
• "Associates" should only be used if formal arrangements were agreed with two or more consultants or firms.
• "& Co" is traditionally acceptable.
• "Chartered Accountant(s)"is restricted and cannot be used in a firm's name. Member firms may not register domain names or trade marks including "Chartered Accountants", "ACA" or "FCA", and ICAEW members should not use "CA", which is registered by ICAS.
• Trading names are allowedbut must not mislead. ICAEW recommends stating that a trading name is being used, for example "XYZ is the trading name of ABC".
• Partnership names.If the name is anything other than the partners' names, the partners' names must also be shown on the letterhead, with an exception for partnerships of more than 20.

ICAEW's Advisory Services also offer a free and confidential approval service: email your draft name and letterhead and they will advise whether it satisfies ICAEW and other requirements. If you are an ICAEW member, use it before you commit.

AAT

AAT's marketing and promoting your business guidance says a member may practise under whatever name it sees fit, as long as the name is not prohibited and does not mislead the public. Beyond the examples in the section above, it says a name should not:

• be that of a company that went into liquidation or was dissolved, or so similar that it suggests an association with it;
• risk being confused with another organisation or brand, even if you could lay justifiable claim to the name;
• include AAT designations or letters such as AATQB, MAAT or FMAAT;
• use "chartered", "chartered accountants" or "audit" if the member or business is not authorised to.

The same guidance says a sole practitioner can trade under their own name or a different business name. If it is not their own name, they must include their own name and the business address on all letterheads and stationery.

If you belong to ACCA, ICB, CIOT, ATT or another body, check your own body's code as well. We have not summarised their naming rules here.

Companies House and trade mark checks

If you are incorporating, the company name must also pass Companies House's rules. Do these checks on every name on your shortlist; they take minutes.

• Not the same as an existing company. GOV.UK's guide to choosing a company namesays your name cannot be the same as another registered company's name. Names that differ only by certain punctuation, certain special characters or a word commonly used in UK company names count as the same. Its example: "Hands UK Ltd" and "Hand's Ltd" are the same as "Hands Ltd".
• Not "too like" another.You may have to change your name if someone complains and Companies House agrees it is too like a name registered before yours. GOV.UK's example is "Easy Electrics For You Ltd" and "EZ Electrix 4U Ltd".
• No sensitive words without permission. Companies House keeps a list of sensitive words and expressionsthat need prior approval. It includes "Chartered", "Chartered Accountant" and "Chartered Certified Accountant", and for these the list asks for a letter or email of authorisation from the relevant professional body. It also includes "Accredited" and "Association".
• Ends in Limited or Ltd.A private limited company's name must usually end in "Limited" or "Ltd".

Use the free Companies House company name availability checker to test each name, and search the register for near matches too, not just exact ones.

Sole traders have lighter rules but are not exempt. GOV.UK's page on sole trader business namessays a sole trader's name must not include "Limited", "Ltd", "LLP" or "plc", must not be offensive, and must not be too similar to another company's trade mark. The owner's name must appear with the business name on official paperwork such as invoices and letters.

Whatever your structure, run each name through the UK trade mark search. GOV.UK warns that a company or business name too similar to another company's trade mark may have to change if someone complains. Once you have the name, the details your website must show are covered in our guide to what an accountant's website needs.

How to shortlist and test a name

Generate plenty of options, cut hard, then let real people choose between the last two or three. A week is usually enough.

• Write 20 to 30 candidates. Mix the four styles. Use your surname, your area, the clients you serve, and words that describe how you work.
• Cut to five using the four jobs a name must do. Remove anything that misdescribes your services or would not fit in ten years.
• Run the checkson those five: your body's rules, Companies House, the trade mark search, the web address and social handles. Expect to lose two or three here.
• Test the survivors on clients. Ask five existing clients or contacts which name they would remember, which sounds most trustworthy, and what each suggests the firm does. Say the names rather than showing them, which copies how referrals actually happen.
• Search each one in Google and on LinkedIn with your town. If another firm nearby comes up for something close, people will mix you up.
• Sleep on it, then decide. Pick the name that does all four jobs, not the one you like most on paper.

Once you have chosen, secure everything on the same day: the company name if you are incorporating, the web address and the social handles. If your body asks to be told the practice name, tell it before you print anything. For the rest of the set-up, see our guide to starting an accounting firm.

A new name is unknown to everyone, so the first months are about getting it seen. A LinkedIn page that posts regularly makes a new firm look established and gives people who hear your name something to find. If you have no time for that, Pillr is built for accountancy firms: it reads your website, drafts a month of posts in the firm's voice, and schedules them to LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram once a partner has approved each one.

If you already have a name

Most established firms should keep their name. Clients, referrers and search engines already know it, and a rename resets some of that. Only change it if the name is causing a real problem.

• Keep it if clients find and remember you, the name is accurate and nobody confuses you with another firm. If it feels dated, a new logo and website usually fix that.
• Tweak itif the name is fine but unclear. Adding a descriptor ("Hughes" becomes "Hughes Accountants") or dropping a word that no longer fits is a small change that keeps what people know.
• Renameif the name misdescribes what you do, implies a structure you no longer have (a sole practitioner still trading as "& Partners", for example), is regularly confused with another firm, or belongs to a founder who has left and whose name now causes questions.

If you rename, run every check in this guide on the new name, as you would for a new firm. A limited company's registered name sits on the Companies House register, so a new one must pass the same company name rules. Then plan the switch: tell clients directly before anything changes, redirect the old web address to the new one, update your stationery, email signatures, Google Business Profile and social profiles in the same week, and say "formerly [old name]" for a while so people can connect the two. Check what your professional body needs to be told.

A rename is also a reason to talk to clients. A short post explaining the new name, and what has not changed, will reassure clients and gets the new name seen by their contacts. Our guide on how to get clients as an accountant covers how to turn that attention into enquiries.

A checklist before you commit

Put your final choice through these questions. Every "no" is a reason to go back to your shortlist.

• Would a stranger guess from the name what your firm does?
• Does every word describe your firm accurately today, including its structure?
• Can someone spell it after hearing it once on the phone?
• Will it still fit if you add partners, services or offices?
• Have you read your own professional body's naming rules, and does it pass them?
• Is it free of "Chartered" and other sensitive words you are not authorised to use?
• If incorporating, did the Companies House name checker find no same or near match?
• Did the UK trade mark search find nothing close in a related field?
• Is a clean web address free, and the same handle on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram?
• Did clients you tested it on remember it and know what it meant?

When the name is settled, paste your website address on the Pillr home page to see the posts it would draft for your new firm, or look at plans and pricing.

This guide is general information, not legal advice or advice on your own circumstances. Rules change, so check each linked source, and ask your professional body or a solicitor if you are unsure whether a name is allowed.

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