Inform Direct

Inform Direct is online company secretarial software for managing UK company records, compliance and share administration. It suits owners, advisers and secretarial teams with UK entities to maintain. Its breadth is appealing, but the 10-company ceiling on the free and Pay as You Go plans, plus transaction charges, calls for a close look as a portfolio grows.

Overview

Inform Direct brings statutory registers, filing reminders, electronic Companies House submissions and share administration into a single browser-based service. It supports UK-incorporated limited companies, public companies, LLPs and certain other company types, but not overseas-incorporated companies or registered overseas entities. That makes it a practical option for UK-focused administration, not a global entity-management system.

The service can prepare dormant company and audit-exempt micro-entity accounts. Subscribers with their own presenter code can also submit iXBRL accounts files. Its API can add and remove companies and retrieve company lists and high-level company details, a useful bridge for organisations connecting company records to external systems.

Key features

Records, filings and shares

Inform Direct maintains statutory registers and tracks filing deadlines, while allowing users to submit confirmation statements and many company changes electronically to Companies House. Shareholder records, share issues and transfers, and share reorganisations cover recurring ownership administration. Together, these capabilities reduce the need to manage core company records and routine filings in separate places.

Documents, access and support

More than 400 generated company secretarial documents include minutes, resolutions, forms and certificates. Multi-user accounts can apply permissions by company and function, and subscribers can use two-step verification. The UK-based support team is reachable by email, telephone, live chat and social media.

Inform Direct says it exchanges data directly with Companies House as an authorised service. It says data is hosted in UK Microsoft Azure data centres, protected with 256-bit SSL/TLS and a minimum of TLS 1.2, with regular UK backups. It also says it is PCI DSS and GDPR compliant and has its security reviewed and tested regularly by external specialists. These controls will matter to teams handling sensitive records, although they do not change the service's UK-only entity coverage.

Pricing

The free plan, Free standard functionality, costs nothing and covers up to 10 companies. Chargeable transactions are paid separately, so it works best for a small portfolio with modest filing activity rather than frequent transactions.

Pay as You Go costs £15, paid once, billed per chargeable transaction, with no subscription commitment and a limit of up to 10 companies. Prices exclude VAT, and some transactions also incur Companies House fees. This keeps ongoing commitment low, but frequent filings can make per-transaction charging less attractive.

Subscription has custom pricing, billed monthly based on the number of companies in the portfolio. It includes unlimited access to chargeable transactions, more than 10 companies and unlimited users; prices exclude VAT. It is the plan to consider for larger portfolios or teams with regular transactions, though the monthly cost will depend on portfolio size.

Platforms

Inform Direct is a browser-based service available 24/7 on the web and does not require a software download. An API is also available for adding and removing companies and retrieving company lists and high-level details.

Who it's for

Inform Direct is a strong fit for UK company owners, advisers and secretarial teams that need statutory registers, filing reminders, share records and a broad set of generated documents in one service. The free tier offers a way to begin with a small portfolio, while the subscription is better suited to portfolios above 10 companies or users who want unlimited access to chargeable transactions. Organisations with overseas entities should look elsewhere.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Registers, deadline tracking, Companies House filing and share administration sit together, covering several routine company-secretarial tasks.
• Pro: More than 400 generated documents and support for dormant and audit-exempt micro-entity accounts extend beyond record keeping alone.
• Pro: The free plan and transaction-based option avoid a subscription commitment for portfolios of up to 10 companies.
• Con: The free and Pay as You Go plans both stop at 10 companies, so growing portfolios must move to a custom-priced subscription.
• Con: Per-transaction charges, VAT and possible Companies House fees make costs less predictable for frequent filers.
• Con: Overseas-incorporated companies and registered overseas entities are outside its supported coverage.

Alternatives

Alethia is worth considering for a smaller entity portfolio: its free plan covers up to five managed entities, while its paid Registry plan is priced at £12,000 billed yearly and commits for 12 months. EntityFlo offers free access for one entity and a Starter plan for up to 25 entities, five users and 25GB storage; its free tier may suit a single-entity user, while its Starter plan gives a defined larger allowance.

Group Vision Web is an alternative with a hosted SaaS option and a broad range of platform support. Computershare BoardWorks may suit teams looking for all modules and unlimited committees, with additional users charged. Diligent Audit, CSC Corptax and GlobalBoards are also alternatives to compare. DiliTrust Entity Management offers custom pricing based on users, selected solutions and customization, which may suit organisations seeking a tailored configuration.

For a wider comparison, browse Legal Entity Management Software.

Verdict

Choose Inform Direct if your portfolio is made up of supported UK entities and you want records, filings, share administration and document generation in one browser-based service. The free tier lowers the barrier to entry, and a subscription removes transaction limits for larger portfolios. Look elsewhere if you need overseas entity coverage or want predictable costs for a small portfolio with frequent chargeable transactions.