Globacap - Companies House & HMRC Fillings
Role: Senior UX/UI Designer | Stakeholders: CFO, Head of Product, General Counsel, Blockchain Lead, Front-end Lead
Method: Agile - Scrum, Lean UX | Principles: Service Design, GDS| Tools: Adobe XD
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Overview
Business owners spend too much time on admin, often scrambling to collate and verify data to meet important reporting deadlines. In the UK, one important reporting requirement is the Confirmation Statement ‘CS01’, which needs to be submitted to Companies’ House each year within just 14 days of its due date. Companies can be fined up to £5,000 and risk being struck off if they miss this deadline – so it’s important that business owners are prepared and submit accurate Confirmation Statements in a timely way.
How does Globacap’s CS01 filing feature work?
Globacap's CS01 filing feature is available as part of its digital ecosystem, and all it requires from the user is the Companies House Authentication code. This code, which can be easily requested from Companies House, allows Globacap to present the information on the users / company's behalf.
The Process
When a user completes a CS01 via Globacap's software, the user gets real-time information from Companies House, allowing them to perform an automated comparison with the share register on Globacap's platform. The software then combines this with the historical records to ensure any changes are included on the confirmation statement the user is submitting. This creates the CS01 instantaneously, meaning all they have to do is review the data in four easy steps:
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Check the displayed SIC code is correct and add / amend as necessary
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Review any changes to your share capital since your last submission (including providing any prescribed particulars of rights attached to shares issued)
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Detail any shares admitted to trading on a market during the confirmation period (where relevant)
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Review shareholder information
Government Design Principles
As the users who use this feature of Globacap's software (accountants, admin, and compliance teams) would already be familiar with Companies House web filling services and its UX patterns, we set-out to keep the journey as simple as filling out old paper versions with less hassle while being consistent with the service already in place . Thus there were a number key principles in the Government Design System that we wanted to enhance using Globacap's automated process;
Build digital services, not websites
A service is something that helps people to do something. Our job is to uncover user needs, and build the service that meets those needs. Of course much of that will be pages on the web, but we’re not here to build websites. The digital world has to connect to the real world, so we have to think about all aspects of a service, and make sure they add up to something that meets user needs.
Be consistent, not uniform
We should use the same language and the same design patterns wherever possible. This helps people get familiar with our services, but when this isn’t possible we should make sure our approach is consistent.
An example of this principle in action could mean using familiar UX patterns such a tool-tips to display compliance information that user would find in the paper versions of the form keeping the language/copy 100% consistent
Once a filling has been submitted
Once a filling has been submitted, an admin user can check on the status of the submission and a privileged user can take certain actions on the company's behalf such as uploading supporting documents requested from Companies House or HMRC.
Secondary Share Transfers
Transferring ownership of shares can be complex and time-consuming. Globacap offers a digital solution that takes care of the entire front-to-back share transfer process. Investors can sell and transfer shares in a few easy clicks and you get peace of mind that your legal, tax and regulatory requirements are covered.
An easy and secure way for buyers and sellers to agree
Globacaps software allows buyers and sellers to easily agree on the terms of a share transfer. The seller simply needs to complete one simple form with the details of the sale, and invite their buyer to agree electronically. Once agreed, the buyer can transfer funds directly to Globacaps segrgated client money accounts, ready for settlement.
Issuer reviews the transaction
Once the buyer and seller have agreed on their terms, the issuer receives an alert asking to approve or reject the transaction.
This process – which usually involves a lot of emails forth and back, now happens online and in a few clicks.
Settlement
Traditionally it takes time and effort to ensure all steps are completed to ensure a share transfer is legally valid. But with Globacaps software, settlement is completely automated and they even deduct stamp duty if relevant, sending the payment and stock transfer form electronically to HMRC.
HMRC Stock Transfer Forms
Digitising paper forms using Globacaps software, I was tasked with designing the journeys and UI for issuers, sellers and buyers to digitally e-sign documents which were to be automatically sent to HRMC by email via our backend.
After searching the market for a suitable e-signing provider, we went with Hello Sign.
Hello Signs API gave us the capability to use Embedded Signing. Embedded Signing allowed us to have users sign signature requests within Globacaps platform site in an iFrame optimising the UX to allows issuers to review and sign multiple forms quicker with the touch of automatically add the brokers stamp.