Company registered: what to collect in your handover pack
Source check: 15 September 2026. Practical preparation guidance for Pakistan. Examples are illustrative; any rate or filing period must match your own transaction.
Ask for evidence of the completed work
A company-registration service may cover name reservation and incorporation but exclude banking, tax profile work, licensing or recurring filings. Read the agreed scope and request a handover against that scope. Avoid judging completion solely by a congratulatory message or a payment receipt.
The SECP incorporation FAQ explains the company’s separate legal status and constitutional documents. It also distinguishes the correspondence address from the registered office and notes specialised businesses that need licensing. Use this September 2025 publication as background and check the current requirements for your particular company.
Request this practical handover pack
| Item | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Incorporation certificate | Correct company name, number and approval date. |
| Memorandum and articles | The approved version, consistent with the intended business and governance. |
| Filed ownership and management details | Names, share allocations and appointments match what was authorised. |
| Tax and other registrations | Evidence of actual status, with applications still pending clearly identified. |
| Access and upcoming tasks | Who controls recovery channels, who can act, and which deadlines remain. |
Example: “included” and “completed” are different
Suppose your package mentions incorporation and tax registration. You receive an incorporation certificate and a screenshot showing a tax application reference. Mark incorporation approved, then verify the tax registration separately. Do not describe an application as approval simply because both services were purchased together.
Likewise, a tax number does not demonstrate that every required sales tax or sector registration exists. Make the list specific to the actual business, where it operates and the supplies it makes. Ask the adviser to identify what is outside the package so there is no unowned task.
Confirm control without circulating passwords
Identify the company’s authorised contact and who monitors official messages. Check the relevant account and recovery arrangements through the official service. Do not store passwords or one-time codes in the handover spreadsheet, and do not leave important correspondence dependent on an unmonitored personal inbox.
Retain application references and document filenames rather than credentials in the handover pack. Any representative’s authority should be appropriate to the role and reviewed when that role ends. An authorised person should approve changes to ownership or company details before submission.
Build the next-actions calendar immediately
List each task, its authority, the triggering event, the applicable due date, the person responsible and the evidence of completion. Include any pending registered-office step, company filing, tax task or activity-specific permission that applies. Get the date from the current requirement for your company, not from a generic “annual compliance” graphic.
Keep a separate accounts setup task for the opening balances and the money actually contributed or spent. A shareholder’s personal payment, share capital and a company expense should not be treated as interchangeable descriptions. Preserve the original documents for the accountant’s classification.
Close the handover with a signed-off list
Mark items received, checked, missing or outside scope. Record the date and who accepted the handover. You can assemble this list yourself; seek a review if names or ownership differ, an approval is missing, access remains with a former agent or no one can identify the next filing obligation.
When to request help
Receive the company, not just its certificate
The completion pack should include incorporation documents, memorandum and articles, share and officer records, registered-office evidence, beneficial-ownership information, tax registrations, portal credentials under company control and all fee receipts. Record the first statutory and tax deadlines rather than assuming incorporation completed the compliance work.
Check that names, CNICs, addresses, share numbers and capital agree across documents. Ask for a list of applications still pending and any undertaking given to a regulator or bank. Transfer recovery email and phone details through secure official processes; a consultant's personal address should not remain the only route into the company's accounts. Directors should sign a handover inventory and store an offline copy.
Tell us the company type, incorporation date, package purchased and which documents or approvals are missing. Start with a short summary. Do not send passwords, PINs or one-time codes. Ask for the scope and professional fee before commissioning work.
Sources
This guide is written against the official and clearly labelled professional references below. Rates, thresholds and portal procedures change between reviews, so open the primary source before relying on a figure.
Questions people also ask
Is the incorporation certificate enough to start any activity?
No. Check the actual activity and any additional tax, sector or local requirements separately.
Should the handover sheet contain account passwords?
No. Record account responsibility and recovery control without exposing passwords, PINs or one-time codes.