Follow up a new director's appointment

When a director is appointed, the appointment has to be filed with Companies House, and the filing needs the 11-character personal code the director received when they verified their identity. The code is theirs, not the company's, so it usually means an email and a wait. This workflow sends that email the moment the appointment is recorded, holds until the director replies, and then puts the filing in front of you. Workflows must be switched on for your organisation.

IQ Entities already raises the filing task when you record the appointment (see Appoint a director). The workflow collects what that filing needs.

Build it

1. Choose New workflow, then Build it yourself, and name it, such as "New director: collect the personal code".

2. Under When should it run?, choose When something changes in IQ Entities, and under Run when, An officer is appointed. Each run is about the company and the person appointed. Choose Done.

   

3. Add a Request information step. Write the message the director will read: who you are, that the code is needed to file their appointment, and what to send if they have not verified yet. Under Who is asked, keep The person the run is about. Under What they send back, choose A written answer. Switch on Chase if they don’t reply so they are reminded.

   

4. Add a Create a task step to save the code and file, assigned to the company secretary. Use Insert data to name the director in the title, so the task says whose code it is.

5. Choose Save. On the Review tab, What it does reads it back:

   

What a run looks like

When the next director is appointed, a run starts on its own, emails them and shows Waiting for a reply. Their answer appears on the run; check it and choose Accept and continue, and the task is raised.

Then save the code on the director's page (see Record a director's personal code) and file the appointment from its task (see Report a new director to Companies House).

Tips from practice

• The director needs an email address on their record before the appointment is saved, or the request has nobody to email.
• An officer is appointed also runs when a company secretary is appointed. If the appointment needs no personal code, choose Cancel on that run.
• Ask for one thing per workflow. Proof of address or a service address is easier for the director to answer as a separate request.
• If the director already gave you their code for another company, it is on their record: choose Continue without a reply rather than wait.