Companies House data has been more widely available for 6 years now

About six years ago, company information registry and directory; Companies House made an announcement on its decision to make its provision of all its company information public; giving free access to anyone and everyone that needed or wanted it, with no cost added at all. However, the information given in their announcement was rather limited; as it was shortly detailed. This had the effect of leaving many people at a loss, quite frankly very puzzled and wondering. The questions most pertinent on many minds were; in what format would this free to access information appear in, and just how useful would it be?

Now, before this announcement, there was the existence of files detailing day to day activity, containing data from accounts registered the day before. However these files were large; basically being humongous files in compressed folders that contained files upon files with  insignificant names when opened. [You can view just what we mean in this link  http://download.companieshouse.gov.uk/en_accountsdata.html ].

The deal with all this (or what this meant) is that except if you are in possession of software capable of managing and searching the data in the files, it is not possible to determine which files are which, and which have the exact data on the organization you are investigating.

By extension this just means the files are a waste of time for many of us, considering the fact that they're incomprehensible hence rendered useless. The question that comes to mind when the word 'free access' pops up is if the free access won't be limited, with a need to pay for the features eventually. You usually wonder if this is what free access actually means. Luckily, we've confirmed it's not so. Thankfully

Companies House seemed to have provided an answer to the questions aforementioned, with a new in-development service available on their website http://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/ . This beta service gave people the chance to carry out research on organizations, centering the search by their names or company numbers. With this search you could access a host of details, such as overviews of companies, the companies' past and existing officers, images of vital documents, charges on company mortgage, the company's previous names (if any), as well as insolvency data.

Now, for existing company officers, the beta service allowed you to check which other organizations they are working with. Unfortunately however, this does not extend all the way to all searches as it does not allow searches for directors by name. This is understandable, as this is only a beta service and it is evidently since in the testing stage. However, reports have it that it will be added as a feature in the released and finished version. Other planned features such as this include searches for directors that have been disqualified, a feature for monitoring a company's activities, the availability of company names (if you're searching for a company name to use), a list of companies that have been dissolved or liquidated, as well as overseas data.

At the time, if you had to use these features and couldn't wait, you would have to make use of the pre-existing original software.

Our review upon analysis of this new offering is that it is quite user friendly with little to no hassles on the interface, and more importantly it provides a solution to a great need. Finally, there is an easy to use, free of charge means of gain access to vital information on companies in the UK.

On a larger scale, there are some other features this new service brings. The service provides access to real time updates and information to consumers and technology providers on companies; and is proposed to be available on multiple platforms, so your needs can be satisfied either through the web service platform or the application programming interface (API). The service also boasts that its emergence doesn't just provide information but a sort of monetary and developmental benefit to the UK economy, stating that its arrival facilities a rebate of about £6 million back to public funds, as well as an upheaval of the existing system in the removal of obstacles to the easy accessing and flow of public information about companies in any sector. It is purported to be an "opportunity for people to use this data in new and innovative ways".

The answer to this is no, it does not. At least not necessarily. Take for instance, Company Check, which possesses the option for you to search for directors by name, as well as other features essential for anyone looking to chart, monitor, or find structuring options.  In addition to this they offer access to some organizations in other parts of the continent and access to financial analysis information. It is important to note though, that you can only access these features in one single search for companies one at a time; multi searches that cover various criteria or filtered information are not available. You cannot find companies by multiple characteristics like the amount of money taken as sales transacted in a calendar year, or staff strength, type of industry or sector. You also can not do a side by side comparison or carry out a well informed analysis on peer groups.

Conclusively and with all that has been said, the service is a step in a good direction; one well thought of if you consider the scope of things. It is very suitable and convenient for those whose needs are quite direct and simple. However, despite this conclusion we recommend that you carefully consider what options and  beneficial capacities are available to you before you make the decision to make a subscription to the service or ending your patronage or even move on to something else.

Bio - Adrian is the CEO of Reporting Accounts and a regular contributor to our blog, he also writes for and contributes to a range of high profile financial publications such as the popular Seeking Alpha site, he has more than 25 years experience as a chartered accountant and 12+ years as CEO of various UK technology businesses.