Inform Direct Review: Overview, Features, Pricing & Alternatives in 2025

Too much paperwork slows your company down.

If you’re researching Inform Direct, you’re probably tired of juggling confusing compliance, manual filings, and outdated company secretarial software every month.

Let’s face it—mistakes and missed deadlines keep piling up, which can seriously risk your business’s reputation and cause unwanted stress for you.

That’s why I really dug into how Inform Direct tackles everything from automated document production to full confirmation statement submissions and real-time Companies House sync, so you can finally rely on compliant, streamlined workflows from one user-friendly dashboard.

In this review, I’ll cover how Inform Direct helps you stay fully compliant without extra stress or wasted time.

You’ll get a comprehensive Inform Direct review—breaking down the platform’s features, real user experience, pricing, alternatives, and expert tips to help you decide if it’s worth your free trial.

My goal is to give you the features you need to confidently choose the right secretarial solution for your business.

Let’s get started.

Inform Direct Overview

Inform Direct has focused on simplifying company secretarial work since their 2012 founding. Based in Ipswich, UK, their mission is to make complex compliance tasks straightforward and jargon-free for everyone.

What truly sets them apart is their dedicated focus on the needs of UK accountants and SMBs. They don’t try to serve massive, complex enterprises, which keeps their platform refreshingly lean, affordable, and incredibly easy to navigate.

Their late 2024 acquisition by Bright Software Group was a smart strategic move. You’ll see through this Inform Direct review how this positions them for much deeper accounting practice integrations.

Unlike just using the basic Companies House portal, which can be surprisingly confusing for users, Inform Direct provides a far more guided and intuitive experience. You get the distinct feeling it was built by people who actually do this work.

They support an impressive base of over 500,000 UK companies, ranging from individual small businesses to professional accounting firms responsible for managing hundreds of diverse client compliance portfolios.

I find their strategy is clearly centered on automating tedious compliance to remove critical friction for professional users. This directly addresses your need for greater efficiency when managing growing client lists and tight deadlines.

Now, let’s examine their capabilities.

Inform Direct Features

Company secretarial tasks still feel overwhelming?

Inform Direct features are designed to streamline compliance and simplify company administration for businesses of all sizes. Here are the five main Inform Direct features that truly make a difference.

1. Company Formations

Struggling with complex company formation paperwork?

Setting up a new company can be a maze of forms and legal requirements. This often leads to delays and potential errors right at the start of your business journey.

Inform Direct’s Company Formations feature makes it incredibly easy to register new entities online, supporting various company types. From my testing, the step-by-step wizard is remarkably intuitive, even for intricate shareholder setups. This feature ensures you get your new business off the ground quickly.

This means you can form your company effortlessly, avoiding the typical headaches and getting straight to business.

2. Confirmation Statements

Dreading that annual confirmation statement chore?

Preparing and submitting confirmation statements can be a time-consuming annual burden. You might worry about missing details or making errors.

This feature automates the preparation and submission of your CS01, syncing directly with Companies House. What I found impressive is how any changes made throughout the year are automatically included, eliminating manual re-entry. It significantly cuts down on compliance time.

The result is you save valuable time and can be confident your annual filings are accurate and submitted promptly.

3. Statutory Registers & Document Production

Manual registers and endless document templates driving you crazy?

Keeping statutory registers up-to-date manually is tedious and prone to errors. Producing compliant documents often means hunting for the right template every time.

Inform Direct automatically maintains all required statutory registers and produces a wide range of documents from compliant templates. This is where Inform Direct shines; changes to company details auto-update the registers, and document generation is a breeze.

So, you get always-accurate registers and professional documents, freeing you from a huge administrative burden.

4. Officer and PSC Management

Is tracking officers and PSCs becoming a compliance nightmare?

Managing changes to company officers and Persons of Significant Control can be complex. You might struggle to ensure all details are consistent with Companies House.

This feature simplifies officer and PSC management, automatically generating and submitting correct forms to Companies House. From my experience, it identifies discrepancies between your records and Companies House, ensuring you resolve inconsistencies quickly.

This means you can easily maintain accurate records and ensure full compliance with regulatory requirements without the stress.

5. Share Management

Handling share allotments and transfers feels overwhelming?

Managing share transactions like allotments, transfers, or reorganizations involves intricate calculations and form filling. It’s easy to make mistakes that impact shareholder records.

Inform Direct provides comprehensive support for all share-related activities, automatically producing necessary forms and updating registers. This feature allows you to create dividend vouchers and branded share certificates effortlessly. What you get instead is a clear, accurate, and compliant share register.

You can confidently manage all share transactions, knowing your records are precise and up-to-date, minimizing administrative risk.

You’ll actually appreciate how these Inform Direct features work together to create a complete, compliant company secretarial solution. It brings together everything you need in one place.

Inform Direct Pricing

Struggling to find transparent software costs?

Inform Direct pricing offers clear Pay As You Go and Subscription models, ensuring you only pay for what you need for company secretarial tasks.

Plan	Price & Features
Pay As You Go (PAYG)	Free for standard features • File Confirmation Statement: £15 • Form a new company: From £9.99 • Dormant company accounts: £25 • Create dividend vouchers: £10 • Strike off application: £9
Subscription (for accountants/frequent users)	Tiered pricing per company/month • First company: £10.00 • Next 2-50 companies: £0.67/company • Unlimited users & transactions • Automated confirmation statements • File dormant/micro-entity accounts

1. Value Assessment

Great pricing transparency here.

From my cost analysis, what impressed me is the dual pricing approach. The PAYG model is perfect for infrequent users, ensuring you only pay for specific transactions. For accountants, the subscription offers substantial savings, covering unlimited transactions for a fixed monthly fee per company.

This means your monthly costs stay predictable as you grow, with clear upgrade paths when you need more functionality.

2. Trial/Demo Options

Smart evaluation approach available.

Inform Direct offers a generous 30-day free trial for professional firms, giving you full access to all features without commitment. What I found valuable is how the trial lets you test complex features like share management and document creation, reducing risk.

This lets you validate ROI and user adoption before spending money, reducing the risk of expensive software mistakes.

3. Plan Comparison

Choosing the right tier matters.

The PAYG option is excellent for individuals or businesses with minimal company secretarial needs. For professional firms or those managing multiple companies, the Subscription plan provides immense value through unlimited access to all pay-to-use transactions.

This tiered approach helps you match pricing to actual usage requirements rather than overpaying for unused capabilities.

My Take: Inform Direct’s pricing strategy is highly flexible, catering to both occasional users and high-volume professionals, making it easy to align costs with your actual usage.

The overall Inform Direct pricing reflects transparent value without hidden surprises for your company needs.

Inform Direct Reviews

What do customers actually think?

This section dives into Inform Direct reviews, analyzing real user feedback to provide a balanced perspective on what actual customers experience with the software.

1. Overall User Satisfaction

Users seem overwhelmingly satisfied.

From my review analysis, Inform Direct maintains exceptionally high ratings across various platforms, reflecting strong user sentiment. What I found in user feedback is how users consistently praise its positive impact on their daily tasks, noting significant time savings and reduced stress in compliance.

This suggests you can expect a highly positive and efficient experience with company secretarial tasks.

2. Common Praise Points

Its ease of use is consistently lauded.

Users repeatedly highlight Inform Direct’s intuitive interface and its ability to simplify complex company secretarial duties. What stands out in customer feedback is how the support team is incredibly helpful and responsive, making complex situations manageable for users.

This means you’ll find it easy to get started and receive excellent assistance when needed.

3. Frequent Complaints

Limited widespread complaints exist.

While specific issues aren’t widely reported, some older discussions hinted at cost concerns for very high-volume users. Review-wise, this pattern suggests core functionality generally meets user expectations exceptionally well, with very few recurring frustrations surfacing in feedback.

These potential concerns appear minor compared to the overall positive user experience documented in reviews.

The overall Inform Direct reviews highlight consistent satisfaction with excellent support, making it a reliable choice.

Best Inform Direct Alternatives

Too many company secretarial choices?

The best Inform Direct alternatives include several strong options, each better suited for different business situations, priorities, and integration needs, offering varied approaches to compliance.

1. Companies House WebFiling

Looking for the no-cost, basic option?

Companies House WebFiling is the official, free government service. If your business has very simple, infrequent filing needs and you’re comfortable navigating a direct government portal, this alternative makes sense. What I found comparing options is that this alternative is best for minimal, direct filings but lacks any advanced features.

Choose this alternative when cost is the sole deciding factor and you require no additional features.

2. CCH Company Secretarial (Wolters Kluwer)

Already using Wolters Kluwer software?

CCH Company Secretarial excels if your accounting firm is deeply integrated into the Wolters Kluwer ecosystem. This alternative provides seamless cross-suite integration for a holistic practice management approach. My competitive analysis shows CCH offers robust integration within its ecosystem, ideal for large firms seeking unified platforms.

Consider this alternative when existing Wolters Kluwer investment is a major factor in your firm’s software strategy.

3. Digita Company Secretarial (Thomson Reuters)

Seeking Thomson Reuters ecosystem synergy?

Digita Company Secretarial is a strong option if your firm utilizes other Thomson Reuters Digita products. This alternative aims for a unified platform for professional compliance and practice management. Alternative-wise, Digita is strong for existing Thomson Reuters users, providing a consistent environment, though it may lack Inform Direct’s focused simplicity.

Choose this option when unifying your accounting practice’s software under the Thomson Reuters umbrella is a priority.

4. Vectis (Formations Direct)

Primarily form companies through Formations Direct?

Vectis provides tightly integrated company secretarial functions, especially if you form companies via Formations Direct, as data automatically syncs. This alternative focuses on streamlined initial data entry and statutory register maintenance. I found that Vectis offers strong integration with company formations, appealing for users prioritizing this workflow.

Your situation calls for Vectis if your core need is automated data entry from your company formation service.

The best Inform Direct alternatives depend on your existing software ecosystem and specific compliance needs rather than just features.

Inform Direct Setup

Is Inform Direct setup easy?

An Inform Direct review reveals a straightforward and rapid implementation process, allowing most businesses to get started quickly with minimal fuss. This section offers practical insights into what you can expect during deployment.

1. Setup Complexity & Timeline

Getting started is surprisingly fast.

Inform Direct setup involves simple online registration and importing existing company data from Companies House using your authentication code. From my implementation analysis, most users are up and running within minutes, rather than enduring lengthy setup phases, making it highly accessible for businesses of all sizes.

You’ll want to prepare your Companies House authentication code to expedite the initial data import and account activation.

2. Technical Requirements & Integration

Minimal technical hurdles await.

As a web-based solution, Inform Direct requires only a standard web browser for access, eliminating the need for software downloads or complex server configurations. What I found about deployment is that it integrates seamlessly with Companies House, automatically syncing data and identifying discrepancies, which saves significant manual effort.

Your IT team will appreciate the low technical overhead; focus mainly on secure internet access and browser compatibility for your users.

3. Training & Change Management

User adoption is refreshingly intuitive.

The platform’s user-friendly interface and logical design minimize the need for extensive training, allowing staff to pick it up quickly. From my analysis, the self-explanatory nature reduces the learning curve significantly, enabling rapid user proficiency without dedicated training sessions for most features.

Invest time in exploring the built-in guides and info pop-ups, and leverage the 1:1 training offered to professional firms for a smooth onboarding.

4. Support & Success Factors

Excellent support smooths any bumps.

Inform Direct’s customer support is consistently praised for being responsive, knowledgeable, and incredibly helpful, often resolving queries in minutes. What I found about deployment is that their proactive support is a critical success factor, especially for navigating any complex client situations or unique compliance needs.

For your implementation to succeed, leverage their support team from the outset; their expertise is invaluable for optimizing your usage and ensuring data accuracy.

Overall, the Inform Direct setup is remarkably swift, providing a stress-free path to compliance management for businesses prioritizing ease of use.

Bottom Line

Is Inform Direct the right fit for you?

This Inform Direct review will help you understand if this company secretarial software aligns with your business needs and compliance requirements in the UK market.

1. Who This Works Best For

Perfect for UK companies and accounting firms.

Inform Direct is ideal for UK-based businesses of all sizes and accounting practices that need efficient management of company secretarial compliance. From my user analysis, businesses managing multiple client portfolios or companies with complex share structures find particular value in its features.

You will achieve significant time savings and ensure accurate, timely submissions if you prioritize compliance automation.

2. Overall Strengths

Unrivaled user-friendliness and reliable compliance.

The software excels by seamlessly integrating with Companies House, automating routine filings, and maintaining accurate statutory registers with exceptional ease of use. From my comprehensive analysis, its intuitive interface simplifies complex compliance tasks making it accessible for non-specialists and experienced professionals alike.

These strengths translate into reduced administrative burden and peace of mind, knowing your compliance is handled efficiently and accurately.

3. Key Limitations

Primarily focuses on UK company secretarial needs.

While highly effective, Inform Direct is specialized for UK company secretarial work and lacks broader governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) functionalities for global enterprises. Based on this review, it’s not suitable for highly specialized global entity management or extensive board portal features beyond UK compliance.

These limitations are trade-offs for its deep specialization; they are not deal-breakers if your primary need is robust UK company secretarial management.

4. Final Recommendation

Inform Direct is strongly recommended.

You should choose this software if you’re a UK business owner or accountant seeking an intuitive, cloud-based solution for Companies House compliance. From my analysis, your success hinges on needing dedicated UK company secretarial automation rather than a broad GRC suite.

My confidence is high for businesses seeking to streamline UK company compliance and reduce administrative overhead.

This Inform Direct review confirms its strong value for UK company secretarial tasks, offering a reliable, user-friendly solution to manage your compliance with confidence.