Open your warehouse account before you pay

Before a bonded warehouse can record your company as the owner of a cask, your company needs an account there. The warehouse runs its own checks before it opens one, the same as it does for everyone it holds stock for. Until that account exists, a delivery order to you has nowhere to go.

For an individual, an account can open within a few days once the documents are in. For a company it often takes six to eight weeks.

Why company accounts take so long

The warehouse itself is rarely slow. The time goes on rounds of requests, and each round can cost a week or more. These are the snags that come up most often:

• The company has changed its name, and the change-of-name certificate isn't included.
• The bank statement or utility bill is in the old name, or more than three months old.
• No bank statement or utility bill was sent at all.
• A date of birth on the form doesn't match the passport.
• The warehouse's replies land in a junk folder and sit there for a week.

What warehouses usually ask a company for

Each warehouse sets its own list, so ask for theirs first. Expect most of these.

• Your legal name exactly as registered, and any former names
• Your company number and registered office
• Your certificate of incorporation, and change-of-name certificates if you've renamed
• Details of your directors
• Photo ID for whoever signs for the company
• Proof of address dated within the last three months
• A recent bank statement or utility bill in the company's current name

Individuals are usually asked for photo ID, a recent proof of address and where the money is coming from.

Send it once, and send it right

Put the whole pack together before you send anything. Check that every name matches across every document, and that nothing is more than three months old. Add the warehouse's email address to your contacts so their replies reach your inbox.

Your client will need one too

When you sell a cask on, your client becomes the owner, so they need their own account at the same warehouse before you can transfer it to them. Send them the list the day they commit. Our note on why your delivery order names you explains how the transfer to your client works.