Businesses.ie helps you find an Irish company, understand its available public record and decide whether you need a more detailed report. Start with the company's legal name or CRO registration number. Search is free; you do not need to buy a report simply to locate a company profile. This guide explains our service from the perspective of a first-time user.
The short version
Search, confirm the legal entity, review the available profile, then choose the next step for your actual question. A paid report organises information; it does not turn a company into an approved supplier or guarantee a transaction.
What Businesses.ie is—and what it is not
We are an independent Irish company-information service operated by Configurix Ltd, company number 808025. Our About page explains the business behind the platform. We present available CRO-sourced information through company search, profiles and research tools, with paid reports for readers who want a consolidated PDF.
Businesses.ie is not the Companies Registration Office and is not affiliated with it. The CRO remains the authoritative source. Its entity-search guidance explains that CORE searches cover companies, limited partnerships and registered business names. Do not assume our company search covers every category of entity held by the official register.
Step 1: search with the most precise identifier you have
A registration number is usually a more precise starting point than a brand name. Copy it from the supplier's contract or other document and compare the resulting legal name with the business you expect. If you have only a name, search that first and inspect plausible matches rather than accepting the first similar-looking result.
A shopfront or website may use a trading name different from its company's legal name. Our legal name versus trading name guide explains the distinction. Ask the business for its exact legal identity if you cannot establish a match. A failed name search is not, by itself, evidence that a business is fraudulent.
Step 2: make sure you have the right company
Open the profile and check the name, registration number, company type, recorded status and registered address where available. These details help distinguish one entity from another. A company's registered office is not necessarily its shop, warehouse or installation address, so a different trading address needs explanation rather than an automatic adverse conclusion.
For a practical example of navigation, the CONFIGURIX LIMITED profile shows the entry for our operator. It is an ownership example, not an independent customer recommendation. When researching another company, perform the same identity comparison against that company's documents.
Step 3: separate a recorded fact from an unanswered question
Available profiles can include officers, filing information and extracted financial data, but coverage varies. An empty section tells you that the information is not available in that view; it does not establish that the company has no directors, has never filed accounts or has no liabilities. Likewise, a recorded normal status is not a guarantee of current solvency.
| Your question | Useful starting point | Follow-up |
|---|---|---|
| Which entity is on the contract? | Name and CRO number | Match the contracting party in writing |
| What information has been filed? | Available profile and filing entries | Read the underlying document when detail matters |
| Can the supplier deliver this project? | Company information plus your specification | Check capability, references and contractual terms separately |
| Do I need official evidence? | The specific certificate or filing required | Use CRO CORE rather than substitute our summary |
Step 4: choose a report only when it suits your task
Our Irish company report service brings identity, available officer information, filing entries and available financial highlights together in a PDF. An individual report costs €14.99. Reports are normally prepared and delivered by email within 10 minutes to 3 hours, rather than promised as an instant complete archive.
This can be useful when you want a dated record for a supplier review or need to discuss the same information with a colleague. If you require an official certificate, specialist credit data or legal advice, those are different products and services. Read our report sources and limitations guide before choosing.
For repeat research: compare the plan with your actual usage
Current monthly subscriptions are Starter at €19 for 5 reports, Pro at €49 for 25 reports and Enterprise at €99 for up to 70 reports. These are monthly report allowances, not unlimited report generation. Compare the live pricing page for annual billing and the exact features of each plan before purchasing.
A repeat researcher should estimate how many different companies they actually need to investigate and what output their team uses. More reports do not automatically improve a decision. A clear research question, a correctly matched company and a recorded follow-up process matter more than accumulating PDFs without reviewing them.
Company owners: keep reminders separate from filing responsibility
Businesses.ie also offers free B1 deadline email reminders at 60, 30 and 7 days before the calculated deadline, without requiring an account. Select the correct company and verify the displayed deadline against the current official record and your adviser's instructions. An email reminder is a convenience, not a submission to the CRO.
Researching your company and managing its legal obligations are separate activities. Use official channels for filing, and do not rely on an email arriving as your only calendar or compliance control. For company-profile corrections, use our contact page and include the page URL, registration number and supporting evidence.
Sources and editorial review
Reviewed by the Businesses.ie Editorial Team on 7 October 2026 against our product pages, pricing configuration and report workflow. This is a guide to our own commercial service, not an independent ranking of providers. See our editorial and data methodology and the CRO's entity-search guidance linked above. For the official register, visit CRO CORE. Prices and features can change; confirm the live offer before checkout.