Year-end accounts, prepared and filed on time
We prepare your statutory accounts and corporation tax return, file them with Companies House and HMRC, and explain what the numbers mean for you.
Every limited company prepares annual accounts. A private company files them at Companies House within nine months of its year end, and its corporation tax return is due within twelve months. Most companies pay their corporation tax nine months and one day after the year end.
We take care of all of it. Just as important, we sit down with you to go through the results and look at the year ahead, while there is still time to plan for it.
- 1We agree a fee and a timetable
- 2You send us your records, or we use the books we keep for you
- 3We prepare draft accounts and the tax computation
- 4We go through them with you
- 5You approve them
- 6We file with Companies House and HMRC
- 7We plan the year ahead with you
Who benefits, and how
Year-end accounts are a legal requirement, but they are also the most complete picture you get of your business each year. Prepared well and explained properly, they are useful to far more people than Companies House.
Owners and directors
- Your legal duties as a director met on time, with no late filing penalties and no awkward letters from Companies House or HMRC.
- A corporation tax bill you know about months before it is due, so you can plan the cash to pay it.
- A clear view of what the company made, what it owns and what it owes, explained in a meeting rather than left in a PDF.
- The figures you need to decide how much to take out of the business, and in what form, in the most tax-efficient way.
Lenders, investors and buyers
- Banks and asset finance providers ask for your latest accounts before they lend, and often every year after.
- Investors and buyers judge your business on its filed accounts first. Clean, consistent accounts make due diligence quicker.
- Suppliers, credit insurers and larger customers check your accounts on the public register before giving you credit or a contract.
The company's own planning
- Year-on-year comparisons show which parts of the business are growing and which are costing you.
- Accurate profit figures are the starting point for tax planning, from pension contributions to the timing of investment.
- A reliable balance sheet shows whether the company can afford a new hire, a move or an acquisition.
- Accounts prepared consistently every year make a future sale, refinancing or restructure much simpler.
Which accounts you need
What your company prepares and files depends on its size. A company is micro, small or medium if it meets at least two of the three limits for its size, and its size normally changes only after it crosses the limits in two years in a row. We confirm where you sit every year.
Micro-entity accounts
The simplest statutory accounts, for the smallest companies.
- Suits
- Companies meeting at least two of: turnover of no more than £1 million, a balance sheet total of no more than £500,000, and no more than 10 employees.
- What's filed
- A simplified balance sheet with limited notes. No profit and loss account or directors' report is filed at Companies House today.
- Watch out for
- Not available to some companies, including charities, certain investment and financial holding companies, and parent companies that prepare group accounts.
Small company accounts
Accounts under the small companies regime, with lighter disclosure.
- Suits
- Companies meeting at least two of: turnover of no more than £15 million, a balance sheet total of no more than £7.5 million, and no more than 50 employees.
- What's filed
- At least a balance sheet and notes. The profit and loss account and directors' report can be left off the public filing today, though both are still prepared for the members.
- Watch out for
- If the company is part of a group, the group's size and make-up matter too, especially for audit exemption. Usually exempt from audit, unless members holding at least 10% ask for one.
Full accounts (medium and large companies)
Complete statutory accounts, with a strategic report and an audit.
- Suits
- Companies above the small limits. A medium company meets at least two of: turnover of no more than £54 million, a balance sheet total of no more than £27 million, and no more than 250 employees.
- What's filed
- The full accounts, directors' report, strategic report and auditor's report.
- Watch out for
- More disclosure and an audit, so more time is needed. We plan the timetable with your auditor, or run the audit ourselves.
Management accounts during the year
Monthly or quarterly figures, for you rather than for Companies House.
- Suits
- Growing companies, businesses with borrowing, and owners who want to make decisions on current figures.
- What's involved
- A profit and loss account, balance sheet and key figures, prepared from up-to-date books and compared with budget or last year.
- Watch out for
- Only as good as the bookkeeping behind them. They also make the year end quicker, because most of the work is already done.
Size limits are those for financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025. Small and micro limits apply to the company alone, except where it is part of a group.
Deadlines and penalties
A private company's accounts are due at Companies House nine months after its year end. A company's first accounts, if they cover more than twelve months, are due 21 months after incorporation, or three months after the year end if that is later. The company tax return is due twelve months after the end of the accounting period.
Late filing at Companies House brings an automatic penalty on the company, which doubles if the accounts are late in two years in a row. HMRC charges separate penalties for a late tax return, rising the longer it is outstanding. Not filing accounts is also a criminal offence for the directors.
- Companies House, private company: £150 if up to one month late, £375 up to three months, £750 up to six months and £1,500 after that.
- HMRC: £200 the day after the tax return deadline, a further £200 at three months, then 10% of unpaid tax at six months and again at twelve months.
- Corporation tax is usually paid nine months and one day after the year end. Companies with taxable profits over £1.5 million pay in instalments during the year.
Companies House reform: what changes and when
Since 18 November 2025, directors and people with significant control must verify their identity with Companies House. Existing directors confirm theirs as part of the company's next confirmation statement. We can help your directors through it.
Companies House has confirmed that the accounts changes will take effect from 1 April 2028. Accounts will have to be filed using commercial software, and the web and paper routes for accounts will close. Small and micro companies will have to file a profit and loss account, though they will be able to choose not to have it published on the public register, and the option to file abridged accounts will go. Companies claiming audit exemption will have to give a fuller statement confirming they are eligible. The timetable has moved before, so we keep an eye on it and will tell you if it changes again.
What the numbers tell you
Accounts answer more questions than "how much tax do we owe?". When we go through yours, we look at the things that matter for the year ahead.
- Gross margin: whether your pricing keeps up with your costs.
- Cash and working capital: how long customers take to pay, and how much money is tied up in stock or work in progress.
- Distributable reserves: how much the company can legally pay out in dividends.
- Your corporation tax position: the current rates are 19% on profits up to £50,000 and 25% above £250,000, with marginal relief in between. The limits are shared between associated companies.
Questions we’re often asked
Can we change our year end?
Usually, yes. A company can shorten its financial year, or lengthen it to as much as 18 months, though generally only once every five years unless it is lining up with a parent or subsidiary. You can't change it while accounts are overdue. We check the effect on your filing and tax deadlines first.
What if we have already missed a deadline?
Talk to us straight away. The Companies House penalty rises the longer the accounts are late, so filing quickly limits the cost. Where there was a genuine reason, we can help you appeal.
Do we need an audit?
Most small companies don't, unless members holding at least 10% of the shares ask for one or the company is part of a group that is not small. Our audit page explains the rules, and we confirm your position every year.
We use accounting software already. What do you need from us?
Access to the software, your bank statements, and details of anything outside it, such as loans, assets bought and money owed at the year end. If we keep your books for you, we already have most of it.
Rules and limits checked 9 October 2026.
Talk to us about your tax.
A free call with the team. We’ll contact you within 24 hours.