VW Taxation Ltd
Companies House Accountants
Companies House Accounting Services
In the business of accounting, annual assessments or statutory accounts, are regularly needed to gauge how well a company has performed within a financial year. Although navigating the phrases and business jargon associated with this system can be tedious and overwhelming at first, the yearly statements actually provide a valuable insight into the progress of your company.
Furthermore, every limited company must prepare and submit these reports both to Companies House and HMRC. Therefore, company accounts need to be meticulous and accurate, with all the required information checked and verified to ensure accuracy for a companies progress throughout a financial year.
In this guide, we are going to explore the topic of company accounts in detail to provide you with a basic overview of this required business protocol. Additionally, we will also explain what Companies House accountants do to make the process easier for limited company owners.
Read on to learn more about this process and to have a clearer understanding of your companies annual performance.
What Are Company Accounts?
Company accounts are annual financial documents that each company (with the exception of unlimited companies)–must fill out and submit to HMRC as well as Companies House along with a companies tax return (form CT600). Company accounts have been required since the nineteenth century, with parliamentary modifications during the Thatcher ministry (1985) and the Blair ministry (2006), being the most recent administrations to overhaul the requirements.
Essentially, Companies House uses the information provided by a company to inform the public of a company’s operations and to also examine and oversee the services performed by a company throughout its financial year. HMRC in conjunction with Companies House requires the following documents to be submitted by a company:
- Balance Sheet. This document is basically the overall health and functioning of your company at the time the account is gathered. Assets, liabilities, and any and all shareholder information is tabulated into this document.
- Profit and Loss Statement. This document is much more comprehensive than the balance sheet, which is more of a quick view of the company annual accounts as an overview. The profit and loss account goes into much more detail of turnovers, and costs of sales throughout the year.
- Cash Flow Statement. This document exists to provide regulation and analysis of the flow of revenue both in and out of a company throughout the year. Whereas the profit and loss account simply records each transaction, the cash flow statement is more of a security check to validate that the cash was properly handled and received accordingly.
Can I Do My Own Limited Company Accounts?
If you choose, you can certainly calculate and submit your own annual accounts for your company. All companies must submit the annual accounts to both Companies House and the company tax return to HMRC.
To file with Companies House, you must register online and receive a companies house login identifier to use the system. Companies House webcheck software is highly secured due to the sensitive information submitted, therefore, you will need to remember your Companies House login information.
You will also need to file the company tax return with HMRC, which has to be submitted using specialist software.
Since you have chosen to operate as a CIS limited company, you need to get a tax specialist to go over the protocols of operating as a limited company, which are very different from CIS procedures as a subcontractor. A tax specialist will make sure you get the best possible tax return for your company based on the protocols required by HMRC and the possible deductions and benefits you can get for operating as a limited company.
When it comes to doing your own accounting for Companies House, accounts must be thoroughly correct with all of the qualifying information about your business productivity throughout the year. This will be very time-consuming and require a strict dedication to following all guidelines laid out by both Companies House and HMRC.
Accounts must be filed with both organisations, which is another great benefit of hiring a Companies House accountant. An accountant will not only perform the correct assessments, but they will also file accounts to Companies House and HMRC, saving you the hassle of navigating the process for two organisations.
Your balance sheet and profit and loss statements will need to be thoroughly reviewed and compared to the data verifying the transactions. Although you can certainly opt to do the process on your own, an accountant can provide expert advice along with completing the tasks for you.
Can You View Company Accounts?
A controversial aspect of accounts with Companies House is that a business is completely transparent to the general public wishing to view the accounts. The services provided by Companies House are essential for transparency, yet it is a bit of an intrusion for the company at the same time.
Accounts with Companies House are available to view on their website. Simply log in and look up your company to the see the accounts with Companies House, which have been reviewed and made part of the public record.
Who Can File Company Accounts?
Anybody can file their account summaries granted they include the balance sheet, profit and loss statement, and cash flow statement for their business. The business owner can choose to file the documents themselves or, they can use the services of an accountant to handle the process.
You can have an accountant login to the required systems to file for you or, you can take the accounts created by an accountant and file them online yourself. Whoever you choose to file your accounts, be sure you trust them with the information to protect your business.
Should I Ask an Accountant to Compile My Accounts?
Hiring an accountant is a great decision. This decision will ensure that your business is in expert hands every step of the process. An accountant that specialises in accounts to Companies House is capable of ensuring that all required reporting regulations are met during the assessment process and later the submission process.
When Do I Need to File My Company Accounts?
You will typically need to have the account summaries filed with HMRC within nine months of the financial year end, so a company with a year end date of 31st December, would need to file by 30th September of the following year.
For Companies House, you will have nine months from the end of year reporting date to file. So not later than 30 September from the traditional 31 December assessment.
How Can I File My Company Accounts?
As previously mentioned, you can file with both HMRC and Companies House directly on their respective websites. You will need to create online accounts with both departments.
You can also calculate the documents on paper and submit them by mail. Filing online is certainly the quickest option, as mail will usually take much longer to process, which runs the risk of accumulating possible penalties for late filing.
What Are the Penalties for Filing Late?
The penalties for filing late are mostly the same as general tax returns with HMRC. If you are less than three months late, you will have to pay a penalty of £100 to HMRC. If you are three months late and up to a year, you will have to pay £200.
If you are over one year late filing with HMRC, you will have to pay a penalty of 20% of the tax that is owed. Hiring an accountant is also another great way to ensure that you never miss any of the required deadlines.
In addition to the HMRC late filing penalties, Companies House also charge penalties for the late filing of accounts.
Get Help From Us With Your Company Accounts
So, the process of filing your company’s accounts can be a bit daunting and complex. Running a business is already a monumental undertaking, therefore, allowing a tax and accounting specialist to oversee your accounts is a great way to relieve some of the work that comes with the process.
VW Taxation strives to make the accounting process as easy and streamlined as possible, that way you can focus on your business and not be burdened with the hassle of documenting and submitting your yearly accounts.
FREE no-obligation quote:
Contact us today to receive a free, no-obligation quote for the handling and submission of your accounts. Our accountants are expertly trained in providing excellent service for a wide variety of taxation and accounting needs.
Let us handle the requirements of keeping track of the financial aspect of your business, that way, you can concentrate on what truly matters, which is the successful operation of your business.
