File Companies House accounts early to avoid penalties

If you are due to file accounts with Companies House, use the online services where possible and allow plenty of time before your deadline.

File online before your deadline. Companies House will send you an email to confirm that they have received your accounts. They will send you another email when they have registered your accounts.

If you’re a small company, you cannot file abbreviated accounts anymore. Find out your accounts filing options for small companies. You’ll still need to file accounts if your company is dormant.

Companies House online services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – and there are inbuilt checks to help you avoid mistakes.

To file online, you will need your company authentication code. If you need to request a new code, you should allow up to 5 days for this to arrive at the company’s registered office.

Companies House advise that you should only send paper accounts if your company cannot file online. Accounts filed on paper need to be manually checked. Companies House can only check them during office opening hours, and they can take over a week to process.

If you need to file your accounts on paper, you should send them to Companies House well before the deadline. This will give you plenty of time to correct your accounts and resend them if they are rejected. You should also consider using a guaranteed next day delivery and note any factors which may make it difficult for a carrier to deliver on time. Companies House cannot accept postal delays as a reason to appeal a late filing penalty.

See: Filing your Companies House information online – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If you require help or advice filing your accounts then please get in touch with our expert team today.