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Annual accounts

Annual accounts are the statutory year end accounts a limited company must prepare and file at Companies House, together with the figures that support the corporation tax return. eba prepares them for owner managed companies in Cheshire and across the UK. They sit inside our Core package, which starts at £300 per month plus VAT and is billed monthly by Direct Debit rather than as one bill at the year end.

Included in Core, from £300 per month plus VAT

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What is included

This is the actual work, in the order it happens. Most of it you will never see, which is rather the point.

  • A full review of the year in your bookkeeping

    We go through the ledgers rather than accepting them. Miscoded transactions, missing purchase invoices and a suspense account with a balance in it all get resolved before anything is prepared.

  • Year end adjustments

    Accruals, prepayments, depreciation, stock and work in progress, so the profit shown is the profit you actually made in that year rather than the cash that happened to move.

  • Fixed asset register and capital allowances

    Additions and disposals recorded, the register agreed to the balance sheet, and the capital allowances position calculated so the tax relief on what you bought is claimed in the right year.

  • Director's loan account reconciliation

    We agree what you have taken, split it correctly between salary, dividends and loan, and tell you before the year end if it is heading somewhere that creates a tax charge.

  • Statutory accounts drafted to the right standard

    Prepared under FRS 102 Section 1A or FRS 105 depending on the size of the company, with the notes and disclosures a set of accounts is required to carry.

  • Filing at Companies House

    Filed electronically, on time, in the form your company is entitled to use. Small companies file an abridged or filleted set, so the public record shows less than the full accounts you and HMRC see.

  • The corporation tax computation from the same numbers

    The tax computation is built from the finished accounts rather than assembled separately, which is how the two stay consistent under an HMRC enquiry.

  • A conversation about what the accounts say

    A meeting or a call with your named accountant to go through the result, the tax, the loan account and anything the figures have flagged for next year.

Who this is for

Every limited company registered in England and Wales has to file accounts, whether it trades or not. The question is who prepares them and how much they get out of it.

  • Owner managed limited companies

    The core of what we do. Typically one to four directors, turnover from a few hundred thousand up to around ten million, and no in-house finance function beyond a bookkeeper.

  • First year companies

    A company incorporated in the last eighteen months, where the first accounting period is the awkward one and the first filing deadline is not the one people expect.

  • Companies with a group or a second entity

    A holding company and a trading company, a property company sitting alongside the trade, or a dormant entity that still has to file. Each one needs its own set.

  • Sole traders and partnerships

    No Companies House filing, but you still need year end accounts to support the tax return, and a partnership needs a set that the partners agree on.

If your company needs a statutory audit, that is separate work and a separate registration. We will tell you if you are approaching it and arrange it with a registered auditor rather than quietly ignoring the point.

How it works

The timetable is built backwards from your filing deadline, with the corporation tax payment date treated as the real deadline, because it comes first.

  1. 01

    Records requested, once

    Shortly after your year end we send a single list of what we need. If your bookkeeping is in Xero, most of it is already with us and the list is short.

  2. 02

    Preparation and queries

    We prepare the accounts and send you one consolidated set of queries rather than an email every time something comes up. Most companies have between five and fifteen.

  3. 03

    Draft accounts and draft tax

    You get the draft accounts, the draft corporation tax figure and the date it is payable, all at the same time. Knowing the tax number early is usually the most useful part.

  4. 04

    The meeting

    We go through the result with you. What moved, what the margin did, where the cash went, and what the accounts imply for the year you are already trading in.

  5. 05

    Approval and signing

    You approve the accounts and sign them electronically. The directors are legally responsible for them, so we do not file anything you have not seen and agreed.

  6. 06

    Filing

    Accounts go to Companies House, the return and computation go to HMRC, and you get confirmation of both plus a reminder of what to pay and when.

What it costs

Annual accounts are not sold on their own at eba. They are part of an ongoing package, billed monthly.

Annual accounts are included in Core, which starts at £300 per month plus VAT and is billed monthly by Direct Debit. That price also covers the corporation tax return, Companies House filings, VAT returns and the director's personal tax return. The figure moves with the size and complexity of the company, not with how many times you ring us.

Insights and Partner both include everything in Core, so the accounts are covered there too. What changes higher up the range is what happens between year ends: interim management accounts and check-in meetings in Insights, quarterly management accounts and strategy sessions in Partner.

If you only want one year of accounts prepared, with no ongoing relationship, that is an eba Plus Assist engagement and it is quoted as a fixed fee before anything starts. It is the more expensive way to buy the same work, and we will say so.

Whatever the figure lands at, you agree it in writing before we start, and it does not move without a conversation first.

Core

Compliance handled properly, from £300 per month plus VAT. Annual accounts are included.

More on Core

eba Plus

A one off set of accounts with no ongoing commitment, quoted as a fixed fee.

More on eba Plus

Questions about annual accounts

When are my company accounts due at Companies House?

Nine months after your accounting reference date, for a private limited company. If your year ends on 31 March, the accounts are due by 31 December. A company's first accounts are different: they are due twenty one months after the date of incorporation, which usually gives you longer than nine months from the first year end. The corporation tax payment date is earlier than both, at nine months and one day after the year end, so in practice that is the date to plan around.

What happens if I file my accounts late?

Companies House issues a late filing penalty automatically, without warning, the day after the deadline passes. The amount increases in bands the longer the accounts are outstanding, and it doubles if the company also filed late in the previous year. Appeals are only allowed in genuinely exceptional circumstances, and "the accountant was waiting for records" is not one of them. Persistent late filing can also lead to the company being struck off and the directors being prosecuted, which is the part people underestimate.

Does my company need an audit?

Most owner managed companies do not. Audit exemption depends on the company meeting size conditions based on turnover, balance sheet total and employee numbers, and on nobody with the right to demand one asking for it. Shareholders holding a sufficient minority can require an audit, and some contracts, lenders and industry regulators insist on one regardless of size. Group membership can also remove the exemption. We check your position each year and tell you before it becomes urgent.

How long does it take eba to prepare annual accounts?

Usually two to four weeks from the point we have complete records, and we aim to have the draft with you well inside three months of your year end. The variable is almost never our end. It is how long it takes to get bank statements, the last few purchase invoices and answers to the queries. Clients whose bookkeeping runs in Xero throughout the year are typically finished in a fortnight, because there is nothing to reconstruct.

Can I see less information on the public record?

Yes, if your company qualifies as small or micro. Small companies can file a filleted set at Companies House, which leaves out the profit and loss account and the directors' report, so the public record shows the balance sheet and limited notes. Micro entity accounts show less again. HMRC still receives the full accounts, and so do you and your shareholders. We file the minimum you are entitled to file unless you tell us otherwise, or a lender has asked for more.

All frequently asked questions

The deadlines that apply

These are the statutory dates for a private limited company. We work to internal dates well ahead of them, so a late document at your end does not turn into a penalty.

Nine months after the year end
Accounts must reach Companies House. The clock runs from your accounting reference date, which by default is the last day of the month you incorporated in.
Twenty one months after incorporation
The deadline for a company's first set of accounts, which is longer than the usual nine months and catches people out in both directions.
Nine months and one day after the year end
Corporation tax is payable. This falls before the return is due, so the tax has to be calculated months ahead of the filing deadline.
Twelve months after the year end
The corporation tax return and computation must be filed with HMRC.
Within fourteen days of the review date
The confirmation statement is due at Companies House each year, confirming officers, shareholders, share capital and the registered office.

Companies House issues a late filing penalty automatically the day after the deadline, it increases the longer the accounts are outstanding, and it doubles if you file late two years in a row. There is no discretion in it and appeals rarely succeed.

Where to go next

The services most often bought alongside this one. The packages it sits inside are Core and eba Plus.

Corporation tax

The return and computation built from these accounts.

Bookkeeping and Xero

Where a clean year end actually comes from.

Management accounts

The same numbers, but during the year rather than after it.

See all eight services and what each one costs

Want annual accounts handled properly?

Tell us about the business and we will say honestly what you need, what it costs and whether a cheaper answer would do the job.

Get a quote0333 358 0117