2nd December 2022 Posted by - Alexander Accountancy
Running your own company can be exciting but also challenging. Directors have lots of responsibilities including keeping company records up-to-date and making sure they’re filed on time.
All limited companies, whether they trade or not, must deliver annual accounts to Companies House (CH) each year. This includes dormant companies.
If we do not file your accounts for you, then you can use Companies House online services which are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are inbuilt checks to help you avoid mistakes.
It can take as little as 15 minutes from start to finish and you’ll know your accounts have been delivered on time. To file online, you’ll 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.
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 industrial disputes or other factors that 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.
