Company year-end records: what to prepare for your accountant

Start with the bookkeeping and bank records

Bring the bookkeeping up to the year-end date, then export or provide the ledger, trial balance and reports your accountant requests. Include statements for every company bank account, savings account, payment processor and company card, together with reconciliations that show how each closing balance agrees to the statement.

List transactions that remain unmatched or need explanation. This might include a payment received after year end for an earlier invoice, a supplier bill not yet paid, a duplicate bank feed, or money transferred between accounts. Keep the invoice, receipt, contract or other evidence with the transaction where possible.

Companies House says company accounting records must explain money received and spent, assets, debts, stock and goods bought and sold. Its examples include invoices, contracts, receipts, till records, bank statements and relevant correspondence. Read the official company and accounting records guidance.

Check sales, purchases, payroll and VAT

Make sure sales and purchase records cover the full period. Tell your accountant about credit notes, refunds, disputed invoices, customer balances that may not be collected and supplier bills relating to the year that have not arrived yet. If the company sells through more than one channel, explain how platform reports, payment settlements and bank receipts have been recorded so the same sale is not counted twice.

If the company is VAT registered, provide the VAT returns for the period, the VAT account, supporting sales and purchase records, and details of any adjustments or items still being checked. HMRC requires VAT records for transactions and invoices, with additional digital records for businesses within Making Tax Digital rules. Check HMRC’s VAT record guidance.

For a company with employees, include payroll reports, year-end payroll information, pension records where relevant, and details of amounts due to or from HMRC.

Gather details of assets, stock and work in progress

Provide an up-to-date list of equipment, vehicles and other significant assets bought, sold, scrapped or taken out of use during the year. Include invoices, sale documents and the date each item was first used by the company. Do not decide the tax treatment yourself; the records help your accountant assess how each item should appear in the accounts and tax computation.

If the company holds stock, provide the year-end count and explain how it was valued. Keep the count sheets and note damaged, obsolete or slow-moving items. A company that performs work over several months should also identify jobs that were incomplete at year end and the costs or customer payments relating to them. Ask your accountant what detail they need for work in progress.

Explain director balances, loans and unusual items

Reconcile the director’s loan account and provide details of money the director paid into or took out of the company, personal costs paid by the company, and company costs paid personally. Include expense claims and evidence. If there were dividends, share changes, new borrowing, grants, asset finance or transactions with a connected business, flag them and provide the relevant paperwork.

Do not try to make an unclear balance fit. If a transaction has been coded to a temporary or suspense account, describe what you know and provide the underlying documents. Tell your accountant about anything that changed after the year end if it may affect the accounts, such as a major customer going into administration or a significant asset being sold.

Send context with the records

A short handover note can answer questions that reports alone do not. Include the year-end date, the software and accounts covered, changes in how the company trades, new bank or payment accounts, and a list of missing documents or unresolved items. Say who can answer follow-up questions and whether any records are held in another system.

Use a secure method agreed with your accountant, especially for payroll and personal information. Keep the original records in the company’s own files. Companies House says companies generally need to keep accounting records for six years from the end of the financial year they relate to, with longer periods applying in some circumstances. See the record-keeping rules.

Annual accounts and a Company Tax Return are prepared after the company’s financial year ends. The applicable filing and payment dates depend on the company’s periods, so check them separately rather than relying on a generic checklist. GOV.UK explains company accounts and tax returns.

Swift's Annual Accounts and Corporation Tax service explains the work that can be included and the information needed. Agree the records, responsibilities and filing timetable before the handover.