Year-end is when your company closes the books for the accounting period, prepares statutory accounts, and gets ready for corporation tax. For most UK private limited companies, that means a Companies House filing and a corporation tax return (often called a CT600) for HMRC. The work is not hard in principle. It is easy to leave too late.
This checklist is a practical prep list for owners and the accountants who serve them. It is general information, not regulated tax or legal advice for your specific situation. Anything that needs a professional sign-off should go through a qualified accountant.
YearReady™ by Ask Alfred™ finds what your year-end needs fixing months before the deadline, sorted by what saves the most tax, ready to share with your accountant in one tap. Alfred prepares the pack. A qualified professional signs off anything regulated.
When to start your year-end prep
Do not wait until the filing deadline. Private limited companies usually file accounts with Companies House within nine months of the accounting reference date, and the corporation tax return is usually due within twelve months of the period end. Starting three to six months early gives you time to fix books, clear a director's loan, time capital spend, and avoid rush fees.
A simple rhythm that works for many small companies:
- Six months out: reconcile books to bank, list open questions, flag anything that looks wrong.
- Three months out: lock down unpaid invoices, stock counts, asset lists and director's loan balances.
- One month out: send a clean pack to your accountant, with evidence attached.
- After period end: final adjustments, accounts approval, then filing and tax return on the agreed timetable.
What to prepare before year-end
Think in four piles: money in and out, what you own, what you owe, and the paperwork that proves it. If you can answer those cleanly, your accountant spends time on judgement instead of hunting for missing files.
Documents and numbers to gather
Bank and card statements for the full accounting period, every account the company uses.
Your books export (trial balance, profit and loss, balance sheet, aged debtors and creditors) for the period.
Sales invoices and credit notes, including any still unpaid at period end.
Purchase invoices and bills, including anything received late that belongs in this period.
Payroll summaries, PAYE and National Insurance records, and pension contributions if you run payroll.
VAT returns and workings for the period (if VAT registered), plus any partial exemption notes.
Fixed asset list: what you bought or sold, dates, costs, and any scrap or write-offs.
Loan and finance agreements, including hire purchase, leases and director guarantees.
Director's loan account movements: money taken out, money put back, and the closing balance.
Stock or work-in-progress count if you hold inventory or long jobs across the year end.
Previous accounts and corporation tax computations, so your accountant can see opening balances and brought-forward losses.
Companies House and HMRC correspondence for the period, including any penalties or payment plans.
Reconcile your books to your bank
Before anyone talks about tax, the bank and the books need to tell the same story. Unreconciled transactions are the most common reason year-end takes longer than it should.
- Match every bank and card line to a book entry for the period.
- Clear suspense or "ask my accountant" buckets. Name the supplier or customer properly.
- Confirm opening balances match last year's signed accounts.
- List personal spend that hit a company account, and company spend that hit a personal account.
- Note any transfers between company accounts so they are not double-counted as income.
Ask Alfred™ watches your books and your bank through the year so these gaps show up early, not in a March panic.
Customers, suppliers and cash at year-end
Aged debtors and creditors drive both your balance sheet and your cash story. Your accountant needs a clean list of who owes you, who you owe, and what is genuinely doubtful.
- Export aged receivables and payables as at the period end date.
- Flag invoices you no longer expect to collect, with a short reason.
- Confirm credit notes issued after period end that belong to this period's sales.
- Check supplier statements against your purchase ledger for missing bills.
If cash is tight going into year-end, pair this with a short cash view. Cashwatch™ is built for 13-week forecasting and debtor chasing; year-end prep still needs the aged lists above.
Director's loan account
If the company has paid personal costs, or you have taken money out beyond salary and dividends, you likely have a director's loan account. Leaving an overdrawn balance unresolved can create an expensive tax charge and a messy conversation with your accountant.
- List every personal draw and every repayment in the period.
- Separate salary, dividends, expenses and true loan movements.
- Decide, with your accountant, whether to repay, declare a dividend (if reserves allow), or leave a balance and handle the tax consequences properly.
For a plain-English explainer, see What is a director's loan account.
Assets, stock and capital spend
Big purchases near year-end often change the tax picture. Timing matters. Do not buy something only for a tax line without checking cash and whether the asset is actually for the business.
- Update the fixed asset register: additions, disposals, and assets no longer in use.
- Keep invoices and delivery dates for anything you want treated as capital spend.
- Count stock or work in progress if it is material to your accounts.
- Ask your accountant which reliefs may apply before you commit spend. Alfred can surface candidates; a professional decides.
VAT, payroll and other in-year filings
Year-end accounts sit on top of the filings you already make through the year. Gaps here become adjustments later.
- Confirm every VAT return in the period was submitted, and that the figures match your books.
- Reconcile payroll totals to the profit and loss, including employer National Insurance and pensions.
- Note any CIS, import VAT, or other schemes that apply to your trade.
- Keep evidence for entertainment, travel and home-office costs that often get queried.
Companies House accounts and the confirmation statement
Statutory accounts go to Companies House. Late filing attracts penalties that rise the longer you wait, and repeated lateness can escalate. Your confirmation statement is separate: it confirms company details on the public record and has its own due date.
- Know your accounting reference date and the Companies House filing deadline for this period.
- Agree who prepares, who reviews, and who files (you, your accountant, or both).
- Diary the confirmation statement due date so it does not collide with year-end by accident.
- Check officers, people with significant control, and the registered office are still correct before you file.
Whether you file micro-entity or small company accounts depends on size thresholds and the framework your accountant uses. That choice affects the detail you publish. See Micro-entity versus small company accounts, and ask your accountant which regime you are on before you assume a short-form pack is enough.
Corporation tax return (CT600)
The CT600 is the corporation tax return you send to HMRC for the accounting period. It sits alongside the accounts, not instead of them. Your accountant usually prepares the computations, the return, and any payment timetable.
- Confirm the accounting period dates match Companies House and HMRC.
- Provide brought-forward losses, capital allowance pools, and R&D or other claim history if relevant.
- Agree who submits the return and when corporation tax is due to be paid.
- Keep the signed accounts, computations and submission receipt together in one place.
Alfred can help assemble the pack and flag issues early. Filing and tax positions that need a professional remain with a qualified person who signs them off.
Hand the pack to your accountant
A good year-end handoff is boring on purpose: one folder, clear labels, no mystery tabs.
One index page listing every file and what period it covers.
Reconciled books and bank, with a short note on anything still open.
Aged debtors and creditors as at period end.
Director's loan summary and how you propose to clear it.
Asset and stock schedules, with invoices for additions.
Questions list: anything you are unsure about, written down once.
If you use YearReady™, the findings pack is built to share in one tap so your accountant starts from ranked issues, not a blank inbox.
Want a tick-box version you can print or save as a PDF? Use the printable UK year-end accounts checklist.
Quick year-end checklist (print or copy)
- Diary Companies House and corporation tax deadlines for this period.
- Reconcile every bank and card account to the books.
- Export trial balance, P&L, balance sheet, aged debtors and creditors.
- Gather sales, purchase, payroll and VAT evidence for the period.
- Update fixed assets, stock and work in progress.
- Summarise the director's loan account and plan the clear-down with your accountant.
- Confirm confirmation statement details are current.
- Send one labelled pack, then book the review call.
- Approve accounts, then file and submit tax on the agreed dates.
- Store the signed pack and submission receipts where you can find them next year.
What to read next
- Printable year-end checklist (print or save as PDF)
- YearReady™: year-end readiness, findings sorted by tax impact, accountant share.
- What is a director's loan account
- Making Tax Digital for Income Tax 2026.
- Ask Alfred™ homepage: Pulse™, Cashwatch™, YearReady™ and Ask in one place.
- All guides
This page is general information for UK small limited companies. Rules, thresholds and deadlines can change, and your facts matter. Nothing here is regulated advice, and nothing regulated should be submitted without a human approval from a qualified professional.