10 March 2026 · 6 min read · Bruce Thomas
Year-end accounts feel like an event that happens to you. In reality, how smooth they are is decided by what is in place before the date and what you gather in the fortnight after it.
Before the year end
- Review the profit position and discuss any planned purchases with your accountant before the date, not after
- Chase overdue sales invoices — an unpaid invoice is still taxable income
- Check whether pension contributions or bonuses are worth making inside the year
- Count and value stock, and note the basis you used
- Write off genuinely irrecoverable debts before the year end rather than after
At the year-end date
- Take dated bank, credit card and loan statements
- Record stock and work in progress at cost
- List unpaid customer invoices and unpaid supplier bills
- Note the mileage on any business vehicle
- Take a copy of the payroll year-to-date position
In the weeks after
Reconcile every bank account to the closing statement, clear any unidentified transactions while you still remember them, and make sure the director's loan account movements are supported by paperwork.
Then send everything in one go. Accounts prepared from a complete set of records take a fraction of the time of accounts prepared from a trickle of emails over three months — and the fee usually reflects that.
The deadline reality
Company accounts are normally due at Companies House nine months after the year end, and the Corporation Tax payment is due at the same point, with the return itself due at twelve months. Filing early does not bring the payment date forward — but it does tell you the number in advance, which is the whole point.
This article is general guidance for business owners in the UK and does not amount to advice for your particular circumstances. Tax rules change and the right answer depends on your figures — please take specific advice before acting.
