{"id":6453,"date":"2025-07-01T11:02:22","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T10:02:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/?p=6453"},"modified":"2025-07-01T10:02:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T10:02:24","slug":"software-only-filing-and-more-disclosures-major-changes-for-small-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/software-only-filing-and-more-disclosures-major-changes-for-small-companies\/","title":{"rendered":"Software-only filing and more disclosures \u2013 Major changes for small companies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you run a limited company, it is important to be aware of some major changes coming to the way company accounts are filed.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>These changes are part of new legislation, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (the Act), and they will affect small companies and micro-entities across the country.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the reforms are already in motion, and others will come into force over the next couple of years.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Accounts filing will go fully digital by April 2027<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>From 1 April 2027, all company accounts will need to be filed using commercial filing software.<\/p>\n<p>Companies House will be closing its current web-based and paper filing routes for accounts submissions.<\/p>\n<p>This means:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You will no longer be able to submit accounts manually or via the Companies House website.<\/li>\n<li>All accounts will need to be filed digitally, using compatible software.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Most businesses already file this way, so in many cases this won\u2019t require a major change.<\/p>\n<p>However, if you currently file your own accounts manually or online without specialist software, you will need to plan ahead.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Simpler accounts options are being phased out<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>From April 2027, the option to file abridged or filleted accounts will be removed.<\/p>\n<p>This is part of a drive to improve transparency and make more company information publicly available.<\/p>\n<p>Here is a summary of what will be required going forward:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Micro-entities will need to file a full balance sheet and profit and loss account<\/li>\n<li>Small companies must file their balance sheet, profit and loss account, directors\u2019 report and (if required) auditor\u2019s report<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Although micro-entities won\u2019t need to prepare a directors\u2019 report, they will no longer be able to exclude the profit and loss account from the version filed at Companies House.<\/p>\n<p>While some business owners may be concerned about commercially sensitive information being made public, these changes are part of a wider effort to tackle economic crime and improve corporate accountability.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>More detail required in the accounts<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>From January 2026, small companies using FRS 102 Section 1A will also be required to include more financial disclosures in their accounts. These cover areas like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Revenue recognition<\/li>\n<li>Leasing<\/li>\n<li>Provisions and contingencies<\/li>\n<li>Tax (both current and deferred)<\/li>\n<li>Related party transactions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Although these are primarily accounting standards changes (separate from the legislation), they will increase the amount of information included in the financial statements, especially for small entities.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Audit exemption \u2013 Additional declaration needed<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The rules on audit exemption are also changing. While more small companies will be able to claim exemption (due to an increase in the thresholds), directors will now need to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>State which exemption they are claiming, and;<\/li>\n<li>Confirm that the company qualifies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This declaration must appear on the face of the balance sheet and is in addition to the existing requirement to confirm that members have not requested an audit.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Changing your accounting year? One time only (almost)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>If your company wants to shorten its accounting reference period, this can now generally only be done once every five years.<\/p>\n<p>If you need to shorten it again within that period, you will have to provide a business reason, and Companies House will decide whether to grant permission.<\/p>\n<p>These changes might seem a way off, but it is worth getting sorted now and to make sure that you will be ready when the new rules kick in.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Not sure what these changes mean for your business and need help picking the right software? Speak to us today for professional support. <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you run a limited company, it is important to be aware of some major changes coming to the way company accounts are filed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6456,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,125],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6453"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6453"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6454,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6453\/revisions\/6454"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}