By
August 24, 2026
What Accounting Records Must a UK Limited Company Keep?
A UK limited company must keep adequate accounting records showing its financial transactions and financial position. These records are needed to prepare annual accounts, calculate Corporation Tax and meet Companies House and HMRC requirements.
Company directors are responsible for ensuring that appropriate records are maintained, even when an accountant or bookkeeper manages the company's finances.
A UK limited company should maintain records of money received and spent by the business, as well as details of its assets and liabilities.
Important records can include:
The records should be detailed enough to explain the company's transactions and support the figures included in its accounts and tax returns.
Yes. Companies should keep records of their sales and income.
These may include:
These records help establish how much income the company generated during the accounting period.
Yes. You should retain invoices, receipts and other evidence supporting business expenses.
Examples include receipts or invoices for:
Keeping supporting evidence is particularly important when expenses are used in calculating the company's taxable profits.
Yes. Business bank and payment account statements are important accounting records.
They provide evidence of money entering and leaving the company and can be used to reconcile transactions against invoices, receipts and bookkeeping records.
Companies operating multiple bank or currency accounts should maintain appropriate records for each account.
UK companies that receive or send international payments should keep appropriate supporting records.
These may include:
Accurate records are particularly important where transactions need to be converted into sterling for accounting and tax purposes.
VAT-registered companies have additional record-keeping responsibilities.
Depending on the business, VAT records can include:
Businesses within Making Tax Digital requirements must also maintain the required digital records and follow the applicable digital-link rules.
If your UK company employs staff, it must maintain appropriate payroll records.
These can include:
Payroll records should support the information reported to HMRC.
Yes. Companies should maintain appropriate records of assets they own.
These could include:
Records should normally include information such as the purchase price, purchase date and supporting invoice.
Yes. Transactions between a company and its directors should be properly recorded.
For example, records may be needed when:
These transactions can affect the director's loan account and may have accounting and tax consequences.
For Corporation Tax purposes, company records generally need to be retained for at least six years from the end of the accounting period they relate to.
In some circumstances, records may need to be kept for longer, such as where transactions cover more than one accounting period or HMRC has started a compliance check.
Different retention requirements can also apply to particular types of records.
Yes. Accounting records can generally be stored digitally, provided they remain complete, accurate, readable and accessible when required.
Companies increasingly use accounting software and cloud-based systems to store:
Digital records can also make preparing annual accounts considerably easier.
Failing to maintain adequate accounting records can create serious problems.
It may become difficult to:
Failure to meet statutory record-keeping requirements can also result in penalties or other consequences.
The company's directors are ultimately responsible for ensuring adequate accounting records are maintained.
An accountant, bookkeeper or accounting software provider can help manage the records, but responsibility for the company's compliance remains with its directors.
A company should keep adequate records of its income, expenses, assets, liabilities and other financial transactions, together with supporting documents such as invoices and receipts.
For Corporation Tax purposes, records generally need to be kept for at least six years from the end of the relevant accounting period, although longer periods can apply in certain circumstances.
Companies should retain appropriate evidence supporting business expenses, including relevant receipts and invoices.
Yes. Digital record keeping is generally acceptable provided the records remain complete, readable and accessible.
Yes. Bank and payment account statements are important evidence of the company's financial transactions.
The company's directors are responsible for ensuring adequate accounting records are maintained, even when an accountant or bookkeeper is used.
A UK limited company must keep sufficient accounting records to explain its financial transactions and support its annual accounts and tax obligations.
This typically includes sales invoices, purchase invoices, receipts, bank statements, expense records, details of assets and liabilities, and VAT or payroll records where applicable.
Keeping accurate records throughout the year makes it easier to prepare annual accounts, calculate Corporation Tax and comply with Companies House and HMRC requirements.
