Once you decide to start running your own business and have spent the time and money to register your company with companies house you need to make sure that you are keeping on top of all of the necessary business tasks as well as complying with all the legal requirements and regulations for record keeping.
You must legally make sure that you are keeping records of a variety of business functions and directors as well as your financial records. Details must be kept on all of the directors, stakeholders and the company secretary as this is information that is held centrally by Companies House. You must keep them know of any changes of details or changes of appointment as soon as you are aware of them. This will usually require you to fill in one form or another. There is also a ‘register of people with significant control’ which must be completed and will hold details on all those people in the business who have 25% or more shares or voting rights.
Randall & Payne Cheltenham Accountants can help with all aspects of the legal creation of a business as well as all of the requirements for record keeping. Is definitely worth contracting the services of Accountants in Cheltenham to ensure that you stay compliant.
The accounting records that you must keep include the obvious copies of sales invoices and any receipts and invoices for expenditure purposes as well as any debts that your business has, stock amounts and stock control audits and an asset register of any items that your business owns. These records can be stored as either paper or electronic versions. If you and your accounting are using some of the cloud-based software options, you can scan and upload copies of your pay files and link this to the relevant transaction on your bank feed and accounting record. This helps you accountant when they are preparing your year-end accounts have everything they need a their finger-tips.
You are by law required to keep all of these business and accounting records for a period of at least six years. There are some situations under which you must keep records for longer than this and these include if you purchase an item for your business that will last longer than six-year period, if HMRC have started a check on your compliance during this time frame and also if the record in question covers more than one accounting year.