Check company accounts

What the register shows about accounts

• Accounting reference date, meaning the company's financial year end
• The period covered by the last accounts filed
• The due date for the next accounts
• Whether accounts are recorded as overdue
• The type of accounts filed

Account types you will see

Most UK companies file abridged or abbreviated information rather than full financial statements. Micro-entity and small company accounts contain very little detail, often a balance sheet and notes with no profit and loss account. Dormant accounts indicate no significant transactions in the period.

This means the public register frequently will not tell you a company's turnover or profit. That is a limit of the register, not of any particular search service.

• Micro-entity accounts: the smallest companies, minimal balance sheet and notes
• Small company accounts: abridged information, often no profit and loss account
• Dormant accounts: no significant accounting transactions in the period
• Full or group accounts: larger companies, with more complete financial statements
• Audited accounts: where the company does not qualify for audit exemption

How accounting dates work

A company's accounting reference date is set when it is incorporated, usually the last day of the month of the first anniversary, and can be changed by filing. Accounts are then due a set period after each year end, and the register shows the next due date rather than a rolling estimate.

First accounts often cover a period longer than twelve months, which is why an early filing date can look unusual. Where a company changes its year end, the following period may be shorter or longer than a year, and the due date shifts with it.

Overdue accounts

Overdue accounts are worth noting but should be read in context. They can signal difficulty, but they are also commonly caused by a change of accountant, an illness or simple administrative delay.

Persistent lateness is more meaningful than a single late filing, particularly when it appears alongside a strike-off proposal, a change of registered office or the resignation of directors. Read the accounts position together with the filing history and the company status rather than on its own.

What accounts on the register cannot tell you

• Turnover and profit, for most small and micro companies
• Current trading performance, since accounts are historic by the time they are filed
• Cash position today, or whether invoices are being paid on time
• Any credit score, credit limit or creditworthiness assessment

Where accounts information appears on this site

Searching and viewing the company summary is free. Accounts and confirmation statement dates, the type of accounts recorded and the current filing position are included in the optional PDF report, alongside officers, control, charges and a filing history summary.

Free website search compared with the paid PDF report

Searching this site and viewing a company summary is free. The optional PDF report is paid, and what you are paying for is convenience: retrieval, formatting, a dated snapshot and a document you can download and keep. The underlying information is public and is also available directly from Companies House at no charge.

Frequently asked questions

Related pages

• Check Filing HistoryHow to read a UK company's filing history, what the common filing types mean, and what a company's filing pattern does and does not tell you.
• Check Company StatusWhat UK company status values mean, including active, dissolved, liquidation, administration and proposal to strike off, and how to check the status of a company.
• Check Company ChargesWhat registered charges and mortgages on a UK company mean, the difference between outstanding and satisfied charges, and how to check them on the public register.
• UK Company Information ReportSee exactly what the UK Company Information Report contains, how it compares with the free company summary, and when a dated downloadable PDF of register information is worth ordering.
• Sample Company ReportSee the structure of the UK Company Information Report PDF section by section, page by page, so you know exactly what you receive before you order one.
• Company reportsThe optional downloadable PDF report and what it costs.
• Accounts SearchFind a UK company's accounts position at Companies House: accounts type, made-up dates, next due dates and whether filings are overdue, plus what small company accounts do not show.