I run more than one company

1. List every company and its filing dates

Each company has its own duties. GOV.UK says that after the end of its financial year, a private limited company must prepare full ("statutory") annual accounts and a Company Tax Return, for filing with Companies House and HMRC.¹ Every company, including dormant and non-trading companies, must also file a confirmation statement at least once every 12 months.²

Two companies means two sets of accounts, two tax returns and two confirmation statements, each with its own dates. You can find each company's next accounts and confirmation statement dates on its Companies House page.³ Some companies also have VAT returns and payroll of their own.

2. Keep each company separate

Each company needs its own records and, in practice, its own bank account. Paying one company's bills from another's account makes the records harder to keep and harder for an accountant to untangle later.

3. Record money that moves between companies

Money can move between companies for different reasons: one lends to another, one pays costs for both, one charges the other for staff, rent or services. These are intercompany transactions. Each needs recording in both companies' books, with the reason, and the balances need to agree. There can be tax points to consider, such as how charges between companies are priced and whether VAT applies. Ask your accountant before you set up regular charges between companies.

4. Check whether you have a group

It matters who owns what. If you own two companies yourself, each is separate. If one company owns another, the owning company is a parent company.

The Companies Act 2006 says that if a company is a parent company at the end of its financial year, its directors must prepare group accounts as well as the company's own accounts, unless the company is exempt.⁴ One exemption is for a parent company that is subject to the small companies regime, provided the group does not include certain types of company, such as one whose securities are traded on a UK regulated market.⁴ Other exemptions exist. Whether one applies to you is a question for your accountant.

5. Consider one accountant across all of them

This is our judgement. One accountant, or one firm, who sees every company can match the intercompany balances, plan the filing dates together, and spot when a structure may need group accounts or tax advice. If you use different accountants for different companies, make sure each one knows about the others and the money moving between them.

1. Have you worked with clients who run several companies, or a group?
2. Will you reconcile the balances between my companies each year?
3. Does my structure need group accounts, or does an exemption apply?
4. How do you charge for each company?

For how fees can be set, see How accountancy fees work.