Working with Your Accountant — A Monthly, Quarterly & Year-End Checklist
What to send, when, and in what format — so your accountant spends time saving you tax instead of chasing receipts.
Send your accountant clean data on a predictable cadence: a monthly bookkeeping pass, a quarterly review, and a year-end pack. The faster they get clean records, the less you pay and the more time they spend on advice rather than admin.
Monthly (15 minutes)
By the 5th of each month
0/6 · 0%Quarterly (30 minutes with your accountant)
Within 2 weeks of quarter-end
0/6 · 0%Year-end pack (the big one)
Once your accounting year-end passes, your accountant needs a clean handover so they can produce statutory accounts and your Corporation Tax return.
Within 4 weeks of year-end
0/10 · 0%Use cloud software both of you can see, attach receipts to transactions (not in a separate Dropbox), and keep a "notes" document for one-off events. If you must use spreadsheets, send one workbook per year-end with consistent column headers.
Dates UK directors should diary
- Companies House — Confirmation Statement: every 12 months, within 14 days of the anniversary.
- Companies House — annual accounts: 9 months after year-end (first set: 21 months from incorporation).
- HMRC — Corporation Tax payment: 9 months and 1 day after year-end.
- HMRC — CT600 return: 12 months after year-end.
- HMRC — VAT returns: usually quarterly, due 1 month + 7 days after quarter-end.
- HMRC — Self Assessment (directors): 31 January for online filing and any payment due.
Communicating well
- Email a single point of contact, not a generic inbox, for anything time-sensitive.
- Use the subject line: Company name — topic — deadline date.
- Don't bury one question in a wall of text — bullet your questions and answers.
- For anything material (a £20k purchase, an incorporation question, a dividend over £5k), ask in writing — not in Slack.
Frequently asked questions
Related guides
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Information on this page is general guidance for UK small businesses and is not financial, tax or legal advice. Tax rules, allowances and product terms change. Always check current information with HMRC, Companies House or a qualified professional before making decisions.