Bookkeeping and annual accounts
Books kept in Xero with a chart of accounts mapped to the parent's, closed every month, and statutory accounts prepared under the UK standard the group needs and filed at Companies House on time.
UK bookkeeping and statutory accounts
A group needs the UK numbers on a fixed day, in its own chart of accounts and currency, with intercompany agreed. Companies House needs a statutory set once a year in a UK format. Running those as two separate exercises is how UK subsidiaries end up late for both.
What you get
- Xero set up to the parent's chart of accounts
- Multi-currency bank feeds
- Monthly close with intercompany reconciled
- Statutory accounts under the right UK standard
- Filed at Companies House within the deadline
- Digital-format accounts for the tax return
What we do
Xero, mapped to the group chart of accounts
Set up so your trial balance drops into the group pack without re-keying. Where the group mandates its own system, we work in that instead.
Bank feeds, reconciled weekly
Across sterling and any currency accounts, with the exchange difference calculated rather than estimated.
Purchase and sales ledger
Invoices processed, suppliers paid on a schedule you set, customers chased on one you approve.
Intercompany agreed monthly
Balances reconciled to the parent's ledger and signed off both sides, so consolidation never throws up a difference at year end.
Month-end close
Accruals, prepayments, depreciation and payroll journals, with the trial balance to the group on the agreed day.
Statutory accounts
Prepared under FRS 102, or FRS 101 where the group reports under IFRS so the numbers agree without a second set of adjustments. Filed within nine months.
A UK subsidiary must keep accounting records that show its position at any time, and must file annual accounts on the public register. The group needs the same figures in its own format for consolidation, usually monthly and usually within a few days of the month end. We run one set of books that does both.
Bookkeeping
- Xero, set up with the parent's account codes mapped so the trial balance drops into the group's reporting pack without re-keying. Where the group already runs a system it wants used, we work in that instead.
- Bank feeds from the UK account and any currency accounts, reconciled weekly.
- Sales and purchase invoices processed in sterling with the currency gain or loss on foreign invoices calculated automatically.
- Intercompany balances agreed with the parent every month, so the two sides never drift apart at year end.
- Month-end close with accruals, prepayments, fixed-asset depreciation and payroll journals, and a trial balance sent to the group on the agreed day.
Annual accounts
UK companies prepare accounts under UK accounting standards. Most subsidiaries use FRS 102, the standard for companies that are not listed. A subsidiary of a group that reports under IFRS can use FRS 101, which follows IFRS recognition rules with fewer disclosures, so the numbers agree with the group's without a second set of adjustments. We prepare the accounts, the directors' report where one is needed, and the notes, and we take the board through them before they are approved.
Accounts are filed at Companies House within nine months of the year end, and 21 months from incorporation for the first set. The same accounts, in the digital format HMRC requires, go in with the corporation tax return. The rules on what small companies must publish are tightening, with profit and loss accounts to be filed by all small companies, and we prepare accounts on the basis of what will be on the public record when they are filed.
Audit
Whether the accounts need an audit depends on the size of the whole group, not just the UK company. Most subsidiaries of established overseas groups need one. It is covered on the audit page, and where an audit is needed the bookkeeping is kept to a standard that keeps the audit short.
What we need from you
- The parent's chart of accounts and reporting calendar
- Which accounting standard the group reports under
- Read access for the group finance team, if they want it, which Xero provides
- The intercompany agreements, so the recurring charges are booked correctly from month one
Common questions
Can our group finance team see the UK books?
Yes. Xero allows named users with read or full access, and the parent's finance team usually has a login from day one.
Do the accounts have to be in sterling?
The statutory accounts are prepared in sterling unless the company's functional currency is something else. The management reporting to the parent can be in whatever currency the group uses.
Which accounting standard should we use?
FRS 102 for most subsidiaries. FRS 101 where the group reports under IFRS and wants the UK numbers to align with it. We recommend one at set-up and explain the difference in what gets published.
What if the UK company has hardly any transactions?
It still needs accounts every year. If it has none at all it can file dormant accounts, which we cover on the dormant subsidiary page.
Related services
Management accounts and group reporting
QuotedA monthly pack in the group's format, on the group's close calendar
Monthly close, the reporting pack in the group's template, budget against actual, intercompany agreed, and the year-end schedules for the group auditors.
Expense management for a UK operation
QuotedA UK expense policy, the system behind it and the VAT it recovers
A UK expenses policy that matches HMRC's rules, an app your people will use, approvals that route to the right person, and the VAT recovered on everything eligible.
Credit control and collections
QuotedGetting UK invoices paid: purchase order to escalation
Invoices raised on time, a chase sequence that starts before the due date, someone making the call in UK hours, and a weekly report so the parent can see the position rather than ask.
Get a fixed quote
Tell us where the parent company is and what the UK operation has to do.
