Companies House has urged businesses to file accounts early and online to “avoid coronavirus disruption”.
The notice comes ahead of the September deadline, which is typically the busiest month of the year for filing accounts.
According to the regulator, paper documents sent by post could “take longer than usual to process” as the department continues to follow coronavirus guidelines.
Companies House has instead advised businesses to file their accounts online wherever possible, as it will help speed up the process and help companies avoid mistakes.
The online service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It also features “inbuilt checks” to ensure accounts are submitted correctly.
But if this is your first time filing accounts online – or if you need to request a new authentication code – you should allow up to five days for the code to arrive, Companies House has warned.
It means companies should prepare to file their accounts online well ahead of the deadline to avoid any disruption.
Commenting on the filing deadline, Companies House said:” If you need to file your accounts on paper, you should send them to us well before the deadline. This will give you plenty of time to correct your accounts and resend them if they are rejected. You should also consider using a guaranteed next day delivery, but we cannot accept postal delays as an excuse for filing late.
“It’s the directors’ responsibility to file a company’s accounts. You could get a criminal record, a fine and disqualification if you do not deliver your accounts on time.”
Click here to access the online filing service.
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