There is often confusion around what records you must keep in your Company, how long you should keep them for and what format they must be kept in. LeeP’s guide can help demystify these questions for you:
- Limited Company Records:
You must keep details of:
- directors, shareholders and company secretaries
- the results of any shareholder votes and resolutions
- promises for the company to repay loans at a specific date in the future (‘debentures’) and who they must be paid back to
- promises the company makes for payments if something goes wrong and it’s the company’s fault (‘indemnities’)
- transactions when someone buys shares in the company
- loans or mortgages secured against the company’s assets
Signs
You must display a sign showing your company name at your registered company address and wherever your business operates. If you’re running your business from home, you don’t need to display a sign there.
2. Invoices – what they must include
You must clearly display the word ‘invoice’ on the document. You must include:
- a unique identification number
- your company name, address and contact information
- the company name and address of the customer you’re invoicing
- a clear description of what you’re charging for
- the date the goods or service were provided (supply date)
- the date of the invoice
- the amount(s) being charged
- VAT amount if applicable
- the total amount owed
- you must include the full company name as it appears on the certificate of incorporation.
- If you decide to put names of your directors on your invoices, you must include the names of all directors.
3. How long to keep my records for – these include receipts, bank statements, copy invoices raised and any journal entries you make
- All Company records must be kept for a period of SIX years from the end of the accounting year end of the Company
- There is no upper limit to how long the records must be kept if Fraud or Willful default is suspected
4. What format can I keep these?
- Receipts, statements etc can all be kept as a hard copy; however, HMRC have now said that they will accept electronic copies of all records
- We recommend you use the cloud storage facility available on programs such as Quickbooks, Xero or Receiptbank but it is an idea to ensure they are backed up on your computer also