Company year-end preparations: time to get ready

As your company year-end date gets closer, there are a number of administrative and financial tasks to start planning for, so it’s a good idea to get yourself organised and ready.

There are several things to check, either on the year-end date or before the end of your company’s financial year. Some tasks are simple administrative processes, while others involve a deeper dive into your accounts. On the whole, this is about getting on top of the planning and making your year-end as smooth as possible.

Why plan your year-end early

The benefits of good year-end planning include:

• A smoother year-end – keeping on top of the company’s bookkeeping and administration means that the processing of your year-end will go more smoothly.
• Better tax planning – reviewing your business performance before the year-end allows you to manage your tax obligations more effectively, improving your tax efficiency and potentially saving money.
• Improved personal wealth planning – as an owner and director, you can structure your own remuneration in the way you prefer. This helps your personal tax position and your wealth planning for the year-end.
• Understanding your reported profit – the timing of genuine discretionary spending can affect the profit you report, which matters if you’re looking for funding or investment.

We’ve split the main year-end tasks for your to-do list into admin, tax and reporting tasks, all aimed at a straightforward year-end process.

Admin tasks

• Make sure that you can put a correct value on the stock you hold in the business and on your current work in progress (WIP).
• Make sure all your sales invoicing is up to date and all jobs for the year have been billed to customers.
• Resolve any customer (and supplier) queries where possible. If it’s practical to do so, write off or provide for any bad or doubtful debts.
• Make sure all the company’s bookkeeping is up to date and that all balance sheet accounts have been reconciled.
• Prepare draft figures at least one month before the end of the year, so that any last interim dividend declarations can be made.
• Keep final statements from all your major suppliers.
• Keep an extra copy of the last invoices for utilities and services, for cost accruals.

Tax tasks

Buying equipment before your year-end

The date you buy an asset can affect which period gets the tax relief. The purchase date is usually the date the contract is signed, or the date payment is due if that is more than 4 months later. Assets bought on hire purchase count from when you start using them. As at October 2026, companies can usually claim:

• the Annual Investment Allowance of up to £1 million a year on most plant and machinery;
• full expensing (100%) on new and unused main-rate plant and machinery, or a 50% first-year allowance on new and unused special-rate items such as integral features;
• a 40% first-year allowance on new and unused main-rate plant and machinery bought on or after 1 January 2026, which can also cover some assets bought for leasing.

Cars don’t qualify for these. Spending that isn’t covered goes into a pool, and from 1 April 2026 the main pool rate is 14% a year (it was 18%). The special rate pool is 6%. Don’t buy things you don’t need just to save tax, and talk to us before you commit. The Budget on 28 October 2026 may change these rules.

Other tax points to check

• Charitable donations must have been paid in full to the charities in question; you can’t just provide for them in the accounts. If you donate a percentage of the company’s profits or sales to charity, estimate the final amount as closely as you can so that the obligation is largely met.
• Tax relief on pension contributions is given for the period in which they are paid, so don’t leave it until after the year-end to pay contributions over.
• Review the remuneration policy for your shareholder directors to make sure you have the right balance between salary, dividends and pension contributions. Our Director Tax Planning service can help.
• Review directors’ loan accounts, particularly where they’re overdrawn and therefore potentially subject to Section 455 charges.

Reported profit and timing

• Timing genuine discretionary spending, such as repairs or marketing, can affect reported profit. Talk to us about the accounting and tax effects first.
• You may want to think about deferring expenditure to improve your overall reported profits. This could mean reducing spending on things like stationery, advertising, research and development, capital expenditure and major repairs and renewals. Although that will result in a higher tax bill, it will also allow a higher reported profit to be disclosed.

Talk to us about preparing for your year-end

Checked on 8 October 2026. The government’s Budget on 28 October 2026 may change some of these rules and rates. Please check with us before acting.

The better prepared you are, the easier your year-end will be. So there’s real value in running through the checklist above and getting your finances ready for the close of the current year.

We can help you get your numbers in order and advise you on anything where you need help or have questions. See our Corporation Tax Planning and Director Tax Planning services, or get in touch.