Companies House accounts go software-only from 1 April 2028: what small companies should do now

Companies House has now put a firm date on one of the biggest practical changes to UK company accounts filing in years. From 1 April 2028, every UK registered company will need to file its annual accounts through commercial software in Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language (iXBRL) format. The change covers companies that file for themselves as well as companies whose accountant or agent files on their behalf.

That date is still more than 18 months away, so this is not a reason to make a rushed software purchase. It is, however, a useful point to review how your bookkeeping, year-end accounts and Companies House filing currently fit together. The businesses with the most work to do are likely to be those that still rely on Companies House WebFiling or paper accounts, or those whose day-to-day bookkeeping software does not feed cleanly into the package used to prepare statutory accounts.

What exactly changes on 1 April 2028?

Companies House says its web and paper-based systems will close for accounts filings from 1 April 2028. Annual accounts will instead need to be submitted using commercial software. Web services will continue for other statutory filings, such as confirmation statements and updates to director details, so the change is specifically about accounts rather than the end of Companies House online services altogether.

Software-only does not necessarily mean buying another subscription yourself

If an accountant already prepares and files your statutory accounts, the new rule does not mean the company director personally has to buy filing software. Companies House says the requirement applies to both self-filers and companies using a professional. The practical question is whether the person responsible for filing has software that supports the type of accounts your company needs to submit.

If you file your own accounts, Companies House recommends identifying the type of accounts you file and checking suitable software before the deadline. Not every package supports every accounts type, so a product that works for a straightforward micro-entity may not support group, audited or specialist package accounts. Companies House maintains a list of software providers, but businesses should still check functionality, pricing, data protection and support directly with the provider.

The profit and loss change matters for small companies and micro-entities

Today, many small companies and micro-entities can file reduced information at Companies House and do not have to deliver a profit and loss account. From 1 April 2028, that changes: both small companies and micro-entities will have to deliver a profit and loss account to Companies House. The government has also confirmed that eligible businesses will be able to opt out of having that profit and loss information published on the public register.

The distinction matters. Filing information with Companies House and making that information visible to the public will not be the same thing for these profit and loss accounts. Companies House, HMRC and law-enforcement bodies will still have access where the company opts out of public publication.

Abridged accounts are also ending

The reforms remove the option to file abridged accounts. Companies House guidance says small companies will instead be required to file full accounts containing a balance sheet and profit and loss account prepared under the small companies accounting regime. If your current annual process depends on an abridged set, this is worth raising with your accountant well before the 2028 filing date.

Five things a small company can do now

1. Write down your current filing route. Are accounts filed through WebFiling, on paper, from accounting software or by an accountant? Knowing the starting point makes the migration task clearer.
2. Ask whether your current software can support Companies House accounts filing in iXBRL for your accounts type. If it cannot today, ask the provider what its roadmap is rather than assuming you need to switch immediately.
3. If an accountant files for you, confirm that their practice is preparing for the 1 April 2028 change and ask whether they expect any changes to the bookkeeping information they need from you.
4. Improve the bookkeeping hand-off. Keep sales, supplier bills, expenses, bank records and reconciliations organised so the year-end accounts process does not depend on rebuilding records from PDFs and spreadsheets.
5. Review the new disclosure requirements before your first affected filing. Small and micro companies should understand the profit and loss filing requirement, the end of abridged accounts and the enhanced audit-exemption statement.

Do not mix up Companies House and HMRC deadlines

A move to software filing does not merge your Companies House accounts deadline with your Corporation Tax obligations. Companies House explicitly warns that the deadlines for filing annual accounts and sending a Company Tax Return to HMRC can be different. The old joint Companies House and HMRC online filing service already closed on 31 March 2026, so businesses should treat statutory accounts filing and Corporation Tax filing as connected processes with separate rules and deadlines.

For most small companies, the best response is gradual preparation rather than panic. Use the next accounting cycle to make sure the books are clean, clarify who will file, and confirm that the software route can produce the required statutory accounts. That leaves 2027 for testing and fixes, rather than discovering a gap when a filing deadline is already close.