How long must a UK company keep its bookkeeping records?

Under UK company and tax law, a private limited company must keep accounting records for at least six years from the end of the last financial year they relate to, or longer if a transaction covers more than one accounting period or HMRC has opened a compliance enquiry.

What is the difference between ongoing bookkeeping and catch-up bookkeeping?

Ongoing bookkeeping handles your current transactions month by month to keep your financial records continuously up to date. Catch-up bookkeeping is a specialized one-off exercise to reconstruct, reconcile, and organize historical transactions for prior accounting periods that were neglected or left incomplete.

Do I need to send physical paper receipts to your London office?

Usually not, as long as the digital copies are complete and legible. You can take photos of receipts via mobile capture apps, forward electronic invoices via email, or upload digital PDF statements directly to your secure cloud accounting portal.

Monthly Cloud Bookkeeping Services for UK Companies

Keep your UK company's records organised and ready for VAT and year-end deadlines with monthly cloud bookkeeping. We reconcile your bank accounts, record business expenses and keep clear digital records in Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent or Zoho Books, so you can see where your business stands.

Ask us about this service

Who it's for

Active UK limited companies and business owners who need their financial transactions processed, categorized, and reconciled on a regular monthly basis without hiring an in-house bookkeeper.

What you provide

Access to your cloud accounting software, automated read-only bank feeds or electronic bank statements, and copies of your sales invoices, supplier bills, and receipts.

How it works

We connect your business accounts to modern cloud accounting software. Each month, our team reconciles bank and payment transactions, matches receipts to expenses, resolves discrepancies, and keeps your purchase and sales ledgers up to date. You receive clear monthly status summaries, and, provided your records reach us complete, your accounts stay ready for VAT returns and year-end statutory filing.

Price

From £75 a month. Our monthly bookkeeping fee is based on your monthly transaction volume, the number of active bank and payment gateway accounts, multi-currency processing needs, and whether you require advanced tracking such as inventory or departmental cost centres.

What is included

Ongoing monthly processing and categorization of sales and expense transactions
Regular bank feed reconciliations across business bank and credit card accounts
Payment gateway reconciliation for digital processors including Stripe, PayPal, and Wise
Matching purchase receipts and supplier bills to corresponding bank payments
Maintenance of sales ledger, purchase ledger, and standard chart of accounts
Monthly management tracking of unpaid customer invoices and overdue bills
Preparation of clean transaction ledgers ready for VAT and year-end reporting

What is not included

Catch-up bookkeeping for overdue prior accounting years (available as a separate service)
Preparation and digital submission of quarterly VAT returns (available as a separate service)
Monthly director or employee payroll runs and RTI reporting (available as a separate service)
Year-end statutory accounts and Corporation Tax CT600 filing (available as a separate service)
Physical receipt collection or on-site manual paper filing at client premises
Direct authorization or execution of commercial payments on behalf of the client

Statutory Duty to Maintain Company Accounting Records

Under Section 386 of the Companies Act 2006, every UK limited company is legally required to keep adequate accounting records. These records must contain day-to-day entries of all money received and spent, details of assets and liabilities, and statements of stock where applicable. Failing to maintain adequate accounting records is an offence under UK company law. Monthly bookkeeping keeps these records up to date as you go, and leaves a clear audit trail if HMRC asks.

Cloud Accounting Platforms and Digital Record Keeping

If your company is VAT-registered, HMRC's Making Tax Digital rules require its VAT records to be kept digitally, and cloud software is the practical way to do that. We work in Xero, QuickBooks Online, FreeAgent and Zoho Books. With live bank feeds and digital receipt capture there is no paper to post, far less manual entry, and you can see your figures in the software whenever you log in.

Frequently asked questions

How long must a UK company keep its bookkeeping records?: Under UK company and tax law, a private limited company must keep accounting records for at least six years from the end of the last financial year they relate to, or longer if a transaction covers more than one accounting period or HMRC has opened a compliance enquiry.
What is the difference between ongoing bookkeeping and catch-up bookkeeping?: Ongoing bookkeeping handles your current transactions month by month to keep your financial records continuously up to date. Catch-up bookkeeping is a specialized one-off exercise to reconstruct, reconcile, and organize historical transactions for prior accounting periods that were neglected or left incomplete.
Do I need to send physical paper receipts to your London office?: Usually not, as long as the digital copies are complete and legible. You can take photos of receipts via mobile capture apps, forward electronic invoices via email, or upload digital PDF statements directly to your secure cloud accounting portal.

Official sources

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Content reviewed by Ibrahem Ali Almahawe MAAT AATQB (AAT licence 1009686) (2026-10-01).