Companies House has confirmed that major accounts filing reforms will take effect from 1 April 2028, requiring small companies and micro-entities to file profit and loss accounts while moving all UK companies to software-only accounts submission.
The changes are part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 and will reshape routine reporting for directors, accountants, bookkeepers, company secretaries, and software providers. The government had previously delayed the reforms from an earlier 2027 timetable, giving companies one full accounting year plus nine months to prepare.
Small companies and micro-entities will have to file profit and loss accounts with Companies House, although they will be able to opt out of having that information published on the public register. Companies House said details of how the opt-out will work will be confirmed in due course.
The reform also removes the option to file abridged accounts, strengthens the eligibility statement for companies claiming audit exemption, requires all component parts of filed accounts and reports to be submitted together, and reduces how often a company can shorten its accounting reference period.
All companies will have to file annual accounts through commercial software in inline extensible Business Reporting Language, or iXBRL, format. From April 2028, web and paper filing routes will close for accounts submissions, although Companies House has said those systems will remain available for non-accounts filings such as confirmation statements and updates to director details.
The operational burden will be substantial for companies that still rely on manual year-end processes, spreadsheets, paper records, or minimal adviser support. Those businesses will need to adopt compatible software or work with accountants able to file digitally. Practices serving large numbers of owner-managed companies will need to assess client readiness, data quality, pricing, workflow, and onboarding capacity well before the deadline.
The publication opt-out may ease some commercial sensitivity concerns, but it does not remove the obligation to prepare and submit more detailed financial information. Companies House, HMRC, and law enforcement will still have access to profit and loss data where it is filed but not published. That strengthens the link between corporate reporting, tax administration, and economic crime prevention.
The shift is part of a wider effort to make Companies House a more active source of corporate transparency, with better structured data, identity checks, and stronger powers to challenge or reject suspect information.
The same direction is visible in HMRC’s proposals to tighten reporting around director loans and payments to participators, where owner-managed company reporting is attracting closer scrutiny. Companies House reform adds a separate layer by improving the visibility and usability of statutory accounts data.
Small companies will need to prepare earlier and keep cleaner records throughout the year. A year-end scramble will become harder where accounts data needs to be structured, complete, software-compatible, and aligned across multiple filings. Directors who have treated accounts filing as a low-friction administrative exercise may face higher compliance costs and more regular engagement with advisers.
Accountancy practices will face both risk and opportunity. The move to software-only filing could generate advisory demand, implementation work, and recurring compliance revenue. It may also expose capacity constraints if too many clients wait until late 2027 or early 2028 to migrate systems and clean up records.
Software providers now have a clearer runway to compete for micro-entity and small-company users. The market is likely to see heavier competition around low-cost filing tools, accountant dashboards, director-friendly reporting workflows, and bundled compliance services. Integration with tax, payroll, bank feeds, and Companies House filing will become a stronger selling point.
The reforms will be judged on whether companies can comply without excessive friction, whether software products are ready, whether the opt-out is clear, and whether advisers have enough time to move clients onto workable processes.
The April 2028 deadline gives companies time, but not as much as it appears. Businesses that leave the transition until the final filing cycle risk discovering too late that the change is not only about submission format. It alters the data, systems, governance, and disclosure expectations sitting behind routine accounts.
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