From 1 April 2027 every UK company must file accounts through software. The web and paper routes are abolished — including for dormant companies.
The cheapest, most universal and least budgeted item on the wall. If your group carries a dozen dormant subsidiaries, this is a dozen filings with no route.
Who it binds
- Every company registered in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. No size exemption. Dormant companies included.
- Also from 1 April 2027: directors must state which audit exemption is claimed and confirm the company qualifies for it.
- Restrictions on shortening an accounting reference period more than once in five years without business justification.
What it actually demands
- Accounts production software capable of filing to Companies House, for every entity in the group.
- Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.
Groups plan this for the trading entities and forget the shells. A dormant subsidiary with no accounting system, no software licence and no owner is the one that misses the deadline, and late filing penalties are per company.
What it means for the estate
Small enough to be a workstream rather than a project — but it needs an owner and an entity list, and the entity list is usually less complete than anyone expects.
Worth doing at the same time as any group-structure or consolidation work rather than as a standalone exercise in March 2027.
Caveat
An iXBRL tagging requirement is widely asserted for this change but I could not confirm it in the primary sources. Treat as unverified until Companies House publishes the technical specification.
Primary sources
Run the exposure check — three minutes, free, and it will tell you which of the other 11 dates catch you as well and in what order they have to be done. Sequencing is most of the cost on these programmes.