Moving towards becoming a 100% digital organisation
Companies House aims to become a 100% digital organisation.
Don’t get left behind, file online
Save your company time and money. Over 80% of companies have already seen the benefits, and file their documents digitally with us. Don’t get left behind by your competitors.
Our aim is to become as close as possible to a 100% digital organisation by the end of 2018/19. For some key transactions, such as annual returns and incorporations, 99% were submitted digitally.
Save money by filing your documents digitally. It’s quick and easy to set up.
Benefits of online filing
The fees associated with some documents are lower when filing online compared to paper. For example, an annual return costs £13 when filed online, but £40 when filed by paper.
Online filing also features built-in checks to help you avoid errors, and the possibility of rejection. When we receive a document filed online, we’ll send an acknowledgement almost immediately.
We’ll also send a confirmation once your document’s been accepted. If your document’s rejected, you can correct and resubmit it.
WebFiling users also get access to additional services, including:
- email reminders – a free and effective way to be reminded when your company accounts and annual returns are due for filing
- protected online filing (called ‘PROOF’) – prevents attempts to change your registered office address or directors without your knowledge
All you need is to register your email address, choose a password and we’ll send your authentication code out to the company’s registered office address.
Registering for online filing
How to register for online filing
Signing in to online filing
How to sign-in for online filing
Benefits of software filing
Using software filing packages lets you send information to us via our XML Gateway.
If you file a lot of documents, you might find this fits into your workflow more easily. The more documents you file, the more beneficial this option is likely to be.
Incorporating a company using software filing costs £13, while doing this by paper costs £40. Same day incorporations are £30 by software filing, and £100 by paper. An annual return costs £13 when filed by software, but £40 when filed by paper.
Filing iXBRL accounts
Companies House can receive and process company accounts produced in iXBRL format, and more software package providers are making this available.
Some of the benefits of filing your accounts electronically include:
- no more covering letters
- no postage costs
- faster, more secure delivery with immediate acknowledgement of receipt
- automatic confirmation of acceptance or rejection
- reduced risk of late filing penalties.
Accountants case studies - filing iXBRL accounts
The benefits of filing iXBRL accounts with us.
Most of our online documents are processed within 24 hours. Documents sent by post might take a week or more to process, so it’ll be a while before you find out if they’ve been accepted or rejected.