11/06/2026
Companies House made an announcement today and I'll be honest, part of it is a relief.
The plan was that small companies were going to have to file full profit and loss accounts. And those accounts were going to be public.
Let that sink in for a second.
Every line of your accounts, there for anyone to look at. Your customers. Your suppliers. Your competitors. Your team. All of them able to see your turnover, your margins, your wage bill.
I've spoken to so many business owners about this and the worry was always the same. It's not that they have anything to hide. It's that running a business is hard enough without your supplier checking your margins before a price chat, or your team doing the maths on the wage bill.
Today that changed. Small companies will still file profit and loss accounts with Companies House from April 2028, but you'll be able to opt out of it being published on the public register.
And here's the important bit. Companies House, HMRC and law enforcement will still see everything. So the accountability is all still there. The only thing that changes is that your private numbers aren't on display to the world. In my opinion that's exactly the right balance.
It's a choice too. If publishing your numbers helps your business, for example with access to finance, you can still do that. That's a conversation worth having, not a box ticking exercise.
The rest of the changes are still coming. Everything filed through software, no more abridged accounts. But it's all been pushed back to April 2028, so there's time and there's no panic needed.
If you're a Valued client, we're already on it and we'll walk you through your options when the full guidance is out. You might also get an email directly from Companies House next week. It's genuine and you don't need to do anything with it.
Any questions, you know where we are.
