Primarily admin issues: 

• Make sure that you are able to put a correct value to the stock you hold in the business and on your current work in progress (WIP).

• Ensure all your sales invoicing is up to date and all jobs for the year have been billed out to customers.

• Resolve any customer (and supplier) queries, where possible. And, if it’s practical to do so, write off or provide for any bad or doubtful debts.

• Make sure all the company’s bookkeeping is up to date and that all balance sheet accounts have been reconciled.

• Prepare draft figures at least one month before the end of the year so that any last interim dividend declarations can be made.

• Keep year end statements from all your major suppliers.

• Keep a reading and provide it to your utilities to obtain accurate invoices to reflect your energy and water consumption.

Primarily tax-driven:

• Generally, to qualify for tax relief, payment for plant and machinery acquired during the financial year must be due no longer than four months after year-end, otherwise the actual payment date(s) is substituted for the date of acquisition. Meaning your tax relief is deferred. Where the asset is bought on hire purchase, the date on which it is actually brought into use is the relevant date for claiming tax relief. If you have plans to purchase new assets, it may be worth buying equipment a few months earlier than planned – this allows you to then claim the tax deduction. However, don’t buy things you don’t need just to save tax! Remember that the super-deduction falls away at the end of March 2023.

• UK Charitable donations must have been paid in full to the charities in question; you can’t just provide for them in the accounts. If you donate a percentage of the company’s profits or sales to charity, then estimate the final amount as close as you can so that the obligation is largely paid.

• Tax relief on pension contributions is given in respect of the period in which it’s paid, so don’t leave it until after year-end before paying contributions over.

• Review the remuneration policy for your shareholder directors to ensure the right balance between salary, dividends and pension contributions.

• Review directors’ loan accounts, particularly where they’re overdrawn and therefore potentially subject to Section 455 charges.

Cosmetic/other: 

• You may want to make the company’s performance look as good as possible – i.e. moving results from a future period in order to make the current period look better. This can be helpful if you’re looking to access finance in the next year, or want to woo potential investors etc.

• You may want to think about deferring expenditure to improve your overall reported profits. This could mean reducing spending on things like stationery, advertising, research and development, capital expenditure and major repairs and renewals. Although that will result in a higher tax bill, it will also allow a higher reported profit to be disclosed.