How to Check a Company's Accounts & Financial Health

What accounts companies must file

Every company registered at Companies House — whether trading or not — must file annual accounts each year. These cover a 12-month accounting period and are normally due nine months after the financial year end (21 months after incorporation for a first set). What a company has to disclose depends on its size. Larger companies file full statutory accounts including a profit and loss account, directors' report and auditor's report. Smaller companies can file heavily abbreviated versions, and many do. For the rules on when each filing is due and the penalties for lateness, see our guide to Companies House filing deadlines.

Finding accounts on Companies House

Go to the official Companies House register, search by company name or number, and open the company's record. The Filing history tab lists every document the company has submitted, newest first. Accounts are labelled by type — for example "Total exemption full accounts" or "Micro company accounts" — with the made-up date showing which year they cover. Each entry is a free PDF download. Always compare two or three consecutive years rather than reading a single set in isolation; the direction of travel tells you far more than one snapshot. You can reach the same record from any BizLookup company profile, and our guide to checking a company walks through the wider profile.

Reading a balance sheet: the basics

The balance sheet is the one statement almost every company must publish, so it is where you will spend most of your time. It is a snapshot on the last day of the accounting period. Work through it in three parts. Assets are what the company owns — fixed assets such as equipment and property, and current assets such as stock, money owed by customers (debtors) and cash. Liabilities are what it owes, split between amounts due within one year (creditors falling due within one year) and longer-term debt. Net assets— assets minus liabilities — is the figure to anchor on. A healthy company usually has positive net assets and enough current assets to cover its short-term creditors. Negative net assets mean liabilities exceed assets, which warrants a closer look and a direct conversation.

What micro, small and dormant accounts show — and their limits

Be realistic about how little the smallest companies disclose. A dormant company has not traded during the year and files little more than a near-empty balance sheet. Micro-entity accounts — available to the smallest companies — show only a condensed balance sheet with a handful of figures and no profit and loss account, so you cannot see turnover or profit at all. Small-companyaccounts add a little more detail but can still omit the profit and loss account and directors' report from the public filing. In short, for most small UK companies you will see net assets and broad balances, but not how much they sell, whether they make a profit, or who their customers are. Treat abbreviated accounts as a starting point, not a verdict.

Red flags to watch for

Several signals deserve attention. Overdue accounts are among the clearest — if the filing history shows accounts marked overdue, the company is behind on a basic legal duty, and persistent lateness can point to deeper problems. A going concern note, where present, may flag material uncertainty about the company's ability to continue trading; read it carefully. Falling net assets across consecutive years, a slide into negative net assets, or current liabilities consistently exceeding current assets all suggest tightening finances. Other prompts to dig further include very recent incorporation with large commitments, frequent changes of registered office or directors, and a string of resignations.

Checking before extending credit

Filed accounts are historic — often many months old by the time you read them — so use them alongside live checks. Confirm the company is active and not in liquidation, look at the filing history for overdue documents, and review net assets over several years. For larger or higher-value relationships, consider a dedicated credit reference agency that scores companies and monitors changes in real time. If you are screening many companies at once — for supplier onboarding or sales prospecting — our lead lists can help you build and filter a set to review. And whatever the accounts say, nothing replaces clear payment terms, sensible credit limits and asking for references when the numbers are thin. Start your search on the BizLookup homepage.