Using software to file your company's information

From 1 April 2028, all companies must file their accounts using commercial software. This applies to companies who file accounts themselves, and companies who use a professional (such as an accountant) to file their accounts.

From this date, our web and paper-based services will be closed for accounts filings. This means there will be no transition period. Any accounts due after this date must be filed using software. This includes revised accounts.

You’ll still be able to use our web services to file other statutory information for your company. If you already use software to prepare or file accounts, check with your provider that it can support the new requirements. Not all software supports the iXBRL tagging you’ll need to file digital accounts.

If you file package accounts with Companies House, you’ll still be able to use this service after 1 April 2028. You must use software that will allow you to save the accounts in a ZIP file format, which you’ll need for this service.

Software filing packages allow you to send information to Companies House through our extensible markup language (XML) gateway.

Some of the benefits of using software to file include:

When you file company accounts with commercial software, we receive and process them in inline extensible reporting language (iXBRL) format. This is a worldwide technical standard that combines HTML with machine readable ‘tags’. It allows documents to be read by both machines and humans.

To file company documents using software, you’ll need: