Accounting Records
All limited liability partnerships, whether or not they are trading, must keep accounting records.
You may keep your records manually or on computer.
A set of accounts for an LLP must include the following:
3 months one day to 6 months £ 250
6 months one day to 12 months £ 500
More than 12 months Amount of penalty £1,000 Failing to deliver accounts on time is also a criminal offence for which designated members may be prosecuted. Late filing penalties are fully explained in chapter 5 of this booklet, 'Late filing penalties'. Please note: if a filing deadline expires on a Sunday or bank holiday the law still requires accounts to be filed by that date. So you should ensure that they are posted in time to arrive before such a deadline. The accounts must be approved by the limited liability partnership's members and signed before they are sent to Companies House. The balance sheet must be signed by a designated member, with any statements about accounting or filing exemptions appearing above the designated member's signature. If an auditors' report or special auditors' report is attached to the accounts, then it must state the names of the auditors and be signed and dated* by them. * Applies to accounts covering a period beginning on or after 1 January 2005.
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Certain information may be omitted from the accounts of medium-sized and small (including dormant) limited liability partnerships prepared under
the special provisions of Part VII of the Companies Act 1985 (as applied to limited liability partnerships by regulation 3 of the Limited Liability
Partnerships Regulations 2001). These limited liability partnerships may further abbreviate the accounts they file at Companies House.
Certain small limited liability partnerships and dormant limited liability partnerships may also be exempt from audit.
All limited liability partnerships have to deliver their accounts to the Registrar?
The first accounts of the LLP must cover the period starting on the date of incorporation, not the first day of trading. They end on the
accounting reference date (ARD) or up to 7 days either side of that date.
Subsequent accounts start on the day after the period covered by the previous accounts ended. They finish on the ARD or up to 7 days either side of it.
If you are filing your first accounts and they cover a period of more than 12 months, they must be delivered to the Registrar within 22 months of the
date of incorporation or 3 months from the ARD, whichever is longer. The definition in the box below of a period of months in connection with filing the
accounts also applies to the first accounts. For example, a limited liability partnership incorporated on 1 January with an Accounting Reference Date
(ARD) of 31 January has until midnight on 1 November (22 months from incorporation) to deliver its accounts, not 30 November.
Unless you are filing your limited liability partnership's first accounts (see question 5) the time normally allowed for delivering accounts is 10 months
from the ARD.
However, if the accounting reference period has been shortened, the time allowed for filing the accounts is the longer of:
A profit and loss account;
-A balance sheet signed by a designated member;
-An auditors' report signed by the auditor (if appropriate);
-Notes to the accounts; and
-Group accounts (if appropriate).
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If a limited liability partnership carries on business or has interests overseas, and the financial year begins before 1 January 2005, a 3-month
extension to the normal filing period can be claimed by delivering Form LLP244 to Companies House. This form must be delivered before the
normal filing deadline and this must be done for every year that the limited liability partnership wishes to claim the extension. It does not
automatically apply from one year to the next. (Form LLP244 cannot be used for financial years, which begin on or after 1 January 2005
but an extension to the filing period may still be granted in exceptional circumstances - see below.)
An application may be made to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to extend the time for laying and delivering accounts if there is a
special reason for doing so; for example, if there has been an unforeseen event which was outside the control of the limited liability partnership
and its auditors. The application must be made in writing, be delivered before the filing deadline, and must contain a full explanation of the reasons
for the extension and the length of the extension needed.
If the Accounts are file date, there is an automatic civil penalty for late filing. The amount depends on how late the accounts arrive.
The fixed penalties are as follows:
Length of delay:
3 months or less £ 10010 months from the ARD; or
-3 months from the date of the notice (Form LLP225).
3 months one day to 6 months £ 250
6 months one day to 12 months £ 500
More than 12 months Amount of penalty £1,000 Failing to deliver accounts on time is also a criminal offence for which designated members may be prosecuted. Late filing penalties are fully explained in chapter 5 of this booklet, 'Late filing penalties'. Please note: if a filing deadline expires on a Sunday or bank holiday the law still requires accounts to be filed by that date. So you should ensure that they are posted in time to arrive before such a deadline. The accounts must be approved by the limited liability partnership's members and signed before they are sent to Companies House. The balance sheet must be signed by a designated member, with any statements about accounting or filing exemptions appearing above the designated member's signature. If an auditors' report or special auditors' report is attached to the accounts, then it must state the names of the auditors and be signed and dated* by them. * Applies to accounts covering a period beginning on or after 1 January 2005.