Bank accounts and cash
Balance on the first day of the year, from the statement.
Last year's figures
Copy the totals from last year's accounts, or open last year's backup file.
Headings in the accounts
Rename a heading, or add one. Headings with nothing in them are left off the accounts.
Paste or open a bank statement
Download the statement from online banking as a CSV file. Nothing leaves this device.
Statement file
Entries
Recently deleted
Bank and cash at the balance date
Type each statement's balance on the last day to check the cash book against it.
Signing
Earlier copies
Copies kept when accounts were replaced, deleted or before an import. Each page keeps its 40 most recent.
From cash book to signed statements
Set the balance date and the opening bank balances, then add each payment and receipt, or paste the bank's CSV export and tick the lines to add. Each entry goes under one of the Registrar's template rows. The Statements tab shows receipts and payments, assets and liabilities, and mortgages and charges, with last year's column and two signature lines.
It checks the cash book against each bank statement and shows this year's operating payments, which count towards the small society test for the next two years. Open the example: a tramping club with a grant, a quiz night and a term deposit.
Sources: Financial reporting standards for small societies and filing annual financial statements (Companies Office). Charities in England and Wales: receipts and payments accounts.
Questions treasurers ask
Is my society a small society?
Under the Incorporated Societies Act 2022 it is small if it is not a donee organisation and, in each of the previous two financial years, its total operating payments and its total current assets were both under $50,000. A society without two earlier years uses this year's figures instead.
What must small society statements show?
Receipts and payments (or income and expenditure) for the year, assets and liabilities at balance date, and any mortgages, charges or other security interests over the society's property. The Registrar's template has exactly those sections, and this page fills them in.
When are they due?
Within 6 months of your balance date, after they have been presented at the AGM. They must be dated, signed by two committee members and uploaded to the Companies Office as one PDF.
Can we send the bank statements instead?
No. The Registrar says bank statements and cash books do not meet the reporting obligations. Use them to build the statements here, then print the statements or save them as a PDF.
What counts as operating payments?
Money paid out to run the society: fundraising, staff and volunteer costs, rent and utilities, goods for sale, grants paid and other running costs. Buying assets such as equipment or buildings doesn't count. Put those under Purchase of assets or investments, so the page can add up the rest.
We are a registered charity. Does this apply?
No. Societies registered with Charities Services follow the XRB charity reporting standards and file with Charities Services, not the Companies Office.
Is this accounting advice?
No. It lays out the figures you enter in the Registrar's format and checks that they add up. The committee is responsible for the statements; ask an accountant about anything unusual.