Oct 23, 2026, 5:52 PM> Following the recommendations of the Small Business Regulatory Taskforce, the government has decided to pause implementing the requirement for small companies and micro-entities to file profit and loss accounts with Companies House from April 2028.
However, most annoyingly:
> All companies to file accounts using commercial software
Requiring "commercial" software is rubbish :(
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/companies-house-update-to-accounts-filing-from-april-2028
Oct 23, 2026, 5:55 PM> As announced earlier this year, from April 2028, we will require all UK registered companies to file their accounts in Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language (iXBRL) format using commercial software. This requirement is going ahead as planned.
> This applies to companies who file their own accounts and those who use third party agents or accountants to file their annual accounts. From this date, our web and paper-based filing systems will be closed for accounts filings.
Oct 23, 2026, 5:54 PM@neil WTF, that's so infuriating!
Oct 23, 2026, 5:56 PM@neil 😡
Oct 23, 2026, 6:00 PM@neil seems like someone needs to cuck-code a free one
@neil ok does to thing together don't make sense. If all they care about is that you file it in their flavor of XML I would assume ether there will be an API or an upload portal so as long as it's valid base on their spec of XML then they don't care or can tell what software was used. My guess is the world commercial is there because someone from turbo tax sent some people to very fancy vacation... sorry I mean extended business meeting with the family
@neil is the government confusing proprietary and commercial?
Oct 24, 2026, 8:09 AM@ianturton @neil I suspect what they really mean is third party.
@neil FWIW they provide a validator and developer docs. so "commercial software" might _technically_ be not the right term here: https://test-validator.companieshouse.gov.uk/xbrl_validate
edit: okay, with the data they provide, and a devoper account to test it (which they also provide) i could _probably_ write some janky code to submit accounts this way. 👍
@neil as far as I know (I’m from NL), in Belgium people got a free and open solution certified
@neil Gaaaah. I don't even have a company, and I want to march on the relevant offices with a torch and a pitchfork...
@neil Oh to be a fly on the wall when the requirement elicitation was being carried out for this.
Oct 23, 2026, 9:23 PM@neil I thought that some of the software on the list was free... Not open-source, mind you, but still not at a cost.
@neil
I hand-delivered my accounts one year to the relevant tax office.
They lost the paperwork.
@neil I suppose it counts as commercial software but my bank offers a service where they transmit the return quarterly on demand from me. All I have to do is record the income and expenditure on that bank account and press “send”, which I have to say is not a great imposition.
@neil I take issue that they are requiring all digital filings too. No more options. Everyone has to do the same. Absolutely gross.
@neil How is "commercial software" defined?
@neil So there's a standard for filing (iXBRL) but you have to use a "blessed" piece of software to create and/or upload said file? Well that's a bit rubbish.