A UK limited company is a separate legal entity — its own tax number, its own bank account, its own accounting filings. The compliance overhead is real (annual accounts to Companies House, Corporation Tax return to HMRC, possibly an audit if you cross size thresholds), but the limited liability and the tax efficiency at higher profit levels make it the right structure for many UK businesses. 4invoices fits how a Ltd actually operates.
Companies House — keeping your statutory record correct
Your registered company name, registered office address, and company number must appear on every invoice (Companies Act 2006, section 82). 4invoices syncs these directly from Companies House at onboarding and refreshes monthly — so if you change your registered office, the invoice template updates automatically. Director details sync too if you want them displayed.
Corporation Tax — invoicing tracks the income side
Corporation Tax is computed on company profits (revenue minus deductible expenses), payable 9 months and 1 day after the accounting year-end. 4invoices doesn't compute Corporation Tax (your accountant or accounting software does that), but it provides the revenue side cleanly — accruals-basis revenue per period, with the right cut-off for invoices spanning year-end.
Sole director companies — IR35 and dividends
If you're a sole-director Personal Service Company providing services to clients, IR35 (off-payroll working) rules apply. 4invoices doesn't make the IR35 determination (your client does that on engagements over £10.2m turnover, or you do it for smaller clients), but it flags each invoice with the IR35 status so you and your accountant can track the deemed-employment income separately from genuine business-to-business invoices.
Limited company invoicing — the actual mechanics
Every UK Ltd has a registered name (the one on the certificate of incorporation), a company number (8 digits, sometimes prefixed with SC for Scotland or NI for Northern Ireland), and a registered office address. All three must appear on every invoice you issue. Section 82 of the Companies Act 2006 makes this a statutory requirement, not a design choice. We pull these from Companies House at onboarding and embed them in your invoice template — non-removable, but you can choose where they appear (we recommend the footer for clean header design).
If you're VAT-registered, the VAT registration number also appears on the invoice (HMRC requirement under VAT Notice 700/21). Plus, when applicable, your customer's VAT number — relevant for reverse-charge B2B services and EU sales. We don't make you remember to add these; they're filled in automatically from the customer record.
For larger Ltds, the invoicing relationship needs to support multiple users with different permissions — a director who can do everything, an accounts assistant who can issue invoices but not change settings, an external accountant with read-only access. Permissions are configurable per user, and all activity is logged for audit purposes. If you're approaching the size where statutory audit becomes mandatory (turnover £10.2m, assets £5.1m, employees 50), the audit log is structured to provide the activity trail an auditor expects.
Frequently asked
Does 4invoices file my annual accounts to Companies House?
No. Annual accounts (the statutory accounts) are filed by your accountant or via a separate filing service. 4invoices provides the underlying transaction data — invoices, purchases, bank reconciliation — that feeds into the profit-and-loss statement and balance sheet your accountant prepares.
What about confirmation statements?
The annual confirmation statement (CS01) goes to Companies House from your company portal or via your accountant — it confirms registered details and shareholders. 4invoices doesn't file it but flags upcoming deadlines in your dashboard so it doesn't get missed.
Can I run multiple companies from one account?
Yes. If you have a group structure (a holding company plus operating subsidiaries), you can add each company under one 4invoices account. Invoices are issued from the specific company (with that company's registration details, VAT number, branding). Reports can be per-company or consolidated.
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