WebFiling - Company User Guide

Getting started

The WebFiling Welcome page provides an up to date list of the documents that can be filed using this service. Help is provided throughout, within the onscreen 'Notes' section or by clicking the 'HELP' button.

Note
The Annual Return form cannot be filed online for some company types, please check the list of system boundaries, exceptions and legal constraints on the welcome page.

The WebFiling service is available for the submission of data 24 hours 7 days a week.

To proceed to the sign in and registration screen select 'CONTINUE'.

Sign in to WebFiling

When you have received both your 'security code' and 'company authentication code' you can sign in and use the WebFiling service. Simply enter the:

• Email address (you provided during registration) and security code, then select 'CONTINUE'
• If you have forgotten your security code, select 'Forgotten your security code' and we will send you a reminder.

Select that you are using WebFiling on behalf of a Company.

Then from the drop down menu select the company type which must correspond with the registration location of the company.

Enter the Company number and the authentication code, then select 'CONTINUE'.

Note
Notes are available on screen for this selection.

You can also:

• Register to file for an additional company.
• Request a reminder of a company authentication code.
  

PROOF

PROOF enables Companies to protect themselves from unauthorised changes to their records as it prevents the filing of certain paper forms.

Once a company has joined the scheme, Companies House will reject any paper versions of these forms and send them back to the registered office address.  This will help ensure that any changes made have been registered by the company itself.

To join, you simply need to agree to the Terms and Conditions and choose 'Join PROOF'. Following the confirmation screen, you can proceed to the WebFiling menu for filing documents.

However it is vital, that anyone who is authorised to file on behalf of the Company is notified about the PROOF scheme, to avoid unnecessary rejected paper documents. 

The statutory PROOF scheme has terms and conditions in compliance with the Companies Act 2006.

You will receive an email confirmation as soon as your electronic application has been submitted and then a further email when we have processed your application to tell you whether or not it was successful.

You can view the PROOF Status on the WebFiling Menu Screen. There is a box on the right-hand side of the Menu page which indicates whether your application is in progress or is/is not registered for PROOF.  (Please note that applications to join or leave PROOF in the last 48 hours may not yet have been applied.

Further information on PROOF

Menu

The Main Menu has been designed to help you find the forms you need to file. The Company Name and Number are displayed and the main heading tabs in the middle section displays a list of all the Form types available for electronic submission.

You can select one of the four heading tabs to display the form types depending on your preference. The following options are possible:

• Category : Locate a form type by a specific category
• Form Name : Locate a form name in alphabetical order
• Form Number : Locate a form number in numerical order
• Old Forms (288a etc) : Locate 1985 Companies Act forms - for 'events' that occurred before 01/10/09

The 'My Account details', 'View Data Submitted' options at the top left of the screen relate to you as a presenter and are linked to the email address and Security Code used at Sign In.

Complete an Annual Return

From the WebFiling main menu you can select the Annual Return (£14 charge) — AR01 link or refer to the 'Old Forms 288a etc' tab and select 'Annual Return (£14 charge) — 363a', if required.

Correcting changes

If this is your first 'webfiled' Annual Return the capital and shareholders details must be provided, to enter these details click the appropriate 'add/update' links.

There is also a requirement for 'Prescribed particulars' — this information can be provided in update screen via the UPDATE/AMEND button. Please see WebFiling 'HELP' for more information.

You can amend any of the changes you have made to the Annual Return prior to submitting the data on the 'SUBMIT' page:

• Click the tab heading (at the top of the screen) for the section you wish to return to and amend the company data as required. Note: do not select the 'BACK' button on your browser.
• To undo a change made during a session, click the 'UNDO LAST CHANGE' button alongside the data you wish to correct. Changes made during a session will be replaced with the original data.

See a screenshot of the correcting changes screen
Note: opens in a new window/tab (45KB)back to top

Updating Annual Return SIC(07) for Made Up Date on or after 1st Oct 2011

Annual Return Screen

• The Made up Date of your Annual Return is displayed in the box on the left.
• If you wish to change your Annual Return date you can enter the new date in the box on the right.

Answer either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ if the company’s shares were admitted to trading on a market at any time during this return period.

Then select ‘Continue’

Annual Return Screens

Work through the Registered Address Details, Location of Company Registers and Company Officers screens checking and then updating the information if required.

SIC Codes Screen

On the SIC Codes screen read the information in the yellow box;

The SIC(03) Code and Description will be displayed.

The following message will be output underneath the SIC(07) Code and Description:
No SIC code has been allocated. Please add new code

Select the ‘ADD NEW CODE’ button.

NOTE: If you wish to see the SIC(07) codes or the SIC(03) & SIC(07) conversion table there is a link in the green notes box on the right on the screens.

SIC Code Selection

On the SIC code selection screen:

• Step1 – select the group heading from the drop down menu
• Step 2 – select a trade description from the list using the radio buttons

Select ‘Submit’

SIC Codes Screen

The new SIC(07) code and description will be displayed.

If the code and description is suitable select ‘Confirm’

The SIC(07) selection you have updated will be displayed on future Annual Returns, so you only have to do update this once, unless the Company changes trade.

See a screenshot of the SIC Codes screen>
Note: opens in a new window/tab (36KB)

Submitting the data

All the changes made to the Annual Return during a session will be listed on the 'SUBMIT' page. Corrections can still be made at this stage, by clicking on the appropriate section tab heading.

'SUBMIT' will display the 'Contact Details' screen.

When submitted, copies of the Annual Return (and other WebFiled company data) can be viewed and downloaded; simply select 'View Data Submitted' from the 'Menu' screen.

'View Data Submitted' is the presenter's personal download area.

Note: All web filed documents are available to view/download for 10 days after original submission.

Contact details

Once you have selected 'submit' the contact details screen will be displayed.

The email address on this page is used to:

• Confirm that Companies House has received your information.
• Confirm if the data has been accepted or rejected (including the reasons why).

An alternative email address can be entered for data filed during a session (email confirmation will be sent to this address for this filing only).

The alternative contact name and telephone number details are optional, and would only be used if there were a query with the information filed.

This screen also indicates the position of the person who is authorising the submission. Most positions can authorise the filing of all form types, but some exceptions apply - please see help for more information on these exceptions.

Payment to file an Annual Return

The £14 fee to file the Annual Return can be made online using a credit/debit card/PayPal, or by account (Companies House online filing credit account). The online account must be set up in advance, and is available for customers filing 10 or more Annual Returns per annum. The application form is available to complete online or download from our website.

• Payment by card: select the credit/debit card option and click 'SUBMIT' to enter your card details. (If making payment by card, please make a note of the details displayed on the 'WebFiling Credit Card Payment' page.)
• Payment by PayPal: You can use an existing PayPal account. There is also an option to create a PayPal account .
• For more information on PayPal please visit www.paypal.co.uk . Note : eCheque payments are not accepted for this service.
• Payment by account : enter 'Presenter ID' and 'Presenter Authentication Code' (both sent by post once the account application has been processed).
• The 'Submission number' is unique and linked directly to your data.
• Please make a note of this number, as it will enable us to track the data you have submitted, should a problem occur.
• If you have paid the Annual Return filing fee by payment card, our payment provider NetBanx will send an automated email to confirm the amount and receipt of payment.

Confirmation

After submitting data we will send 2 emails, one to confirm receipt of the data and a second to confirm if the data has been accepted or rejected

• The confirmation of receipt email will be sent within 3 hours of the data being submitted. (If you do not receive confirmation you can call our contact centre for advice, quoting your envelope reference number).
• The acceptance / rejection email is normally sent within 3 working days once the document has been processed (most documents are processed within 24 hours). If your data is rejected the reasons will be included in the email.

My account details

From this page you are able to change one or all of the following:

• Your security code - to a different 8 character alphanumeric code of your choice.
• Your WebFiling email address.
• Latest news and updates subscription selection.

To make changes on this page, you must enter your current security code.

My Recent Filings

‘My Recent Filings’ (formerly View Data Submitted), is an area where you can view and download the information you have submitted to Companies House via WebFiling and the Web Incorporation service.  You can also track and view the ‘Status’ of submissions.

In ‘My Recent Filings’, all the documents can be viewed as PDF’s and are linked to your email address and security code.

New functionality allows you to re-attempt a payment if during the submission process a problem occurs and the payment fails, e.g. internet problems at the point of paying for the Annual Return.

See a screenshot of My Recent Filings
Note: opens in a new window/tab (229KB) back to top

Company registration details

This page enables you to:

• Register an additional company - request an authentication code to file for another company, the new code will be posted to the company's registered office address.
• Change the allocated company authentication code - by entering a new 6 alphanumeric code (letters and/or numbers) of your choice.
• Cancel a company authentication code - if cancelled, documents for that company cannot be filed online, a new company authentication code would have to be requested.