Account Category is the type of accounts that this company files.
The type and size of the company will determine the type of accounts that it files.
The most common categories you will see are:
DORMANT - This company isn't actively trading, and so is dormant. Typically there are no annual accounts because there are no transactions, and normally the company doesn't even a bank account setup. Take care dealing with a dormant company, it my just be that the company was dormant and is now trading - but seek suitable reassurances.
MICRO - The company has filed its accounts as a Micro Entity. The exact legal definition of what a micro entity is and what needs to be revealed in the company accounts is defined by the The Small Companies (Micro-Entities’ Accounts) Regulations 2013 , check there for the precise details. In brief, and skipping a lot of details, if the company has a turn over of less than £632,000 and less than 10 employees then it only needs to publicly file an abbreviated balance sheet each year. No Profit and Loss account is made public. This restricts what you can workout about a company, however, even with this minimal information you can still make some good predictions of the companies financial status, see the FAQ's on how to interpret an abbreviated balance sheet.
NO ACCOUNTS FILED - This company has never filed any accounts, so we don't know what category they should be. A company typically has 21 months from the date it is first created (incorporated) until it needs to file its accounts. Be careful If you are dealing with this company because there is very little official information available to help you assess the company's credit worthiness.
Other categories
The Companies, Partnerships and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2015 define the reporting required for larger companies and it gets too complex to describe here. Is it a group company? Is it a public verses a private company? All these factors and more indicate quite what sort of accounts the company needs to file.
SMALL - A small company has less than £10.2 million in turnover, and less than 50 employees.
TOTAL EXEMPTION SMALL - As above, the accounts for a Small company which has decided to have or file and auditors report.
MEDIUM - A medium company has less than £36 million in turnover, and less than 250 employees.
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