Student-run businesses do not fail on ideas. They fail on continuity. The committee changes every year, but HMRC and Companies House deadlines do not pause for exam season. This page is for incoming committees inheriting a company and for founders who want to keep one running across cohorts. It sets out the recurring problems, their consequences, and the fixes.
A normal small company has permanent directors. A student-run company replaces most of its leadership every spring. Everything that assumes stable ownership of information, accounts and relationships breaks. The problems below are not hypothetical: they are what we see every time a new committee opens the books.
Problem. Directors change at the AGM. The new committee has not been introduced to the bank, is not on Xero, and does not yet have HMRC agent authority. Meanwhile the previous director is still the registered PSC.
Consequence. Companies House must be notified of director and PSC changes within 14 days. Miss it and the record is wrong; cumulatively this is a basis for strike-off proceedings. Bank mandates lag longer: three to six weeks is typical, during which the new committee cannot authorise payments and the outgoing committee technically still can.
Fix.
Problem. Last year’s treasurer kept the invoice tracker in a personal Google Drive. The chair of the year before held the client contact list in WhatsApp. The engagement letter template is on a laptop that has left the country. No one knows what the password manager account is.
Consequence. The new committee rebuilds everything from scratch in October, loses six to eight weeks of trading, and clients are reapproached as if new. Historic invoices disappear and VAT and corporation tax reviews cannot be run.
Fix.
finance@<society>.co.uk) and route everything through it.Problem. Annual accounts, corporation tax return, confirmation statement and VAT monitoring fall to whichever officer is in post. Student companies often incorporate in October and have an accounting reference date of 31 October by default, meaning accounts and tax returns fall due during exam season.
Consequence. Companies House late-filing penalties for a private company start at £150 (up to one month late) and rise to £1,500 (more than six months late), and are doubled if the previous year’s accounts were also late. HMRC’s late CT600 penalties start at £100 and compound. VAT penalties under the current points-based regime accumulate until a threshold triggers a £200 charge per subsequent late return.
Fix.
Problem. A £6,000 invoice was raised in April by the then-president. The client has 60-day terms, the invoice falls due in June, the committee changes in May, and by June no one in post has met the client.
Consequence. Average days-sales-outstanding for student-run companies we see is around 90 days (industry norm is 45–60). Cash runs down over the summer when there is no trading income to replace it. Statutory interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (8% above the Bank of England base rate, plus a fixed sum of £40 to £100 per invoice depending on size) is almost never claimed, because no one is chasing.
Fix.
Problem. Any officer can spend. There is no dual authorisation. Student expenses get reimbursed weeks after being incurred because the only person with the bank login is doing exams.
Consequence. Weak controls invite well-meaning mistakes and occasional misuse. Delayed reimbursements make student contributors reluctant to spend their own money on behalf of the company, which stalls work.
Fix.
Problem. Committees assume that because the company does not pay dividends, it does not pay corporation tax.
Consequence. Underprovision for tax. HMRC does not care about the ownership structure; it cares about the trading surplus.
Fix. Treat the company as taxable from day one. For 2026/27, the first £50,000 of profit is taxed at 19%, £50,001 to £250,000 at an effective ~26.5% under marginal relief, and above £250,000 at the 25% main rate. See student consultancy: society or limited company? for the structural fix.
Download or print this list the week of the AGM. Every item should have a named person for both outgoing and incoming committees.
| Item | Outgoing owner | Incoming owner | Done |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank mandate update (AP01/TM01 equivalents filed with the bank) | Treasurer | Treasurer | ☐ |
| Companies House: AP01 director appointments | Secretary | Secretary | ☐ |
| Companies House: TM01 director terminations | Secretary | Secretary | ☐ |
| PSC register updated and PSC01/PSC07 filed | Secretary | Secretary | ☐ |
| HMRC agent authority (if using an accountant) | Treasurer | Treasurer | ☐ |
| Xero users: incoming added, outgoing removed | Treasurer | Treasurer | ☐ |
| Password manager handover | Secretary | Secretary | ☐ |
| Open invoices list with owners and chase status | Treasurer | Treasurer | ☐ |
| Open contracts list with renewal and notice dates | Chair | Chair | ☐ |
| Deadline calendar (CS, accounts, CT600, VAT, PAYE) imported into committee calendar | Treasurer | Treasurer | ☐ |
| Finance handbook reviewed and updated | Treasurer | Treasurer | ☐ |
| Insurance renewal and asset register check | Secretary | Secretary | ☐ |
The pattern that works is: an outsourced accountant plus a cloud ledger as the continuity layer. The accountant holds HMRC agent authority, files everything, carries the deadline calendar and knows the company’s history. The cloud ledger (Xero) is the single source of truth, with the previous year’s data visible to the incoming committee from day one. Together they survive each cohort.
This is how AccTek works with student-run companies. We hold the record, you hold the committee. Our AI finance assistant, Nella, sits on top of Xero and gives the incoming treasurer an instant management summary without needing to read a trial balance.
Private company late-filing penalties for annual accounts start at £150 (up to one month), rise through £375 (one to three months), £750 (three to six months) to £1,500 (more than six months), and are doubled if the previous year was also late. Confirmation statement failure is a criminal offence and a strike-off trigger if left for several months.
Over four weeks around the AGM. Week one: incoming shadows outgoing. Week two: AGM, Companies House filings, bank mandate update, Xero and password manager handover. Week three: open invoices, contracts, deadline calendar reviewed together. Week four: incoming has sole access, outgoing on call.
The new treasurer, supported by weekly automated reminders in Xero and by the client relationship manager named on the engagement letter. If a specific client has lost its named contact, re-establish the relationship explicitly: new email, new named contact, new confirmation of payment terms.
If the venture is still a society sub-account inside the SU, yes, within the SU’s constraints. Once the venture incorporates, no. The company is a separate legal person with its own obligations.
Official guidance: Companies House late filing penalties, running a limited company, statutory interest on late commercial payments. AccTek is independent of HMRC and GOV.UK.
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Related: university spin-outs and student startups (hub) | society or limited company? | startup bookkeeping | startup finance stack | startup finance checklist
Godwin Pinto ACA (ICAI) is the founder of AccTek and a member of ICPA, with 20+ years of experience in accounting and tax for contractors, startups and SMEs. Previously at PwC.
AccTek is a member firm of the Institute of Certified Practising Accountants (ICPA), and our founder is a member of the Association of International Accountants (AIA) holding an AIA Practising Certificate. Our accountants hold qualifications and accreditations from trusted professional bodies including the AIA, ICPA, AAT and ACCA.
