Accounting Records for Irish Companies: What to Keep and How Long

Every Irish company needs a reliable record of what it bought, sold, paid, received and owed. Accounting records are not just for the accountant at year end: they help directors make decisions, prepare Corporation Tax and VAT filings, answer Revenue questions and complete the company’s annual return.

The Companies Act and Revenue rules use slightly different language and purposes. CRO requirements focus on adequate accounting records and statutory financial statements. Revenue focuses on records that support tax returns and the calculation of Income Tax, Corporation Tax or Capital Gains Tax. A sensible system is designed to satisfy both.

This guide explains what to keep, how long to retain it, how records support a first-year Irish LTD and what changes for VAT, payroll and non-resident founders. It is general information, not a substitute for advice on your company’s accounts.

Quick answer for directors

• Keep records that correctly record and explain the company’s transactions.
• Records should allow the company’s assets, liabilities and financial position to be determined with reasonable accuracy.
• Keep original tax records for at least six years under Revenue’s general record-keeping guidance.
• Save the evidence behind each transaction, not only the final bank balance.
• Maintain separate company records for CRO filings, minutes, registers and statutory accounts.
• Use a system that lets the director or accountant trace an invoice from source document to payment and tax return.

What are proper books of account?

Proper books are the company’s organised accounting records. They should capture the company’s transactions and explain how those transactions affect its financial position. The records must be detailed enough for the directors to prepare the financial statements required by company law.

A spreadsheet can be part of the system, but a folder of disconnected spreadsheets and bank screenshots is difficult to audit. Use consistent invoice numbers, transaction categories, bank reconciliations and document names. If an accountant prepares the accounts, the director should still understand where the underlying records are stored.

See the CRO’s current proper books guidance for the statutory accounting-record requirement.

Records an Irish company should keep

Sales and income

• Customer invoices, credit notes and receipts.
• Contracts, statements of work, purchase orders and delivery evidence.
• Payment processor reports and evidence of refunds or chargebacks.
• Currency conversion evidence for foreign-currency transactions.

Purchases and expenses

• Supplier invoices, receipts and expense claims.
• Business purpose, approval and evidence of payment.
• Asset invoices, depreciation information and disposal records.
• Travel, mileage, subsistence and reimbursed director expenses.

Banking and finance

• Company bank statements, reconciliations and payment confirmations.
• Loan agreements, repayments, interest calculations and director loan records.
• Share subscriptions, dividends, capital contributions and distributions.
• Payment platform statements and cash records where relevant.

Company and governance

• Board minutes, written resolutions and shareholder approvals.
• Registers of members, directors, secretary, share transfers and allotments.
• Formation documents, constitution, CRO filings and registered-office records.
• Contracts with directors, related parties, suppliers and major customers.

How long should records be kept?

Revenue’s general guidance says original tax records should be kept for six years. That includes records used to calculate the company’s Corporation Tax and other tax liabilities, such as receipts, purchases, sales invoices, nominal ledgers and accounting books.

Six years is a practical minimum for many records, not an instruction to delete everything at the end of the sixth year. Keep records longer where a tax audit, CRO issue, contract, loan, employment matter, insurance claim or dispute is still open. Ask the company’s accountant or solicitor before destroying historical records.

Revenue’s record-keeping guidance explains the six-year rule and the director’s responsibility for records, even when an agent stores them.

Accounting records and the CRO annual return

Most Irish companies attach financial statements to the relevant annual return, subject to the rules and exemptions that apply to the company. The financial statements may include a balance sheet, profit and loss account, directors’ report and auditor’s report or the applicable small or micro-company information.

The directors are responsible for making sure the annual return is filed and that the company’s books support the accounts. The return deadline, accounts period and audit exemption should be planned together rather than left until the final week.

Our first annual return Ireland guide explains the first filing timetable, while the CRO’s director requirements leaflet covers annual returns and accounting responsibilities.

VAT records for an Irish company

A VAT-registered company needs a clear trail for each VAT return. Save sales and purchase invoices, VAT rates, VAT numbers, credit notes, import and export documents, reverse-charge evidence, exemption or zero-rate support and the calculations used to prepare the return.

The invoice should make sense alongside the contract, delivery evidence and bank receipt. A sales ledger that contains only a total amount is not enough to explain why a particular VAT treatment was used.

Before registering, read our VAT number for a new Irish company guide and separate the question of record keeping from the question of whether the company must register.

Payroll and director records

If the company pays employees or directors, keep employment agreements, starter and leaver details, payroll calculations, Revenue Payroll Notifications, payslips, bank payments, deductions, benefits and payroll submissions. The company should be able to reconcile each pay run to the payment made and the amount reported to Revenue.

Do not combine salary, expenses, dividends and director loans into one unexplained transfer. Label the payment, obtain the appropriate approval and keep the supporting record in the company’s accounting system.

Digital bookkeeping and document storage

Digital records are usually easier to search and share, but only when they are organised. Use a consistent folder or accounting-software structure for sales, purchases, banking, payroll, tax, assets, company secretarial records and year-end accounts.

• Keep a backup separate from the main accounting account.
• Use access controls so the record cannot be silently changed without an audit trail.
• Save the original invoice or receipt, not only a screenshot of the transaction.
• Use clear file names with supplier, date, invoice number and amount where appropriate.
• Keep records readable and exportable if the company changes software or accountants.
• Test that old documents can still be opened before the retention period expires.

Non-resident founders and cross-border records

A non-resident founder should keep additional evidence that explains where the business is managed and where its activities take place. Save contracts, invoices, travel records, board decisions, service-provider agreements, bank movements, employee work locations and tax advice relating to each country.

An Irish registered office does not by itself determine tax residence or VAT treatment. Good records help the company and its advisers analyse the facts instead of relying on assumptions about the country of incorporation.

See our Irish company for non-residents guide for formation and operating considerations.

Common record-keeping mistakes

• Keeping only bank statements and not the invoices behind the payments.
• Using a personal bank account for company transactions without a complete explanation.
• Deleting original digital documents after sending them to the accountant.
• Failing to reconcile payment processors, foreign-currency accounts or cash.
• Leaving director loans, expenses and dividends undocumented.
• Waiting until the annual return deadline to reconstruct the year’s transactions.
• Assuming a dormant company has no company-law or tax records to maintain.

Irish company accounting checklist

1. Open a dedicated company accounting and document-storage system.
2. Record every sale and purchase with its invoice, receipt and payment evidence.
3. Reconcile the company bank account and payment platforms regularly.
4. Keep payroll, VAT and Corporation Tax working papers with the source documents.
5. Maintain company registers, minutes, resolutions and CRO filing evidence separately.
6. Review director, shareholder and related-party transactions monthly.
7. Keep original tax records for at least six years and check whether a longer period is sensible.
8. Give the accountant a complete, searchable file before year-end accounts begin.

Form the company with the records in place

If you are setting up an Irish LTD, start your company formation, compare the formation packages and plan the registered office, tax registrations, bookkeeping and annual return from the beginning. A tidy first year makes every later filing easier.