A period prepared as a small company under FRS 102 Section 1A discloses much more than a micro-entity, and the Notes window grows to match — over thirty notes instead of four, most with an Additional note section for extra wording. The statements change too: the balance sheet breaks out fixed assets, debtors, stock and creditors, and the notes appear in their own Notes to the financial statements section, numbered in order.
Every note has a Learn more about this note link to its own article in the note-by-note guide, which explains what it discloses, where its figures come from and its wording templates.
Notes that fill themselves in
Wherever a note’s figures already exist in your trial balance, the editor shows them read-only — the notes always agree with your balance sheet, and to change a figure you correct the trial balance. The Tangible fixed assets note builds its cost and depreciation movement table, one column per asset class, from the trial balance; any cell the trial balance doesn’t fill stays open for entry and is saved with the accounts. Operating profit, taxation, intangible assets, investment property, investments, inventories, debtors and both creditors notes work the same way.
The note groups, briefly
- Statutory information and compliance — statutory information (filled in from the company details) and the statement of compliance with FRS 102 Section 1A, which starts with standard wording.
- Profit and loss notes — turnover, operating profit (“stated after charging/(crediting)” depreciation, amortisation, disposal profits and losses, foreign exchange, research and development, operating lease charges, directors’ remuneration and pension costs — lines that are nil in both years are left out), taxation and dividends (a text note you switch on when dividends were paid).
- Asset notes — intangible fixed assets, tangible fixed assets, investment property, investments, current asset investments, inventories and debtors.
- Liabilities — Creditors: amounts falling due within one year, Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year, deferred taxation, provisions for liabilities and derivative financial instruments.
- Equity — share capital, capital contribution reserve and the company limited by guarantee wording.
- Commitments — capital commitments, pension commitments, the defined benefit pension scheme, operating lease commitments, contingent liabilities, off-balance sheet arrangements and other financial commitments.
- Directors and related parties — loans to directors, guarantees provided on behalf of directors (a table of each guarantee, plus a text section), transactions with related parties, controlling party and events after the reporting date.
- Everything else — the average number of employees (the same mandatory figure as FRS 105, with the same zero-count warning) and four free text notes with your own headings.
The Loans to directors note is a small ledger per director — terms, balance brought forward, advances and repayments in the year — and the balance carried forward is the accounts balance at the year end:
Accounting policies
FRS 102 1A accounts include the accounting policies the company applies, printed as note 3. The Policies action (it only appears for FRS 102 1A periods) lists the standard policy headings — basis of preparation, going concern, revenue recognition, property plant and equipment, goodwill, financial instruments, judgements and estimates and more, most with ready-made wording. Tick Use this policy on the ones that apply and write (or template) the wording; policies marked in use print in the order listed. Each policy is explained in the accounting policies article.
Next: the checks before you file — see Validation, signing and signed accounts.
