This article walks you through the complete process of preparing and submitting accounts for a Community Interest Company (CIC) client in Capium, from importing the trial balance through to submitting your accounts to Companies House. It is intended for accountants and practice staff who have already added a CIC client to Accounts Production and are ready to begin the accounts preparation process.
Before You Start
You will need a CIC client already set up in Accounts Production. If you have not yet added your CIC client, follow the separate article on adding a CIC client before continuing with this walkthrough.
Step 1: Confirm Company Information
Navigation > Accounts Production > Select client > Settings > Report Settings > Company Info
Before doing anything else, check that the following information is correct:
- Company registration number
- CIC status has been correctly selected
- General report information
If this CIC is being audited, select the audited option. If you need to disclose debtors due after more than one year in the balance sheet, select this option as well.
Click Save once you have confirmed everything is correct. This updates the company information used throughout the rest of the accounts.
Step 2: Set Accounting Periods
Navigation > Accounts Production > Select client > Settings > Accounting Periods
Make sure both your current and previous accounting periods are showing. If a period is missing, click Add Accounting Period and save it.
You will only be able to select an accounting period in the trial balance section once it has been added here, so this step must be completed before importing your trial balance.
Step 3: Import the Trial Balance
Navigation > Accounts Production > Select client > Tasks > Import Trial Balance
You can import your trial balance in one of the following ways:
- From the Bookkeeping module
- From QuickBooks or Xero
- From FreeAgent
- Using a CSV file
Once imported, these transactions form the basis of the accounts you will produce later in this process.
Step 4: Update Company Contacts and Directors
Navigation > Accounts Production > Select client > Reports > Settings > Company Contacts
Check that all directors are showing correctly. If any directors are missing, click Update Companies House Directors to refresh the director list directly from Companies House.
Step 5: Director's Report
Navigation > Accounts Production > Select client > Reports > Director's Report
Choose the director who will sign off the director's report and the balance sheet.
CICs require a second signature. When completing the CIC notes later in this process, you will be able to specify whether the same director is signing off the CIC declaration, or whether a different director should be selected.
Step 6: Accountant's Report
Navigation > Accounts Production > Select client > Reports > Accountant's Report
Choose either a specific accountant within your firm or your firm's representation. You can also select the notes you want to include as the reporting accountant.
Step 7: Accounting Policies
Navigation > Accounts Production > Select client > Reports > Accounting Policies
Select all accounting policies relevant to this company.
Step 8: Additional Notes
Navigation > Accounts Production > Select client > Reports > Additional Notes
Click the green button to update the average number of employees for the period.
Step 9: Customise Headers
Navigation > Accounts Production > Select client > Reports > Customise Headers
Make any changes needed to the headers used throughout the report.
Step 10: CIC34 Notes
Navigation > Accounts Production > Select client > Reports > CIC34 Notes
The CIC34 note has six parts:
- CIC impact and activities
- Consultations with stakeholders
- Directors' remuneration
- Transfer of assets
- Interest paid
- Signatory (you can select the same or a different director here)
These sections are left blank by design. Capium does not pre-fill CIC34 notes, as the content is specific to each CIC and must reflect that company's actual activities and disclosures. Practices should complete all six parts directly to avoid compliance risk, do not leave these sections incomplete or rely on template wording carried over from another client.
Step 11: Generate Annual Accounts
Navigation > Accounts Production > Select client > Reports > Annual Accounts
Produce the full set of annual accounts. This is required to send data through to the Corporation Tax module.
You will also need to produce either the abridged or filleted accounts, as this version is used to create the submission zip file for Companies House.
You must create both sets, full, and abridged or filleted, before continuing.
Step 12: Generate the CIC Report
Navigation > Accounts Production > Select client > Reports > CIC Report
Click Add Report, choose the tax year you are reporting on, and click Generate. This produces the CIC report that will be merged with your accounts for submission.
Step 13: Create the Submission Zip Package
Navigation > Accounts Production > Select client > Tasks > CIC Submission Wizard
Click Create Zip Package, then:
- Choose your accounts
- Choose your CIC report
- Click Generate Report
The system will run pre-validation checks on your documents. If any check fails, you will not be able to create the zip package until the issue is resolved.
Once pre-validation passes, click Proceed and Generate Zip File. The system will generate a downloadable file.
Step 14: Submit to Companies House
Open the downloaded HTML file and click through to the Companies House to make your submission.
There is currently no direct submission route for CIC accounts within Capium. Submitting through the Government Gateway portal is the only way to complete this filing. You will need to submit this via the Companies House website, check the Companies House site directly for the latest submission requirements.
Once submitted, you can mark the task as complete within Capium.