AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
HMRC requires a UK limited company to keep its company and accounting records, including those for foreign transactions, for 6 years from the end of the last financial year they relate to, and longer where a transaction spans accounting periods, an asset is expected to last more than 6 years, a return was filed late or HMRC has opened a compliance check. VAT records must be kept for at least 6 years, with VAT shown in sterling.
Foreign transactions do not get a different retention period. A payment to a Lagos supplier, a dollar receipt from a Nigerian client or a naira loan to a subsidiary is kept on the same clock as a UK sale. What differs is the extra evidence a foreign transaction needs, mainly the currency conversion, and the fact that the paperwork often starts life in another country. This guide sets out the rules from GOV.UK and HMRC as at October 2026.
The basic period: 6 years from the end of the financial year
GOV.UK's guidance on company and accounting records says you must keep records for 6 years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to. The clock starts at the year end, not the transaction date.
Example
Example dates only. A company with a 31 March year end pays a Nigerian contractor on 10 May 2026. That payment belongs to the year ending 31 March 2027, so the records must be kept until at least 31 March 2033, nearly seven years after the payment.
When you must keep records longer
GOV.UK lists four cases where 6 years is not enough:
- the records show a transaction that covers more than one of the company's accounting periods, such as a multi-year service contract or a loan to a Nigerian subsidiary;
- the company has bought something it expects to last more than 6 years, such as equipment shipped to a Lagos office;
- you filed your Company Tax Return late;
- HMRC has started a compliance check into your return.
For a loan to a subsidiary repaid over several years, the practical answer is to keep the agreement and every repayment record until 6 years after the end of the year in which the loan finally closed.
What the records must include
GOV.UK says accounting records must cover all money received and spent, assets, debts owed to and by the company, year-end stock, and supporting documents such as receipts, invoices and bank statements. Company records cover shareholders, resolutions, loans and charges, and if you keep them away from the registered office you must tell Companies House. HMRC can fine a company £3,000, or a director can be disqualified, for failing to keep accounting records.
| Foreign transaction | Extra evidence worth keeping |
|---|---|
| Payment to a Nigerian supplier | Invoice with the supplier's Tax ID, payment confirmation, rate used and sterling value |
| Receipt from a Nigerian customer net of tax | Gross invoice, amount received, the customer's withholding tax receipt |
| Intra-group charge or loan | Signed agreement, board approval, interest calculation |
| Currency conversion | The Swap or bank confirmation showing both amounts and the date |
| Equipment sent to Nigeria | Purchase invoice, shipping and customs papers, asset register entry |
VAT records: same 6 years, extra rules
HMRC's Record keeping notice (VAT Notice 700/21, last updated 18 March 2024) says business records for VAT must be kept for at least 6 years. If that causes serious storage problems or undue expense, you can contact VAT general enquiries, and HMRC may allow some records to be kept for a shorter period. Records used for other taxes may need keeping longer.
- Currency. Section 4.1 says invoice values may be in any currency, but the total VAT chargeable must be shown in sterling.
- Conversion. Notice 700 section 7.6 allows the UK market selling rate at the time of supply, HMRC's period rates if adopted for all or a class of supplies, or a commercial rate agreed in writing. Forward rates are not acceptable.
- Digital. All VAT-registered businesses must keep certain records digitally in functional compatible software under Making Tax Digital, with limited exemptions.
- Reverse charge. The VAT account must record VAT you account for on a supplier's behalf; see reverse charge on services bought from Nigeria.
Records kept in Nigeria
Notice 700/21 does not say where records must physically be. It says HMRC will usually visit your main place of business and that records must be available when requested. If source documents sit with a Lagos team, scan them into the UK company's system so you can produce them. Your Nigerian subsidiary has its own duty: section 31 of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 requires records in English for not less than six years after the year of assessment, so the two periods run on slightly different clocks.
Steps to set up
- Create one folder per financial year, with a delete-no-earlier-than date on each.
- Flag multi-year contracts, loans and long-life assets so they are excluded from routine deletion.
- Record the exchange-rate method once and use it consistently.
- Scan Nigerian paper receipts on arrival; see digitising Nigerian paper receipts.
- If records are lost, GOV.UK says try to recreate them, tell your Corporation Tax office straight away and say so in your return.
For the document set behind each payment, see keeping an audit trail for UK–Nigeria payments.
Where Pryme fits
Statements from a Pryme Business Account show each currency separately, and any customer can generate a regular or a verifiable statement through our partner VerifyDoc.ai, which helps when a document must be produced years later. The Finance agent can file records by year for a person to review.
Questions people ask
How long does HMRC require a company to keep records?
6 years from the end of the last financial year they relate to, longer in the cases GOV.UK lists, such as multi-period transactions or an open compliance check.
Do foreign transactions have a different retention period?
No. The same rules apply; you also need evidence of the exchange rate and sterling value.
Can I keep VAT records for less than 6 years?
Notice 700/21 says HMRC may allow some records to be kept for a shorter period if storage causes serious problems or undue expense. Ask VAT general enquiries first.
What is the penalty for not keeping records?
GOV.UK says HMRC can fine a company £3,000, or a director can be disqualified, for not keeping accounting records.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Running a limited company, company and accounting records · accessed Oct 2026
- HMRC Record keeping (VAT Notice 700/21), updated 18 Mar 2024 · accessed Oct 2026
- HMRC VAT guide (Notice 700), section 7.6 foreign currency · accessed Oct 2026
- Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 (gazette copy) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.