A worked example: what a micro-entity balance sheet looks like
By DormantFile · Updated 1 June 2026
Micro-entity accounts can sound intimidating until you see one. For a non-trading company, the whole thing is a short balance sheet and a few statements. Here's a complete worked example for the most common case: a company that isn't trading but is repaying a Bounce Back Loan.
The scenario
ACME HOLDINGS LTD stopped trading in 2023. It has one liability — a Bounce Back Loan — which it repays from the company's own bank account. For the year:
- Loan owed at the start of the year: £10,000
- Repaid during the year: £2,000
- Loan owed at the year end: £8,000
- Cash at bank at the year end: £1,500
- Issued share capital: £1
Because money moved through the company's account, the company is not dormant — but it isn't trading either, so it files FRS 105 micro-entity accounts.
The balance sheet
This is what goes on the public record at Companies House:
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Current assets — cash at bank and in hand | £1,500 |
| Net current assets | £1,500 |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £1,500 |
| Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year | (£8,000) |
| Net assets (liabilities) | (£6,500) |
| Called up share capital | £1 |
| Profit and loss account | (£6,501) |
| Total equity | (£6,500) |
A few things to notice:
- The two halves balance. Net assets (what the company is worth) equals total equity (how that worth is funded). Here both are negative £6,500 — the company owes more than it holds, which is completely normal for a company carrying a loan, and perfectly acceptable for a micro-entity.
- The loan sits under creditors. In the simplest case the whole outstanding balance is shown as due after more than one year. (If part is due within the next 12 months you can split it, but for a small loan it's commonly shown in one line.)
- There's no profit and loss account on the public file. A micro-entity prepares one, but doesn't have to file it. The profit-and-loss reserve figure (the £6,501) still appears within equity.
What sits underneath it
Beneath the numbers, the filed accounts carry a few short statements:
- That the accounts are prepared under the micro-entity provisions of the Companies Act.
- The audit exemption statement (micro-entities aren't audited).
- The director's name and the date the balance sheet was approved.
That's the whole document. No directors' report, no detailed notes, no cash flow statement.
How DormantFile builds it
You don't enter the balance sheet line by line. At the filing step you choose micro-entity, then enter the handful of figures from the scenario above — the loan balances, anything repaid, any interest, and cash at bank. DormantFile derives the balance sheet, checks it balances, shows you the exact document, and submits it to Companies House as iXBRL, alongside a nil CT600. See how it works.
Key points
- A non-trading company's micro-entity accounts are essentially one short balance sheet plus a few statements.
- The loan appears under creditors; the company can — and often will — show net liabilities.
- Net assets always equal total equity; that's the balance sheet "balancing".
- The profit and loss account is prepared but not filed at Companies House.
- DormantFile builds the whole thing from a few figures — you never write the balance sheet yourself.