The Ongoing Compliance Calendar Every Company Should Keep
Author: Junanda ConsultingReviewed by: Junanda Service Team2026-09-19
Registering a company is only the beginning; the real cost lies in the maintenance work that has to be done year after year. These items run on three rhythms — monthly, quarterly and annual — and missing any one of them can lead to fines, abnormal operating status or restrictions on the legal representative. This article groups the routine actions of a company year into a single calendar and adds a table of the fixed annual actions, so that you can build a maintenance rhythm with nothing falling through the gaps.
What Has to Be Done Every Month
Monthly actions are the most frequent, and the easiest to overlook when business is busy.
- Bookkeeping and tax filing: organise income, cost and expense vouchers each month and prepare accounting vouchers and ledgers. Even in a month with no business, a nil filing is usually still required (whether nil filing applies is judged under the rules currently in force).
- Bank reconciliation: check bank statements against the books, confirm that every receipt and payment has a corresponding transaction and voucher, and clear outstanding reconciling items that have been sitting for a long time.
- Social insurance and housing fund filing and payment: handle additions and removals of personnel and make contributions within the filing period set locally, so that a break in contributions does not affect employees' entitlements or the company's credit.
- Invoice issuance and verification: issue output invoices as required, obtain and confirm input invoices, and complete the purpose confirmation for special VAT invoices within the prescribed period (subject to the latest official versions).
- Payroll and individual income tax filing: calculate wages, withhold individual income tax and file the return.
- Tracking of current accounts and cash flow: update the ageing of receivables and follow up on overdue amounts.
What Has to Be Done Every Quarter
- VAT and surtax filing: taxpayers filing quarterly must complete the filing and payment within the prescribed period after the quarter ends.
- Prepayment of enterprise income tax (CIT): prepaid quarterly on cumulative profit, and kept consistent with the accounting data.
- Submission of financial statements: submit the balance sheet, income statement and other statements as required.
- Quarterly business review: check whether the gross margin and effective tax burden are abnormal, and look into invoice and cost allocation problems without delay.
- Self-review of smaller taxes such as stamp duty: check whether contracts signed and books established during the quarter involve taxable documents (the specific tax items and treatment are subject to the latest official versions).
What Has to Be Done Every Year
Annual items are numerous and involve many departments, so it is worth scheduling them in advance.
- Annual CIT settlement: complete it within the prescribed period in the following year, giving final confirmation of revenue, costs, expenses and tax adjustment items for the whole year. This is the single most important tax action of the year.
- Annual enterprise report publication: submit the report for the previous year through the publication system within the prescribed period. Late submission leads to inclusion in the directory of enterprises with abnormal operations.
- Adjustment of social insurance contribution base: generally declared and adjusted within the annual window set for the purpose, based on the previous year's wage levels.
- Stamp duty on account books and similar reminders: increases in paid-in capital and capital reserves, and the establishment of account books, may involve stamp duty; the specific treatment is subject to the latest official versions.
- Filing for the employment security fund for persons with disabilities: companies meeting the prescribed conditions will usually need to file and pay; the specific ratios and relief measures follow the latest local rules.
- Licence annual review and renewal: such as food business licences, road transport permits and human resources service licences, which must be renewed before they expire.
- Trademark renewal and patent annuities: a trademark must be renewed when its registration term expires, and patents require annuities paid on time; delay may mean losing the right altogether.
- Bank account and online banking annual review: cooperate with the account bank on verifying account information and updating licence and legal representative details, so that the account is not restricted.
- Updating qualification and filing information: after a change of registered address, legal representative, shareholders or business scope, synchronise the information with the tax authority, the bank, the social insurance authority and the platforms concerned.
The Annual Fixed-Action Calendar
| Frequency |
Item |
Reference timing (subject to official announcements) |
| Monthly |
Bookkeeping and preparation of statements |
Completed within a fixed period each month |
| Monthly |
Bank reconciliation |
Before closing the books each month |
| Monthly |
Social insurance and housing fund filing and payment |
Within the local filing period for the month |
| Monthly |
Payroll and individual income tax filing |
Within the prescribed period in the following month |
| Monthly |
Invoice issuance and purpose confirmation |
Handled on a rolling monthly basis |
| Quarterly |
VAT and surtax filing |
Within the prescribed period after the quarter ends |
| Quarterly |
CIT prepayment |
Within the prescribed period after the quarter ends |
| Quarterly |
Submission of financial statements |
Alongside the quarterly filing |
| Annually |
Annual CIT settlement |
Within the prescribed period in the following year |
| Annually |
Annual enterprise report publication |
Within the prescribed period in the following year |
| Annually |
Adjustment of social insurance contribution base |
In the prescribed annual filing window |
| Annually |
Filing for the employment security fund for persons with disabilities |
At the timing set locally |
| Annually |
Licence annual review and renewal |
Handled in advance of expiry |
| Annually |
Trademark renewal and patent annuities |
Handled in advance according to the term of the right |
| Annually |
Bank account and online banking annual review |
At the time notified by the bank |
The Consequences of Letting Items Slip
- Late or missed tax filing: late payment surcharges and fines, and the tax credit rating may be downgraded.
- Failure to publish the annual report on time: inclusion in the directory of enterprises with abnormal operations, affecting bidding, loans and onboarding onto platforms.
- Missed or interrupted social insurance contributions: employees' entitlements suffer, and labour disputes, back contributions and surcharges may follow.
- Expired licences not renewed: an order to suspend business and rectify, or even revocation of the licence.
- Trademarks not renewed and patent annuities unpaid: the rights lapse, and the brand and technology invested in earlier may be lost.
- A bank account left without annual review for a long time: the account's functions are restricted, affecting collections, payments and credit standing.
- Long-term tax abnormalities: the legal representative and shareholders may face restrictions on high-value consumption, travel and further investment.
Suggested Division of Labour
Items the company is best placed to handle itself:
- Managing the originals of business contracts and settlement statements, and passing them to finance promptly.
- Collecting and checking invoices, and explaining the commercial reality behind them.
- Safekeeping and use of bank USB tokens, seals and original licences and certificates.
- Providing social insurance personnel changes and payroll data.
- Tracking licence expiry dates and applying for renewal.
- Tracking the term of intellectual property rights such as trademarks and patents.
Items best entrusted to a professional firm:
- Day-to-day bookkeeping, preparation of vouchers and ledgers, and issuance of financial statements.
- Filing of VAT, CIT and surtaxes.
- Withholding and filing of individual income tax, and payment of social insurance and housing fund contributions on behalf of the company.
- Annual CIT settlement and tax adjustments.
- Annual enterprise report publication and company change filings.
- Invoice issuance, verification and archive management.
Self-Check Checklist
This article is general business information prepared by Junanda Consulting. Specific policy positions, tax rates, deadlines and procedural requirements are subject to the latest official versions issued by the competent authorities. To understand how these requirements apply to your business, please contact Junanda Consulting for further information and support.
