Legal, Audit & Accountancy Fees: Codes 7600, 7601 & 7602

These three codes cover the core professional services most limited companies need at least once a year, whether it's a contract that needs checking, an audit that's legally required, or the year-end accounts themselves.

The codes, and what each one holds

Code 7600 — Legal Fees records solicitor and legal advice costs, such as contract reviews or dispute resolution.

Code 7601 — Audit Fees covers the cost of a statutory audit, where the company meets the size thresholds that require one.

Code 7602 — Accountancy Fees covers the cost of preparing annual accounts, tax returns, and general accountancy support. All three are Overheads codes and normally carry a debit balance.

A worked example

Say a growing company pays £800 to a solicitor to review a new supplier contract, and separately pays its accountant £2,200 to prepare the year's statutory accounts and Corporation Tax return.

Legal Fees (code 7600): £800 debited.

Accountancy Fees (code 7602): £2,200 debited.

Why this matters day to day

Keeping these separate from general professional fees makes it easy to track statutory, non-negotiable compliance costs against more discretionary spend like consultancy. It's also useful when a company crosses the audit threshold for the first time, since Audit Fees will suddenly need to hold a meaningful balance where previously it sat at zero — worth budgeting for well ahead of the change.