Whenever company directors pay themselves or other shareholders a dividend, there’s some administrative work to be done – nothing too complex – just a couple of documents to keep things legal.
You’ll need a brief note of the board meeting where the dividend was agreed upon, and a voucher for each person receiving payment. That’s it.
If you’re not sure how these should look, don’t worry – we’ve included free templates below that you can copy, edit, or download as Word and Google Docs.
You can now use our free Dividend Voucher & Board Minutes Generator. Enter your company, dividend and shareholder details and it will create the board minutes and a separate dividend voucher for each shareholder for a straightforward interim dividend, ready to print or save as a PDF.
Dividend distributions must be documented
If you are a company director and want to distribute some of the company’s profits to its shareholders, you must follow these steps to make sure the distribution is a) legal and b) properly documented.
- Make sure the company has sufficient profits available for distribution to cover the dividend. Make sure you read our guide to dividends first to find out how this is calculated.
- Refer to any special conditions listed in your company’s Articles of Association which may determine the process for distributing dividends.
- The directors must formally approve the dividend and keep a written record of the decision with the company’s records.
- Each shareholder should be given a dividend voucher. This can be sent via post, or electronically (via email).
Board Meeting Minutes – What Information Should You Include?
- Company name.
- Company registration number.
- Company address.
- Date of the meeting.
- The amount of dividend to be paid per share.
- Type of dividend (‘interim’ or ‘final’).
- The payment date for the dividend.
- Name of all attendees present.
- Signature of a company officer.
Dividend Voucher – What Information Should You Include?
- Company name.
- Company registration number.
- Company address.
- Date of issue.
- Name and address of the shareholder.
- Class of share (e.g. ‘ordinary’).
- Type of dividend (‘interim’ or ‘final’).
- Dividend amount.
- Signature of a company officer.
Board meeting minutes and dividend voucher templates
Please feel free to use the example document templates and download links we’ve included below:
If you’d rather create the documents automatically, use our free Dividend Voucher & Board Minutes Generator.
Simply copy and paste the following templates, replacing the [REQUIRED FIELDS] with your company information, plus the dividend amount. In this example, the dividend declared is £90 per ordinary share.
You can also download the templates here:
- MS Word (.docx)
- Google Drive
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
[COMPANY NAME]
Held on [DATE] at [ADDRESS]
Present: [NAMES OF ALL PRESENT]
It was resolved that the Company pay an interim dividend of £90 per £1 ordinary share in respect of the year ended [COMPANY’S YEAR END DATE] to those shareholders registered at the close of business on [DATE OF PAYMENT].
There being no further business, the meeting was closed.
—
[DIRECTOR]
[DATE]
[COMPANY REGISTERED ADDRESS / COMPANY NUMBER]
DIVIDEND VOUCHER
[COMPANY NAME]
Dividend in respect of the year ended [COMPANY’S YEAR END DATE] payable to shareholders registered at the close of business on [DATE OF PAYMENT].
Shareholder: [SHAREHOLDER’S NAME]
| No. Ordinary Shares | Dividend Rate | Dividend Payable |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | £90 | £9,000 |
—
[DIRECTOR]
[DATE]
Keep this voucher in a safe place.
[COMPANY REGISTERED ADDRESS / COMPANY NUMBER]
Further template downloads – third-party sites
- If you use FreeAgent, these documents can be generated from within the software application. Find out more here.
Final thoughts
- Read our guide to dividends to find out more about how dividends are taxed.
- Make sure you don’t declare an illegal (unlawful) dividend.
- Why you should be cautious when considering using a dividend waiver.
Check with your accountant if you have any questions about the paperwork required for dividend declaration and dividend timing.
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