What is an Annual Return?

A corporate annual return is an obligation by all companies to file certain documentation with the government. The requirements for annual returns can differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction but generally look to confirm information about a legal entity such as:

1. The Directors
2. The corporation’s status (i.e. whether it is still active or not)
3. The registered address of the corporation

An annual return can be generated manually using a precedent document and then filed with the government using an online service or it can be automated by using cloud entity management software. If a legal professional is managing hundreds or thousands of corporations on behalf of their employer or for a law firm on behalf of clients then they are likely using software to automate this task.