The control accounts check in Data Health & Insights gives you a visual overview of your client's payroll liabilities, directors loan account balance, and dividends activity. Each check is calculated based on the account codes you configure.
To access it, go to a client's account and select Data Health in the left navigation, then select Control accounts under Cleanup.
Use the Reporting date field at the top of the page to set the point in time all checks are calculated against. The payroll checks (PAYE, Net Wages, and Pension) look at the previous complete month relative to this date — so if your Reporting date is in April, Dext evaluates March.
Important: Before any check shows data, you need to configure the account codes for that check. Select the settings cog next to the relevant card to set this up.
Who can use this check
The control accounts check is available to practices on Practice Essentials and Practice Advanced plans with the Data Health & Insights add-on.
Setting up account codes
Each control account check uses account codes you select to calculate its balance and identify relevant transactions. To configure a check, select the settings cog next to the card title.
For PAYE, Net Wages, Pension, and Dividends, the settings panel shows a list of suggested accounts at the top (where applicable) and a full searchable list of all accounts below. Select the relevant account codes and select Save. These settings apply to this client only and override any default configuration.
For Directors Loan Accounts, selecting the cog shows which account codes are currently included. Select Change to open the account search, select the relevant codes, then select Update and Save.
Note: For Xero clients, PAYE defaults to accounts under the reporting code LIA.CUR.TAX.OTH. You can override this by selecting specific account codes in the settings panel.
PAYE Status
The PAYE Status check balances payroll journals against detected payments to the configured PAYE account codes, giving you a point-in-time view of your client's PAYE liability status.
Expand the card to see a summary of payroll journals posted in the previous complete month, payments detected in the current month, a chart of account balance history, and a transaction table showing Date, Contact, Description, Code, Account, Net Amount, Tax Amount, and Tax Type for each entry.
Alert states:
Green — "Control Account balance is as expected - payment is due by 22nd of this month"
Red — "No Payroll journal found in PAYE accounts last month"
Net Wages Status
The Net Wages Status check balances payroll journals against detected payments to the configured net wages account codes. A non-zero balance may indicate an outstanding liability rather than an error — for example, if you're reviewing before the payment to HMRC has been made.
Note: If you're looking for a zero balance, adjust the Reporting date to the date you'd expect the liability to have been paid.
Expand the card to see the same journal, payment, chart, and transaction detail as PAYE Status.
Alert states:
Green — "Control Account balance agrees to journals - payments have not been reconciled"
Red — "No journals found in these accounts last month"
Pension Status
The Pension Status check balances payroll journals against detected payments to the configured pension account codes, following the same logic as Net Wages Status.
Expand the card to see journal and payment summaries, a chart of account balance history, and a full transaction table.
Alert states:
Green — "Control Account balance agrees to journals - payments have not been reconciled"
Red — "No journals found in these accounts last month"
Directors Loan Accounts
The Directors Loan Accounts check monitors the balance of your client's directors loan account and alerts you when the balance becomes overdrawn. In a UK business, a directors loan overdrawn by more than £10,000 can trigger an S455 tax liability — a significant cost that accountants should flag to their clients early.
Expand the card to see a journals summary, payments summary, a chart of the account balance over time, and a transaction table. Each configured DLA account appears as a separate sub-card with its own chart and transaction detail.
Alert states:
Green — "No overdrawn DLAs" / "This account is not overdrawn"
Amber — "One or more overdrawn DLAs (Below £10k)" / "This account is overdrawn, but by less than £10,000"
Red — "One or more overdrawn DLAs (Above £10k)" / "This account is overdrawn, with possible S455 tax liability"
Note: To monitor multiple directors loan accounts, configure multiple account codes for this check. Each appears as a separate sub-card.
Dividends Status
The Dividends Status check tracks dividends declared in the current financial year using the account codes you configure. It shows who has declared dividends, how much, and when.
Expand the card to see each configured account as a sub-card showing transaction count and declared amount, with a transaction table showing Contact, Description, Account Name, Class, Report Code, Report Category, and Gross Amount.
Note: Dividends Status only shows data for transactions within the current financial year relative to the Reporting date. If no dividends appear, check that your Reporting date falls within the correct financial year.
Alert states:
Green — "We have found evidence of Dividends being declared in the current financial year"
Red — no dividends control account configured, or no transactions found
Syncing and recalculating data
To update the control accounts check, use the buttons at the top of the page:
Sync — pulls the latest data from Xero or QuickBooks Online into Dext
Recalculate — reruns the checks against the data already pulled into Dext
If you've made changes in Xero or QuickBooks Online, select Sync first, then Recalculate to see updated results.