Declare a dividend
Work out each member's dividend from the register at the record date, confirm profits are available, and finalise it.
Screenshots are retaken from IQ Entities on every release. Updated 14 October 2026.
A dividend is owed to whoever held the shares on the record date, not to whoever holds them when it is paid. IQ Entities works the entitlements out from the register as at that date, so the figures match the register you would show an auditor.
Declare it
Open the company and choose Distributions under Securities in its sidebar, then choose Declare a distribution.
Choose the Kind: Interim dividend, Final dividend, Special dividend or Capital distribution, and the Share class it is paid on.
Enter the date it was Declared, the Record date that decides who is entitled, and the Payment date if it is known.
Enter the amount Per share, the Currency, and any Withholding %. The withholding rate is applied as given: IQ Entities takes no view on tax.
Choose Review entitlements.
Check and finalise it
Check each member's line: the shares they held at the record date, and the gross and net amounts. Choose Waive on a line if that member has waived their dividend.
Once the directors have confirmed that the company has profits available for distribution, choose Confirm profits available. The distribution cannot be finalised until you do, and the audit trail records who confirmed it.
Choose Finalise. The entitlements are frozen, so later changes to the register do not move them.
Once finalised, draw up the dividend vouchers, one per member, from Dividend vouchers under the supporting documents, or choose Generate dividend voucher from a member's line.
Which kind to choose
| Situation | Kind |
|---|---|
| Declared by the directors during the year | Interim dividend |
| Recommended by the directors and approved by the members on the year's accounts | Final dividend |
| A one-off payment outside the usual pattern | Special dividend |
| A return of capital rather than of profits | Capital distribution |
Tips from practice
- Attach the accounts the dividend was declared on, and the resolution that declared it, as supporting documents. They are the evidence that the dividend was lawful.
- Set the record date before the payment date, and record any transfer that completes before the record date first, so the right member is paid.
- Vouchers are only available once the distribution is finalised, because a draft's figures are recomputed from the register on every read.