Is my software testing journey at an end?

Making Tax Digital is here now. Does that mean my software testing journey is at an end?

Absolutely not! Some software is still in development; other software providers have only recently made their Making Tax Digital for Income Tax features available.

𝗩𝗧 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 is a UK-based company offering free and low-cost bookkeeping software. Their paid-for product, VT Transaction+, is now able make quarterly submissions for Making Tax Digital. I’ve successfully connected VT to HMRC and will be sending in my first submission in July.

VT’s user licence is per user rather than per business. This means that a single user licence can cover unlimited businesses and sources of rental income for one person.

If you do your own bookkeeping and Making Tax Digital submissions, you will need to purchase a VT Transaction+ licence. If you’re still in the Self Assessment tax system, you can start off with their free software, VT Cash Book, and upgrade to the paid-for version when you need to.

[VT Cash Book can only handle cash basis accounting. If you need to keep track of who owes you and who you owe, you’ll need VT Transaction +]

𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 is another UK-based software company offering free and low-cost bookkeeping software. Both Pandle Free and Pandle Pro are able to make quarterly submissions for Making Tax Digital. I’ve successfully connected my first Pandle Pro client to HMRC and will be sending in their first submission in July too.

[Pandle Free can only handle cash basis accounting. If you need to keep track of who owes you and who you owe, you’ll need Pandle Pro]

If for any reason I can’t send the figures directly from VT or Pandle, I’ll export the trial balance to spreadsheet and submit it using Thomson Reuters as bridging software. Whichever way, I’m confident that I’ll be able to use bookkeeping records kept in VT and Pandle to send Quarter 1 MTD submissions to HMRC.

For more bookkeeping and tax tips, and support in the transition from Self Assessment to Making Tax Digital, follow Springreach Training & Coaching on social media or sign up to my mailing list. Link in the comments below.

[Image credit: Magnific]