Accountancy is changing, the days of clients throwing heaps of receipts and paperwork into shoe boxes in a mad rush ahead of the January deadline for the accountant will slowly diminish. To be replaced by an accountant leading more of an advisory role in dealing with the business’s book-keeping and then using this data to report to HMRC on a quarterly basis rather than annually. This government initiative, soon to become compulsory is called MAKING TAX DIGITAL.
MTD for VAT is already law for almost all UK businesses if their annual turnover is more than £85k. This means, clients have to:
-keep digital records.
-have a clear digital audit trail from their files to their VAT returns.
-have their VAT returns submitted using HMRC recognised software.
April 2022 will see all VAT registered businesses regardless of their turnover, have to comply. This will see the end to submitting VAT returns manually on the HMRC portal.
I encourage every business owner that we take on, to use QuickBooks online and are ready to work with them whatever the client’s involvement. Both client and I as accountant will have access. If the client wants to make use of its features, great I can provide an advisory role dealing with any queries. If not, we are ready to deal with book-keeping, VAT and payroll with regular handover of relevant information and documentation.
These changes should be seen as an incentive to bring your business’ record keeping to the digital age, enabling for timely tax saving advice from your accountant.
