Make Tax Digital Software to go for

[Geoffreywrc]

I'm looking to know which is a good Make digital software package to go for.
We only run a small farm holding.
Most are a pay Monthly subscription but i've heard there is some which can be bought outright.
Bridging vrs the full package.
What good bridgeing software is good for using
I think we have to change onto it in April 22

 

[Al R]

Xero seems very popular

 

[DrWazzock]

If you have a system that already works for you then I’d just use bridging software to move the totals from excel or whatever to HMRC.
We went down the quick books route but haven’t really found it worthwhile. I don’t think it’s much different to any other of these packages. And the overall accountancy bill with the quick books charge is bigger despite us now doing more clerical faffing around with quick books. It’s takes me longer to produxe an invoice on quick books than scrawling one out in my carbon copy book.
The problem with these packages is they need setting up properly. We got no help from our accountant setting up the structure of quick books despite them pushing it, though they do help us with minor inputting problems. So the structure probably ain’t quite what it should be, having been set up by myself. I use classes as a well as “accounts” but my accountant hadn’t even enabled classes. New features appear and I haven’t clue what they are nor have time to do a lot of digging to find out. I’ve a business to run. I’m not an accounts geek.

 

[DrWazzock]

Get two months VAT repayments paid as a lump some sum in one month by HMRC and watch these systems meltdown. It wasn’t a problem in my paper ledger. Contra accounts are a pain as well. None of these packages are really set up for them. So easy to forget the minus sign or that it’s purchase VAT in an income entry and screw the system up. Then the nice lady at my accountants had to frig around trying to fool the system into thinking it’s all OK.
Then I have some customers who write a cheque to cover 75% of the value of 7 invoices outstanding. Not easy to sort out.

 

[DrWazzock]

Just another way of drawing a bit more out of the ordinary working man’s profits in my view, backed up by the big government stick.
Excuse my cynicism.

 

[GmB]

I will be using an excel spreadsheet and sending it to my accountant for him to submit to HMRC. £40 per return for our little bit is a small price to pay for not having to mess about with something I have no interest in.

 

[neilo]

Get two months VAT repayments paid as a lump some sum in one month by HMRC and watch these systems meltdown. It wasn’t a problem in my paper ledger. Contra accounts are a pain as well. None of these packages are really set up for them. So easy to forget the minus sign or that it’s purchase VAT in an income entry and screw the system up. Then the nice lady at my accountants had to frig around trying to fool the system into thinking it’s all OK.
Then I have some customers who write a cheque to cover 75% of the value of 7 invoices outstanding. Not easy to sort out.

Are you suggesting it’s the software’s fault if you forget to put a minus figure on the Contra entry?

I can’t say that I’ve ever felt Contra entries particularly troublesome (Quickbooks user), not that I do that many.

 

[neilo]

I'm looking to know which is a good Make digital software package to go for.
We only run a small farm holding.
Most are a pay Monthly subscription but i've heard there is some which can be bought outright.
Bridging vrs the full package.
What good bridgeing software is good for using
I think we have to change onto it in April 22

Are you using excel spreadsheets currently? If you are, and are happy with that, then bridging software is a relatively inexpensive way to comply.
If you are an NFU or TFA member (& maybe others?), they both hav3 discounts on Absolute Excel. https://www.absoluteexcelvatfiler.co.uk/pages/absolute-excel-vat-filer

Quickbooks do a ‘buy outright’ version as well as their subscription offering, but it’s the same as several years of subscriptions.

 

[matthew]

And if using it, make sure you’re in the correct version of QB. Apparently I was on the mid range, which is now £20 / month.
But thanks to our sheep friend in North Wales,* I queried this, complained about tooooo much info which I don’t want or use and am now down to £12.50. I also mentioned unwanted and /or changed format every 5 minutes.
But they won’t do much about that.

I did laugh though, when speaking with the accountant about the programme. He was going to alter something and found that for what he needed, “all the boxes have changed” Shock, horror. Ha ha ha.

Life is really too short….

* @neilo

 

[Still Farming]

Also see ALL the other threads on this subject.!

HMRC making us switch to MTD therefore THEY SHOULD supply all the relevant, COMPATIBLE, required Software for FREE, be it online .Gov.uk or App store

 

[Azlett]

I think we're going with Open Answers Ltd (Portico) bridging software which is free. Just upload an excel file with the vat figurss in it.

 

[Chris123]

I will be using an excel spreadsheet and sending it to my accountant for him to submit to HMRC. £40 per return for our little bit is a small price to pay for not having to mess about with something I have no interest in.

So you do the vat return on excel then send it to the accountant to submit to hmrc.
You’ve already done the hard work are you sending in monthly or quarterly returns? I do the returns on excel then use bridging software to submit return. I use tax optimiser literally takes me 1minute to log on to the website and submit the return once I have completed it on excel. Tax optimiser charge £34 a year for service I think it is

 

[Still Farming]

So you do the vat return on excel then send it to the accountant to submit to hmrc.
You’ve already done the hard work are you sending in monthly or quarterly returns? I do the returns on excel then use bridging software to submit return. I use tax optimiser literally takes me 1minute to log on to the website and submit the return once I have completed it on excel. Tax optimiser charge £34 a year for service I think it is

Accountants love all of this as ALL done for them , just send bill out???

 

[WD-40]

If it's just vat use a simple bridging software, i use Taxcalc think its about £23/yr just to send monthly vat

 

[Treg]

Check with your bank first before spending any money several are offering MTD packages for free.

 

[colhonk]

Just what exactly do the gov want? is it just the figures that are in the end boxes on my paper one or are they wanting a copy of all our invoices?

 

[Goweresque]

Just what exactly do the gov want? is it just the figures that are in the end boxes on my paper one or are they wanting a copy of all our invoices?

A digital audit trail is what they want, for now. Certainly under the current MTD set up they get exactly the same data they got when we put the numbers into their website manually. So all this (at the moment) isn't about getting extra data its about getting everyone to have a digital system of accounting that cannot be manipulated easily. The idea being that once you enter your data into whatever program you use, then it can't be altered, and can be tracked all the way to HMRC. Once they have everyone doing that then the demands for extra data will surely follow........

 

[farmerm]

Just what exactly do the gov want? is it just the figures that are in the end boxes on my paper one or are they wanting a copy of all our invoices?

its about creating jobs init..... what they have done is simply put in an extra layer that sits between the generation of ones VAT figures and the submission of those figures....

 

[reb1952]

Try Money Manager by moneysoft.co.uk. Been using it for well over 20 years now.
Business edition is a one off £120.

 

[Still Farming]

Try Money Manager by moneysoft.co.uk. Been using it for well over 20 years now.
Business edition is a one off £120.

Is it on the HMRC approved mtd software lists though?