MTD Software

MobileSaver

barryd999 said:

MobileSaver said:

DavidWright said:

I'm still VAT registered so need to submit my returns using MTD. I want to stay with my spreadsheets ... What's the simplest way to get my VAT figures to HMRC?

You can submit your figures using Portico and it's completely free; they've been around for years and are even "by appointment to Her Majesty" so you can be pretty confident they'll be around for some time!

So basically if  have this right all we have to do for each VAT return is find the figures for the boxes on the form, put them into Excel, export a CSV file then run them through the Portico system and thats it?

Yes, that's exactly it. The first time you do it you have to tell HMRC you'll be using MTD VAT from now on (you simply click a few buttons in your HMRC online VAT account) and then authenticate the Portico software with HMRC.

I don't know why it's free but they've been around for over 30 years so this is not some fly-by-night startup. Pure speculation but the software to integrate with HMRC will be pretty simple for them to develop and they'll have already developed it for their paying corporate customers anyway. Costs for them moving forward will be negligible so offering it for free will be great for PR and brand awareness.

SacredStephan

Portico have rebranded as My Tax Digital.
I just signed up with them and submitted my first MTD VAT return.
It was very quick and painless process.
Hopefully there'll be no more naggy letters from HMRC.

UsernamesAllGone

Hi. Been reading the posts about 'My Tax Digital' (formerly Portico) with interest. The inference here and indeed on the My Tax Digital website itself seems to be that you need only 'bridge' VAT figures using their software to be Making Tax Digital compliant......and to do that, you need only upload a simple spreadsheet with your 9 VAT return figures onto their software. An HMRC rep, however, said this wasn't the case and pointed me to VAT notice 700/22 that says 'records' should be kept digitally (with a software provider in order to be compliant)....ie you can't keep paper records and just do the bridging bit digitally. I didn't quite trust however that the HMRC rep knew the score. Does anyone know if the 'records' that this notice refers to means 'all your accounts'; or if it can be as simple as your 9 final figures??

UsernamesAllGone

MobileSaver said:

barryd999 said:

MobileSaver said:

DavidWright said:

I'm still VAT registered so need to submit my returns using MTD. I want to stay with my spreadsheets ... What's the simplest way to get my VAT figures to HMRC?

You can submit your figures using Portico and it's completely free; they've been around for years and are even "by appointment to Her Majesty" so you can be pretty confident they'll be around for some time!

So basically if  have this right all we have to do for each VAT return is find the figures for the boxes on the form, put them into Excel, export a CSV file then run them through the Portico system and thats it?

Yes, that's exactly it. The first time you do it you have to tell HMRC you'll be using MTD VAT from now on (you simply click a few buttons in your HMRC online VAT account) and then authenticate the Portico software with HMRC.

I don't know why it's free but they've been around for over 30 years so this is not some fly-by-night startup. Pure speculation but the software to integrate with HMRC will be pretty simple for them to develop and they'll have already developed it for their paying corporate customers anyway. Costs for them moving forward will be negligible so offering it for free will be great for PR and brand awareness.

Sorry - just tagging you to the above as didn't in first message...

MobileSaver

The HMRC rep is correct, you do have to keep ALL your VAT records stored digitally; whether that be a spreadsheet or proper accounts software. To be honest I'd assumed that if you're doing enough business to warrant being VAT-registered in the first place then in this day and age you'd be keeping your records on a computer anyway.

What Portico does (for free) is to provide the bridging software to connect your basic spreadsheet/software to HMRC's site so that you don't have to upgrade to a more expensive all-in-one software package.