Businesses from across the country have taken the time to tell us
their experiences of Making Tax Digital for VAT:
The accountancy firm - PKB Accountants
PKB is a firm of chartered certified accountants serving the
Berkshire, Surrey and Hampshire areas. The company’s director,
Steve Greehy shared his experience of Making Tax Digital and how
it has helped the firm and their customers navigate COVID-19.
Making Tax Digital has allowed us to transition more of our
clients to digital software. This has proved invaluable during
COVID-19 with restrictions inhibiting us from seeing customers
face-to-face. With everything done digitally, we’ve been able
to continue to manage client accounts seamlessly.
Working closely with our clients, we ensure a smooth transition
and teach the benefits of the system including less paperwork,
more accurate bookkeeping and the availability of real-time tax
information.
The creative agency - Breeze Creative Design Consultants
Nicola Mackinlay is the Director of Breeze Creative Design
Consultants, and she shared with us her experience of Making Tax
Digital:
The thought of ‘Making Tax Digital’ was quite daunting to me at
the start, I had been using Excel spreadsheets to run our
accounts for 15 years and I was reluctant to change! I put it
off for about two years before having to switch to Cloud
software for VAT purposes.
On the advice of my accountants, I converted to Making Tax
Digital software and was pleased to find the system really easy
to use.
Having worked with the system now for about a year, I find it
very straight forward and only very occasionally have a query
but I contact my accountant and they help me quickly sort it.
VAT returns are super easy
to do now and take only minutes as the Making Tax Digital
software does all the work for you.
I am very happy with the difference going digital has made to
the way we run the business, and how it has improved our
efficiencies.
The accountancy firm - French Duncan Chartered Accountants
French Duncan are a leading independent provider of accountancy
and business advisory services operating from 4 offices across
Central Scotland. They took the time to tell us how Making Tax
Digital has benefited both them and their clients:
Many clients do fear changing the way they manage their
finances and accounts; they’ve often used the same processes
and systems for many years, sometimes generations, and so are
used to how they operate. Making Tax Digital however forced
their hand to some extent, but in doing so it also enabled us
to really engage with our clients about what they need from
their financial systems, and how these can improve how they run
their business rather than just report on what has happened
historically.
We have now helped numerous clients make the transition to
Making Tax Digital, and in doing so most now use systems much
more suited and more useful for their day-to-day operations –
and which are more robust and future-proofed too. Not only does
this help improve their efficiency, it also helps us as their
accountants focus energy on advising them on future
improvements, rather than just on reporting what has gone
before.
It has become clear that the idea of real time management
information and the benefits it brings has become more
appealing in the current period of uncertainty. Many businesses
have had to adopt new processes and methods of selling their
goods and services so real-time information allows them to
focus on fine tuning these changes.
The dentist - Rock House Dental Practice
Rock House Dental Practice is based in Wells, Somerset. Hannah,
one of the Practice Partners, describes how Making Tax Digital
has benefitted her business:
With Making Tax Digital coming into effect, I knew I needed to
move to a Cloud based accountancy package. From the outset, my
accountant was on hand to recommend a suitable software for my
business, and provide me with the training, guidance and
support on how to get the software set up and make it user
friendly for my needs.
My Making Tax Digital software has enabled me to not only keep
on top of my bookkeeping, but it has allowed me to collaborate
with both my business partner and my accountant to input data,
track my finances and spending, produce monthly payments and
organise payroll for my employees. On top of this, the biggest
benefit to me is the 24/7 access it allows, I can access it
anytime and from anywhere. As a busy mum this is ideal as I can
even check my accounts while on the school run!
The accountancy firm - Dunkley’s Chartered Accountants
Dunkley’s Chartered Accountants are one of the leading
independent practices in Bristol and the South West. Amber Vierke
is Dunkley’s Making Tax Digital and Cloud Specialist and she
shared her experience of Making Tax Digital for
VAT.
Initially, Making Tax Digital was a challenge to put forward to
clients. They saw it as an ‘unknown’ which was going to take
them time to understand and get used to. However, once the
benefits were portrayed to them, and we were able to provide
them with support and guidance on how it works – together with
how it could suit their individual businesses, the mindset
changed. They saw how Making Tax Digital could positively
improve their businesses and began to embrace the new ways of
working.
For us as a business, Making Tax Digital has been a great
opportunity. We have been able to spend the time to talk to
each of our clients individually and discuss their evolving
needs in detail. We have not only been able to provide them
with the advice and support they need with regards to
transitioning over to compliant software, but have also been
able to discuss further opportunities on how we can help
support their business moving forward both from an accountancy
and advisory standpoint. Making Tax Digital has been a catalyst
for us to further help our clients streamline their processes
and improve their business efficiencies.
The hardware shop - Sykes Retail Limited
Linzy owns Sykes Retail Limited, a hardware shop in Bristol. She
took the time to tell us how Making Tax Digital has helped her
business.
When Making Tax Digital was coming into effect my accountant
advised me that it would make the most sense to convert to
cloud software as this would enable me with the collaboration
and instant back up I required to get peace of mind. During set
up, I found it tricky to get started.
However, with my accountant’s support things soon became clear
and I was able to learn how to always keep my bookkeeping up to
date. I also learnt how to do my VAT returns and submit these to
HMRC which helps
both my business and the production of my year end accounts.
The accountancy firm - TaxAssist Accountants
TaxAssist Accountants in Plymouth was established in 2006 and has
two shopfront offices in the city centre and Peverell areas. Its
small business clients come from varying sectors, including the
trades, professional services, technology and healthcare. Its
owner Alex Smith tells us how Making Tax Digital for
VAT has helped his
business.
Making Tax Digital for VAT
provided us a springboard to accelerate the adoption of online
accounting software across our clients. It helped us introduce
new services including daily bookkeeping and, in turn, our
clients now have significantly more up to date financial
information and can make better business decisions as a result.
The introduction of Making Tax Digital for VAT-based businesses was a practical
starting point and not a huge leap for these businesses that
were making quarterly VAT
submissions already. There were some concerns in the run up to
the system going live but in the end it just worked, the
process was smooth and passed without a problem.
The mobile farm administrator
Jennifer Day is a mobile farm administrator working on several
large and multi-enterprise estates in South Wiltshire. She is
also a member of the Institute of Agricultural Secretaries and
Administrators. Jennifer shared with us her experience of
Making Tax Digital for
VAT:
I tried out the early Making Tax Digital software in June 2018
and I was very impressed at how HMRC and my software provider
collaborated to make the system work. I believe I was my
software provider’s second client filing my business
VAT return, and I did so
by the end of 2018. I particularly remember the enthusiasm of
everyone involved and the collective determination to make
Making Tax Digital a success.
I found setting up the system so straightforward and all of my
clients were filing their monthly VAT returns through Making Tax Digital
from early in 2019.
When asked I always say it is so straightforward, quick and
reliable I wonder what all the fuss was about.
The family-run farm - North Farm
Victoria Snell is a Farm Secretary at her family run crop farm -
North Farm in Dorset. As a busy secretary and farmers wife,
Victoria took a few moments to tell us about her experience of
Making Tax Digital for
VAT:
I have been a Farm Secretary for over 8 years now, and being in
this privileged position I get a fascinating insight into the
running of the business. North Farm grows combinable crops in a
stunning part of East Dorset using the latest technology.
One of my many roles in the office is the bookkeeping and on a
farm that harvests over 3,000 acres there are a huge number of
inputs and outputs to keep track of. Our VAT return is performed on a monthly
basis and it is made easy via the software we use.
I submitted our first Making Tax Digital return a year ago on
28 February 2019 and was pleasantly surprised at how simple it
was – it was easier and quicker than a manual return. It took a
few steps to get to the position where I was ready to submit
but I was guided along the way with clear information from both
HMRC and our
software provider. Making Tax Digital is not as daunting as I
believed it would be and I feel the benefits in the time it
saves, as well as the clarity of the information that the
software provides.
The family business - Mower Magic
Mower Magic is a family business based in Lincoln dealing in
domestic and professional gardening and lawn care products. Owner
tells us about his
experience of Making Tax Digital for
VAT:
The introduction of Making Tax Digital gave us the ideal
opportunity to change the software we were using to
future-proof our bookkeeping systems and processes. We were
pleasantly surprised that the transition to our new Making Tax
Digital-compatible software was relatively easy as it was
seamlessly managed with the help of our accountant.
We found switching to Making Tax Digital also gave us the
additional benefit of being able to access up-to-date financial
figures, giving us a daily handle on our business’ finances and
performance, that wasn’t there previously. Making Tax Digital
has made the submission process so simple and we find it really
comforting to receive an instant acknowledgement from
HMRC when we submit
our VAT return.
The rural business professional
Fiona Ives is a self-employed rural business professional (farm
secretary) based near Basingstoke. Fiona previously lived and
worked on a dairy farm and she now shares her expertise and
experience with other farming businesses. Fiona told us about her
experience of Making Tax Digital for
VAT:
I have helped many farms move from manual (or excel
spreadsheets) to digital records and they’re all getting on
fantastically well with it. I think it’s fair to say most
people would have been reluctant to make the change to digital
but I’m sure most of them would now say it’s been a really
positive change. I am a member of the local branch of The
Institute of Agricultural Secretaries and Administrators Ltd
(IAgSA) and we had a few training sessions before the
MTD deadline, people
were concerned how it was going to all work.
However, MTD for
VAT has been nothing but
straightforward. As a Farm Secretary all of my clients were
already using accounts software. It just took loading the
programme update, following the MTD set-up wizard, and onto the
HMRC website to
apply to sign up for MTD. Within a very short space of
time I had a message from HMRC to say I had the go ahead.
So back into the accounts software, and I set it up ready for
MTD. Then at the end of
the first MTD
VAT return (having done my
usual checks through the figures) I pressed the button and off
went the VAT return.
It went through very smoothly indeed - no finding my login
details, no waiting for the text message with the code, no
entering the figures and checking and double-checking they were
correctly entered, and no finding my login details again to go
back in for confirmation! Straightaway I had confirmation it
had gone through and a receipt back from HMRC.
What had I been worried about? It was so straightforward, quick
and reassuring! I have also set up an arable farm on the
software who had until then been doing their accounts manually
- the whole process could not have been easier. From manual to
computerised accounts might seem like a bit of a leap, but I
hope other farms have found it as positive an experience as my
clients have. It’s obviously been essential for MTD VAT, but having computerised accounts
brings so many other benefits to the business - for the farmer,
their accountant and their book-keeper!
The accountancy firm - DSG
DSG is an independent accountancy and advisory firm in the North
West with an HQ in Liverpool and two offices in Liverpool City
and North Wales. Andrew Moss is a partner in the Corporate
department of DSG and he has been with the company since 2003.
Andrew shared with us his, and his clients experience of
Making Tax Digital for
VAT:
Making Tax Digital, while it might not have felt like it, has
given us a great opportunity to talk to clients about their
systems and help them, where need be, to transition to an
environment where they are getting, or have the ability to get,
more timely information about their business. This process
continues for the clients where our bridging software has been
employed. Some of the owner-managed businesses with turnovers
of up to £5m and still employing excel-based bookkeeping
systems now have timely management information and the ability
to access their financial data from their phone or tablet. We
have seen that these are the businesses that have the ability
to make informed decisions that ultimately improve their
businesses.
MTD has provided an
opportunity for our clients to address other systems within
their business, whether it be around stock management, credit
control, staff expenses or project management. The new cloud
‘eco-system’ has a multitude of bolt-on apps which are able to
interact directly with the cloud-based accounting systems,
enabling business owners to operate in a more efficient and
effective way as well as having a better oversight of the
business performance. Some clients have struggled, but we have
been able to support them with an outsourced service enabling
them to not only meet their reporting obligations, but also to
have the business insight on a regular basis.
While initially MTD was
seen as another burden on business, the wider digital benefits
have to be seen as a positive as business owners can embrace
new applications and improve their business processes to be
more robust and efficient than in a pre-MTD world. And, of course, we are
happy to help them along the way.
The estate agent - Dowen Estate Agents
Dowen Estate Agents is a business based in the North East of
England. It has 8 branches covering the mid North East from the
coast to the A1 corridor. It was founded in 1982 by Managing
Director Denis Dowen. Denis shares his experience of Making Tax Digital for
VAT:
When I first learned that Making Tax Digital was becoming
mandatory for businesses above the VAT threshold, I admit I was
sceptical. As a business dealing in property sales, purchases,
auctions and property management there are a great deal of
transactions to track from a VAT perspective, and I certainly did
not want the process to become overly complicated.
However, I learned more about MTD for VAT on GOV.UK and I spoke to my
accountant. I soon realised that as we already kept many
financial records digitally, signing up to MTD and submitting via MTD for VAT was the next natural step for us.
I found the process relatively straightforward and it did not
take long to become business as usual across the business.
MTD also acted as a
catalyst for the expansion of our digital record keeping.
Having been in business almost 40 years, we did have
considerable paper-based records. However, we moved more and
more of these to a digital basis and saw many immediate
benefits - not just the instant accessibility of records across
our branches, but also the time it freed up for colleagues as
they accessed records easily and immediately. At the end of the
day, anything that frees up resource so our staff can focus all
their time on providing a 5-star service to our customers is
very welcome.
