All businesses compulsorily registered for VAT will have to comply with Making Tax Digital from April 2019. What are the key things to have in place to get your record keeping right?
Statements. If one of your suppliers sends you a large number of invoices in batches you may receive a supplier statement. Many businesses simply post the totals from this statement to save admin time. Unfortunately, the regulations for purchase invoices mean that this won’t be possible; you will need to enter each invoice.
Tip. If your business uses the cash accounting scheme, HMRC has confirmed that the time of supply is the payment date.
Accountant. If you don’t want to use an accountant, you can submit your own VAT returns, however you must use compliant digital software. HMRC has published a list of such software. If you intend to use spreadsheets, you will need to use compatible bridging software to link your data. If you do choose to use MAS, you need to send the information to us digitally, or give us your invoices and receipts to allow us to record them in a digital form.
Tip. All information must only be manually input once. All other communication between software must be digital. If you don’t understand what this means, don’t wait until April. Speak to us now & will we ensure that you are compliant.