An event to discuss the ‘ins and outs’ of digital tax proved a success amongst local business people.
The event, run by Ellis & Co Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers and NatWest, looked at Making Tax Digital (MTD) a £1.3bn investment programme that will mark a fundamental change in the way that businesses interact with HMRC.
From 2018 interaction with HMRC will become increasingly digital, with businesses using Cloud accountancy software packages (apps) set to record business activity.
Spreadsheets will no longer be the norm and software will instead link directly to your business bank account, so transactions are automatically captured and included within your accounts on a daily basis.
No more receipts clogging up your desk drawers; you can now take a photograph of your petrol receipt and upload it directly to your accounting app, meaning your records are updated in seconds.
No more preparing sales invoices to be sent in the post; instead, you can create and send them directly to your clients from your phone, and your sales figures will be updated instantly within the software.
HMRC announced ‘Making Tax Digital’ in 2015, with the aim of introducing these big changes for 2018 and eventually becoming fully digital by 2020.
The event, held at Rowton Hall Hotel, Chester on Thursday, March 23, saw presentations from John Moorhouse, account senior at Ellis & Co, Paul Crosby from Sage Accounting and Ben Brown, digital tax expert at NatWest.
The presentations focused on three areas within Making Tax Digital: accounting, software and online banking.
“The event went really well, especially as it was the first of its kind in this area,” said John Moorhouse.
“Businesses need to start looking at the way they handle their accounts now so that they’re fully prepared for the introduction of Making Tax Digital.
“It is going to have a big impact on businesses, therefore we have decided to hold a similar event later on in the year.”
Jake Brown, business growth enabler at NatWest said: “The Making Tax Digital event informed and enthused attendees.
"It was great to see so many questions being asked demonstrating just how engaged the audience were.
"Making Tax Digital is going to have a major effect on small businesses and I’m really glad that we’ve been able to add value to members of the local business community.”
For further information on Making Tax Digital contact Ellis & Co on 01244 343504 or email info@ellis-uk.com