The ‘10 Things to Consider’ checklist joins a successful family of free-to-download practical guides which distil BASDA members’ knowledge from thousands of software selection processes.

The full set of Guides can be simply downloaded, free of charge, here. 

BASDA has launched its latest Guide to support companies selecting Making Tax Digital for VAT software solutions. This Guide is aimed at Accountants in practice, Bookkeepers and micro/small businesses. It provides guidance for smaller firms and their advisors when they are seeking to procure business software to ensure they are MTD for VAT ready.  

Making Tax Digital is making a fundamental change to the way the tax system works.  From April 2019 VAT returns must be submitted to HMRC by means of a compatible software solution communicating digitally via HMRC’s API platform.  This means that businesses will be unable to submit manual records after that date. Whilst many businesses may already use some form of software to maintain their VAT records they will need to ensure that their software meets HMRC’s new requirements. In many cases this will mean the need to source or upgrade software that supports Making Tax Digital for VAT.

BASDA is the only industry organisation focused solely on supporting the issues that business software development organisations and their customers face. The BASDA Guide documents the key things to consider when selecting Making Tax Digital for VAT software and is part of a wider set of BASDA complementary publications created specifically to support businesses, of all sizes, with their software selection processes and buying decisions. The software providers which make up BASDA’s membership have experience from thousands of software purchasing cycles and have shared their insight for the benefit of all. 

BASDA’s full set of Guides are valuable reference documents and are freely downloaded from the BASDA website (www.basda.org/bsg).  BASDA is committed to supporting organisations, of all sizes, make the right software purchasing decisions that will benefit their businesses.

“Making Tax Digital for VAT will make it easier for businesses to manage their tax but the onus on businesses to keep records digitally and use software to submit their VAT returns may prove to be challenging. This Guide offers best practice guidance through ‘10 top tips’ to help businesses navigate through the process of selecting Making Tax Digital for VAT software and implementing a solution that is right for their own organisation.  Sourcing and selecting the right set of digital tools and software solutions is imperative for businesses to manage their HMRC requirements and could also prove to be an opportunity to put in place a system that can streamline current processes and deliver future efficiencies.”

Kevin Hart

Chairman , BASDA