Our services · Watford, Bushey & North West London

Bookkeeping and Making Tax Digital

Accurate, cloud based bookkeeping that keeps you compliant with Making Tax Digital and gives you real time sight of your business.

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Bookkeeping and Making Tax Digital, done properly

Making Tax Digital requires VAT registered businesses to keep digital records and file VAT returns using compatible software. From April 2026 it also applies to sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000, who must keep digital records and submit quarterly updates. The threshold falls to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028.

Bookkeeping is the foundation everything else sits on. Get it wrong and your VAT, your accounts and your tax are all built on sand. We run your books on Xero, QuickBooks or Sage, reconciled properly and kept current, so your numbers are always ready when you need them.

Making Tax Digital has changed the rules. VAT registered businesses already file digitally, and sole traders and landlords with income over £50,000 now need digital records and quarterly updates. We set the whole thing up, connect your bank feeds and keep you fully compliant without you touching a spreadsheet.

What is included

  • Xero certified, plus QuickBooks and Sage
  • Bank feeds connected and reconciled
  • Making Tax Digital for VAT and Income Tax handled
  • Catch up work if you are behind
  • Receipts captured digitally, no shoeboxes
  • Monthly fixed fee, no surprises
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Key facts and figures

MTD for VATAll VAT registered businesses
MTD for Income Tax, from April 2026Sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000
From April 2027Threshold falls to £30,000
From April 2028Threshold falls to £20,000
Quarterly update deadlines7 August, 7 November, 7 February, 7 May
Record retention, companies6 years from end of accounting period
Record retention, sole traders5 years after the 31 January filing deadline
Software we work withXero, QuickBooks, Sage, FreeAgent

What good bookkeeping actually gives you

Compliance is the floor, not the point. Books that are reconciled weekly rather than annually mean you know your real margin, your VAT liability before it lands, and which customers are slow to pay while you can still do something about it.

Every client gets bank feeds connected, receipts captured digitally, and reconciliations kept current, so at any point in the year you can see where the business stands rather than finding out nine months later.

Common questions

If you are VAT registered, MTD already applies to your VAT. If you are a sole trader or landlord, MTD for Income Tax applies from April 2026 where your qualifying income exceeds £50,000, from April 2027 above £30,000, and from April 2028 above £20,000. Qualifying income means gross income before expenses, which catches people out.

Quarterly updates are due on 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. These are summary submissions, not four full tax returns, and a final declaration still follows after the tax year ends.

We are Xero certified and it suits most small businesses, particularly those with bank feeds and multiple users. QuickBooks is often cheaper for sole traders, Sage suits businesses with established processes, and FreeAgent is included free with some business bank accounts. The right answer depends on your bank, your volume and whether you have staff.

Yes, catch-up work is one of the most common jobs we take on. We rebuild the records from bank statements and source documents, reconcile everything, then bring you up to date and keep you there. Most businesses are surprised how quickly it turns around once someone is working on it properly.

Limited companies must keep records for six years from the end of the accounting period. Sole traders must keep them for five years after the 31 January filing deadline for that tax year. Digital records under MTD count, so you do not need to keep paper as well.

Not with us. Bookkeeping and year-end work sit under one fixed monthly fee, which avoids the common problem of a bookkeeper and an accountant blaming each other when figures do not reconcile.

We provide bookkeeping and making tax digital across Watford, Bushey, Harrow and North West London. Related services: Self Assessment Tax Returns · VAT Returns and Registration · Payroll and PAYE · Corporation Tax · Company Accounts · CIS for Construction.

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