Making Tax Digital · Sole traders
How Avona Concierge can support your quarterly filing routine
ONLY£15A MONTHSome business owners want software they can manage themselves; others want professional help with records, review or filing.
Some business owners want software they can manage themselves; others want professional help with records, review or filing. Avona Concierge offers defined service levels alongside the software. The right choice depends on which work you want to hand over and which responsibilities you will retain.
Compare the scope and total price
The published Avona Concierge plans separate the professional retainer from the £15 monthly software charge. The professional retainers are Bronze £60/month + VAT, Silver £90/month + VAT and Gold £150/month + VAT, each with a separate £15/month software charge.
Bronze centres on guidance, checks and quarterly review and filing while the client maintains records. Silver adds more bookkeeping support, with a published transaction allowance. Gold offers a broader managed service and year-end tax-return preparation within the described scope. Confirm the current limits and exact engagement before choosing.
Agree the practical handover
Professional support still needs complete source records, explanations of unusual transactions and timely replies. Confirm who connects accounts, supplies cash records, approves figures and deals with matters outside the standard scope.
Check annual-return coverage explicitly, especially where employment, investments, foreign income or other personal matters are involved. “Preparation included” should not be interpreted as unlimited work on every possible tax issue.
Worked comparison: software and managed support
A client able to maintain and review their own records considers the £15/month self-service route. Another client wants the published Bronze professional service as well, giving a combined £75/month + VAT at the checked price.
Those are different services. Describing the second as only £60 all-in would omit the software charge and make the comparison misleading.
Make responsibility visible at each stage
An effective practice process identifies who supplies the records, who resolves queries, who reviews the figures and who submits. Record those responsibilities in the engagement and workflow. Do not rely on the assumption that somebody else has completed the final step.
Agent authorisation is also separate from client consent to a commercial service. Use HMRC's correct MTD authorisation process and the agent's own access. A client should not hand over their Government Gateway password simply to make the process more convenient. HMRC explains how to authorise an agent.
Track each relevant business and period. A green client-level indicator can hide an outstanding property update if the sole-trade update has been completed. Store the approved figures and acknowledgement against the correct record.
For recurring work, use a short exception list rather than sending the client every transaction again. Give each question a reference, amount and clear request. Access controls and a secure reply route matter, especially where the same practice handles several family members or businesses. Good workflow design reduces repeated questions without replacing professional judgement.
Choose software by the work it needs to do
Start with your actual income sources and records. A sole trade, a UK property business and foreign property can involve different requirements. A product suitable for one set of circumstances is not automatically suitable for every annual-return item you might have.
HMRC's software guidance allows different approaches, including software connected to existing spreadsheets. Check the complete workflow: importing or recording transactions, reviewing the quarterly summary, submitting it, making corrections and completing the annual return.
Try a representative sample that includes a refund, a private transaction, a cash item and an awkward bank description. Ask how the system handles a missing period and how you export records if you leave. These questions are more informative than a long feature list.
Software support and professional tax advice are different services. Confirm who answers each kind of question, when help is available and what the quoted fee covers. Avona.app's entry-level self-service price is £15/month; professional services and additional product capabilities should be checked against the current scope rather than assumed to be included.
A review that checks more than the total
Start with coverage: the correct person, business and period, plus all relevant accounts and cash records. Then look at completeness. A feed can be connected today while still missing an earlier week. Confirm the earliest and latest transactions against the source.
Next, inspect unusual items. Large transfers, loan receipts, refunds, net settlements and private purchases often need more context than a bank description provides. Check for duplicate imports where a statement overlaps a live feed. An automatic warning is useful evidence to investigate, not proof that the entry must be removed.
Finally, review category totals. A category unexpectedly showing zero, a large increase or a negative amount deserves an explanation. You do not have to make every annual tax adjustment at this stage, but you should understand the records behind the summary you approve.
HMRC explains what quarterly updates contain. Keep the approved version and the resulting acknowledgement together. If something later changes, correct the source record and use the software's supported update process so you can explain which figures are current.
Choose by the work you need covered
List the tasks you can perform, those needing help and any unusual income sources. Obtain a clear scope, total fee and response arrangements. A well-defined engagement makes the recurring routine easier to manage because each next action has an owner.
Take the next step
Avona.app offers a self-service route from £15/month. Bring your records together, review the figures and choose a workflow that fits your business. For professional help, discuss the scope and total price of Avona Concierge, managed by chartered accountants, before choosing a service.