Making Tax Digital · Sole traders
Keeping an MTD deadline from taking over your weekend
ONLY£15A MONTHA filing deadline feels larger when the remaining work is undefined.
A filing deadline feels larger when the remaining work is undefined. Before setting aside a whole weekend, identify what is actually incomplete and what help is available. A realistic task list can make the work easier to schedule without promising that every backlog is small.
Replace the worry with a short inventory
Check access, missing records, unresolved transactions, review and submission status. Write down the next action for each incomplete item. If the issue depends on a bank, supplier or adviser, contact them during their available hours.
Separate work you can complete from questions awaiting a reply. Downloading statements, matching known transfers and organising receipts can continue while one supplier invoice is outstanding.
Set a useful stopping point
Choose a defined task such as reconciling one account or resolving five exceptions. Leave a note showing what is complete and what remains. This makes the next session easier to start and reduces the temptation to review the same items repeatedly.
Use the actual deadline and first-year rules. Do not rely on a stale article saying “seven days left” or an unsupported claim that HMRC's filing gateway closes permanently at midnight on deadline day.
Worked example: the one missing statement
Sam believes the whole quarter is unfinished, but the inventory shows two accounts complete and one provider statement missing. Sam requests that statement and reviews the completed accounts during a planned session.
When the statement arrives, the remaining work is specific. The exercise does not eliminate the filing obligation, but it turns a vague weekend burden into a manageable sequence.
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.
Understand the first-year concession
HMRC states that there are no penalties for missing quarterly-update deadlines for the 2026/27 tax year. That concession does not remove the digital-record or quarterly-reporting obligations, and it does not make all tax returns and payments penalty-free. Read the precise penalty guidance.
Outstanding quarterly reporting must be dealt with before completing the relevant annual return. However, a missed August 2026 update should not be described as an automatic penalty on the separate 2025/26 return due in January 2027. The 2026/27 annual-return deadline is January 2028.
After the first-year concession, the points rules apply to missed quarterly deadlines as described by HMRC. Do not assume that multiple businesses create multiple points at the same deadline. Annual-return rules, late-payment penalties and interest require their own checks.
If you have fallen behind, establish what is outstanding and work through the supported catch-up process. Keep evidence of technical problems and contact the appropriate support team with the business, period and error details. The useful next step is a complete record and an accepted update, rather than guessing what a generic warning might mean.
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.
Finish with evidence and a next review date
Submit once the figures are ready, confirm acceptance and store the result. If the work genuinely exceeds the time available, seek clearly scoped help. After catch-up, schedule small recurring checks so the next deadline begins with better records.
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.