Making Tax Digital · Sole traders
Using Avona to organise historical records for a missed MTD update
ONLY£15A MONTHHistorical records can be imported or entered to support a missed update, but a later submission keeps its real submission date.
Historical records can be imported or entered to support a missed update, but a later submission keeps its real submission date. Catching up is not the same as backdating a filing. The aim is to reconstruct accurate records and complete the supported reporting process.
Establish the history available
Check what Avona already holds and which dates are missing. A new bank connection may not recover every earlier transaction. Obtain statements or exports for gaps and confirm the current supported import formats.
Preserve original dates and transaction details. Review overlapping imports, cash receipts, net settlements and private entries. A fast import is useful only when the resulting records cover the correct period without duplication.
Review before compiling the update
Reconcile source totals and investigate unusual categories. Confirm the business, reporting calendar and cumulative period. Where the business has an earlier accepted update, establish which figures are current and how corrections should be reflected.
Follow the product's supported catch-up route and verify HMRC's outcome. Do not change a submission timestamp or claim that importing April records proves the update was sent in August.
Worked example: recovering April and May
A user connects a feed containing June onwards and imports separate April and May statements. They reconcile the recovered months and check the overlap at the start of June.
The resulting records support the missed reporting period. If the update is submitted in September, the records retain that actual filing date even though the transactions occurred earlier.
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.
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.
Keep the recovery evidence
Save source files, import notes, corrections and the accepted submission result. Record any annual work still needed and begin a recurring review. The time required depends on the condition and volume of the records; no responsible process can promise every backlog is complete in minutes.
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.