You may find a brown letter from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) dropping onto your doormat soon, with details of the soon-to-be-mandatory MTD for ITSA. But what is ‘MTD for ITSA’ and why do you need to know about it? Your two-minute guide to MTD for ITSA Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and Self Assessment (or MTD for ITSA) is part of HMRC’s ongoing initiative to convert the UK tax return process over to a digital system. If you’re a sole trader or landlord, you’ll soon need to: Keep digital records of all your income and expenses. Use MTD-compatible software for your bookkeeping and accounting. Submit regular quarterly digital reports to HMRC. Send a full digital tax return at the end of the tax year. Landlords and sole traders who fall into the following categories will soon find it’s mandatory to use the MTD for ITSA system. from April 2026, for those with qualifying income over £50,000. from April 2027, for those with qualifying income over £30,000. A brown envelope with your MTD ITSA reminder From April 2025, HMRC will be starting a campaign to raise awareness of the looming deadline to become compliant with the MTD for ITSA rules. This will be kickstarted with an official HMRC brown envelope being sent to sole traders and landlords with a total self-employment and/or property income of over £50,000. You’ll receive a letter if your 2023 to 2024 self assessment tax return shows your total income (turnover, not profit) as being either over, or close, to £50,000. Don’t panic! We can help you get ready for MTD An official letter from HMRC can sometimes be cause for concern. But there’s no need to worry unduly about MTD for ITSA. The mandatory deadline for compliance is still a year away, so there’s plenty of time to update your systems and get yourself compliant. Call us on on 01904 787 973 and we’ll explain the implications of MTD for ITSA, the need for digital records and how to get compatible cloud accounting software up and running.

As your accountant, we won't just look after the financial side of your business, we can also advise you on the strategic side of your company, including the importance of business development as vital part of your growth plan. Business development (BD) is what helps your company move from slow, organic growth to fast-paced, hypergrowth. And it’s only by putting the right drive and expertise behind your BD that you can turn your strategic ideas into real success stories. So, how can we help you achieve this? Talk to you about your strategic goals The starting point for any kind of BD activity is to pin down your goals and aims as a business. When you know what you want to achieve over the coming months, it’s far easier to define a strategy for success. And that’s easier to do when you talk to an objective adviser, like us. We can sit in on your board meetings, talk to your executive team and get a real handle on what makes the business tick. And, armed with this knowledge, we’ll work with you to drive the direction of your BD and find the best opportunities for you to focus on. Help you create a clear BD strategy and plan Having a defined set of BD goals is a good starting point. But to put this all into action in a productive way, you’re going to need a comprehensive plan for your BD projects. Our years of experience advising business leaders and their teams really comes into play here. We know the best routes to take, the budgets that will be needed and the right tactics for bringing in more contracts, sales and partnerships. By putting these strategies into a clear plan, and linking this to agreed timescales, you have a BD route map to follow and action. Introduce you to a broader network of business partners We work with a wide range of businesses across many different sectors, industries and niches. By introducing you to our network of clients, we welcome you into a supportive community of like-minded business owners. And that’s excellent news when looking for new partnerships. Whether it’s attending a local conference, an online webinar or one of our in-house client events, you’re going to meet new people, share new ideas and make the right connections. This is a great way to build alliances and work together with other local businesses. And when you’re well-connected, you set the very best foundations for your future BD activity. Provide better routes to funding and investment Whatever goals you’ve set for your BD projects, it’s likely that you’re going to need additional funding to finance this activity. Investing in your expansion, or new partnerships, is vital to getting a good return on your BD, so great access to finance is a definite bonus. We’ll advise you on the most appropriate funding channels and how you can use these facilities to finance your BD plans. And we can also link you up with banks, lenders and business finance specialists – so you get the advice and finance you need to bring your BD to life. Help you track and measure your BD performance Meeting your BD targets takes time – and a whole lot of dedication. Measuring your BD performance over time, helps you stay on track and gives you a good indication of how well you’re tracking against your planned progress. We’ll help you create the reporting and metrics you need, so you have clear data to track your progress over time. You can log your activity in your project management system, or your client relationship management (CRM) software, and keep clear notes on contacts made, relationships built and targets converted etc. If you want to get more from your BD, please get in touch on 01904 787 973 or book a discovery call with Donald Inglis . We’ll partner with you to put some real drive, experience and impetus behind your BD strategies.