What compatible software has to do
- Create and store digital records of your self-employment and property income and expenses
- Work with your accounting period, whether that is the tax year, calendar update periods, or neither
- Send your quarterly updates to HMRC
- Submit your tax return, if it is an all-in-one product rather than a records tool
- Report a partnership share on your tax return, if you get one as an individual partner
- Handle VAT as well, if you are VAT registered and would rather not run two systems
Not every product does all six. A records product may create digital records and send updates without submitting the return, which then has to be submitted from somewhere else.
One product per submission
You can use more than one piece of software, but only one product for each separate submission you make to HMRC, and if you use more than one the records have to be digitally linked between them. That is a rule about traceability rather than a restriction on your choice.
What a listing is not
A product appearing in the find software service means it meets HMRC's requirements for that service. It is not an endorsement, not a recommendation, and not a sign that HMRC has looked at whether the product suits your trade, your accountant or the phone in your pocket.
The list does not rank products or carry prices, so the commercial side of the decision is yours to make. The things that decide whether you stay with a product are usually the ones the list cannot tell you: how fast it is to record a job, what happens to your records if you leave, and whether your accountant can see what they need.
What to check before you commit
- Does it submit the tax return as well as send updates, or is there a second tool to pay for
- Does it handle your accounting period, before you have sent a first update and the choice is locked
- Does it do CIS and VAT if you need them, or only income tax
- Can you record a job from a phone on site, without a laptop trip
- Can your accountant work from it, and how do you get your data out if you leave
- What is the real annual cost, once the introductory offer ends
Where TradeKit sits
TradeKit is MTD ready - recognised by HMRC (reference D4K6ZS) for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. It creates the digital records from the invoices, expenses and mileage you record as you work, sends the quarterly updates, and carries the figures into the tax return.
The CIS side is in the same app, so a subcontractor can see deductions and statements without a second system, and VAT returns live in the same place. It is £99.99 a year, with a 30-day trial that does not ask for a card, and no contractor-tier upsell in the way.