Rowleys claims first quarterly filing submission in MTD programme
Rowleys Chartered Accountants has become the first UK accountancy practice to complete a quarterly filing submission in the Making Tax Digital (MTD) programme using IRIS Personal Tax. The announcement hails a milestone for the industry and provides a solid proof point as it progresses towards a digital economy.
Completed on 23rd February 2018, Rowleys took one typical UK business through the MTD gateway: a well-established sole trader above the VAT threshold, and a typical ‘shoebox’ client. Rowleys managed the data flow and involved its tax, account teams and entire practice to learn the MTD process.
Rowleys is now ready to submit a full one-year cycle of MTD trading, before MTD for VAT becomes compulsory in April 2019.
The winner of Tolley’s best single office practice in 2017 and IRIS customer since 2001 was one of the first firms to join the MTD pilot in early last year working IRIS and HMRC to create an Agent Services Account – the gateway to HMRC’s infrastructure and all its online facilities.
Mark Hook, Tax Director at Rowleys explains, “We joined the MTD Beta programme to understand what was required and ensure we remain at the forefront of the industry. As a business, we continuously question the way things are done and encourage innovation. We are delighted to be the first accountancy practice to file a quarterly submission and hope this provides evidence to other practices across the UK that both HMRC and software providers are collaborating to make MTD a reality.”
Sion Lewis, CEO of IRIS Accountancy Solutions says, “There is a genuine commitment to make MTD happen; it’s the centre piece of the digital economy in our industry and needs to be at the forefront of HMRC’s agenda. We are thrilled for Rowleys and to be part of this milestone as we continue our mission to simplify accountants’ lives, so they can focus on attracting new clients and growing their businesses.”
Rowleys is now working on the second quarterly filing submission and expects the process to be far quicker. Mark Hook concludes, “There have been issues and frustrations during the process, but now we are on the platform, it’s incredibly smooth. Both IRIS and HMRC have supported us every step of the way and we look forward to continuing our digital journey.”
Rowleys perspective was echoed in a recent meeting with Mel Stride, Finance Secretary to the Treasury. Along with IRIS, a 20-strong meeting included representatives from HMRC, the CBI, DAG, ICEAW and industry providers. All participants showed a genuine commitment to MTD and this wasn’t just from a tax perspective, but the wider context as to how UK businesses can be digital. There is still much work to do, but digital transformation will provide many opportunities for accountancy practices and advisors.
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About IRIS Accountancy Solutions
With over 17,000 customers, IRIS Accountancy Solutions exists to simplify the lives of accountants by making them more efficient and productive. Approximately, 44 per cent of all online submissions to HMRC and Companies House are made using IRIS software – the most efficient suite of integrated compliance, productivity and collaboration solutions for accountants to grow and evolve their practice.
IRIS Accountancy Solutions is a division of IRIS Software Group, the sixth largest privately-owned software supplier in the UK and one of the most trusted business-critical software and services providers in the UK today. Though its solutions, the group serves more than 80,000 SMEs, corporates, and payroll bureau customers across a wide range of UK industry sectors. IRIS Software Group offers the greatest range of specialist accountancy, financial management, human resource management and payroll solutions – delivered as a choice of integrated on premise software and cloud-based applications. These are managed under the leading IRIS, PTP, KashFlow, Keytime, Cascade, PS Financials, Results Squared, ParentMail and Earnie product brands.
For more details visit iris.co.uk. Follow us on Twitter @irisaccountants @irispayroll @kashflow @CascadeHRMS @PSFinancials, @keytime, @ParentMail.
