Sage, leader in accounting, financial, HR, and payroll technology for small and mid-sized businesses, has launched a series of new tools to help accountants support the 4.2 million sole traders and landlords impacted by one of the UK’s biggest tax changes. 

MTD for ITSA will apply to unincorporated sole traders and landlords from April 2024, if their annual business or property income exceeds £10,000 in a tax year and to be compliant, businesses and property owners will need to make records and income tax self-assessment submissions digital using compatible software. 

92% of SMBs use the service of an accountant, with half (49%) using their services at least weekly, according to Sage research. With the demand on accountancy and tax services set to increase with the introduction of MTD for ITSA, accountancy practices need to properly prepare to support their clients through the changes.

NEW Sage Accounting Individual – supporting businesses with the simplest of tax needs 

Sage has launched a new, easy-to-use and affordable solution tailored to the needs of sole traders and the self-employed with the simplest tax requirements. Key details include: 

·         Automated data extraction and categorisation meantime is saved and errors reduced, direct access to the data allows timely adjustments and corrections, while seamless submissions direct to HMRC by the accountant or the client for quarterly returns, end-of-period statements and final declarations provide peace of mind. 

·         The creation and maintenance of digital records with bank feeds, coupled with digital storage, means records are securely stored for future ease of reference. 

·         Device agnostic, allowing the end-to-end workflow to be completed on mobile, tablet, web or interchangeably across these to suit user preference 

·         Connection and collaboration tools between accountant and client to help manage the MTD ITSA process.  

·         Accountants can sign up for this from today to start preparing clients ahead of the next tax year starts in April 2023. 

·         Watch demo here.

NEW Supporting landlords through Hammock 

A new strategic partnership with Hammock, the accounting platform for landlords to manage rental property transactions, will offer a dedicated solution to the 1.3m UK property owners impacted by MTD for ITSA.

Key details include:

• Providing an end-to-end solution for accountants to manage their landlord clients’ tax and compliance needs in one workflow. 
• Allowing accountants to simplify, streamline and systemise all inputs required by landlords for MTD for ITSA reporting.  
• All landlord information available in one place including income, expenses, yield, arrears and equity. 
• The partnership with Sage is available now. Sage accountants can sign up and access Hammock from S4A, leading up to the legislative deadline in April 2024.  

NEW Volume Purchase Agreement (VPA) – accountants can benefit from discounts now

To help accountants plan, prepare and get ahead of the legislation, Sage has introduced a VPA. This allows practices to forward plan for the right solutions for their clients. In addition, they can benefit from Sage for Accountants membership discounts in a fair and transparent way now, without having to buy in bulk upfront and incur costs before they or their clients use the solutions

A Digital End to End Solution 

Delivered via Sage for Accountants, these new launches give accountants all the tools they need in one place to support with MTD for ITSA - no matter the size or nature of their business records and filing requirements. This was crucial to Sage as the largest technology provider to UK accountants, who need a complete digitised end-to-end solution, from proposal to advisory

Since the launch of Sage for Accountants in November 2021, more than 2,000 accountancy and bookkeeping practices have signed up for the solution. Sage has continued to work with them to refine and expand the tools available, supported by strategic acquisitions and partnerships.  The announcement today builds on the capabilities within the solution, which already include:

• Personalised membership benefits such as a 4-Step Success Plan – together with Sage experts, practices will have support to plan with confidence and prepare their clients for MTD for ITSA, while training their own teams and preparing their business for the legislative change.   
• GoProposal & Oversuite – ongoing investment and deeper integration of these solutions into Sage for Accountants will help practices manage the increased demand from clients who need support to comply with the legislation, this includes reviewing, repricing and re-engaging new and existing clients to ensure they run a profitable practice. 
• Client Management – the new legislation will bring more deadlines and tasks to be completed for each client, and this solution helps accountants effectively manage their clients, and collaborate with teammates while giving time back by automating workflows. 
• AutoEntry, Accounting and Payroll – helps clients to keep digital records on the move, increases automation, provides client accounting, and ledger categorisation and manages client payroll where required. 
• Final Accounts, Personal Tax & Corporation Tax – can prepare year financial statements, calculate and submit tax returns, all available free of charge through Sage for Accountants. 
• Smart Reporting & Futrli – provides rich and powerful business insight and forecasting to clients, helping to showcase the true value of the work accountants do and grow practice profitability through the provision of higher margin advisory services.

Manoj Varsani MBE, CEO and Founder – Hammock, said: “Sage has an unrivalled history of supporting accountants with all their compliance needs and, through this partnership, we are integrating Hammock’s services to provide the complete solution to support practices with landlord clients. 

“Accountants are landlords’ closest ally in the management of finances and compliance. This partnership allows accountants to add a dedicated offering to landlords, enhancing real-time collaboration and unlocking access to deep insights into the clients’ property finances.”

Andrew Dick of Chartered Accountants, G W Dick & Co, said “It’s rare a company listens hard to its customers and acts on it. Thankfully, Sage understood the brief and what accountants need to make this implementation successful. 
 
“There’s a need for an end-to-end solution that caters to all client types to ensure that practices are not approaching this in a fragmented way, (particularly with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax coming).

“Sage for Accountants, coupled with the New Individual solution and the partnership with Hammock, supported by the VPA, now gives accountancy and bookkeeping practices the support and motivation to embark on their MTD ITSA journey. This is a game changer for them.”

Andreas Georgiou, VP Product - Accountants, Sage, said: “The vast majority of the 4.2m sole traders and landlords impacted by MTD ITSA still use manual paper records and wait until the last minute to submit their income tax self-assessment returns. The huge dependency these individuals have on accountants is set to grow with the introduction of MTD ITSA and create even greater pressure on the accountancy sector to truly digitise their practices to handle the increased workload as efficiently and profitably as possible.

“We’ve listened to these challenges and want to send a strong message to accountants across the UK that ‘we hear you, we’ve got your back and we’re doing everything we can to help you prepare’”.