Dynamics and Making Tax Digital

A matter of course, not profit

It is worth starting with the fact that we feel that regulatory changes, such as these, are a necessary part of the solution, not a reason to make a lot of money. Even Microsoft has been less vocal about this than a lot of the finance software providers, on the basis that its is an “of course” rather than a highlight piece of functionality.

We have looked at many alternative ways of managing various scenarios and our advice comes from dismissing many of the options that other partners have suggested.

Coming soon to NAV 2015+ and Business Central

For supported versions of Dynamics NAV and Business Central, customers who are up-to-date with enhancements, or on subscription licenses, will be entitled to the new code (objects) from Microsoft. These are now working and tested, we are just waiting for the confirmation from HMRC of approval before we move ahead.

Our customers that have an all-in annual service contract will be contacted to schedule the installation of these objects, which we will perform free of charge! We will also be providing guidelines on setup, and if we feel they are necessary we will provide webinars to go through the requirements. If you are on PAYG support or are unsupported, please talk to us about the cost of performing the update.

The 2019 MTD Timeline

The deadline that is scaring everyone is April 1^st, which is when the new legislation comes into place.  However, remember this is for tax periods starting in April, so if you are on the standard 3 month tax period, your tax period will end in June and will need to be filed in July. This actually gives quite a lot of time and will hopefully make you less stressed, however we plan to have you ready in time for April. If you file monthly VAT returns, let us know and we will make sure that you have priority.

There are a number of businesses that are in the deferred category, such as those that submit group VAT, where the deadline is October – again this is the tax period starting date.

The Brexit conundrum

There is a little fly in the ointment that is worth mentioning – Brexit, have you heard of it?!

HMRC has released information regarding the ramifications of a no-deal Brexit on international VAT, which are not insignificant. This is obviously something that we will be keeping on top of, but we will not know for sure until after the 29^th March deadline.

Because of the uncertainty of Brexit, and with this being new to HMRC, there is no clear idea of what will need to be submitted post April 2020. The digital link is clear enough and some packages (such as Business Central) are more future-proof than others – it is worth considering the history of the platform and the ability to update for later solutions.

What to do if you are on old versions?

The obvious answer is to upgrade your solution – we would certainly promote the benefits of being on the latest version, and if this is an option for you it is worth booking to make sure it is done in time. The thing to note is that there is a second deadline for April 2020, which is when the automatic upload straight out of the system will be required.

For now, there is an option to export the data out of your system and use a service to upload your statement. We do not recommend any particular one, but there are a wide range on offer, including:

• VitalTax 
• DC Software 
• CHM MTD Bridge 
• BTC MTDfVAT 

There are partners looking at all sorts of bespoke solutions, bridging etc, which are very nice from their sales point of view. But the reality is that we have well over a year and, especially with Brexit looming, we are unsure of the exact requirements and regulations coming into place. Our advice would be to not panic and talk to us to determine the best route forward for you.

What if you are not using Dynamics?

Many companies are in a position of needing to comply with Making Tax Digital but need more than a simple finance package. Using a phased approach to ERP, we can implement the areas that you need quickly, with more complex requirements such as Manufacturing, Warehousing or Service Management as part of a later phase. In fact, with our Fast Financials implementation, you could be up, trained and running with an instance of Business Central in just a few weeks.

Jesse Lawrence

Jesse is our marketing manager, keeping an eye on the latest news in the market as well as having worked on the GDPR legislation.