Remote Accounting UK case study
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax in practice: an accountant’s experience with TaxNavHQ
Remote Accounting UK is a young accountancy practice with a growing client base. Approximately a third of its clients fell within the scope of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD IT) from April 2026. Another third is expected to be mandated from April 2027.
With many of the practice’s clients preferring to keep their records in spreadsheets, the firm had already helped establish processes that worked well. Remote Accounting UK now needed a straightforward way to manage Making Tax Digital across the practice, without requiring clients to move to more complex bookkeeping software.
Preparing the practice and clients
The practice began preparing well ahead of the April 2026 mandate, contacting affected clients to explain what it would mean for them and how the team planned to help them manage the new requirements.
Remote Accounting UK’s client base is diverse and includes contractors across various industries and professions, as well as retail businesses. Most of those currently within Making Tax Digital have self-employment income, with a small minority needing to report property income to HMRC.
The practice handles the quarterly updates and annual declaration on behalf of clients. Remote Accounting UK is currently absorbing the software costs; however, it intends to review its clients' fee structure after gaining a better understanding of the overall timescales for preparing and submitting quarterly MTD returns.
Remote Accounting UK sought to establish an efficient process from the outset, keeping the additional administration required for quarterly updates manageable for both the practice and its clients.
Finding the right Making Tax Digital solution for the practice
The practice began researching MTD IT software in January 2026. Ash (who leads the firm) and his team consulted HMRC's list of recognised software providers and assessed a shortlist via search engines. They then went on to trial a handful of different providers.
A key consideration was the many Remote Accounting UK clients already comfortable using spreadsheets. While Ash and the team were familiar with large bookkeeping products, they sought a different solution for those who did not need or want this level of complexity and functionality – and the price tag that comes with it.
“A lot of the software we looked at came with bank reconciliation and more complicated bookkeeping functionality. We didn't need any of that for these clients. We wanted something simple that would allow us to deal with Making Tax Digital without changing the way they already worked,” Ash reflects.
Spreadsheet compatibility was therefore particularly important. TaxNav's bridging technology to the HMRC MTD IT system and its ability to work with any spreadsheet helped make it a good fit.
The opportunity to trial the software, together with support from the TaxNav team, gave Remote Accounting UK the confidence to use TaxNav with clients.
Managing clients through TaxNavHQ
At the practice level, Remote Accounting UK uses TaxNavHQ to manage its MTD IT clients and submit quarterly updates.
The TaxNavHQ dashboard is the accountant interface that provides visibility across the client base. It helped the practice see where clients are in the MTD IT process and monitor successful submissions. For Ash and his team, that practice-level overview is one of the practical benefits of TaxNavHQ.
“The dashboard is simple and handy. We can quickly see what we need across our clients and manage the submissions from there. It’s made the process simple and hassle-free,” says Ash.
A smooth Q1 update experience for all clients
The team is very positive about their experience of taking Remote Accounting UK’s first group of clients through MTD IT with TaxNav. Support from the TaxNav team was an important part of that, particularly during client onboarding and as Remote Accounting UK became familiar with TaxNavHQ.
“The support has been really helpful. If there was an issue, it was dealt with smoothly and the team were very responsive,” Ash adds.
This hassle-free and supportive approach has given the team confidence that Remote Accounting UK now has an established process for efficiently managing MTD IT client compliance.
Getting ready for the April 2027 cohort
With further clients expected to come within Making Tax Digital from April 2027, the practice believes having been through the first year will make managing the next cohort considerably easier.
The team now understands the submission process, has an established approach for spreadsheet clients, and is familiar with using TaxNavHQ to maintain visibility across those they manage.
That ability to establish a repeatable process becomes increasingly important as the number of MTD IT clients within a practice grows.
Why simplicity matters
For Remote Accounting UK, one of the biggest advantages of the TaxNav and TaxNavHQ approach is its simplicity. Spreadsheet clients can continue to keep their records in a familiar way, while the firm now has a practical way to manage MTD IT compliance at the practice level.
“We just wanted bridging software that did what we needed it to do without lots of unnecessary bookkeeping functionality. TaxNav is simple and hassle-free, and that makes life easier for my clients and me,” Ash says.
Advice to other accountants
Remote Accounting UK’s advice to other practices preparing more clients for MTD IT is to start early and use software trials properly.
Ash advises, “Give yourself time to prepare. Explore the software fully, do some test runs and see how it actually works with your clients and processes. Then you can make a proper evaluation.”
For practices with clients coming into scope from April 2027, the firm’s experience shows the value of establishing those processes before larger numbers of clients need to be managed.
A big thank you to Ash and the Remote Accounting UK team for sharing their experience of using TaxNav and TaxNavHQ to manage Making Tax Digital for Income Tax across the practice. For further information about Remote Accounting UK, email: services@remoteaccounting.uk