Pick the right software once, set it up in an afternoon, and close every month in thirty minutes — MTD quarters included.
- £35
- 7 modules
- 7-sheet toolkit
- Updated at every Budget
- 30-day refund
Accounting software is advertised at a monthly price that excludes VAT. If you are not VAT-registered you never reclaim that VAT, and you will hold the subscription for years, so the only number that should decide the choice is the three-year cost including it. Several free tiers are genuinely enough for a sole trader. Several paid ones are not, at any price, once quarterly updates begin.
Choosing is the smaller half. The larger half is setting the thing up so that the categories you tag match the boxes on the return, the bank feed does not silently stop, and month-end takes thirty minutes rather than a lost Sunday. The mapping table at the centre of this course is what makes quarterly updates fill themselves.
What’s inside
- Choosing on three-year cost, split by turnover, VAT status and whether you work on a phone or a desktop
- Setting up: the chart of categories mapped to the Self Assessment and MTD boxes, opening balances, and the bank feed reauthorisation nobody warns you about
- Receipt capture, email-in addresses, and what HMRC accepts as a digital record
- The weekly ten minutes — and the three categories you must never auto-categorise
- The month-end close in thirty minutes
- MTD quarter close in practice, including a bridging route if you are staying on a spreadsheet
- Switching platforms mid-year, and why their cloud is not your archive
The templates
A software decision sheet costed over three years, the category-to-tax-box mapping table, a setup checklist, weekly and month-end cards, an MTD quarter close checklist, and an export-and-archive index.
What the first evening looks like
Cost your shortlist over three years on the decision sheet, then set up once using the category-to-tax-box map and the opening balances. From there the routine is ten minutes a week with the weekly card, thirty minutes at month-end with the close card, and the quarter-close checklist four times a year. The export-and-archive index is the part everyone skips until they change software and discover their cloud was never their archive.
Buying more than one? All ten 2026/27 courses, 262 pages and 44 templates, are £119 against £328 at full price. See the full course list.
Not for you if: you need bookkeeping done for you, or you run stock, payroll for several staff, or multi-currency at volume.
Common questions
Which software does it recommend?
It shows how to choose on your own turnover, VAT status and whether you work from a phone or a desktop, with the three-year costs. The answer differs by person, which is why it is a sheet rather than a verdict.
I want to stay on a spreadsheet. Is that still allowed under MTD?
Yes, with bridging software for the submission. The course covers that route and when it stops being sensible.
Does it handle switching platforms mid-year?
Yes, including the overlap period and what to export before you cancel.
Is this for limited companies too?
It is written for sole traders and simple partnerships. Stock, payroll for several staff or high-volume multi-currency businesses need more than it covers.
General information, not tax or legal advice. Figures checked against HMRC and other primary sources at publication — see our editorial policy.