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Guide · Client
Making Tax Digital for Sole Traders: A Practice Guide
What changes for your self-employed clients, and the conversations to have before the first quarter that counts.
Built by a practising Chartered Accountant · Unlimited users · 60-day free trial · Last updated 27 September 2026
Quick answer
Making Tax Digital for sole traders means in-scope self-employed clients keep digital records and send quarterly updates of business income and expenses, followed by a final declaration. For practices the work is conversion, chasing and repricing. Remindoo handles the recurring jobs, records requests and deadline tracking.
Which sole traders are in scope?
Those whose qualifying income from self-employment and property combined exceeds the threshold for the relevant tax year.
Qualifying income is gross, before expenses, which surprises clients with high turnover and thin margins. A courier or trades business can be in scope while taking home very little. Check thresholds and start dates on GOV.UK for each client.
What actually changes for the client?
Record keeping becomes continuous rather than annual, and there are four reporting points in the year instead of one.
Most sole traders notice the record keeping more than the filing. The honest message is: give us your figures every three months instead of once a year, and the year end gets easier. Frame it around fewer surprises and better tax estimates, not around compliance.
Making Tax Digital for Sole Traders: A Practice Guide: step by step
- 1
Identify in-scope clients
Check gross self-employment and property income against the threshold.
- 2
Explain it plainly
Tell the client what they must do differently and when.
- 3
Choose record keeping
Agree the software or method the client will use.
- 4
Reprice the work
Set a fee that reflects quarterly rather than annual work.
- 5
Update the engagement letter
Record the new duties on both sides.
- 6
Run a practice quarter
Do one cycle before it is compulsory.
See it working with your own clients
A 30-minute walkthrough using your services, deadlines and templates.
How do you do it in Remindoo?
- Flag in-scope clients. Tag clients who have quarterly obligations.
- Add the quarterly service. Apply your standard quarterly service to each one.
- Schedule records requests. Automate the message asking for each period's records.
- Collect via the portal. Have clients upload records instead of emailing them.
- Track the stage. See at a glance who has sent records and who has not.
- Review fees. Use recorded time to check the quarterly fee is right.
Recurring tasks
Repeat work is created automatically on schedule.
See featureAutomated reminders
Timely prompts before work becomes urgent.
See featureClient portal and document sharing
Share requests and documents securely, not by email.
See featureCustom fields and data tokens
Capture and reuse the data your firm needs.
See featureEstimated time allocation
Plan capacity with expected effort per job.
See featureWhat are the common mistakes?
- Testing net profit instead of gross income
- Leading with compliance instead of benefit
- Not repricing for four cycles
- Leaving the engagement letter unchanged
- No trial quarter before it counts
“Managing deadlines and tasks is much easier.”
Frequently asked questions
What income counts towards the threshold?
Gross self-employment and property income combined, before expenses. Check the current GOV.UK guidance for the tax year used to test it.
Do sole traders still file a tax return?
In-scope clients send quarterly updates and then a final declaration that covers everything else, which replaces the annual return.
What if income drops below the threshold?
Rules exist for leaving MTD. Check GOV.UK before telling a client they can stop.
Can I keep doing the bookkeeping for them?
Yes, many firms add a bookkeeping service so records are ready each quarter. Price it separately.
Does Remindoo file for sole traders?
No. Remindoo runs the deadlines, tasks and client chasing; filing happens in your MTD-compatible software.
How early should I start converting clients?
Start with clients who keep poor records at least a year ahead of their first mandatory period.
Ready to run a calmer practice?
See Remindoo with your own clients, or start free for 60 days with unlimited users.
Sources
Last updated 27 September 2026. General guidance, not regulatory advice.
Why recording every task matters in an accountancy practice
Accounting firms run on deadlines: VAT returns, payroll, confirmation statements, accounts and Self Assessment. Recording every job as a task, with an owner and a date, is the simplest way to make sure nothing is missed.
Avoid penalties
HMRC and Companies House charge penalties for late filing. A task for every deadline, with an internal date before it, gives the team a buffer.
Nothing depends on memory
Recorded tasks mean work continues when someone is off sick, on leave or has left the firm.
Consistent quality
Subtask checklists make every job follow the same steps and reviews, whoever does the work.
Visibility for managers
Filters by owner, status and deadline show at a glance what is late, what is due and who needs help.
Practical tips from UK practice
- Set an internal deadline two to four weeks before every statutory deadline.
- Use recurring tasks for repeat work such as VAT, payroll and bookkeeping.
- Break larger jobs into subtasks, including a review step.
- Comment on the task instead of by email, so the history stays with the work.
Related Remindoo features
Written and reviewed by Waqas Sagar ACA FCCA FMAAT, Chartered Accountant with 18+ years in practice. Founder and MD of Accotax, an ICAEW, ACCA and AAT regulated London practice that has served over 5,000 clients, and founder of Remindoo. Guidance is general; check current GOV.UK and professional body guidance for your firm.
What UK practices say about Remindoo
Read all reviews on Trustpilot“With Remindoo, everything from the first enquiry to onboarding and ongoing client management is tracked in one place… It saves us hours and gives me, as a practice owner, complete visibility of where the firm stands.”
“The biggest benefit is having clients, tasks, deadlines, workflows, proposals and communication all organised in one place.”
“During my trial, the team were absolutely amazing. They helped onboard my clients, set up my settings and made sure everything was ready for me to use… they made the whole process completely stress-free.”
“It brings client information, tasks, recurring deadlines, workflows and reminders together in one place, giving us much better visibility across the team.”
