From paperwork to software, in about six weeks.
The switchover takes about six weeks: set-up, a parallel period so nothing is lost, half an hour of training, and a review of your first quarter with you.
- About six weeks, start to finish
- A parallel period so nothing is lost
- Half an hour of training
- Your first quarter reviewed with you
- Ready before Making Tax Digital
Moving your records onto software
A digital switchover is the move from a shoebox, a cashbook or a spreadsheet to software that keeps the record for you. It is a project with a beginning and an end, best done at a year end or a VAT quarter end.
From April 2026 digital records are compulsory for sole traders and landlords over £50,000 of qualifying income.
The six-week switchover
- 1Week one: what you have
Where the records live now, what the last set of accounts said, what is outstanding, and what has to survive the move.
- 2Week two: set up
The ledger opened with your chart of accounts, opening balances from the last accounts, and the bank feed connected.
- 3Week three: your bit
Half an hour showing you receipt capture and invoicing on your phone. For most people that is all the training needed.
- 4Weeks four and five: run both
A parallel period where the old way and the new way both run, so any difference gets found while there is still something to compare against.
- 5Week six: switch
The old process stops. We reconcile the first full period and confirm the numbers agree.
- 6After: the first quarter reviewed
We review the first quarter with you.
Common concerns about switching
- “I am not technical”
- The daily use is photographing a receipt and pressing send. If you can use a phone camera and a banking app, you can use this.
- “I will lose my history”
- Nothing is deleted. Opening balances come from your last filed accounts, and the old records stay exactly where they are — you must keep them for six years anyway.
- “It will cost more every month”
- There is a software subscription, offset by less bookkeeping time, a cheaper year end and fewer late VAT penalties. For most businesses it is net cheaper by the second year.
- “My bank is not supported”
- Every major UK bank has an open banking feed. Where one genuinely does not, a statement import does the same job with one extra step a month.
- “I have not got time right now”
- It is about four hours of your time spread over six weeks. The Making Tax Digital deadlines do not move, and the queue in the year before one is long.
Key figures
These are the Making Tax Digital dates and how long the switchover takes. Our MTD checker tells you which year catches you.
2026/27 figures. See key tax dates and the calculators for the full picture.
What the switchover costs
- The software
- Free with a NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank or Mettle business account. Otherwise £33 a month for a company on FreeAgent, or from £18 on Xero. That is the only new line on your costs.
- The setup
- Included in onboarding when you join. A migration out of a system with years of history in it is quoted separately.
- Your time
- About four hours, spread over six weeks. Half an hour of that is the training, and most of the rest is you answering questions about what things were.
- What it takes off
- Less bookkeeping time, a cheaper year end because the file arrives clean, and no more penalties for a VAT return that was late because the paperwork was not ready. For most businesses it is net cheaper by year two.
- What it costs to leave it
- Most businesses move in the year before a deadline, so leaving it late means waiting in a queue under time pressure.
What changes after the switchover
- Records
- You photograph each receipt when it is in your hand, and it is filed against the transaction it belongs to.
- How current the numbers are
- The figures you see are days old.
- The VAT return
- Each quarter is reconciled, checked and filed from the software.
- The year end
- We review records that are already reconciled, which is why it costs less.
- The tax bill
- You can watch the figure build during the year and set money aside for it.
What people ask about digital switchover
When should I do it?
At a year end or a VAT quarter end, and before the Making Tax Digital deadline that applies to you — April 2026 above £50,000 of qualifying income, April 2027 above £30,000, April 2028 above £20,000. Our MTD checker tells you which one you are.
Will you do the bookkeeping afterwards, or will I?
Either. Some clients do their own day-to-day and we review it; some hand it over entirely. The switchover is the same project either way — see cloud bookkeeping for the ongoing version.
What happens to my old records?
They stay yours and they stay where they are. HMRC requires you to keep records for at least six years, and the switchover does not change that.
What if it does not work for me?
The parallel period runs the old and new ways together for a month, so you find out while the old process is still there to fall back on.
Do I need a new bank account?
No, though a business account genuinely separate from your personal one makes everything downstream easier and is expected if you trade through a company. See business banking.
