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Time to retire the
shoebox of receipts
overcome this issue by taking attaching
photos of receipts to transactions or
issuing invoices electronically straight
from their smartphone. This will remove
some of the stress of having to keep
receipts and other documents in a
safe place until they are ready to be
submitted as part of a tax return. It also
allows them to store everything in one
place which is easily accessible.
Increased visibility
MTD will also give small hotel owners
greater visibility of how their business is
performing. At the moment, they often
rely on cash machines to give them an
overview of their finances. However,
this isn’t a true representation of the
current situation. All bank statements or
cash machines show is how much cash
is currently in the account. They don’t
take outstanding outgoings and tax
deductions into consideration.
With the adoption of the accounting
software necessary for MTD, owners
will gain a more accurate view of their
accounts, rather than just their cash
situation. They may even get instant
notifications on incoming or outgoing
transactions, a major benefit for
people who are used to waiting days
for pending transactions to turn into
actual transactions. With this increased
transparency and visibility of accounts,
they will have a better awareness of how
much cash is really available to them and
avoid getting into debt by withdrawing
more cash than they technically have at
their disposal.
Mobile accounting
Nobody likes the thought of doing their
tax returns at the kitchen table. For busy
owners of B&Bs and guesthouses, this
isn’t typically a convenient approach and
the time spent completing the process
will inevitably be a big distraction from
their daily routine.
Although the move to MTD has been
viewed by many as a negative, it
actually provides owners with a great
opportunity. Reducing the amount of
time spent on financial admin means
that they can spend more time on their
business.
Adopting accounting software at this
stage also allows owners to not only
meet the current demands of MTD but
also get valuable time back while saving
money at the same time. With many
of these benefits visible in the short-
term, making the move to MTD sooner
rather than later is likely to be the right
decision.