https://tradeyoke.net/blog/tag/accounting Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, receipts and the accountant file. en-gb https://tradeyoke.net/blog/best-invoicing-software-for-uk-tradespeople https://tradeyoke.net/blog/best-invoicing-software-for-uk-tradespeople Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:33:16 GMT Every invoicing tool claims to be the answer. Here's what actually matters for a UK trade business — branded PDFs, a pay link, an accounting sync you can trust — what the current crop of tools gets right and leaves out, and where TradeYoke fits, gaps included. Carl Randall Payments Accounting Guides https://tradeyoke.net/blog/making-tax-digital-for-vat-plain-english https://tradeyoke.net/blog/making-tax-digital-for-vat-plain-english Fri, 03 Jul 2026 09:15:11 GMT What MTD for VAT actually asks of a VAT-registered trade business: digital records, the nine boxes, obligations, and a guided filing that talks to HMRC for you. ⚠️ TradeYoke files the return you confirm. It does not decide what is VATable, which scheme you are on, or whether an expense is reclaimable. Those are questions for your accountant, and the wizard is built so an accountant can review the numbers before you press submit. ### Fraud-prevention headers, and why HMRC insists on them Every submission to HMRC's MTD API must carry a set of fraud-prevention headers: technical details about the device, connection and software that made the request. HMRC uses them to detect submissions that are not what they claim to be. They are mandatory, and a submission without them is rejected. You never see them. TradeYoke gathers what HMRC requires from the app and the browser and sends it with the return. The reason it is worth mentioning is that "HMRC-recognised software" means exactly this: software that talks to HMRC the way HMRC specifies, including the parts nobody enjoys. ### After you file: liabilities and payments Once the return is in, the same connection shows what you owe HMRC and what you have paid, straight from HMRC's records. It closes the loop: the who-owes-me report tells you what customers owe you, and the liabilities view tells you what you owe the taxman. Both come from the same ledger. HMRC VAT filing is part of TradeYoke Premium at £39 a month, alongside the bookkeeping sync and online payments; the pricing page has the split. It works the same across every trade on the platform, from electricians to window cleaners who have crossed the threshold. ### Questions people ask **Do I have to use Making Tax Digital for VAT?** If you are VAT-registered, yes. All VAT-registered businesses have been required to keep digital records and submit through software since April 2022, regardless of turnover. If you are not VAT-registered, MTD for VAT does not apply to you. **Can I still type my return into the Government Gateway?** No. Under MTD the return must be submitted by recognised software through HMRC's API. TradeYoke connects to HMRC with your Government Gateway login and submits from the guided wizard. **What are the nine boxes?** Boxes 1 to 5 are VAT amounts: VAT on sales, VAT on EU acquisitions (Northern Ireland only), the total, VAT reclaimed on purchases, and the net to pay or reclaim. Boxes 6 to 9 are the underlying values of sales, purchases and EU goods. Software fills them from your records. **Does TradeYoke do MTD for Income Tax as well?** Not today. TradeYoke files VAT returns; MTD for Income Tax quarterly updates are something to plan with your accountant, and TradeYoke's records, reports and accountant CSVs feed that. We wrote a separate post on MTD for Income Tax and who it affects from April 2026. Related: MTD for Income Tax from April 2026 and the trades TradeYoke supports. ### File VAT from the same place the invoices live Connect HMRC on the free trial and see your obligations before you decide anything. [Start your free trial](https://app.tradeyoke.net/signup) ]]> Carl Randall Tax Accounting https://tradeyoke.net/blog/xero-quickbooks-freeagent-which-one https://tradeyoke.net/blog/xero-quickbooks-freeagent-which-one Tue, 23 Jun 2026 13:15:11 GMT Which bookkeeping package fits a sole trader, a small team or a business with an accountant, what syncing from your job app really means, and why read-back matters. ✅ Connect once with the provider's own login screen. TradeYoke never sees your accounting password; the connection is an authorised token you can revoke from either side. ### How to choose in ten minutes ### Choosing the package - ✓ Ask your accountant first — If they have a preference, that is your answer. - ✓ Check your bank — Some UK business accounts include FreeAgent. - ✓ Count the hands in the books — One person: FreeAgent. A team with VAT: QuickBooks. An accountant doing the work: Xero. - ✓ Start the trial from the same week — Run TradeYoke's trial and the package's trial together and watch the sync. - ✓ Read the event journal after the first week — Every invoice pushed, every read-back confirmed. ### Questions people ask **Which one is cheapest for a sole trader?** Usually FreeAgent, because several UK business bank accounts include it at no extra cost. Otherwise all three publish UK pricing and change it often, so compare the current pages rather than a blog post. **Does TradeYoke replace my accounting package?** No. TradeYoke owns the jobs, invoices and payments and pushes them to Xero, QuickBooks or FreeAgent. Your accounting package owns the bank feed, the year end and the accountant's work. The split is deliberate. **What exactly gets synced?** Invoices as you raise them and payments as they settle against those invoices, pushed through each package's official API. TradeYoke reads each record back to verify it landed and lists every event in a journal. **Can I switch packages later?** Yes. Disconnect one and connect another from Settings. Existing invoices stay in the old package; new ones sync to the new one. Talk to your accountant about the cleanest date to switch, usually the start of a VAT quarter or tax year. Bookkeeping sync is in TradeYoke Premium; the pricing page has the details. It works the same for every one of the trades on the platform, and receipts in the van covers the expenses side of the books. ### Pick the package, connect it once Connect Xero, QuickBooks or FreeAgent on the free trial and watch the first invoice land. [Start your free trial](https://app.tradeyoke.net/signup) ]]> Carl Randall Accounting https://tradeyoke.net/blog/receipts-in-the-van https://tradeyoke.net/blog/receipts-in-the-van Thu, 18 Jun 2026 08:15:11 GMT The receipt is only a problem if it reaches the glovebox. Photograph it on the forecourt, let the app read it, attach it to the job, and the accountant file writes itself. 💡 Materials you buy for a specific job go on that job before you leave the merchant's car park. The receipt is in your hand and the job is on the phone; it never gets easier than that moment. ### Mileage from the day's stops Mileage is the expense sole traders most often under-claim, because nobody keeps the log. TradeYoke builds the day's mileage from the stops you actually visited, so the log is a by-product of doing the round rather than a separate job. If you use HMRC's simplified expenses, the approved rate for a car or van is 45p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year and 25p a mile after that. Whether simplified expenses or actual vehicle costs suits you better is an accountant question; either way you need the miles. [Simplified expenses: vehicles](https://www.gov.uk/simpler-income-tax-simplified-expenses/vehicles): HMRC's flat rates per business mile for cars, vans and motorcycles. ### The accountant file At the end of the quarter or the year, the Reports page exports two CSV files: one for income and payments, one for expenses. Between them they are the whole year in two attachments, with each expense line linked to its receipt image. Your accountant gets a file they can work from instead of a bag. If you sync to Xero, QuickBooks or FreeAgent, invoices and payments arrive there directly. Which package suits a trade business covers the choice. Either way, the expenses side is what feeds boxes 4 and 7 on a VAT return, which MTD for VAT in plain English explains, and it is what a quarterly update will need once MTD for Income Tax reaches you. ### What HMRC expects you to keep You do not send receipts to HMRC with a return, but you must be able to produce them if asked. Digital copies are fine as long as they are legible and complete. Keep the record of what the expense was for, which is why the category and the job attachment matter as much as the image. None of this is tax advice. What counts as allowable, and whether you claim actual costs or flat rates, is for your accountant. What the routine does is make sure that whatever they decide, the evidence exists. ### The receipt routine - ✓ Photograph at the till — Supplier, total and VAT read for you. Check the total. - ✓ Pick the category — Materials, fuel, tools, PPE, subcontractor. - ✓ Attach to the job or the van — Materials to the job; tyres, fuel and servicing to the vehicle. - ✓ Let mileage build from the stops — Review it weekly rather than reconstruct it yearly. - ✓ Export the two CSVs — Income and payments, expenses. Send both to your accountant. ### Questions people ask **Does HMRC accept photographed receipts?** Yes. Digital copies are acceptable as long as they are legible and you keep them for the required period: at least five years after the 31 January deadline for the tax year for Self Assessment, and six years for VAT records. Check gov.uk for your own case. **How accurate is the receipt reading?** Good on a clean receipt, less so on a crumpled or faded one. The supplier, total and VAT are pre-filled for you to check before saving, and the original image stays attached to the expense so you can always look at it. **Can I claim mileage as well as fuel?** Not both for the same vehicle. HMRC's simplified expenses use a flat rate per business mile that covers fuel and running costs; the alternative is claiming actual costs. Your accountant will tell you which suits you. Either way you need a mileage record, which TradeYoke builds from the day's stops. **What does the accountant file contain?** Two CSV exports from the Reports page: income and payments, and expenses. Each expense line links to its receipt image and its job or vehicle, so your accountant gets the evidence with the numbers. Expenses, mileage and the accountant CSVs are in Essentials; see the pricing page. The platform overview shows how expenses connect to jobs, vehicles and reports. ### Thirty seconds on the forecourt Start the free trial and photograph the next receipt before it reaches the glovebox. [Start your free trial](https://app.tradeyoke.net/signup) ]]> TradeYoke team Accounting Guides