The clock is ticking for Making Tax Digital but for many small businesses owners the prospect of changing their existing accounting system to to an MTD compatible one is a daunting one.
However Xero makes the whole process so straightforward. Simply login to Xero, enter your organisations details and opt to either add a trial organisation or to purchase a Xero subscription. If you currently use Sage, and have purchased a Xero subscription then Xero will convert your data for free using Movemybooks. The process is easy and all it requires is a free Movemybooks login and an empty Xero organisation. You then simply follow the step-by step process in the online conversion software.
Setting things up will only take about 10 minutes and all you need to do is keep clicking the green buttons. The software will collect your source data, convert it and move it to your Xero organisation, then email you when it's done - typically within a couple of hours.
The software will move the chart of accounts, customer data, supplier data and individual transactions for the current and previous accounting years. All of the nominal / general ledger, customer and supplier balances will be the same as in the source data. There may be some post conversion tidying up tasks required once the conversion is complete but this normally takes less than 30 minutes.
Once you are up and running you need to sign up for MTD for VAT on the HMRC website and connect Xero to HMRC. Xero will create your VAT returns using the date ranges supplied by HMRC and the VAT scheme from your financial settings.
If this still all seems too daunting we will happily do the conversion for you and provide any ongoing support you may need - be it everyday bookkeeping, VAT returns, payroll or managing reporting but remember you need to act swiftly as Xero hour is approaching fast.