Overview
From April 2019, businesses with a turnover above the VAT threshold (currently £85,000) will have to:
Keep their records digitally (for VAT purposes only), and
Provide their VAT return information to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) through Making Tax Digital (MTD) functional compatible software
A key requirement of MTD is maintaining digital records of relevant transactions. SME Professional creates and preserves digital records for transactions processed through client accounts, helping businesses meet these requirements.
For lettings, the following information is required:
The date rentals are due, and the date the payment is received (generally undertaken on a cash accounting basis in a client account)
The rental value is also required, which is again included.
The invoice date and value of expenses are required, which is covered by the landlord deductions area or the direct invoicing area
Expense categories can be set against expense types
Deducting amounts and percentage fees as landlord expenses must also be possible
Under the original proposals, HMRC envisaged that a digital record would include a record of each item of income and expense and evidence of each transaction, such as copies of invoices and receipts. In the revised proposals, the requirement to keep digital records will not include an obligation to store images of invoices and receipts digitally, but you can do so in our software if you wish.
SME Professional preserves these records as the legislation requires and provides off-site backups. Following deregistration, businesses must preserve their records for up to 6 years. For businesses in scope for MTD, records relating to the period between mandatory and deregistration must be preserved digitally for up to 6 years.
Integration option for landlords
SME Professional integrates with Nexus to simplify landlord reporting. Nexus is an MTD submission layer built specifically for agent-managed landlords. It connects to SME Professional, pulling transaction data into a secure landlord portal designed for Making Tax Digital compliance.
Landlords can review, categorise, and adjust their records within the portal before submitting quarterly updates directly to HMRC — either themselves or via their accountant. There’s no duplicate entry, no spreadsheets, and no disruption to how your agency operates.
The data required for MTD already exists within your platform. When landlords re-enter figures into separate tax software, errors creep in, and follow-up queries land back with your team. Nexus removes that friction by structuring the data in line with HMRC requirements and enabling direct submission.
Built by Landlord Studio, established in 2014 and trusted by thousands of landlords, Nexus helps agents ensure MTD compliance while strengthening their relationships with landlords.
To discuss setting up an integration with Nexus, please contact [email protected].
Agents
Users will transfer fees to their current account as usual. Your accounting software for the business will handle salaries, office costs and VAT making tax digital submissions (for example, Sage, Xero, Freeagent, QuickBooks) as opposed to SME Professional, which is responsible for your client account.