A FREE seminar will be held in Okehampton to help businesses prepare for imminent changes to the tax system.

With less than a year to go until HM Revenue and Customs’ flagship ‘Making Tax Digital’ project becomes mandatory for businesses, new research from the British Chambers of Commerce has highlighted that almost a quarter of UK businesses have never heard of it. It also shows that two thirds of the respondents claimed that although they knew Making Tax Digital by name, they were only aware of some of the details.

To help address the ‘concerning lack of knowledge’, local chartered accountancy firm Simpkins Edwards is staging a series of free seminars to help get businesses up to speed, including one in the Ockment Centre, Okehampton on September 21 from noon to 2pm. Requirements and timescales involved and demonstrations of cloud accounting software will be available, including Quickbooks, Xero and Sage.

Making Tax Digital comes into effect from April 1, 2019 — just days after the UK leaves the EU. From this date, 2.6-million businesses that sit above the VAT threshold of £85,000 will be required to keep and maintain digital records, ideally through cloud accounting software. However, it is currently estimated that 25% of businesses are still using manual or spreadsheet record keeping, which falls foul of HMRC’s new requirements. Businesses will be required to submit VAT returns electronically to HMRC, rather than using the HMRC VAT portal.

Seb Beard, partner at Simpkins Edwards’ Okehampton office, said: ‘The seminars have been created to help businesses prepare for the fast-approaching April 2019 deadline. They will outline practical steps that businesses need to implement, as well as the distinct benefits of moving to digital record keeping via cloud-based accounting software. Moving to digital accounting, for example, will provide a clear view of the up-to-date financial health of a business and its future cashflow; a significant advantage for businesses looking to invest in new equipment.’

He added: ‘We hope to show that by taking action now and adopting cloud-based software, businesses can put themselves in an informed position that will enable them to address any teething problems linked to Making Tax Digital before the legislation comes into effect.’

To book your place, email [email protected], call 01392 211233 or book online at www.simpkinsedwards.co.uk/category/events/