Features
Know what the VAT bill is before it lands
What it does
Does it know which VAT scheme I am on?
It asks, because the answer changes everything. Standard or flat rate, which quarter stagger you are on, and whether you account when you invoice or when you are paid — without those the page genuinely cannot tell you anything, so it says so rather than showing a confident wrong figure.
Does cash or accrual actually change the number?
Substantially. On the accrual basis an invoice counts the day you raise it; on the cash basis it counts the day the money lands. For a business with sixty days of unpaid invoices those are very different quarters, and getting it backwards is the commonest reason a figure looks wrong.
Do I have to be VAT registered to use the software?
No, and plenty of businesses here are not. A business that is not registered sees no VAT line anywhere — on quotes, invoices or the customer's copy — rather than a nil VAT row that invites the question.
What does the reverse charge do?
Where construction work is between two VAT-registered businesses in the CIS scheme, no VAT is added and the invoice has to say so in writing. The wording goes on automatically and the VAT total reads nil, rather than VAT being quietly left off and somebody later asking why.
Does Making Tax Digital apply to me?
There is a checker that gives you a straight answer rather than a leaflet, because the rules have moved repeatedly and most of what is written about them online is out of date. It covers who is in scope, when, and — just as usefully — who is not.
Does it file my return?
No, and it will not pretend otherwise. It prepares the figures and shows where you stand so nothing is a surprise; the return itself is filed by you or your accountant through your accounts software.
What it does not do
Worth knowing before you spend an afternoon on it rather than after.
Nothing is filed with HMRC. No returns, no quarterly updates, no submissions of any kind.
It is not an MTD-compatible bridging tool. The figures go to Xero, QuickBooks or Sage and the filing happens there.
It does not give tax advice. It shows you your own numbers on the scheme you told it you are on.
Partial exemption, margin schemes and anything genuinely unusual are not modelled. If your VAT is complicated, your accountant's figure is the one to trust.
See it being done
Step-by-step guides with a short recording of each one, free to read without an account.
Tax — where you stand, and what we will not do
Your VAT quarter, what you charged less what you were charged, and a list of everything stopping that figure being right.
The VAT reverse charge on construction work
When you charge no VAT at all, what the invoice has to say, and the two questions only your customer can answer.
Closing a month, a quarter or a year
Sign a period off, keep the report exactly as it was, and see anything that lands in it afterwards — without freezing a thing.
Connect your accounting package
Xero, QuickBooks or Sage, so invoices do not get typed twice.
Also worth a look
Free to use, no account needed.
VAT calculator
Add VAT or take it back off — and why taking it off is not taking 20% off.
Making Tax Digital checker
Whether MTD for Income Tax applies to you and from which April — the threshold is turnover, not profit.
VAT reverse charge checker
Whether to charge VAT on a construction invoice, and the wording HMRC wants when you do not.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: who it catches, and when
What MTD for Income Tax asks of a sole trader, which April catches you, and why the threshold is your turnover rather than your profit.
MTD quarterly updates: what you actually have to send
A quarterly update is a summary of income and expenses, not four extra tax returns. What goes in one, when it is due, and how the penalty points work.
Questions, answered
Can TaskMyJob file my VAT return?
No. It shows what the bill is shaping up to be so it is not a surprise, but nothing is submitted to HMRC from here.
Does it handle the cash accounting basis?
Yes. You say whether you account when you invoice or when you are paid, and the figures follow that, because for a business with unpaid invoices the two are very different.
Can I use it if I am not VAT registered?
Yes. No VAT line appears anywhere — not on quotes, invoices or the customer's copy.
Does Making Tax Digital apply to me?
There is a checker that answers it directly for your situation. The rules have changed repeatedly and most of what is online about them is out of date.
What does it cost?
£29.99 a month for the whole business — every feature, every person, no add-ons and no per-user pricing. 60 days free and no card to start.
Everything else it does
Try it on your own work
60 days free with everything switched on, and no card to start. If you would rather ask something first, there is a person on the other end.
£29.99 a month for the whole business after the free 60 days.