Simplifying ‘Making Tax Digital’ With Courier Exchange

One of the most important things fleet managers need to keep in mind when running a business is being able to understand and comply with government regulations. While rules and requirements often change, penalties for noncompliance can be very severe, and firms falling foul of them can suffer significant financial losses.

In this article, we’ll run through Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) new ‘Making Tax Digital’ (MTD) initiative – and how popular courier network Courier Exchange (CX) can help businesses meet MTD’s new digital standards far more easily.

Courier Exchange

As the fastest growing courier network in the United Kingdom, CX has developed a reputation for adapting quickly to regulatory changes – and for helping businesses and drivers who use it to do the same. Membership of the platform grants access to a variety of features, including real-time updates on available loads and a virtual fleet of drivers.

Crucially, it can also make meeting new digital requirements much simpler.

Making Tax Digital

But first, what is MTD? In many ways, it does exactly what it says on the tin. In a nutshell, operators and businesses whose turnover puts them over the VAT threshold must now maintain all records and submit all returns digitally.

Sold by HMRC as part of a wider attempt to make tax administration more effective and efficient, the programme’s stated aims are to make it easier for businesses to comply with legal requirements. This, HMRC hopes, will reduce cases where firms need to pay penalties for noncompliance and smooth the running of businesses overall.

Though not explicitly singled out in legislation, a courier network(freightexchange) can provide firms a great deal of help in this area. And in a positive move, HMRC has been increasingly willing to work with such online exchanges.

How CX Helps you Meet MTD Standards

In addition to finding and allocating work, CX also helps firms to manage finances and records. Proof of delivery and invoices can be generated up at the touch of a button on a computer or smartphone, enabling managers to respond quickly even while away from the office.

Moreover, CX offers an ‘Accounting’ feature, which allows for integration with popular programs like Xero, Sage and Quickbooks. But what’s even better is that HMRC has recently approved the software as MTD compliant. Meeting the government’s digital records-keeping standards is now as simple as following the instructions on this popular freight exchange platform.

The government’s willingness to work with a major courier networkon such an important issue as this signals a move in a positive direction for all businesses, helping reduce time and efficiency costs and streamlining the overall process of digital tax reporting. Now there’s no excuse for falling foul of the law and the VAT man.

Author Plate

Norman Dulwich is a Correspondent for Courier Exchange, the world's largest neutral trading hub for same day jobs in the express freight exchange industry. Connecting logistics professionals across the UK and Europe through their online courier network, numerous transport exchange businesses are networked together on their website, trading jobs and capacity through what is now the fastest growing Freight Exchange in the UK.