MTD Digital Link for Excel

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I have several clients that don't want to use software. They complete excel spreadsheets, send to me, I create working papers (for the bank reconciliation etc etc), which are automatically linked to my bridging software.

So there is no MTD compatible link between my working papers and their working papers.

I'm interested to see what are other practitioners are doing. Are you creating a template excel bookeeping sheet that is 'digitally linked' to your own working papers? Then when client sends it you, you click some sort of button, and it imports the sales and purchases summaries from their sheets?  Or are you doing it in a different way?

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By ireallyshouldknowthisbut
30th Aug 2019 18:35

Not sure I follow.

If you have numbers in your sheet, and numbers in their sheet, why don't you just link the output from their sheet to the input to yours? I tend to always work "live" on stuff like that anyway, as you can easily tweak something in the client records and it not flow through if its a dead link.

Personally I am not really giving two hoots about it given HMRC have no way of checking it that doesnt involve my having 10 minutes to sort it out first.

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By fellowcraft
30th Aug 2019 18:49

Because in order for the 'mandatory digital link' to be MTD compliant, it needs to be automated with no human intervention. The manual link you are suggesting requires human intervention - it is not automated. Their examples are a bit watery to be honest with no solid guidance, unless I'm overthinking things

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paddle steamer
By DJKL
30th Aug 2019 21:37

They send you a sheet with some figures. You incorporate said sheet into your records, either by linking the totals or copy the data- if latter each entry created in "your" spreadsheet is now part of "their" books, your excel sheets then become the client's books of prime entry with each vat transaction individually detailed therein..

You create links within your sheet to say a vat summary sheet and totals from this are then linked to your linking software. There is then an automatic flow from the prime individual transaction record to the actual submission.

Your links do not need to exist at the start of the exercise they merely need to exist through to the totals submitted prior to their submission.

I spent an enjoyable yesterday and today doing my first one though in this case I create the prime records and as an employee now (they are no longer a client) I am more relaxed about the whole process -from prime entry to data submission. Only hassle was with version of excel on machine not being recognised by TaxCalc , but once converted it was simple to use.

Having said the above it will not entice me back to practice- I am happy dealing with positions when I have total autonomy writing up the records (only two within vat now) but I am not prepared to revert to client/firm positions involving correcting client errors.

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By fellowcraft
30th Aug 2019 22:21

I'm not sure that would be MTD compliant as per guidelines. You are manually linking their spreadsheet to yours, or you are manually copying data over

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paddle steamer
By DJKL
31st Aug 2019 00:00

You are not- you link in your excel workbooks their sheets- digital link, it is not a copy/paste but a link from one cell to another cell, if the initial entries are changed those linked to them by you change- this does mean you cannot readily have two distinct workbooks (though I am sure smarter people than myself can sort a live link rather than update link between two workbooks), you ideally need their sheets in your workbook

OR

by cutting and pasting the individual transaction records they recorded in their memorandum worksheets to your worksheets then your records become the prime books of the client. Nothing says one cannot have two distinct sheets with the same transactions listed on them, all you must ensure is that on one set-the vat records set-these figures auto link to the submission record to be made/ you have made and that each vat transaction has the required detail recorded against it as prescribed by the legislation.

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By SXGuy
31st Aug 2019 07:56

fellowcraft wrote:

I'm not sure that would be MTD compliant as per guidelines. You are manually linking their spreadsheet to yours, or you are manually copying data over


With respect I think you need to re-evaluate your understanding of excel.

How is linking one spreadsheet to another classed as manual intervention? By your own definition, clicking a button that says "generate vat return" in your book keeping software would be classed as manual intervention.

If you were to write down the clients figures from his sheet then copy those to yours that's manual intervention. If you were to highlight figures click copy and then paste to yours, that's manual intervention.
If you "linked" your clients sheet to your own and created a formula to pull the data, that is NOT manual intervention. You didn't touch the figures in any way.

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JCACE
By jcace
30th Aug 2019 21:22

If the client is sending you a spreadsheet, why not simply work with that spreadsheet, adding whatever additional sheets you need. Your VAT summary sheet can then link to the various other sheets containing the accounting records.

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By fellowcraft
30th Aug 2019 22:23

Yes that's one of the options I'm looking at, alternatively just hiding my working pages in the template client uses

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By johnhemming
31st Aug 2019 08:22

The main thing is to not end up retyping numbers. HMRC did send something to developers that said that automated use of the clipboard was OK. What they don't want is cut and paste of individual figures because that is potentially subject to error.

Probably the most reliable system is to open the clients template and then load up your own items.

Using VBA it would be possible to automate this a bit. The danger, of course, with putting the working pages in the client template is that they may end up getting changed and the amount of time taken to resolve this would probably mean that overall that would be slower.

However, I don't think HMRC would necessarily have a problem with copying the client template as a complete page into another workbook. That would be an automated process. I don't know where my email is from them that said automated usage of the clipboard is OK, but they did say this.

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By urstop
13th Sep 2019 14:42

We use https://accountsdesk.co.uk/mtd bridging software. It works fine with Excel and Open Office spreadsheets.

The good thing about this is, you do not have to worry about the template. It works with any template, so there is no change needed in your actual VAT process as you can just use your current spreadsheets as is.

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