Welcome!
Thank you for registering with us, we hope you find our software easy to use. We are finding that 75% of users are able to utilise our software without any help from us. If you fall into the 25% needing help, please don't hesitate to use our support options to solve your problem.
Our system has been built with accountants that understand the issues that can arise on filing VAT Returns, so you should find our software one of the simplest Bridging Software tools available on the market.
Licence Purchase Information
To purchase a licence, click on “Settings”, then “Firm Details”, then “Update subscription". Use the drop-down menu to select the client licence you require. You will then be directed to pay by credit/debit card. Please note that we do not accept American Express. The pricing is banded, so if you are to file VAT Returns for say 8 clients that you are 64-8 VAT authorised for, you need to choose “10”. If VAT Returns are filed using clients’ own HMRC gateway credentials, a separate business (non-agent) licence will be required.
If you later wish to increase your agent client licence, you only pay for the difference between the licence you have already purchased, and the licence you want to move up to (in the same licence year). Licences last 12 months, after which time they require renewal.
Registering for MTD
You cannot use our software if either your firm or the client is not registered correctly for Making Tax Digital (MTD). To learn how to register your firm and your clients for MTD please click on “Support”, then “Setting Up”.
Adding Your Firms Details & the Admin Password
In order to access your clients’ HMRC VAT Accounts, you need to enter your firm’s details into our system. To add your firm’s details, click on “Settings”, then “Firm Details”.
Client VAT Account Access
In order to use our software, both your firm and the client must be registered for MTD first. To do that, see our “Setting Up” support page.
To access clients’ HMRC VAT Accounts, click on “Clients”. If you haven’t set up a client in our system yet, you’ll need to click on “Add Client”. You will only be able to add a client, if you have purchased a licence for the number of clients you want to enter on our system. You can re-name a client to a different client should you wish, but once you have filed a VAT Return for a client, the system will then prevent you from being able to change the VAT number to a different client. You can only delete a client at licence renewal time, so if you make a mistake, you can change the client name to a different client name and a different VAT number, as long as you haven’t already filed a VAT Return for that client.
When HMRC’s System is Down
We have noticed that from time to time HMRC’s VAT server is down, or their service to access client VAT accounts is not working. This is nothing to do with us. This can be seen when you have already recently granted “Authority to Interact with HMRC” using our software, but you are being asked to do so again and it will not let you see the VAT Account data.
HMRC fines for late filing of VAT Returns can be successfully challenged, if it was their service at fault, keep evidence of that should it happen.
If you click on a link on a client’s VAT Account data and you get an error code from HMRC of 500+ shown on the screen, this means HMRC's service is not working and you would need to try again later – you may want to take a “screen-shot” of that for your records. You can get an error code of 500+ if your firm or the client hasn’t registered for MTD correctly. If you get a different lower error code (error 403), follow the instructions given to rectify the situation, or contact our support team.
We hope you find our software as easy to use as we do and wish you all the best for the years ahead.
Yours truly,
Peter Hamilton (Director, 123Sheets Ltd)