Sorting out tax returns is hardly anyone’s favourite part of running a delivery business. In addition to draining time that could be spent working on haulage contracts, it’s also often dry, dull and repetitive. And when HMRC makes changes to how you have to sort out taxation, even the most well intentioned policies can be met with frustration if the transition is difficult.
We wouldn’t begrudge you a little scepticism over HMRC’s new Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative, then. But in this article we’ll show how it really can help simplify things – especially for members of popular exchange network Haulage Exchange.
Read on to learn more.
What is Haulage Exchange?
HX is the fastest growing freight exchange network in the country, providing clients, hauliers and businesses a simple, reliable platform to post and find work.
It has no special relationship with HMRC or the UK government, but each side has strong incentives to work with the other. Working with industry organisations like HX allows HMRC to make regulations fit for purpose and easier to comply with; while sharing information with the government allows the freight exchange platform to provide the best service for its members.
These incentives have led the two organisations to work together on MTD, hoping to produce benefits for both sides. The end result for hauliers, fleet managers and tax collectors is that noncompliance with regulations is reduced, leading to fewer fines and less time spent clearing up issues.
Making Tax Digital
MTD is effectively exactly what it says on the tin: a government initiative to make all submissions, receipt and processing of tax returns digital.
HMRC presents several points in favour of MTD, saying that it will:
•Simplify the overall process,
•Reduce risks of noncompliance
•Improve the effectiveness of tax collection across the board.
The policy, HMRC says, will help transform the UK system into ‘one of the most digitally advanced tax administrations in the world’.
All well and good, you might think, but what does this mean for busy delivery drivers or fleet managers?
How Haulage Exchange Can Help
Adapting to a new system of regulations can be difficult at the best of times. Add in the issues many face with navigating digital systems, and changes can present a significant pain to many businesses.
Luckily, the exchange’s members need do very little to adapt: the platform’s accounting software has been recognised by HMRC as fully MTD-compliant.
To submit MTD returns, simply follow this process:
•Grant HMRC access to your accounting on HX
•Record invoices, payments, PODs, spending and so on, all as normal
•When it comes time to submit a VAT return, automatically do so on the platform.
In this way, the freight platform takes care of the details, allowing you more time to focus on running your firm and completing haulage contracts.
Businesses should find navigating MTD easy because HX provides members the means to work with the new system without changing their existing practices. Add this to the raft of existing benefits, including a huge ‘virtual fleet’ of drivers and real time access to haulage contracts, and there are few reasons not to give the platform a go.
Norman Dulwich is a Correspondent for Haulage Exchange, the leading online trade network for the road transport industry. Connecting logistics professionals across the UK and Europe through their website, Haulage Exchange provides services for matching haulage contracts with available drivers, and is now the fastest growing Freight Exchange in the UK.
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