Making Tax Digital · Accountants
Outsourcing MTD work under your practice brand: what to agree first
ONLY£15A MONTHOutsourcing can add capacity when a practice has more recurring work than its current team can handle.
Outsourcing can add capacity when a practice has more recurring work than its current team can handle. A successful arrangement depends on service scope, review standards and clear responsibility. Your branding does not remove the need to explain who performs the work and how client information is handled.
Define the service before the presentation
Specify whether the provider prepares records, resolves queries, reviews categories, submits updates or supports the annual return. State which decisions remain with the practice and which client approvals are required. A general promise to “handle MTD” leaves too much room for different assumptions.
Treat any proposed white-label arrangement with Avona as a service to confirm in writing. Branding, access, integrations, pricing and capacity should reflect the actual agreement. Do not assume that a public software subscription includes an outsourced practice service.
Measure the complete cost
Include internal review time, client questions, corrections, onboarding and exceptions as well as the supplier fee. Agree escalation routes and how work is returned if the relationship ends.
Client relationships, confidentiality and data-processing responsibilities need appropriate contractual treatment. Avoid absolute claims that a practice “owns” every aspect of a client relationship or that outsourcing transfers all professional responsibility to the supplier.
Worked example: a review bottleneck
A practice outsources routine categorisation for 20 clients but retains technical review and submission. The arrangement only saves time if the provider returns consistent records and a clear exception list.
If the reviewer has to recheck every transaction from scratch, the apparent saving may disappear. The pilot should therefore measure total practice time and correction rates, not just the number of files returned.
Make responsibility visible at each stage
An effective practice process identifies who supplies the records, who resolves queries, who reviews the figures and who submits. Record those responsibilities in the engagement and workflow. Do not rely on the assumption that somebody else has completed the final step.
Agent authorisation is also separate from client consent to a commercial service. Use HMRC's correct MTD authorisation process and the agent's own access. A client should not hand over their Government Gateway password simply to make the process more convenient. HMRC explains how to authorise an agent.
Track each relevant business and period. A green client-level indicator can hide an outstanding property update if the sole-trade update has been completed. Store the approved figures and acknowledgement against the correct record.
For recurring work, use a short exception list rather than sending the client every transaction again. Give each question a reference, amount and clear request. Access controls and a secure reply route matter, especially where the same practice handles several family members or businesses. Good workflow design reduces repeated questions without replacing professional judgement.
Share the information needed for the task
Tax records need to be useful without containing unnecessary personal detail. Keep payment references sufficient to reconcile the accounts, and hold sensitive client notes in the appropriate restricted system. Financial software should not become a second, informal store for clinical notes or identity documents.
Use individual accounts and the access controls available for the service. Remove access when a working relationship ends. A secure product can still be misused through shared sign-ins, forwarded access links or files sent to the wrong person.
For Open Banking, distinguish account-information access from payment initiation. Read the consent screen and check the authorised provider. Account-information permission does not itself authorise moving money, but Open Banking as a whole also includes separately authorised payment services. The FCA explains these different services.
If you need an assurance about encryption, hosting, retention or security testing, ask for the current documented answer. Terms such as “bank-grade” do not tell you which controls apply to a particular service. Choose a workflow whose permissions and responsibilities you understand, and protect the email or phone account used to recover access.
A review that checks more than the total
Start with coverage: the correct person, business and period, plus all relevant accounts and cash records. Then look at completeness. A feed can be connected today while still missing an earlier week. Confirm the earliest and latest transactions against the source.
Next, inspect unusual items. Large transfers, loan receipts, refunds, net settlements and private purchases often need more context than a bank description provides. Check for duplicate imports where a statement overlaps a live feed. An automatic warning is useful evidence to investigate, not proof that the entry must be removed.
Finally, review category totals. A category unexpectedly showing zero, a large increase or a negative amount deserves an explanation. You do not have to make every annual tax adjustment at this stage, but you should understand the records behind the summary you approve.
HMRC explains what quarterly updates contain. Keep the approved version and the resulting acknowledgement together. If something later changes, correct the source record and use the software's supported update process so you can explain which figures are current.
Run a representative pilot
Include a straightforward client, a mixed bank account and a client with property income. Test the approval trail, access controls and handback process. Expand once the practice can explain the work completed, the remaining responsibilities and the total fee for each client.
Take the next step
Avona.app offers a self-service route from £15/month. Bring your records together, review the figures and choose a workflow that fits your business. For professional help, discuss the scope and total price of Avona Concierge, managed by chartered accountants, before choosing a service.