Making Tax Digital · Sole traders
Reviewing your quarterly summary in Avona before submission
ONLY£15A MONTHThe quarterly summary is the point where individual records become the figures you approve for HMRC.
The quarterly summary is the point where individual records become the figures you approve for HMRC. Give it a deliberate review. A clean-looking total is useful only when it covers the correct business, period and underlying transactions.
Start with scope and coverage
Open the relevant business and reporting period in the current Avona workflow. Screen labels can change, so follow the product's current instructions rather than relying on a description of an unverified button.
Confirm that all relevant bank accounts, cash records and payment providers are included. Check the earliest imported date and any missing intervals. A connected account does not prove that the whole reporting period has been imported.
Inspect the categories that deserve attention
Look at large or unusual amounts, negative totals, empty categories and transfers treated as sales. Review mixed private expenses and net settlements. Where an annual adjustment is intentionally deferred, keep the supporting note so it is dealt with later.
Compare the summary with the reconciled source records. If a figure differs, find the reason before submission. Do not create an unsupported balancing entry to make the summary resemble an expected tax estimate.
Worked example: a loan in sales
A £5,000 bank credit has been categorised as turnover, but the supporting paperwork shows a business loan. The reviewer corrects the classification and retains the loan agreement.
The bank balance still reconciles because the money is real. The change explains its nature. Deleting the bank credit would conceal the financing transaction instead of correcting the accounts.
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.
Keep the evidence connected to the figures
Your digital record should explain the amount, date and nature of the transaction. Keep the invoice, receipt, statement or other evidence that supports it. A photograph can make a paper document easier to retain, but a folder of photographs alone does not create complete transaction records.
For sole traders, HMRC normally requires business records to be kept for at least five years after the relevant 31 January filing deadline. Keep them longer where the rules for a late return, enquiry or other circumstances require it. Check the record-retention guidance.
Make the records usable by your future self. Include a short explanation where a bank description is vague, retain the calculation behind a business-use split and make corrections traceable. For a missing receipt, try the supplier account, email confirmation or a replacement invoice before relying on incomplete evidence.
At review time, compare your records with the bank or payment account and investigate differences. Equal totals are useful, but two errors can cancel each other out. A sample of individual transactions can reveal a duplicated purchase or an omitted customer receipt that a totals-only check misses.
Where this fits into Making Tax Digital
For 2026/27, the first mandatory phase generally covers individuals whose combined qualifying self-employment and property income was more than £50,000 in 2024/25, subject to exemptions. Qualifying income normally means income before expenses. It is a different figure from taxable profit. Check the qualifying-income rules.
Once within MTD, keep the required digital records and send quarterly summaries for each relevant business. The summaries are cumulative from the start of the reporting year. They do not contain your entire personal tax position, and sending one does not itself create a quarterly tax-payment demand.
HMRC does not require accounting or tax adjustments before each quarterly update. Those adjustments and the other information needed for the annual return still have to be completed at the appropriate stage. Keep a review list so a matter deferred until year end is not forgotten. Read HMRC's quarterly-update guidance.
Software can organise the information, but the business facts remain essential. Review the figures you approve rather than assuming that a successful import has also settled every tax question.
Complete approval and check the outcome
Once the figures are understood, use the supported submission process and confirm HMRC's response. Retain the approved summary and acknowledgement together. If the outcome is unclear, check status or contact support before repeatedly attempting the same submission.
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.