Getting started: your first 15 minutes

New here and not sure where to begin? This is the whole journey at a glance. You can do it all at your own pace, and you do not need an accountant to follow along.

The five steps

1. Add what you are taxed on. Add your first rental property, or your self-employment business.
2. Record your income and expenses. Type them in yourself, import a CSV or spreadsheet, or scan receipts. Whatever suits you.
3. Connect your HMRC account once, so the app can send your figures for you.
4. Send a quarterly update. Four short, running summaries a year, built from your figures automatically.
5. Finalise at year-end. Confirm the year and submit your Final Declaration.

Note: Nothing is sent to HMRC until you choose to submit. You can add a property or business now and come back to the rest whenever you are ready.

You are in control of how much detail you keep

Some people log every transaction with a scanned receipt. Others import a spreadsheet or bank export and never scan a thing. Both work here. The app never forces you to scan a receipt: when you add a transaction, only the date, amount, and category are required.

Already keep your own spreadsheet? Import it so each row becomes a record here, with no line-by-line typing. This app keeps your digital records for you rather than taking a set of totals, so it brings each row of your spreadsheet in as a transaction. See I keep my own records for the quickest setup.

What you will see when you first sign in

Brand-new accounts land on the dashboard with a "Get HMRC-ready" setup checklist. It walks you through adding your first property or business, recording income and expenses, and connecting to HMRC, ticking steps off as you go. The checklist disappears once you have added a property or a business.

Tip: You start on the Free plan, which covers one income source (one property, or one self-employment business). MTD Lite removes that limit. See Plans and pricing.

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