Turn MTD from Burden to Advantage: Guidance for Small Practices

MTD forces more frequent contact with clients. Rather than viewing these touchpoints as a cost, think of them as regular management-information opportunities. Quarterly updates give earlier visibility of trends, enabling practical advisory such as short-term cash-flow forecasts and tax-timing advice. Professional bodies encourage firms to use MTD as a practice modernisation catalyst, an approach that strengthens client relationships and justifies new, recurring fees.

Practical transformation plan (90 days)

• 30 days: segment clients, choose a small portfolio for an early pilot and produce short client comms.
• 60 days: complete pilot migrations, produce SOPs for quarterly workflows and escalation steps.
• 90 days: package your services (onboarding, quarterly compliance, advisory add-ons) and publish simple pricing so clients know what to expect.

These short milestones allow you to learn quickly and launch packaged services that turn compliance effort into predictable revenue (ICAEW).

Productise, measure and price

Create three clear packages: a one-off onboarding, a recurring quarterly compliance plan and a premium advisory bundle that includes a post-quarter review and forecasting. Measure outcomes — time-to-submit, number of corrective adjustments, and client satisfaction — and use those metrics to justify fees and to demonstrate value in client meetings.

Upskilling and automation

Train your team on the chosen software stack and automate routine admin (task reminders, document capture, basic reconciliations). Free your people from manual chores so they can do higher-value advisory. ICAEW and ATT offer practical resources and webinars that partners can use to accelerate staff training.

Final takeaway

MTD is a change you can control. Standardise processes, productise services, automate where possible and use quarterly data as the basis for real-time advice. Firms that do this will protect their margins, deepen client relationships and turn MTD into a competitive advantage rather than a year-round headache.

Practitioners need accurate, trustworthy guidance to keep their clients compliant. Tolley+ gives you the confidence to navigate MTD with expert-written content, practical steps, and AI-powered search that brings the right answers instantly