FAQ

We now have an alternative to the old method of enabling Macros and using the 'File MY VAT Return' button in our downloadable bridging spreadsheets

As before, you still need to link your VAT figures from your spreadsheet to ours as explained in our User Guide.

Once you are ready to submit your return:
1. Save our spreadsheet.
2. Open our Uploads page by clicking here.
3. Drag the spreadsheet into the upload box, or click the box to select the speadsheet file.

To make the upload as easy as possible, there are also Upload boxes on the Downloads page and VAT Payers page.

Microsoft and others have made an update which sets the default state to block all macros and possibly to totally block access to new spreadsheets.

You can enable access and macros for the newly downloaded spreadsheet using the notes below
OR
Avoid macro issues by UPLOADING our spreadsheet.
Please see our FAQ (above) titled "How does the NEW Upload option work?"

To fix macro issues, you may need to make one or both of the following changes.

1. If you are not being prompted to 'Enable Macros' or 'Enable Content'.
In Excel:
Click the 'file' option on the menu, then bottom left on the 'options' link.
Choose 'Trust Center', then 'Trust Center Settings' then 'Macro Settings' then choose the 'Disable all macros with notification' option.
Next time you open our spreadsheet, you should be prompted to enable content (macros).
In OpenOffice:
Click the 'Tools' menu option, then 'Options'.
In the list on the left, choose 'Security' and then 'Macro Security'.
On the 'Security level' tab choose the 'medium' setting and click 'ok' at the bottom of the dialog box.
Next time you open our spreadsheet, you should be prompted to enable macros.

2. If you see a red 'SECURITY RISK' banner across the top of our spreadsheet.
You will need to UNBLOCK ACCESS to our spreadsheet.
Open Windows File Explorer (Win+E is the shortcut), find the spreadsheet you downloaded from us (normally in your 'downloads' folder), right click the file and choose 'properties'. At the bottom of the 'General' tab on the properties popup you should have a 'security' option with an 'unblock' tick box.

You can use the notes below to fix the problem
OR
Avoid macro issues by UPLOADING our spreadsheet.
Please see our FAQ (above) titled "How does the NEW Upload option work?"

No response from the "File My VAT Return" button is always one of three things.
1) You have macros disabled.
They need to be enabled for our buttons to work. To fix, save your spreadsheet (as a .xlsm file) and when you re-open it, click the 'enable editing' button and then click the 'enable macros' or 'enable active content' button (both are usually shown just below the toolbar). Please note that saving our spreadsheet as .xls or .xlsx will stop all of our buttons from working.
2) Your excel is in 'design mode'.
if this is true then clicking the button should show a border or resize blobs around the button. To fix, go to the 'developer' tab and click on the design mode icon to switch it off.
3) You have saved our spreadsheet as a .xls or .xlsx file.
If you save our spreadsheet as anything other than a macro enabled .xlsm file, Excel will remove the macros behind the buttons that are needed to make our software work correctly. The only fix is to download another spreadsheet from our website.

If you are having problems, then the simplest test of our spreadsheet is to download a new spreadsheet from:
Go to Downloads Page
Open it, enable macros, tick the declare box and Click the 'File My VAT Return' button.
Your browser should open on our confirm page, complaining about missing data. You can then close the browser tab and start linking your VAT figures to our spreadsheet.
If your browser does not open, then please Contact Us and we help to resolve the problem.

We accommodate all VAT Schemes.

FRS, Groups, Partial Exemption, Capital Goods, Margin Schemes, Cash Accounting, Annual Scheme, Retail Schemes, Payments on Account etc can all use our easy to use sheet and software without the need to register or login to our systems

Yes, HMRC have explicitly said that recording businesses records digitally can be recorded in Excel spreadsheets providing that they are digitally linked. In order for a spreadsheet to be complaint with MTD, the initial input of the data in the first instance can be inputted manually. Any further transfer, recapture or modification of that data must be done using digital links. A digital link in this instance would simply be a formula linking a cell from one sheet to another. The use of copying and pasting, or manually creating a VAT return is not compliant with MTD VAT.

Spreadsheets are permitted under the most recent legislation VAT Notice 700/22: Making Tax Digital for VAT Published 13 July 2018 under s 3.2.

Anyone and everyone, originally devised for small businesses that used paper or spreadsheet to manage their accounts, we have farmers, barristers, engineers, tourist attractions even pension companies and software houses.

We are fully recognised by HMRC as a bridging supplier and are listed as CHM MTD Bridge on the HMRC site directory

Issues at HMRC

HMRC insist that we send the box 5 figure as a positive number (The difference between box 3 and box 4).
If your box 4 figure is greater than your box 3 figure, then HMRC will issue a refund.

Yes, we are recognised by HMRC , the solution is listed in the bridging section and is CHM MTD Bridge which links to https://www.chm-software.co.uk

Our solution comprises 2 distinct elements

• A Spreadsheet (Excel, Open Office, LibreOffice)
• A web portal which allows you to logon and submit to HMRC in an MTD compliant way

We have 3 business models

• Individual Businesses submitting their own returns (£7.50 + VAT per return) payable by Card or Paypal ) on each submission
• Agents and Bookkeepers submitting on their clients behalf (£1.25 + VAT  per return subject to a £10 + VAT per calendar month payable by direct debit )
• Charities, unable to pay by card or paypal (£7.50 + VAT per return) payable by direct debit on the month after each submission

For the first year of MTD becoming mandatory – VAT periods starting between April 2019 and 31 March 2021 businesses using non-API-enabled software programs do not need digital links between them.

However, if a business uses a bridging product only to submit the boxes 1 to 9 return to HMRC, the transfer of data to the bridging software must be carried out digitally.  This could be achieved using a digitally linked VAT calculation sheet, which will then be linked to the add-in submission sheet.

Our bridging software works with any Excel spreadsheet. If your pre-MTD software can export to Excel, then our add-in will be able to file your return for you. Be wary that you will need to digitally link (most likely using macros) the exported data to a VAT calculation sheet and then to our add-in by April 2021. Although this exercise shouldn’t be too difficult for those competent in Excel.

Our bridging software Excel add-in is FREE to download and integrate with any Excel spreadsheet for both MAC and Microsoft. The filing of the VAT return with HMRC will cost £7.50 + VAT per submission.

The security and privacy of your data is of paramount importance to us, all transmissions from our MTD compliant VAT Add-in are secure using the latest HTTPS protocols with the highest levels of encryption, we use the HMRC to authenicate all our customers, so we do not store or share any of your private information. Payments are taken via 3rd party payment provider (Braintree). Braintree is a Paypal company and is a PCI level 1 provider , payment may be made via Paypal accounts or using debit or credit card, all payments PCI DSS compliant and we never get to know or hold any of your payment details, your payments are also protected by Paypal buyer guarantee.

The only requirement under MTD VAT is the same information that is currently needed, that being the box 1-9 numbers only. Only the box 1-9 numbers can pass through the gateway

Download for Free our MTD VAT add-in. If you operate on a quarterly VAT scheme then we advise you integrate 4 of our free add-ins per 12-month period (12 for monthly VAT returns). Simply link up the box 1,2,4,6,7,8 & 9 in each add-in to your VAT calculations sheets for each period, detail each period start and end date and you are ready to go!

All companies have now been registered for MTD VAT by HMRC and there is no longer a need to sign up.

If you signed up and gave HMRC the Application ID of a different MTD VAT system, it does not matter.
During our VAT submission process you will be taken to login to GOV.UK and allow our software to process your return
Our company name is 1 - Bridge Ltd and our HMRC Application ID is 1 - BRIDGE