A cheap alternative to Sage 50 upgrade fees.

If you currently use Sage 50, you may have been contacted by them telling you that your version of Sage 50 will not file VAT returns for Making Tax Digital and you have the following options:

1. Pay for an MTD bolt on to file the VAT return for around £25 per month.
2. Pay for the new Sage 50c by way of monthly subscription £20 - £125 per month

What they haven’t said is that your current version of Sage is fully compliant with Making Tax Digital, except for the fact that you cannot submit the VAT return from the software.

Where you have recently upgraded your Sage 50 (which can be costly), and then you have been told that you need to upgrade again. You have every right to be aggrieved and angry. Why should you pay £75 (3 x £25) to submit a quarterly VAT return!

However, there is a simple solution to all this which does not require upgrade costs. Instead you can carry on using your current version of Sage 50 and when it is time to submit the VAT return:
 1. download the VAT return calculations to Excel
 2. link the boxes 1-9 to our bridging software
 3. file the VAT return direct to HMRC
This can be free if your accountant is signed up to our partner programme otherwise its £7.50 per return.

Do not upgrade your Sage 50 just for the sake of filing your MTD VAT return.