"The Covid-19 challenges make it a worrying time to be self-employed, so our software updates make tax returns much simpler, taking some of the burden off the self-employed"
Mike Parkes
Oldham-based online self-assessment provider, GoSimpleTax, has committed to an investment of £185,000 over the next two years, adding invoicing software to its functionality and tax-return checking personnel to its staff. The move will help the firm to challenge market leaders, QuickBooks and Xero.
The company, launched in 2015, helps over 10,000 of the UK’s self-employed workers to complete and submit their self-assessment tax returns. In line with HMRC’s move to digital record keeping, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is expected to be mandated for April 2021. It means that invoices must be digitally-recorded and HMRC kept updated throughout the year.
GoSimpleTax is currently underway with the development of invoicing functionality. The update will provide clients with the option to invoice clients directly and see how the business is performing in real-time. Set to go live in September, the investment will open GoSimpleTax up to the UK’s 5million self-employed workers, a market currently led by US-based QuickBooks and New Zealand’s Xero.
Due to client demand, GoSimpleTax is also adding a tax return checking option, to allow customers to request a check from a tax expert to validate the self-assessment.
Mike Parkes, technical director, said: “Invoicing opens us to the market of the UK’s 5 million self-employed people and aligns with HMRC’s plans for all small businesses to keep digital records. Anyone using the software will be ready for Making Tax Digital, records will already be entered and the potential burden of updating HMRC 4 times a year alleviated.”
The firm’s turnover increased by 210% in 2019 and is forecast to rise by 162% in 2020 and 172% in 2021.
Mike continued: “Our business growth plans are a positive move for us as a business, as well as the region. The Covid-19 challenges make it a worrying time to be self-employed, so our software updates make tax returns much simpler, taking some of the burden off the self-employed.
“This will see a surge in demand for our services, which in turn, will support jobs growth in the area.”
