We are elated to announce Zoho Books will now offer extended capabilities for sole traders in the UK. Be it a sole trader, or an accountant firm managing sole trader clients, we understand that maintaining and tracking daily invoicing, expenses, and taxes — all by yourself — can be a juggling act. Moreover, the shift to going digital might seem overwhelming.
Our goal is to provide a hassle-free experience within our accounting software that allows you to focus on what you do best – growing your business.
Sole Trader Accounting Made Simpler
The UK edition of Zoho Books will now allow you to simplify income tax self assessment obligations. Available from the FREE plan of Zoho Books, sole traders (both VAT and non-VAT registered) can now manage end-to-end accounting for their business without worrying about high costs.
Until now, as sole traders, you might be filing your self assessment form (that includes all types of income, expenses, allowances, reliefs, and adjustments) using XML APIs, offline forms, and via the official HMRC website.
HMRC's MTD for Income Tax initiative helps you leverage an online accounting solution to prepare for income tax self assessment and MTD Income Tax filing.
From April 2026, sole traders with annual income over £50,000 in the 2024 to 2025 tax year must adhere to the above requirements with HMRC-recognised accounting software. They need to start maintaining digital records for their business to submit quarterly returns from 2026.
Under the MTD for Income Tax intiative, you will be required to maintain digital records, submit quarterly updates, provide end-of-period statements, and complete year-end declarations.
In light of the HMRC's mandate, our MTD-compliant accounting software will help you do the following.
Start maintaining digital records
Prepare self employment report: Self employed businesses can now generate this report directly from Zoho Books. This will help you accurately calculate your self assessment returns and submit to HMRC accordingly.
MTD Income Tax Filing: Coming Soon! For those who are eligible for the mandate, we're working to bring you MTD Income Tax filing capabilities soon. This upcoming feature will ensure you are fully compliant with the HMRC's mandate. Stay tuned for further updates on this crucial development!
Please refer to the eligibility criteria here to know more about the mandate.
What more can our forever-free plan offer?
Beyond just preparing for self assessment , our modern cloud accounting software can help you:
Create invoices, quotes, and expenses
Accept online payments
Manage credits and refunds
Enable customer portal
Reconcile bank transactions
File MTD VAT returns (for VAT registered self-employed businesses)
Prepare for Self Assessment (SA103F)
MTD for IT (coming soon)
and more...
Not just for businesses, but a curated experience for bookkeeping & accounting firms
For bookkeepers and accounting firms, you can now make use of our Practice management solution, Zoho Practice, to manage all your clients including the self-employed businesses. This give you a central view to track all your client engagements, monitor clients' books, in turn streamlining your practice. Zoho Practice seamlessly integrates with Zoho Books accounting solution making it effortless for you to capture your client financial insights in your own practice dashboard and manage them right from here. Become a partner to explore more benefits for your firm and your clients.
How can you get started?
Getting started with Zoho Books is fairly simple! Here are a few simple steps to get started:
For new users:
Step 1: Sign up for the 'Sole trader free plan' of Zoho Books.
Step 2: Once you fill in the form, you will be visiting the Organisation Creation page within Zoho Books.
Step 3: In the Business Type field, choose "Sole Trader."
For existing users:
Step 1: Go to Settings > Organisation Profile.
Step 2: Change your business type to "Sole Trader."
Once you've made these changes, you are all set! Start maintaining digital records for yourself and stay prepared for the self assessment submission at the end of the year.
Watch this space for our upcoming announcement on MTD for Income Tax filing for sole traders.
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