Making Tax Digital: file your VAT return from GrandTotal
Under Making Tax Digital (MTD), VAT-registered UK businesses can no longer type figures into the HMRC website — the VAT return has to be submitted through recognised software. GrandTotal (from v9) has a new Send to plugin that does the heavy lifting on the Mac: it fills the official MTD Sheets template with your sales figures and pre-calculates all nine VAT boxes. You upload that sheet to MTD Sheets — HMRC-recognised bridging software — which submits it to HMRC.
What is Making Tax Digital?
MTD for VAT requires digital record keeping and submission of the VAT return via the HMRC API. The old online VAT portal closed in 2022 — a spreadsheet or PDF can no longer be uploaded manually. The figures must reach HMRC through compatible software with an unbroken digital link.
Where MTD Sheets comes in
Bridging software connects your figures to HMRC. GrandTotal produces the spreadsheet; mtdsheets.com reads it, links to your HMRC account and files the nine boxes. Exporting from GrandTotal and importing into MTD Sheets keeps the digital link intact.
Before you start
- A UK business that is registered for VAT.
- In your sender profile: your company name and your 9-digit VAT number (VRN) — without them the plugin shows an error.
- In the plugin settings: choose your scheme — Standard Rate or Flat Rate. On the Flat Rate Scheme, also enter your flat-rate percentage.
Step by step
1. Send to MTD VAT
Select the period or the invoices you want to report, then choose Send to → MTD VAT (mtdsheets.com).
2. Choose where to save
Pick a location for the export folder. GrandTotal suggests the name “MTD VAT {period}”.
3. GrandTotal builds the folder
GrandTotal creates a folder containing:
- Standard_Rate_VAT.xlsx or Flat_Rate_VAT.xlsx — the MTD Sheets template, filled in.
- ReadMe.txt — a summary: scheme, company, VRN, period, all nine box values and the upload instructions.
4. Upload and submit
Go to mtdsheets.com, upload the spreadsheet, connect to HMRC, check the figures and submit. MTD Sheets charges a fee of £2.99 per submission.
What GrandTotal fills in automatically
- The complete sales side (invoices and credit notes) goes into the Income tab, one entry per VAT rate.
- All nine VAT boxes, pre-calculated. On Standard Rate: Box 1 = VAT on sales, Box 6 = net turnover. On Flat Rate: Box 1 = gross turnover × flat rate, Box 6 = gross turnover.
- Cash or accrual follows the send mode — the paid date for cash accounting, the invoice date for accrual.
- Both schemes are supported: Standard Rate and Flat Rate.
Sales side only — check before you submit
GrandTotal fills the sales side. It has no record of your purchases, so the Expenses tab stays empty and Box 4 (input VAT) and Box 7 (net purchases) are zero. If you reclaim input VAT, add your purchases in the Expenses tab yourself. On the Flat Rate Scheme this is normally not needed.
For Northern Ireland Protocol movements (NI/EU goods), set the “Exceptional Categories” column manually before uploading. Always review the figures before submitting — the return is your responsibility.
Overview
Send to plugin
GrandTotal v9, for VAT-registered UK businesses
Bridging via MTD Sheets
Upload the sheet, submit to HMRC (£2.99 per return)
Nine VAT boxes pre-filled
Standard Rate and Flat Rate
Needs your VRN
Company name + 9-digit VAT number in the sender profile
Sales side only
Add purchases yourself for Box 4 if you reclaim input VAT