If you currently track your income and expenses in a spreadsheet, you might be wondering whether you need to abandon it entirely for Making Tax Digital. The answer is no — but you will need bridging software.

What Is Bridging Software?

Bridging software is a tool that takes data from your spreadsheet and submits it to HMRC in the format required by Making Tax Digital.

Under MTD, you cannot submit your quarterly updates by typing numbers into the HMRC website. All submissions must go through HMRC's MTD API using compatible software. Bridging software acts as the link between your spreadsheet and HMRC's systems.

How Does It Work?

The typical process is:

  1. You keep your records in a spreadsheet as you do now
  2. At the end of each quarter, you enter your income and expense totals into the bridging software (or it reads directly from your spreadsheet)
  3. The bridging software submits the data to HMRC via the MTD API
  4. You receive confirmation that your quarterly update has been accepted

Some bridging tools can read directly from Excel or Google Sheets files. Others require you to enter the summary figures manually.

Bridging Software vs Full MTD Software

There is an important distinction between bridging software and full MTD software:

Compare the provider’s current subscription price, VAT, introductory discounts and renewal cost against the features you need. A lower price is useful only if the product supports your income sources and required filing tasks.

Should You Use Bridging Software?

Bridging software makes sense if:

  • You have a well-organised spreadsheet system that works for you
  • You are comfortable managing your own records
  • You want to minimise costs
  • You do not want to learn new software

Full MTD software makes sense if:

  • You want everything in one place
  • You find spreadsheet management tedious or error-prone
  • You want a simpler, more guided experience
  • You want to avoid the risk of digital link requirements causing issues

One important consideration: HMRC requires a digital link between your records and your submission. This means you should not be retyping numbers from your spreadsheet into the bridging software — the data should flow digitally.

In practice, this means the bridging software needs to read from your spreadsheet file, or you need to copy and paste (which HMRC considers a digital link) rather than retype.

If you are manually entering totals into a separate tool, you may not be meeting the digital link requirement. This is worth checking with your specific bridging software provider.

The Simpler Alternative

ClearMTD is in development and has not received HMRC production approval. Public registration and live submissions are unavailable. Its current scope is owner-operated digital records and in-year quarterly updates for self-employment, UK property and foreign property. Final Declaration and agent filing are not supported.

Join the free ClearMTD waitlist for launch updates. No launch date is confirmed.

The advantage is simplicity: enter your income and expenses as they happen, and submit your quarterly update with one click. No spreadsheet to maintain, no separate bridging tool, no digital link worries.

For most sole traders and landlords, the small monthly cost of dedicated MTD software is worth the time saved and the peace of mind that your records and submissions are always in sync.

For a full comparison of the spreadsheet approach vs dedicated software, see MTD: Can I Use a Spreadsheet or Do I Need Software?. And for the full list of MTD deadlines for 2026/27, make sure you know when your submissions are due.