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Use case

Quarterly records for MTD, in without chasing.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax turned one records chase a year into four. Send each sole trader and landlord client a checklist after every quarter, through a private link with no account, and let reminders chase what's missing before the 7th.

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Last updated · Facts checked

One quarter, chased for you

Two approved, two not uploaded yet. The next reminder asks only for the repair invoices and the mortgage statements.

How it works

A typical quarter in GarnerDocs.

Set up a workflow once. After that, every quarter runs the same way, four times a year.

  1. 1

    Once

    Set up a quarterly workflow.

    Choose the sole trader or landlord template, UK tax quarters and the clients it applies to. It creates one request per client, as drafts to check or sent.

    Collect MTD quarterly records automatically
  2. 2

    On the 8th

    Clients get the quarter's list.

    Each client gets an email with a private link, due in 21 days. They upload from a phone or computer, with no account, and come back to the same link for the rest.

    Copy or share the client link
  3. 3

    Before the due date

    Reminders chase what's missing.

    By default, reminders go out 3 and 7 days after sending and 3 days before the due date. Each lists only what's outstanding, and they stop once everything is in.

    How automatic reminders work
  4. 4

    As files arrive

    Approve, then send the update.

    Approve each file, or ask for a replacement when a statement stops short. Then download the files and send the update from your MTD software.

    Review and approve uploads

Features

What gets each quarter in before the 7th.

A workflow on UK tax quarters

Each request covers one tax quarter, like 6 October to 5 January, and is named for it. New workflows save drafts. Sending automatically asks you to confirm first.

Collect MTD quarterly records automatically

Sole trader and landlord templates

New workspaces include both. A client with both kinds of income gets both. Tailor one client's request without changing the template.

Create a template

Replacements with a note

An agent statement that stops a month short? Ask for a replacement with a note your client sees next to that document. The earlier version stays in the history.

Ask a client for a replacement file

Files ready for your MTD software

Download the quarter's files as one ZIP and enter the figures in your own software. GarnerDocs deletes the files after the retention period you choose.

Download all files as a ZIP

A quarter, start to finish

  1. Pick the template

    Choose MTD Quarterly Update – Sole Trader or MTD Quarterly Update – Landlord. A client with both kinds of income gets both. Each ends with a short answer, such as "Anything unusual this quarter?", that your client types instead of uploading a file.

  2. Set up one quarterly workflow

    Choose Quarterly, UK tax quarters and Previous quarter, then pick the clients it applies to under Specific clients. Set up one workflow for each template.

  3. Requests go out on the 8th

    On 8 January, April, July and October, each client gets a request for the tax quarter just ended, due in 21 days. A run on 8 January is due on 29 January, nine days before HMRC's deadline of 7 February.

  4. Reminders list only what's missing

    Each reminder names the items still outstanding, and reminders stop once everything is in.

  5. Review, replace, approve

    Approve each file, or ask for a replacement with a note your client sees next to that item. Approving the last one completes the request.

  6. Download the files for your MTD software

    Download the quarter's files as a ZIP, enter the figures in your MTD software and send the update from there.

Every setting is in the help article Collect MTD quarterly records automatically. What to ask for, item by item, is in the MTD records checklist for sole traders and the MTD records checklist for landlords.

Who this is for

  • Practices with clients in MTD now. Sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 have had to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax since 6 April 2026.
  • Practices getting ready for April 2027. Qualifying income over £30,000 joins from 6 April 2027, and over £20,000 from 6 April 2028.

The thresholds are on GOV.UK: Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (checked on 26 October 2026).

Clients who never log in

Your client opens the link from the email and uploads, with no account or password, so it works for the clients who ignore a portal.

What GarnerDocs doesn't do

GarnerDocs collects the records. Your MTD software keeps the digital records and sends the quarterly update to HMRC. GarnerDocs isn't MTD software: it doesn't connect to HMRC, read figures from receipts or work anything out.

Quarterly updates are due on 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. HMRC's dates are on Send quarterly updates for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (checked on 26 October 2026). This page isn't tax advice, and GarnerDocs doesn't know anyone's deadlines: every due date on a request is one you set.

Questions

Does GarnerDocs submit the quarterly update to HMRC?

No. GarnerDocs collects the records from your client. Your MTD software keeps the digital records and sends the update to HMRC. GarnerDocs doesn't connect to HMRC.

Some clients use calendar quarters. Does that work?

Yes. Set up a separate workflow for them and choose Calendar quarters instead of UK tax quarters, so each request covers a quarter such as 1 October to 31 December. GOV.UK says calendar update periods suit a client whose accounting period runs from 1 April to 31 March.

My client already uses bookkeeping software with bank feeds. Do they need the whole list?

Probably not. Their bank transactions may already be in their software, so they may need only a few items, such as cash expenses or letting agent statements. Edit that client's request to keep only those. If it's the same every quarter, duplicate the template, trim it and give those clients their own workflow.

What happens when a client is late?

Once the due date passes, the request shows as overdue and appears on the Overview's Needs your attention list. Your client can still upload with the same link. No automatic reminders go out after the due date, so use Send reminder to chase it. The next quarter's request still goes out on schedule.

Related

  • Workflows

    Collect MTD quarterly records automatically

    A quarterly workflow on UK tax quarters for Making Tax Digital records.

  • Checklist

    MTD records checklist for sole traders, every quarter

    The records to ask each sole trader client for after every Making Tax Digital quarter, with "why we ask" lines, a copyable list and a routine that gets them in before the 7th.

  • Checklist

    MTD records checklist for landlords, every quarter

    The records to ask each landlord client for after every Making Tax Digital quarter, with "why we ask" lines, a copyable list and what to do for jointly owned property and several properties.

  • For accountants

    Year-end accounts, tax returns, new client onboarding: send each client one checklist through a private link, and let reminders chase whatever is still missing.

  • Compare

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