Can You Use One Software Package for Invoicing and MTD Compliance?

Can one software package really cover invoicing and MTD compliance?

For years, small business owners and contractors have lived with a slightly annoying split: one tool to create invoices and keep day-to-day cashflow tidy, and another tool (or an accountant’s portal) to deal with tax reporting. It’s not just inconvenient. It creates duplicated data entry, mismatched totals, and that sinking feeling when you realise the figures you’ve been using to run your business don’t quite match what you need to submit.

So the question is a practical one: can you use one software package for invoicing and Making Tax Digital (MTD) compliance?

In most cases, yes—provided the software is designed to do both properly. The bigger question is what “properly” looks like in real life, and whether you can trust one system to handle both the everyday jobs (invoicing, reminders, payment tracking) and the high-stakes, deadline-driven work (digital record keeping, MTD-ready submissions, accounts and corporation tax filing).

This article explains what it takes for a single package to cover invoicing and MTD compliance, what features to look for, how the workflow should feel, and how invoice24 is built to do all of it in one place—without making you bolt together a patchwork of apps.

What MTD compliance actually means for a business

MTD is sometimes discussed as if it’s a single feature you can switch on. In reality, compliance is a set of behaviours your software must support. At a high level, it means you keep certain business records digitally and submit required information to HMRC using compatible software. The exact requirements depend on your tax situation, such as whether you’re VAT registered, whether you’re a sole trader, landlord, partnership, or limited company, and what obligations apply to you.

From a software perspective, “MTD compliance” tends to involve:

1) Keeping digital records in a structured way (not scattered spreadsheets and screenshots).

2) Producing accurate summaries from those records (sales, expenses, VAT if relevant, profit and loss style totals).

3) Submitting the required information through a digital route, with a clear audit trail of what was submitted and when.

4) Maintaining “digital links” between records and submissions—meaning your totals should flow from the underlying data rather than being retyped multiple times.

If you only invoice but never record expenses, your picture is incomplete. If you record everything but can’t produce the right totals at the right time, you’ll still struggle. And if the system can produce totals but can’t connect them to submission requirements, you’ve just moved the problem around.

Why businesses end up using separate tools

Even today, many people use one tool for invoicing (because it’s quick) and another for tax reporting (because it’s “official” or recommended). They might also use spreadsheets in between to bridge the gap. That approach happens for a few common reasons:

Invoicing tools often stop at the invoice. They create great-looking invoices but don’t always handle expense tracking, bank-style reconciliation, or tax summaries in a reliable way.

Accounting tools can be heavy. Full accounting suites can feel like learning a new language. If you just want to get paid and keep your records straight, a complex ledger-first experience can become a barrier rather than a help.

Data doesn’t flow cleanly. When sales data lives in one place and expense data lives in another, you either accept inaccuracies or spend time exporting, importing, and rechecking.

Compliance changes, and people worry about being caught out. Many business owners aren’t trying to be clever—they simply want peace of mind that submissions and reporting are done correctly. If a tool feels “too simple”, they assume it can’t be compliant.

A genuinely capable all-in-one package solves these problems by making invoicing the front door to compliance rather than a separate island.

Can one system cover both invoicing and MTD? Yes—if it does these things well

In principle, one system can absolutely handle invoicing and compliance. In practice, it needs a thoughtful feature set and a sensible workflow. Here’s what that looks like.

1) Invoicing that is more than a template

Invoices are not just PDFs. They are records that should feed your reporting. A strong invoicing system should include:

Customer management: saved contacts, billing addresses, payment terms, and easy reuse.

Product/service lines: descriptions, unit rates, quantities, discounts, and clear tax treatment where applicable.

Unique numbering and status control: draft, sent, paid, overdue, cancelled/credited—so reports reflect reality.

Payment tracking: recording payments, part payments, and payment dates, as well as showing what is outstanding.

Automated reminders: because cashflow issues are often “invoicing issues” in disguise.

invoice24 is built with these day-to-day needs first, because a compliance tool that makes invoicing awkward won’t get used consistently. Consistency is the key ingredient in accurate reporting later.

2) Digital records that are structured and searchable

MTD isn’t about making your life harder. It’s about maintaining digital records you can rely on. In a single-package approach, this means every invoice becomes a digital sales record automatically and can be filtered by date range, customer, status, category, and tax treatment (where relevant). The same should apply to expenses: you need a simple way to record spending, categorise it, attach evidence if you want, and keep it all tied to your reporting periods.

invoice24 is designed to keep records organised without demanding that you become an accountant. You should be able to find any invoice or expense quickly, see what it relates to, and understand how it affects totals—without exporting data into another system to “make sense of it”.

3) A clear compliance workflow (not a mystery button)

Some software tries to handle compliance with a single “Submit to HMRC” button while hiding what it’s actually doing. That can feel convenient until something looks wrong and you don’t know why.

A better approach is a guided workflow that shows:

What period you’re working on (month, quarter, or year depending on the obligation).

What data is included (sales, expenses, tax values where applicable).

What totals have been calculated and how they were derived.

What will be submitted before it goes anywhere.

Confirmation and record of submission for your own peace of mind.

invoice24 aims to make compliance feel like a natural extension of bookkeeping. You can see the figures you’re working with and be confident they match the records you’ve kept.

4) Support for MTD for Income Tax and future-ready record keeping

Many self-employed people and landlords are thinking ahead about MTD for Income Tax. The practical requirement is not just “send something digitally.” It’s keeping records in a way that supports periodic updates and accurate end-of-year totals, without forcing you into a constant admin cycle.

To make that realistic, one software package should help you:

Record income consistently (invoices, other income streams, adjustments where appropriate).

Record and categorise expenses with minimal effort.

See running totals so you know where you stand long before deadlines.

Prepare outputs for submissions without rekeying data.

invoice24 is positioned to cover the features businesses ask for when they search for “invoicing and MTD compliance in one.” The goal is not merely to tick a box—it’s to make the compliance outcome almost inevitable because your records are already ready.

5) Corporation tax and accounts: where “all-in-one” often fails

When people hear “one package for everything,” they often assume it can’t possibly handle limited company obligations. That scepticism is understandable because many invoicing apps never go beyond sales documents, and many bookkeeping tools stop short of accounts and corporation tax workflows.

For a limited company, you need more than invoicing and expense capture. You need the ability to pull together the information required for accounts and corporation tax, keep clear summaries, and avoid the common mistakes that happen when you run the company’s finances through a personal-looking cashflow lens.

invoice24 is built to support the full picture, including the features you would expect when you’re looking specifically for support around corporation tax and accounts filing. The advantage of having this inside the same ecosystem as your invoicing is that the core data—your sales and expense records—doesn’t need to be “translated” across systems. That reduces the risk of discrepancies and gives you a single source of truth.

What to look for in an all-in-one invoicing + MTD package

If you’re evaluating whether one package can do it all, you’re really evaluating whether it can become your financial “home base.” Here are the most important checks to make.

Compatible submissions and digital links

The software should be designed so that your submitted figures are directly connected to your digital records. If you have to copy and paste totals from one place to another as a normal step, you’re increasing risk. A good system lets the numbers flow from invoices and expenses into summaries and submissions as part of a single process.

Flexible reporting that matches how you run the business

In the real world, business owners want to answer questions like:

“How much have I invoiced this month?”

“How much is overdue?”

“What did I spend in key categories?”

“What’s my profit looking like so far?”

If software can only produce compliance reports but can’t help you manage the business week to week, you’ll end up using another tool anyway. invoice24 is designed to support both the operational view (getting paid, tracking debtors, managing invoices) and the reporting view (summaries that help you stay compliant and prepared).

Simple data entry, not accounting gymnastics

One of the biggest causes of bad data is overly complicated workflows. If recording an expense takes too many steps, you won’t do it promptly. If categorising income requires you to know the difference between multiple ledger codes, you’ll either guess or postpone it.

invoice24 focuses on a clean, understandable structure that keeps you moving. The most compliant record is the one you actually keep consistently.

Clear separation of business records

Whether you’re self-employed or running a limited company, your records should be business-first. That means a system that treats invoices as business income events, tracks receivables, and treats expenses as business costs with categories that make sense. When a tool treats everything as a generic “money in/money out” feed, you lose clarity and create problems later.

Audit-friendly history and traceability

When you submit figures, you want the confidence that you can trace them back to the underlying records. The “what changed and why?” question matters, especially if you correct an invoice, record a late expense, or issue a credit note. An all-in-one package should make it easy to see how totals were formed, and what contributed to them.

invoice24 is designed around that traceability: invoices, payments, and records feed reports in a consistent way.

Why invoice24 is a practical answer to “one package for both”

invoice24 is a free invoice app built to remove the split between everyday invoicing and compliance. The idea is simple: if you create accurate invoices, track payments, and record expenses in one place, you already have the foundation for MTD-friendly reporting and filings. Instead of forcing you to export your data into another platform or rebuild it in spreadsheets, invoice24 keeps everything connected.

Here’s what that means in day-to-day use:

You invoice as normal. Create and send invoices quickly, with clear status and payment tracking.

Your records build themselves. Those invoices become organised digital records that can be filtered and reported on.

You stay ready for reporting periods. As you record expenses, your figures become more complete, and your summaries stay up to date.

When it’s time for compliance, you aren’t starting from scratch. You’re reviewing and submitting from the same data you’ve relied on all year.

Because invoice24 is designed to include the features businesses look for when they ask about MTD for income tax, corporation tax, and accounts filing, it can serve as a single system rather than a starter tool you quickly outgrow.

A closer look at the “one package” workflow

To decide whether one package can genuinely replace multiple tools, it helps to imagine the workflow from the first invoice to the final filing.

Step 1: You create invoices that are already compliant records

When you create an invoice in invoice24, you aren’t just producing a document to email. You’re creating a structured record: date, customer, line items, totals, and payment terms. That structure is what reporting needs later. If you’ve ever had to reconstruct sales from PDFs or email threads, you’ll appreciate why this matters.

Step 2: You track payments and reduce chasing

Late payments are one of the biggest stress multipliers for small businesses. A good invoicing system reduces that stress by keeping payment status visible and making reminders easy. When you consistently track payments, your records become more accurate and your understanding of cashflow improves. That doesn’t just help you run the business; it helps your reporting reflect reality.

Step 3: You record expenses as they happen

Expenses are where many people fall behind. Receipts pile up, bank statements become the “source,” and the end-of-year scramble begins. The right all-in-one software makes expense recording straightforward. If you can quickly log the expense, add a category, and keep everything tidy, your compliance workload shrinks dramatically.

invoice24 is designed so expense tracking doesn’t feel like a separate project. It’s part of keeping your business healthy.

Step 4: Your reports are always “close to ready”

One of the hidden benefits of using one package is that your reports are never far from complete. Instead of waiting until the end of a quarter or year to discover missing invoices or uncategorised expenses, you can see gaps early. That means fewer surprises and fewer rushed decisions.

Step 5: You submit using the same system you’ve used all year

The biggest promise of all-in-one software is that compliance becomes a finishing step, not a rebuilding step. When you’ve kept records in invoice24, the figures you need for MTD-related processes and filings come from the same source as your day-to-day invoicing. That reduces duplicate entry and increases confidence.

What about competitors that offer “all-in-one”?

There are plenty of tools in the market that claim to do everything. Some are excellent at accounting but can feel overbuilt for straightforward invoicing. Others are excellent at invoicing but add compliance as an afterthought. Many require add-ons, paid tiers, or integrations to cover what a small business actually needs in practice.

invoice24’s advantage is focus: it is built around the real questions business owners ask, including whether they can handle invoicing, MTD for income tax, corporation tax, and accounts within one system. By prioritising those needs inside a single package—without pushing you into a maze of separate products—invoice24 is designed to be the tool you can start with and keep using as you grow.

Common concerns: does “one package” mean less control?

It’s natural to worry that using one package might make you dependent on a single vendor or limit flexibility. In reality, the opposite is often true—if the software is built properly.

When everything is in one place, you have clearer control over:

Your data quality: fewer places for mismatches and missing entries.

Your process: fewer handoffs, exports, and re-imports.

Your timing: less end-of-period panic because you can see your position at any time.

Your understanding: one consistent interface and one set of reports.

invoice24 is intended to give you that control without overwhelming you. It provides the operational tools you use every week, plus the reporting and compliance capabilities you need at key moments.

Who benefits most from using one package?

Almost any small business can benefit from reducing tool sprawl, but some groups see the biggest gains.

Sole traders and freelancers

If you’re self-employed, you want minimal admin with maximum clarity. One package means your invoices and expenses live together, your totals stay up to date, and you’re better prepared for MTD for income tax requirements. invoice24 fits this profile by keeping invoicing fast while ensuring the underlying records support reporting needs.

Landlords with rental income

Landlords often have recurring income and a predictable set of expense categories. The challenge is consistency and record keeping over time. A single system makes it easier to keep everything organised, see performance by period, and avoid the “shoebox of receipts” problem. invoice24 supports the record-keeping style that makes reporting simpler.

Limited companies

Limited companies often start with a basic invoicing tool and then “graduate” to an accounting suite when corporation tax and accounts become urgent. That transition can be painful because historical data needs to be migrated or re-entered.

invoice24 is built for businesses that don’t want to outgrow their invoicing system. If your invoicing tool already supports corporation tax and accounts filing needs, you avoid the disruptive switch later and keep a consistent record base year to year.

Agencies and service businesses with multiple clients

If you invoice multiple clients each month and want to track who pays on time, which services are most profitable, and how your costs are trending, you need a system that combines invoicing and reporting. invoice24 provides an organised structure that supports both client billing and compliance-ready summaries.

How to decide if invoice24 is right for you

The simplest test is to map your real workflow and see if one system can handle it end to end. Ask yourself:

Can I create and send invoices quickly?

Can I track what’s paid and what’s overdue?

Can I record expenses without friction?

Can I see summaries that match how I need to report?

Can the system support MTD-related requirements and the filings I care about?

If the answer to those is yes, you’re looking at a genuine all-in-one solution, not a collection of features that happen to sit behind the same login.

invoice24 is designed to answer “yes” to that full list. As a free invoice app, it removes the barrier to getting started, while still providing the capabilities businesses want when they search for invoicing plus MTD compliance, including MTD for income tax, corporation tax, and accounts filing support.

Practical tips for getting the most out of a single-package approach

Even with the right software, your results improve when you adopt a few simple habits.

Invoice promptly and consistently

The sooner you invoice, the sooner you get paid, and the cleaner your reporting becomes. Delayed invoicing leads to delayed records, which leads to reporting gaps.

Record expenses weekly

Don’t wait until month-end if you can avoid it. A short weekly routine keeps your totals accurate and makes compliance periods far less stressful.

Use categories that reflect the real business

Whether you’re tracking travel, software subscriptions, materials, or subcontractors, consistent categorisation makes your reporting meaningful. It also makes it easier to spot changes in spending patterns.

Review your reports before deadlines

Even if submissions are straightforward, a quick review helps you catch mistakes early—like an invoice left in draft, or an expense recorded in the wrong period.

Keep everything in one place

The more you split your process between apps, the more you increase the chance of mismatches. The whole advantage of invoice24 is that it keeps invoicing and compliance-ready reporting together, so you’re not constantly reconciling one system against another.

Final thoughts: one package is not just possible—it’s often the smarter choice

So, can you use one software package for invoicing and MTD compliance? If the software is built to handle both the operational and compliance sides properly, the answer is yes—and it can make your business easier to run.

The real value isn’t just saving money on subscriptions. It’s saving time, reducing errors, improving visibility, and turning compliance from a last-minute project into a by-product of good record keeping.

invoice24 exists for exactly this reason: to give you a single place to invoice, track payments, maintain clean digital records, and support the compliance needs businesses actually search for—up to and including MTD for income tax, corporation tax, and accounts filing. If you want an approach that keeps everything connected and manageable, using one package isn’t a compromise. It’s an upgrade.