I have been using Solar for quite a few years with no problems. It seems that I will have to upgrade to your on-line version from the computer based that I have

1 I am still running XP will I need to upgrade to a newer version.

2 Will my existing file transfer onto the on-line Solar.

Hi Tom,

Thanks for your interest in the online version of Solar Accounts. To answer your questions:

1. Unfortunately Windows XP is not supported by the online version - you will need to upgrade your version of Windows in order to install Solar Accounts Online.

2. Yes it's very easy to transfer your existing data to the online version - just follow these steps:
   https://www.solaraccounts.co.uk/switch-steps.php
   If you get stuck at any point just let us know the step you reach and any error message.

Regards,

Thanks for your replay Mark, thinking ahead will Solar be able to complete tax returns from April 2020.

Hi Tom,

It's too early for us to give a definitive answer. For income tax and corporation tax returns, you will be able to submit your figures from Solar Accounts to HMRC but we haven't yet decided whether this will be directly through Solar Accounts or using third-party software.

Regards,

Hi, just a question regards using Excel for MTD..

Under the Home tab Prepare a VAT Return, this can be exported to excel. The figures (box1, box2, etc) we would normally use to manually key in to HMRC for the VAT Return.

If in the exported VAT Excel spreadsheet we create an extra page with box1, box2, etc., as per a VAT Return so the exported page automatically links the two together so box1 from the exported data auto links to box1 of the newly created page. I have created this as a template and there is no manually keying in of any figures.

The above can then be used with the many MTD bridging solutions that are available now, a much cheaper solution to upgrading.I have run this past my accountant and he'll be doing something similar anyway.

Doing the above means not moving away from Solar Accounts desktop which is great as I am not a fan of anything to do with cloud accounting.

I have been researching this for a while as an alternative to moving away from Solar Accounts all together. Google Excel MTD bridging solutions.

Hi KP,

One problem with the introduction of MTD is how to deal with changes you make to an old VAT period that has already been submitted to HMRC. Until now we've advised users to update the transaction in the old VAT period, and manually change the next VAT return figures as they copy them to the HMRC web page. But MTD does not allow that approach, so we will update Solar Accounts Online to be able to identify changes to a previous period and automatically apply those changes to the next VAT return. The old offline version of Solar Accounts does not have this feature, so if you use spreadsheets then I think HMRC will require you incorporate similar functionality in the spreadsheet design.

Also please be aware that we stopped developing the offline version of Solar Accounts in 2014 and will likely end support for it later this year - that means if you upgrade your operating system or buy a new computer you may find your old software doesn't work. You may also find the ability to import bank statement transactions in Solar Accounts Online saves you significant time. A few other benefits of upgrading to the online version are described on this page: https://www.solaraccounts.co.uk/switch-to-online.php

Lastly, if your main concern about cloud accounting is the security of storing your data online keep in mind that Solar Accounts Online has an option to store your data completely offline - just click 'Show advanced security options' when setting up your online account, then select 'Store My Data On This Computer'.

Regards,