What TinyTax Does — Filing Tool, Not Bookkeeping Software

What Clear Books Tax Does — Filing Tool, Not Bookkeeping Software

Clear Books Tax is a year-end filing tool, not ongoing accounting or bookkeeping software. This is an important distinction — and one that catches some new users by surprise.

What Clear Books Tax Is

Clear Books Tax prepares and files your:

• CT600 corporation tax return — submitted electronically to HMRC
• Statutory accounts — submitted electronically to Companies House

You use it when your accounting period has ended and your figures are ready. Enter your profit and loss figures, review the generated CT600 and accounts, and submit — typically in the weeks or months after your period end.

It is not a tool for entering invoices, tracking expenses, or recording transactions throughout the year. If you need that, you would use bookkeeping software (such as QuickBooks, Xero, or a spreadsheet) and then bring the final figures into Clear Books Tax when you are ready to file.

What Clear Books Tax Is Not

Not included	What to use instead
Invoice creation	QuickBooks, Xero, FreeAgent
Expense tracking	QuickBooks, Xero, spreadsheets
Payroll	QuickBooks Payroll, Sage, Moneysoft
VAT returns	HMRC MTD-compatible software
Personal tax (Self Assessment)	HMRC filing service or accountant

I Already Filed Manually — Is Clear Books Tax Still Useful?

Yes, for future periods. Clear Books Tax can only file periods that have not already been submitted. Once you have filed a period manually (through HMRC directly, an accountant, or another service), that period is done — Clear Books Tax would be used for the next period.

If you signed up but your current period is already filed, you have two options:

Option A — Keep your subscription. When your next accounting period ends and you have your figures ready, Clear Books Tax will be set up and ready to use. You do not need to do anything now.

Option B — Cancel and re-subscribe when you are ready to file. Since you have not filed through Clear Books Tax yet, you can cancel your subscription from Account Settings and receive a refund. When your next filing is approaching, you can subscribe again at that point.

Neither option is wrong — it is simply a matter of preference.

When Should I Start Entering Figures?

You would start a filing session in Clear Books Tax after your accounting period has ended and your profit and loss figures are finalised. For most small companies, this means:

1. Period ends
2. You prepare or receive your P&L figures (from bookkeeping software or a spreadsheet)
3. You log in to Clear Books Tax, enter the figures, and submit

Most users complete the entire process in an hour or two.

Common Questions

My period runs 1 March to 28 February — when should I file?

Your filing deadlines are:

• Companies House accounts — 9 months after period end (30 November following your February period end)
• CT600 — 12 months after period end (28 February the following year)
• Corporation tax payment — 9 months and 1 day after period end

You can file any time between your period end and these deadlines. Most people file within a few months of the period ending, once their figures are confirmed.

Does Clear Books Tax connect to bookkeeping software?

Clear Books Tax has a trial balance import feature that accepts a spreadsheet export from bookkeeping software. This is optional — you can also enter figures manually.