Landlord Vision alternative: Provestor vs Landlord Vision for MTD

If you're weighing up Landlord Vision for Making Tax Digital, the real question isn't which app has the longest feature list. It's what you actually need the software to do: run your whole property operation, or get your property tax right with the least fuss. Landlord Vision and Provestor answer different questions, and this page sets out the difference honestly, including where Landlord Vision is the better fit.

If you're still working out what MTD software has to do at all, start with the MTD software guide. If you've already shortlisted Landlord Vision, read on.

The short answer

Landlord Vision is a full property management system. It handles tenancies, rent collection, compliance certificates and a complete set of accounts, with Making Tax Digital built in. If you self-manage a large portfolio, and want one place to run it day to day, that breadth is the point.

Provestor is narrower on purpose. It does property tax, and it does it in depth, with a property accountant available inside the same plan whenever you want one. If your priority is getting MTD right rather than managing tenants, that focus is the point.

So this isn't a case of better or worse. It's a case of wide versus deep, and which one matches the job you're hiring software to do.

What Landlord Vision does well

It's worth being clear about Landlord Vision's strengths, because they're real.

It's an all-in-one platform. Alongside the tax side, you get tenancy management, rent and arrears tracking, a tenant portal, compliance and certificate reminders and document storage. It's recognised by HMRC for Making Tax Digital, and MTD is included in its plans rather than charged as an add-on. For a landlord who self-manages a larger portfolio and wants tenants, maintenance and accounts in a single tool, that breadth saves juggling several apps.

If that description fits how you work, Landlord Vision is a sensible choice and you may not need to read much further.

Where the two part ways

The gap shows up the moment you look past day-to-day management and into the tax itself.

Landlord Vision spreads across the whole job of being a landlord, so its tax features sit alongside dozens of others. Provestor puts everything into the part that decides your bill: the property-specific rules that catch landlords out, handled automatically rather than left to you.

Four of those rules matter most:

• Joint ownership. Tell Provestor once who owns what share of a property and it splits the income and expenses for you, including where you've made a Form 17 election to change the split. You report your share, and only your share.

• The mortgage interest restriction (Section 24). Provestor separates the interest from any capital repayment and puts the interest in the right box, so you claim the basic-rate tax reduction correctly instead of over-claiming.

• Letting agent statements. Drag and drop a statement and the figures are read for you, or connect a partner agent and the data imports automatically by API, with rent, fees and costs separated.

• Capital versus revenue. Record the full cost in your books for completeness, while only the revenue portion flows into your MTD figures. The line between a repair and an improvement is handled rather than guessed.

None of this shows up in a feature count. It shows up in whether your numbers are right.

What happens when you have a tax question

Here's the difference that tends to matter most, and the one screenshots won't show you.

Landlord Vision gives you the tools to keep your records and send your quarterly updates. What software alone can't give you is an answer when you're unsure. Is this cost allowable? Is this a repair or an improvement? Have I handled the mortgage interest correctly? When one of those questions lands, the next step with a pure software product is to go and find an accountant: a new relationship, your portfolio explained from scratch, and a separate bill on top of the subscription.

With Provestor, the help is part of the product. Stay on the do-it-yourself plan and you keep full control. The moment you want a second pair of eyes, you move up a plan and a Provestor accountant checks your quarterly updates before you send them, and prepares and submits your final declaration. Move up again and they take on the record keeping and filing entirely. It's the same app, the same records and the same team. There's no one new to brief and nothing to re-explain.

That's the heart of it. The starting price isn't really the difference. Landlord Vision is priced by the number of tenancies, so it climbs as your portfolio grows, while Provestor's entry plan sits in the same ballpark as a typical entry tier. The difference is what you can reach when you get stuck: a help article, or a property accountant a plan away.

Built by tax specialists, not a tax feature

There's a reason the tax side runs deep. Provestor is built by a team with more than 20 years in property tax software and in practice as accountants, recognised with a Queen's Award for Innovation, Independent Firm of the Year at the British Accountancy Awards, and AccountingWeb's Accounting Excellence Pioneers award.

Landlord Vision is a property management product that includes tax. Provestor is a tax firm that built software. Both can file your updates. Only one was designed, from the ground up, around getting the property tax right, and has the people behind it to stand by that.

Landlord Vision and Provestor side by side

Which should you choose?

Choose Landlord Vision if you self-manage a portfolio and want tenants, maintenance, compliance in one place, and you're comfortable handling the tax decisions yourself or with your own accountant.

Choose Provestor if your priority is property tax done right, you'd rather not pay for management features you won't use, and you want the option to hand the tax to a property accountant without leaving the app or starting a new relationship.

One honest note on fit. Provestor is built for UK residential landlords on the cash basis, so it doesn't manage tenants or maintenance, and the do-it-yourself plan's support covers the app rather than tax advice (that's what the higher plans are for). If you hold property through a limited company, that's covered by Provestor's company product rather than the individual MTD app.

Switching from Landlord Vision

You don't need years of history to move. Making Tax Digital starts fresh from the tax year you're in, so the practical step is to get your properties and ownership shares set up, connect your bank and any letting agents, and you're ready to record from there.

Common questions

Is Landlord Vision recognised for Making Tax Digital? Yes. Landlord Vision is on HMRC's list of recognised software for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and MTD is included in its plans. Provestor is on the same recognised list.

Does Landlord Vision handle joint ownership? Landlord Vision doesn't advertise automatic splitting of income between co-owners, so check directly if this applies to you. Provestor splits income and expenses by ownership share automatically once you've set it, including Form 17 elections.

Can I get tax advice from Landlord Vision? Landlord Vision provides product support, not tax advice. For a tax question you'd turn to an accountant. With Provestor, you can move up a plan and have a property accountant check your updates or handle them for you.

Is there a free trial? Landlord Vision offers a free trial. With Provestor there's a free demo so you can try before you buy. See the MTD plans.

Do I have to be a big portfolio landlord to use Provestor? No. Provestor is built for UK residential landlords on the cash basis, from a single property upwards. Landlord Vision's tenancy-based pricing tends to suit larger, self-managed portfolios.