What's Next?

Congratulations — you've completed setup! Provestor is now connected to HMRC, your properties are added, and your quarterly deadlines are loaded.

This article explains what to do next and how to build a record-keeping routine that keeps you compliant without disrupting your schedule.

Your immediate priorities

1. Review your quarterly deadlines

Provestor has fetched your quarterly deadlines from HMRC. Check when your first update is due. This tells you how much time you have to get your records in order before your first submission.

Standard quarterly deadlines:

Q1: 6 April – 5 July (due 7 August)
Q2: 6 April – 5 October (due 7 November)
Q3: 6 April – 5 January (due 7 February)
Q4: 6 April – 5 April (due 7 May)

Calendar quarters follow a slightly different pattern if you've elected to use them. Your deadlines screen in Provestor shows which pattern applies to you.

2. Decide on your record-keeping routine

MTD requires you to keep digital records throughout the year, and the records must be maintained using MTD-compatible software like Provestor.

You don't need to enter transactions daily. Choose a routine that works for you:

Weekly: Spend 10-15 minutes each week entering transactions. Keeps records fresh and reduces errors.
Monthly: Batch entry once a month. More efficient if you have few transactions.
As they happen: Enter income and expenses when they occur.
Before deadlines: Enter everything just before quarterly submissions. This meets the minimum requirement, though regular updates tend to be less stressful and more accurate.

Most landlords find weekly or monthly works best. The key is consistency — irregular record-keeping creates gaps and makes reconciliation harder.

Tip

Set a recurring calendar reminder for your chosen frequency. Treat it like any other property management task.

3. Start recording transactions

You can now add income and expenses to Provestor. There are two main ways to get transactions into the app:

Upload bank statements If you have a dedicated business bank account, upload your statements. Provestor extracts the transactions automatically. You review and confirm.

This is the fastest method for landlords with clean banking separation.

Manually enter income and expenses Record rent payments as they're received and capture expenses as they're paid. Link each transaction to the relevant property and categorise expenses (repairs, insurance, professional fees, etc.).

4. Handle letting agent income (if applicable)

If you work with a letting agent, you'll receive a statement showing rent collected, fees deducted, and expenses paid on your behalf. Provestor supports drag-and-drop uploads of letting agent statements and automatically extracts the income and expense breakdown.

This ensures your quarterly updates include the full detail HMRC requires, not just the net amount the agent paid you.

What happens between now and your first quarterly deadline

Between setup and your first submission, you're building up your digital records. Nothing is sent to HMRC until you send your first quarterly update.

Your focus right now:

Recording rent received
Capturing expenses paid
Categorising transactions
Linking income and costs to specific properties

Quarterly updates are totals of income and expenses. Other income, tax adjustments and reliefs come later at the year-end final declaration — for now, you're simply building your digital records.

Your first quarterly update

When your first deadline approaches, Provestor will prompt you to review and send your quarterly update.

What's included in the update:

Total rental income received year-to-date
Total expenses paid year-to-date, broken down by category
Separate identification of mortgage interest

What's not included:

Adjustments or reliefs
Capital allowances (these go in the final declaration)

HMRC uses your quarterly updates to track your business activity throughout the year. The final tax calculation happens when you submit your final declaration by 31 January.

Common questions at this stage

Do I need to enter transactions from the start of the tax year? Yes. Each quarterly update covers from 6 April (or whenever your accounting period started) up to the end of the quarter. If you're joining mid-year, you'll need to enter all transactions from the start of your accounting period before your first submission, regardless of which quarter this is for.

What if I make a mistake in quarter 1? In most cases, you'll simply correct the record in Provestor and wait for your next update. Because quarterly updates are cumulative, the correction flows through automatically in your next submission. You rarely need to resubmit an earlier quarter. If you've already passed the deadline for your final quarter, there is a different approach for submitting updates.

Where to get help

If you're unsure about anything:

Provestor help articles — Cover every part of the Making Tax Digital workflow, from recording income to submitting your final declaration.
HMRC guidance — Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax explains HMRC's requirements and processes.

Quick links to key workflows

These articles cover the main tasks you'll return to repeatedly:

What comes later

For now, focus on building your record-keeping routine and preparing for your first quarterly update. Later in the tax year, you'll also need to:

Prepare and review your full tax year return
Make any year-end adjustments (if needed)
Submit your final declaration by 31 January

These tasks are months away. Get comfortable with the quarterly rhythm first.