TTE 2019: Vertical Systems offers clients free Making Tax Digital service

Vertical Systems has created a free service to ensure its clients meet new Making Tax Digital reporting rules for VAT by the April deadline

Vertical Systems has created a free service to ensure its clients meet new Making Tax Digital reporting rules for VAT by the April deadline, and it won’t cost them a penny.

The Essex-based travel technology specialist has developed a tool that works with bridging software that allows direct communication with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

The technology means travel firms receive a full VAT report and the information required by HMRC to comply with Making Tax Digital regulations is automatically submitted.

Chris North, managing director of Vertical Systems, said: “Some firms are charging hundreds or thousands of pounds for this because they have seen an opportunity because it’s tax and it’s scary.

“Rather than charge for the full bridge we are saying do it this way and it will cost you nothing. We are looking after our customers.”

The deadline for Making Tax Digital is April 1 and Vertical developed the software with a small number of customers before a wider trial with 20 was completed to make sure it works.

Vertical Systems is nearing the end of a two-year project to completely modernise its technology stack, including the core Tarsc back-office system which is widely used in the UK travel sector.

The new VTarsc will be rolled out over the next six months, said North, who claimed Vertical’s upgraded technology will see “huge advances” in Customer Relationship Management and search capabilities.

“The products will be almost working as one. They will still have separate names and identities but they will be far more integrated,” he said.

Another recent enhancement Vertical has made to its travel technology suite has been the inclusion of more payment options in VPay to make it more flexible.

It has also made it possible for agents to interact with customers in the Manage My Booking portal where they go to pay balances, so retailers can offer extras and ancillaries.

North said the firm has also seen increased demand from clients for it to build front-end websites, an area Vertical has not focussed on before although it has experience creating sites for key partners.

“There’s an opportunity for us to have a team which just sell and deliver websites. There are firms who aren’t happy with their site and half of them don’t have a content management system behind them. We can give them the tools to manage it and do whatever they want to do.”

Vertical is in talks with some hotels about building websites for them, revealed North. “There are lots of legacy systems that hotels are using and they don’t have a great amount of control.

“They could take one of our websites, fulfil it with a stock management system and they can basically run a hotel off the back of our software.”