Call for Evidence: Business Systems Integration

Question 1

Summary

Accepted Answer

Aims and objectives of this call for evidence

The purpose of this call for evidence is to gather views on the role business systems integration could play in making it easier for businesses to keep records.

Scope of this call for evidence

The call for evidence will explore how businesses keep records, the integration of digital systems used by businesses to make sales and their accounting software or business bank account, and any challenges or difficulties relating to the set up and use of integrations.

The integrations in the scope of this call for evidence operate within a business’ own systems and do not involve data being shared with HMRC. The information you provide will help identify practical steps for government and industry to make integrations more useful for businesses, and to understand what software providers need to make better-connected products.

We do not anticipate introducing requirements for businesses to integrate their systems as a result of this call for evidence.

Who should read this

The government is interested in responses from small and medium sized businesses, sole traders, tax advisers and accountants, software providers and business systems providers, financial technology companies, industry bodies and trade associations, and researchers or academics with expertise in digitalisation or business systems.

Duration

The call for evidence will run for 12 weeks from 12 March 2026 to 4 June 2026.

Lead official

The lead officials are Kylah Jacobs of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Paramdeep Khera of Department for Business and Trade (DBT).

How to respond or enquire about this call for evidence

You can respond to this call for evidence by submitting this form) or by sending responses to integrationcallforevidence@hmrc.gov.uk by 4 June.

Additional ways to be involved

The government will engage with businesses in different ways to ensure we gain views and input from a broad range of interested stakeholders. This will include round tables, one-to-one meetings and other events through which stakeholders can contribute and share their experiences. If you would like to be involved in these events, please email: integrationcallforevidence@hmrc.gov.uk.

After the call for evidence

This call for evidence is the first stage to gather evidence on whether there is a role for government in increasing the uptake and availability of integrations. We will set out next steps following the call for evidence.

Question 2

1. Foreword

Accepted Answer

Digitalisation is reshaping how small businesses operate, creating opportunities to reduce time spent on administration and remove potential for mistakes. Integrating the systems that businesses already use could free up time spent manually recording transactions, giving businesses an accurate, up to date view of their finances, and simplifying their fulfilment of tax reporting obligations.

This call for evidence seeks insights to help government understand how businesses use digital systems for record keeping, and in particular the uptake and availability of integrations that enable the automatic transfer of sales and purchase data into businesses’ accounting software. Our goal is to find ways to support businesses, not introduce requirements. This will help them to focus on growth, rather than administration.

We are pleased that our departments — DBT and HMRC — are working together to support business growth and streamline tax administration for businesses. We look forward to hearing from businesses, civil society, software and business systems providers, and the wider accountancy profession.

Dan Tomlinson MP
Exchequer Secretary

Blair McDougall MP
Minister for Small Business and Economic Transformation

Question 3

2. Introduction

Accepted Answer

Growth is this government’s number one mission, and small and medium sized businesses are critical to this, making up 99.8% of the UK business population. The government’s plan for small and medium sized businesses focuses on five key actions to enable them to thrive. One of these actions is future-proofing business skills by increasing adoption of technology, to boost productivity and reduce the time spent on administration. Enterprise Nation’s research suggests that small business owners who embrace technology could unlock three and a half weeks of time each year. This aligns with HMRC’s vision for tax administration, as a simpler, easier process that works effectively alongside the systems businesses already use.

Running a business involves managing a wide range of responsibilities. Accurate record keeping is essential for businesses to understand their financial position, manage cashflow effectively, track performance, and get their taxes right.

New technology is enabling businesses to move towards digital and real-time record keeping. Digital, integrated systems can provide real-time visibility of a business’ income and expenses. As these capabilities evolve, we want to ensure that they work effectively and accurately, and provide businesses with the support they need as they adopt them.

However, we know that navigating this landscape can be challenging. Small businesses are often time-constrained and therefore may have limited time and resource for the adoption of digital tools.

This call for evidence aims to identify how government can support better digital systems for businesses, and in particular the uptake and availability of integrations between the systems businesses already use.

Question 4

3. What is business systems integration?

Accepted Answer

Most small businesses use software or business bank accounts to manage their finances and taxes ^{[footnote 1]}, alongside other digital systems that facilitate sales and purchases.

Examples of those other systems include:

electronic point of sale (EPOS) machines
card machines
e-commerce and booking platforms
bank feeds
payment services providers
customer relationship management (CRM) systems

There are also other, industry-specific products.

Integration can connect these systems with accounting software (or a business bank account with equivalent functionality), enabling data to flow automatically between them and removing the need for manual entry. For example, linking an e-commerce platform to accounting software can ensure that sales data is recorded automatically and accurately. This would mean accurate data on sales, refunds, and platform fees would flow straight into the customer’s accounting software, typically on a daily basis, posted to the right place on the customer’s ledger.

Most integrations between accounting software and other business systems use Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to enable secure data exchange. Integrations are typically delivered through an app-store model, hosted by the accounting software provider or through third-party integrators. This enables businesses to connect systems without needing to build custom integrations.

What are the benefits of business systems integration?

Integration could reduce administrative burdens and provide businesses with more real-time, accurate financial information.

Connecting the digital systems that businesses already use could:

save businesses time by reducing manual data transfer
help businesses see real-time financial information to manage cashflow and support timely payments
make it easier for businesses to do their taxes, and reduce errors in tax returns
make it easier for tax advisers to support their clients and focus on real-time insights and advice

Question 5

4. About this call for evidence

Accepted Answer

We want to understand how businesses use digital record keeping, and the role integration could play in improving this process.

We want to explore:

whether businesses have integrated any of their digital systems
how much time businesses spend on record keeping, and whether integration reduces it
whether integration works differently for different sectors
any challenges businesses face when setting up or using integrated systems
when tax advisers recommend integrated systems and what barriers they observe

This information will help identify practical steps for government and industry to make integrations more useful for businesses, and to understand what software providers need to make better-connected products.

The government does not anticipate implementing regulation or requiring businesses to integrate their systems as a result of this call for evidence. Your insights will help shape future policy and support efforts to make digital tools work better for small businesses.

Wider objectives

This call for evidence forms part of the broader government effort to boost economic growth and productivity, help businesses manage cashflow and reduce errors in tax returns.

It is informed by other initiatives such as:

the plan for small and medium sized businesses, which aims to accelerate small business growth, including by driving digital adoption, improving access to finance, and reducing administrative burdens. Integrated business systems could facilitate this by giving businesses an accurate view of their finances and making it easier to do tax
e-invoicing, which is the external data exchange of invoice information directly between buyers’ and suppliers’ financial systems. The government has announced that e-invoicing will be mandatory for all VAT invoices from 2029 and the design of the approach is being developed jointly with industry. Business systems integration is different in scope - it is about linking a business’ internal systems. This could complement the benefits of e-invoicing by helping businesses automate record keeping for sales and purchases that do not generate an invoice. It is, however, a separate area of activity with different drivers and use-cases
Making Tax Digital, which will start being rolled out to self-employed individuals and landlords with income over £50k in April 2026. Those with an income of more than £30k will come on board from April 2027, and those with income of more than £20k from April 2028. This will increase small business digitisation and expand the number of businesses with access to digital integration options

Who this Call for Evidence is for

We are seeking the views of:

sole traders, small and medium-sized businesses
tax advisers and accountants
software providers and business systems providers
financial technology companies, including payment and integration platforms
industry bodies and trade associations
researchers or academics with expertise in digitalisation or business systems

Question 6

5. About you

Accepted Answer

Question 1: Are you responding to this survey as:

a business (including sole traders)
a tax adviser (such as an accountant or bookkeeper)
a software and/or business systems provider
an organisation (such as an industry body, trade association)
other (please provide details)

Question 2: Are you based in the UK?

Question 3: What sector does your business operate in?

administrative and support services
arts, entertainment and recreation
construction
education
energy and utilities (electricity, gas, water, waste)
financial and insurance services
health and social care
hospitality
information and communication
manufacturing
professional and technical services
public administration and defence
real estate
transport and storage
wholesale and retail
other (please specify)

Question 4: How long has your business been trading?

Question 5: How many employees do you have?

Question 6: What is your approximate annual turnover? (Optional)

Question 7: Do you use a tax adviser (accountant and/or bookkeeper) for your business?

Question 8: How much time do you spend per week on record keeping?

Question 9: Have you integrated any software or business accounts you use to help manage your record keeping with any other systems that you use to manage sales and purchases?

Question 10: Do you use software or business accounts to manage, process and record your business’ finances and transactions? If so, which do you use?

Question 11: How do you record sales and purchases in your accounts?

Question 12: Which digital systems do you use for sales and purchases?

Question 13: Can any of the digital systems you use be integrated?

Question 14: Have you considered integrating your systems?

Question 15: What prevented you from integrating your systems?

Question 16: Would support help you to integrate your systems? If yes, what support would you need?

Question 17: Which systems have you integrated, and did you have any support to do so?

Question 18: How easy did you find it to integrate your systems? (1 to 5)

Question 19: If you answered from 1-3 (very difficult to neutral) please explain.

Question 20: Has integration saved your business time? If so, are you able to quantify this?

Question 21: Has integration improved the accuracy of your financial records and/or made it easier to submit your tax return? If so, are you able to quantify this?

Question 22: Have you seen any other benefits from integrating your systems?

Question 23: Have you encountered any technical or other problems since setting up the integration?

Question 24: Do you plan to integrate more of your systems in the future?

Question 25: If so, how confident do you feel about integrating more systems in future?

Question 26: Aside from integrated software, do you use any other methods (such as paper records or separate digital tools) to track your sales and purchases?

Barriers and opportunities

Question 27: What behavioural factors do you think could discourage businesses from integrating? (such as perceived difficulty, uncertainty towards change, concerns about data privacy or security)

Question 28: What technical challenges do you believe might prevent or discourage businesses from integrating? (such as compatibility, accuracy, data privacy or security)

Question 29: What financial barriers do you believe might prevent or discourage businesses from integrating? (such as cost of software, implementation costs)

Question 30: Are there any other barriers you think might prevent or discourage integration?

Question 31: Are there any integrations that would benefit your business/clients/members that are not currently available?

Question 32: What could be done to make integration of business systems better for small businesses?

Question 33: Is there anything else you want to share about your experience with integrating systems?

For tax advisers

Question 34: How often do you advise clients on software choice and systems integration?

Question 35: How aware are businesses usually of their options for integrating their systems?

Question 36: Have you integrated systems on behalf of clients?

Question 37: If so, how easy did you find it? (1 to 5)

Question 38: If you answered from 1 to 3 (Very difficult to neutral) please explain.

Question 39: Do you feel that integration could save time and improve accuracy for businesses?

Question 40: In what situations might you advise for or advise against a business integrating their systems?

Question 41: Do you have any other comments on the integration process?

For software and business systems providers

Question 42: Do you think the current availability of integrations meets the needs of sole traders and small businesses? Can you identify any gaps?

Question 43: Can you evidence that current integrations available save time and improve record keeping accuracy for businesses?

Question 44: How technically complex do you find the process of building integrations between accounting software or business accounts and other business systems? Please describe.

Question 45: Approximately how long does the process take to build integrations between accounting software or business accounts and other business systems?

Question 46: Are there opportunities for industry and government to support business system integrations?

Question 47: Do you think that standardised protocols or government-supported frameworks would be feasible and/or desirable to help improve the accessibility and quality of business systems integrations?

Question 48: Do you think there are other practical steps government could take that would help improve the availability, quality, or uptake of business systems integrations?

Question 49: Are there emerging technologies that you believe could help improve or automate the business systems integration process?

Question 7

6. Summary questions

Accepted Answer

Question 1: Are you responding to this survey as:

a business (including sole traders)
a tax adviser (such as an accountant or bookkeeper)
a software and/or business systems provider
a business representative organisation (such as an industry body, trade association)
other (please provide details)

Question 2: Are you based in the UK?

Question 3: What sector does your business operate in?

administrative and support services
arts, entertainment and recreation
construction
education
energy and utilities (electricity, gas, water, waste)
financial and insurance services
health and social care
hospitality
information and communication
manufacturing
professional and technical services
public administration and defence
real estate
transport and storage
wholesale and retail
other (please specify)