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Learn to evaluate and pilot MTD software for your landlord clients. Get tips on security, client needs, and vendor assessment.
Head of Real Estate Education & Editorial at Landlord Studio
Landlord Guide Chapters
With Making Tax Digital for Income Tax just months away, the software market has exploded with new MTD-compliant solutions, creating a somewhat overwhelming landscape for accounting firms trying to make the right choice for their landlord clients.
In Episode 4 of our MTD Masterclass series with John Toon, Chartered Accountant and Technology Advisor at Beever and Struthers, we cut through the noise to explore how accountants can evaluate software effectively, pilot tools properly, and avoid the common pitfalls that have plagued the MTD rollout over the last decade.
Listen to Episode 4 | Choosing the Right MTD Software available on YouTube → and Spotify →
Before evaluating any software, John recommends getting crystal clear on who you're serving and what they need. Be systematic, be hands-on, and be ruthlessly practical.
"For me, what I'm interested in is, first of all, what kind of client am I going after? So clearly, we're talking about landlords in this instance. So what I'm now interested in is, OK, I've got a landlord client. I've got an idea in my head of what the requirements are and what they need to do."
This specificity matters. Software designed for general sole traders will struggle with property-by-property tracking, joint ownership structures, and letting agent statement reconciliation that are essential for landlord accounting.
Once you know your target client profile, you can evaluate software against those specific requirements rather than generic features.
Related: MTD Software for Your Rental Business
John's first evaluation filter might surprise you. It's not a feature comparison spreadsheet or a demo request. It's the company's website.
"The first port of call is to do a little bit of research. Just have a look at their website. Have a look at some of the features and functionality that they talk about. And hopefully, that website is expansive enough to be able to see that."
Why does this matter? Because a company's website reveals priorities, capabilities, and attention to detail.
"I quite often say, the website is a shop window for a product. And if you don't have a good website, then the likelihood is that they haven't got a good product. That's not always the case, but generally, for me, that's quite important."
If a software provider can't clearly articulate their features, explain how their product works, or demonstrate understanding of landlord challenges on their website, that's a signal about the product quality and support you can expect.
After initial website research, John's next step is refreshingly straightforward: actually use the product.
"For me, that's the easiest way for assessing software. I know that that feels like it takes a bit of time. And obviously, you can't churn your way through 50 or 100 products like that. But the reality is, if you're going to scope out a website, you'll get a good feel for a product."
His process:
"You might not be able to get everything up and running like a bank feed, for example, but you will be able to get a bit of a feel for how the product works."
John looks for software that's intuitive from the start: "I'm someone that likes a product that's very easy to use from the get-go. I don't want to feel like that I need to go through a sales or a training process to use a product because if that's required, then I feel like the product's too complex."
This is especially important when you consider that many clients will be using the software themselves. If it takes three weeks to learn, it's not the right fit.
When evaluating software, John recommends assessing it from two distinct viewpoints.
From the accountancy perspective:
From the client perspective:
"I'm going to probably have a mixed approach of using this tool both internally with my team, but also advising and guiding my clients to use this tool themselves," John explains. The software needs to work for both audiences.
Related: 6 Best MTD Software for Landlords
With data breaches making headlines regularly, John identifies several security essentials that should be absolute requirements, not optional features.
Basic compliance checks:
User-level security:
"If it doesn't have multifactor authentication, then walk away because it's not a secure system," John states bluntly. "That is just a base standard."
Open banking for peace of mind:
When it comes to bank feeds specifically, open banking actually provides reassurance rather than additional risk.
"The great thing about bank feeds is that that is a regulated area of business in the UK. It's required by law and the security standards are set in that law," John explains. "If you've got an open banking data feed in there, that's about as secure you can get. And in some cases, probably more secure than the way you interact with your bank in normal instances."
After initial research and trials, John recommends narrowing down to 2-3 products maximum.
"That's kind of the way to do it. And then really, you know, generally in my mind it's quite clear which one you would choose over the others, but if that's not the case, then get someone else to have a look at it or even get a client maybe to try the product out."
This client testing serves dual purposes:
If two products seem equally capable, a client perspective can be the tiebreaker.
Once you've narrowed your options, John identifies one more critical evaluation step: engaging with the vendor's team.
"The final test for me in terms of like getting a sort of product signed off is to engage with the vendor because you want to, I mean... engage with the sales process and the client, you know, the customer success team, and just see what that looks like."
Key questions to assess:
"If you don't get a good feel for that, or there's like lots of, you know, there's just lots of sales and not a lot of kind of like follow up, then that's probably also a bit of a red flag that you've probably not partnered up with a good product."
The vendor relationship matters as much as the product features. You'll be relying on their support during the critical transition period.
After selecting your software, resist the urge to immediately roll it out to your entire client base. John recommends a structured pilot approach.
Internal team pilot first:
"It's always easier to implement a product internally with your own team, I think, because it's a bit more controlled," John notes.
Start with 2-3 team members to:
Controlled client pilot:
"When it comes to doing the client stuff, the client stuff for me is always quite easy because most accountants or bookkeepers know those clients where they can go to them and pick up the phone or drop them an email and say, 'hey, do you know what? We're just trying this thing out."
Select up to 5 pilot clients who are:
The accountability problem:
John identifies one common pilot failure: lack of follow-through.
"Whenever it comes to implementation, we're very bad as accountants; bookkeepers are making promises and saying, yeah, yeah, we'll definitely use the product tomorrow, and we'll try it out. And then what happens is everyone's busy."
His solution: "Commit to a very strict timeline, I would say. Commit to a series of very clear objectives. Don't make it confusing and muddled. Have a process to work through and then try and stick to that as best as you can."
A good vendor will help hold you accountable: "A good vendor will help with that because they'll hold you accountable and say, hey, you said you were going to try out the product and you haven't done it. What do we need to do to kind of fix that and make that happen?"
Related: MTD Quarterly Updates and Final Declarations Explained
For practices feeling overwhelmed by technology choices, John offers practical starting points.
Don't start with HMRC's list:
"The HMRC website is not a great place to go as a source of information. Yes, you can sort of find the compliant software and everything else, but it doesn't then particularly help you with that research."
Leverage industry resources:
"That word of mouth is really powerful. And just use that. I think if you try to start with a list of, I don't know, 50 HMRC-recognised products and work your way through that, you'll still be doing it in April next year."
Define your focus clearly:
Before evaluating any software, answer these questions:
"All of that defines your choices, defines what you're going to be looking for, and also defines how you're going to then follow that up in terms of communication out to clients."
If recruiting new staff to support your MTD services, John warns that time is already tight.
"If you're trying to recruit someone and they're on a month's notice or three months' notice, you're going to start getting really close to that kind of April deadline."
For software evaluation and piloting, you're looking at a realistic timeline of:
That's 10-16 weeks minimum from starting evaluation to being fully prepared, which puts you at late January to mid-February if you're starting now in November.
There's still time, but the window is narrowing.
Related: Making Tax Digital Penalties: What Landlords Need to Know
Based on John's insights, here's your evaluation checklist:
Initial research:
Hands-on testing:
Vendor assessment:
Pilot implementation:
Critical considerations:
Choosing the right software is about more than MTD compliance; it’s about building a technology foundation that supports your practice's growth, enhances client service, and positions you for future regulatory changes.
In our final episode of the MTD Masterclass, we'll bring everything together: what a best practice digital workflow looks like in 2026, how to measure success, and John's final actionable recommendations for preparing your firm.
Ready to see how Landlord Studio simplifies MTD compliance for your landlord clients? Our platform is purpose-built for property portfolios with intuitive property-by-property tracking, automated bank feeds, and MTD-compliant quarterly submissions—all designed to work seamlessly for both accountants and clients.
Book a demo with Landlord Studio to explore how we can support your practice through the MTD transition and beyond.
