AN INCREASING PROBLEM WITH ONLINE HISTORY

In modern life, much if it is now online; online billing & statements are great for general public, but for us in business for ourselves, who have to keep evidence for HMRC, it can cause an issues.

• As more data is stored digitally (in the cloud), companies require more data storage which costs money.
• To keep costs down, many companies are reducing their customer online history availability for their statements or bills.
• More companies are restricting online history to just 12-months; affecting banks & credit card companies, mobile phone companies etc. 
• Many software licence invoices are stored within an online billing account.
• (One of my own banks has limited a savings account online statement to 12months).

Many of us rely on online history to obtain P60's, payslips, phone bill, bank and credit card statements. The cause for concern is when your relationship ends: change employers, phone company, credit card provider, stop using software when it expires etc. This is not an exhaustive list of examples. When such a relationship ends you lose that online access to your historic documents immediately as your account is locked/terminated.

Attempting the following can be fraught with obstacles:

• Obtain a 2020 P60 for your tax return after you have left the employer in say June 2020.
• In December 2020 obtain copy phone bills for period Apr-19 to Mar-20, when they restrict online access to 12-months, meaning you can only get 3 of the 12 months required.
• Obtain previous bank or credit cards statements when you have closed account or the bank restricts online access to shorter periods.
• Retrieve software licence invoices after your licence has expired or you ceased using the service.

This usually tends to occur when up against a looming deadline which adds further stress. When anyone is leaving any supplier/employer, the last thing on anyone's mind is "what historic paperwork do I need to download".

SOLUTION / SUGGESTIONS

• Always download/print all P60's every April or May (as soon as they are available).
• Download/print all bank/credit card statements monthly.
• Or better opt for paper statements, saves you the trouble of printing/downloading. Most banks permit both, paper and online statements.
• Download/print bills monthly 
• Or opt for paper billing; some companies charge a small fee for paper billing, but this can be more efficient than spending time remembering to log in monthly.
• I find the £2.50 I am charged by my phone company is well worth it and saves so much time later.
• At the very least, download/print all 12-months at your year end date annually. e.g. within a few days of 31st March make a note of all the items and download/print the previous 12-months. You can make a diary reminder/alarm using your phone or Alexa etc.

HMRC

• Retention period: remember the retention period is 6-years from the end of the relevant accounting period year-end date.
• It is the tax payers responsibility to ensure they have all required documentation. Failure to comply, HMRC can impose a fine 'Inadequate Record Keeping' £3000. In the last 25yrs, I have seen applied a few times, not often but it can happen.