Under the changes, an estimated 1.1 million businesses who do not already keep their records digitally will need to start doing so to meet their VAT obligations.

QuickBooks’ research found that accounting professionals spend an average of seven working days (55 hours) helping each SME client get up to speed with MTD, from initial conversations to getting them set up with a software provider.

More than half (55%) say that this process causes them stress, with the top reason being some clients are not digitally savvy and will need help complying over the long term (41%).