The best MTD app for most sole traders and landlords is one that lets you photograph receipts, auto-categorises transactions from a linked bank feed, and submits quarterly updates directly to HMRC, all without needing a laptop. HMRC recognition comes first: a well-designed app that isn’t actually authorised to submit is just an expense tracker with extra steps.
What actually makes an MTD app “good” (not just good-looking)
- Receipt capture via your phone’s camera, with automatic data extraction
- Automatic bank feed categorisation, rather than manual entry for every transaction
- Push reminders ahead of each quarterly deadline
- Offline entry that syncs once you’re back online
Sole trader vs landlord app needs differ
Sole traders tend to need strong expense categorisation and mileage tracking built in. Landlords need something that can split income and allowable expenses per property, in line with HMRC’s guidance on working out your rental income, and handle property-specific categories (repairs vs improvements, for example) correctly from the start.
What to avoid
- Apps that handle bookkeeping well but still require a desktop browser for the actual HMRC submission
- Anything not appearing on HMRC’s recognised software list for MTD for ITSA
How does CleanBooks AI handle this on mobile?
This is exactly what our AI assistant, Keeva, is built for, photographing a receipt, having it categorised automatically, and submitting straight to HMRC without switching to a desktop. See what Keeva can actually do for the full feature list. You can put the app through a full quarter with 6 months free before deciding if it fits how you work.
Try the app that does the whole job. Meet Keeva.
