To use the software:

1. Click on the 'Try now' button to go to the page where software can be downloaded from: http://abcsa.co.uk/pages/download

2. Click on the relevant product for the tax year you need and the type of computer you are using (Mac or Windows) 

3. If you are asked to Save or Open the file, click 'Save' - which will save the installer on your computer

4. When the installer has finished downloading, double click the downloaded file to open it, which will run the installer, which will set up the software on your computer

5. After installation, run the software: on Windows you can tick a box to make it automatically launch when you finish - or you can find the program in your 'Start' menu under Program Files; on a Mac go to 'Applications' and run if from there.

6. The program will start by asking you for a name for the tax return you are doing. If you are submitting an individual return, enter your name; if you are doing a partnership return enter the name of the partnership.

7. The program will then give you a chance to enter an activation key you have purchased, or you can click 'Continue evaluation' to use the software without a key (in that case, you will be able to do everything except submit to the HMRC - at that point you will be asked again for an activation key)

8. Fill out the form, and when you are ready, use the 'Online submission' screen to submit to the HMRC - at which point you will need to enter your HMRC gateway ID and password

Unactivated, the ABC application is fully functional except you cannot submit to the HMRC.

If you exit the app and restart that popup will appear again, or you can reopen by choosing 'Activate tax return' from the app menu. If you are ready to submit your tax return, you will be prompted again when you come to submit.

Yes, you can re-enter the activation code you were sent to activate the application on a different computer.

The HMRC systems will reject submissions that do not pass validation tests - for example not having mandatory fields populated, or values that appear to contradict each other. Therefore the ABC application will insist that all errors have been fixed before submission. However, since the ABC application performs all the calculations that HMRC will do, you are able to view the total tax you owe based on the data you have entered at any point, even if you have validation errors outstanding.

That message means that the HMRC User ID and HMRC Password you entered when submitting were rejected by the HMRC.

The user ID and password you enter need to be the same user ID and password you would use to log in to the HMRC Self Assessment website: https://online.hmrc.gov.uk/self-assessment/ i.e the username and password the HMRC gave to you - and those details will be associated with a specific UTR (Unique Tax Reference), which must be the UTR you enter in the 'About you' section at the start of the form.

Suggested steps:

1. Check that you are doing a return for an Individual not a Partnership (SA100 is for an individual, though that individual may contain income received from one or more partnerships). For returns for a Partnership itself, the SA800 should be used.

2. Use the 'Show' button in the 'Submit' popup to look at the password you have entered

3. Remember that the password is case sensitive - and you must make sure you do not have any extra spaces before or after it.

4. Check that UTR number you have entered in 'About you' is correct

5. Go to https://online.hmrc.gov.uk/self-assessment/ and enter the gateway ID and password you are using to check that you can log in - that will check that you are registered for the online Self Assessment service and that the username and password is correct

6. Once logged in, check that the UTR displayed matches the one you are using

7. It is possible to be able to log in to the HMRC website but not have the Self Assessment service activated - which will result in an Authentication Error if you try to submit. To check, after logging in to the HMRC website click on 'Your HMRC services' and check that the Self Assessment (SA) service does not appear under the heading 'Services you can add'. If it does appear in that list, add it then try again to submit.

That message means that the HMRC User ID and HMRC Password you entered when submitting were rejected by the HMRC.

The user ID and password you enter need to be the same Partnership user ID and password you would use to log in to the HMRC Self Assessment website: https://online.hmrc.gov.uk/self-assessment/ i.e the username and password the HMRC gave to you - and those details will be associated with a specific UTR (Unique Tax Reference), which must be the UTR you enter in the 'Partnership information' section at the start of the form.

Suggested steps:

1. Check that the UTR in the 'Partnership information' section is the UTR for the Partnership, not any individual

2. Use the 'Show' button in the 'Submit' popup to look at the password you have entered

3. Remember that the password is case sensitive - and you must make sure you do not have any extra spaces before or after it.

4. Go to https://online.hmrc.gov.uk/self-assessment/ and enter the gateway ID and password you are using to check that you can log in

5. Once logged in, click 'Next' to get to the main screen and look for your UTR to confirm that the UTR accessed using your username/password is the partnership UTR you are entering in to ABC SA800

6. On the HMRC website, check that 'Partnership Service' is listed under 'Services you can use' - you must ensure that is activated before you can submit using 3rd party software such as ABC SA800. To activate it, use the 'Services you can add' menu and select the Partnership Service to add it.

The HMRC servers are designed to handle a large number of simultaneous submissions, and to always either succeed in processing or give a clear message and allow submission to be continued later. In order to make that possible, the servers process your submission via several different steps. There will always be a delay between each step, and at very busy periods (for example the last week of January) HMRC servers can take a significant amount of time to handle the queue. The ABC application will keep you informed of progress, and if the submission does fail to be processed, you will get a clear message and be able to try again.

Whatever happens during submission, you will get a clear message regarding your status. For example, if your computer runs out of power during a submission, when you restart the application you will see a message stating whether the submission succeeded or failed, and you can continue the submission process where you left off.

Yes.

Yes. The HMRC allow submission of amended returns, subject to a maximum of 9 amendments within a year of the original filing deadline. 

You can make the changes you need and resubmit. ABC SA100 supports submitting amended returns, so the only limit is a maximum number of submissions within a tax year enforced by the HMRC (at time of writing they allow amendents to be submitted up to 9 times).

Our product uses the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to display the tax summary and, on Windows, the HMRC help documents.

Please ensure you have that installed, and if not, install it from http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/

Please switch off 'Insert' mode on your keyboard by typing SHIFT + 0 on your numeric keyboard.

If you get an error starting "TypeError: Error #1009" when you submit, please:

1. Kill the application using task manager

2. Turn off the screen reader (e.g. Windows-enter)

3. Relaunch the application and submit

This is an issue with screen reader on specific version of windows; we will work to provide a fix from our end as soon as possible.

If the number at the top is positive, it is tax you owe to the HMRC; if negative you have overpaid tax and HMRC owe you.

If you click on the Summary button next to that, you'll see a breakdown of how the calculation is made.

After you add Payments On Account information, and after you submit, you'll see the amount you owe by 31 Jan, which can be different to the tax owed for for the current tax year, since it will be affected by POA already made, and it may include an advance payment for the following tax year.

Your data is automatically saved as you enter it - there is no need to press a 'Save' button. You can exit the application at any time, and when you launch again your data will be in place and you will automatically reopen the page you were on when you exited.

You can attach .pdf files to your return, up to a maximum of 5MB for all attachments.

Yes, each individual doing a return will need an activation key.

See scenarios not supported

ABC SA100 can be installed on a PC running Windows 7 or above or on a Mac running OS X.

On Windows, Adobe Reader 7.0 or above is required, to view the HMRC notes .pdf files and the Tax Calculation Summary.

On Mac, Adobe Reader is required to view the Tax Calculation Summary.

Your data is stored entirely on your local computer until the point you submit to the HMRC, where the form content you have chosen to submit is sent over secure HTTPS directly to the HMRC. After you submit your return, you should back up a copy of your tax return information for your records.