Photograph each Payment and Deduction Statement, keep a running deductions register, and see a labelled refund estimate as you go.
See the product →Accounts and tax for tradespeople (CIS)
If you're a subcontractor under CIS, contractors already deduct tax before you're paid — ac-co keeps a running deductions register from your Payment and Deduction Statements and gives you a labelled estimate of your Self Assessment refund, not a guess.
A year in your stack, with what we do on each date.
Every payment
- Payment and Deduction Statement capturedPhotograph it — no glovebox pile in January.
Ongoing
- Deductions register kept currentA running total of tax already deducted at source.
31 January
- SA100 with the CIS deductions box filed
Refund
- Refund estimate, labelled as an estimateMatches your SA302 once the return is filed.
- ✓MTD ITSA quarterly updates via the CIS Deductions API
- ✓Refund estimate included
- ✓Gross-vs-net reconciliation included
From connected to filed.
Capture each PDS
Photograph the Payment and Deduction Statement from every contractor — no more digging through a glovebox in January.
Deductions register stays current
Every PDS adds to a running total of what's already been deducted at source, so you always know where you stand.
Your refund estimate, and your SA103
See a labelled estimate as you go, then file the real SA103 with the CIS deductions box filled from the same register.
See what you might be owed — before you sign up.
The same engine that fills the CIS deductions box on your Self Assessment does the sum here.
An estimate from the figures you enter — not a tax calculation. Your real refund comes from your filed Self Assessment return. Open the full calculator →
A subcontractor's three ways to get a refund.
| Row | A trade app + a refund agent | A bookkeeper | ac-co |
|---|---|---|---|
| £/year | £20/yr (Tradeyuk, files nothing) + up to £354/yr to a refund agent (RIFT) [Tradeyuk — pricing, 2026-09-13] | A monthly retainer, plus a fee per statement | From £19/mo, refund included · or £99 fixed one-off |
| Hours/year | ~5 hours chasing statements | ~2 hours | ~20 minutes |
| Files CIS300 to HMRC | No | Yes | Yes |
| Fee taken from your refund | Yes | No | Only if you choose the £129 from-refund option |
Tradeyuk's own pricing page states it does not file CIS300 to HMRC — a gap it discloses itself. The refund-agent figure is the anchor already documented against the ac-co.cis Subbie plan in @repo/pricing (packages/pricing/src/plans.ts). Read 2026-09-13.
Every part of ac-co built for this.
Each one carries its real status — no product here is described as more finished than it is.
Your SA103 self-employment pages and the CIS deductions box, drafted from that same register and filed to HMRC.
See the product →The reconciled ledger behind both — job income and material costs, not just the deductions.
See the product →When MTD for Income Tax applies to your trade, quarterly updates draft from the same records.
See the product →Where to go next
Before you sign up.
I take photos in a van — will it actually read them?
Yes — the same capture works from a phone camera; a blurry or partial statement is flagged for a retake rather than guessed at.
What if a contractor's statement is wrong?
You can dispute a deduction before it's added to the register — the register only holds what you've confirmed.
Do I have to be VAT-registered for this to work?
No — CIS and VAT are separate; the deductions register works whether or not you're VAT-registered.
What about the domestic reverse charge?
DRC VAT rules apply automatically once you're VAT-registered under CIS. (Source: gov.uk, https://www.gov.uk/what-is-the-construction-industry-scheme.)
I only want the refund, not a subscription.
The one-off £99 fixed CIS refund runs on the free plan — no subscription required.
Be first onto CIS.
PDS capture and the deductions register are in development — the refund estimate above already runs live.