Question 1

What is RentalBux?

Accepted Answer

RentalBux is HMRC-recognised property and self-employment accounting software built in the UK. It tracks rental income and expenses, splits joint ownership profits, and files quarterly Making Tax Digital updates directly to HMRC - for landlords, sole traders, partnerships and limited companies.

Question 2

How long does it take to get set up?

Accepted Answer

Most landlords are filing-ready in under 15 minutes. Add your properties, connect a bank feed (or upload a CSV), and RentalBux categorises transactions automatically.

Question 3

Do I need an accountant to use RentalBux?

Accepted Answer

No. RentalBux is designed so an individual landlord or self-employed filer can submit MTD updates without an accountant. If you do work with one, you can invite them as a collaborator at no extra cost.

Question 4

Can I switch from spreadsheets or another tool?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Import historical transactions via CSV, or connect your bank to backfill up to 24 months. Existing balances and previous tax-year figures can be entered manually for opening positions.

Question 5

Is there a free trial?

Accepted Answer

All plans are free until your first MTD submission - no credit card required to get started. You only pay when you're ready to file with HMRC.

Question 6

What is Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax?

Accepted Answer

MTD for Income Tax (often shortened to MTD ITSA) is HMRC's requirement that self-employed individuals and landlords keep digital records and submit four quarterly updates plus a final declaration each tax year - replacing the single annual Self Assessment for affected taxpayers.

Question 7

Who needs to comply with MTD for Income Tax?

Accepted Answer

From 6 April 2026: landlords and sole traders with combined gross income above £50,000. From 6 April 2027: above £30,000. From 6 April 2028: above £20,000. Joint owners are assessed on their individual share.

Question 8

Is RentalBux HMRC-recognised?

Accepted Answer

Yes - RentalBux is on HMRC's published list of MTD for Income Tax recognised software. You can submit quarterly updates and the final declaration directly through RentalBux.

Question 9

What are quarterly updates?

Accepted Answer

Each tax year you submit four cumulative summaries of income and expenses to HMRC - one per quarter (Apr–Jun, Jul–Sep, Oct–Dec, Jan–Mar). RentalBux generates and files these for you with one click.

Question 10

What happens if I miss a quarterly deadline?

Accepted Answer

HMRC operates a points-based penalty system: each missed deadline earns one point, and reaching the threshold (typically four points for quarterly filers) triggers a £200 penalty. RentalBux sends in-app and email reminders ahead of each quarter end so you stay on track.

Question 11

How much does RentalBux cost?

Accepted Answer

RentalBux starts free for 1 property until August 2026. Paid plans scale by portfolio size and entity type - see the pricing page for current monthly and annual rates.

Question 12

Is there a discount for annual billing?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Annual billing saves roughly two months versus monthly across all paid tiers.

Question 13

Can I change or cancel my plan at any time?

Accepted Answer

You can upgrade your plan or add extra capacity via add-ons at any time from your account settings. Downgrading to a lower tier isn't currently supported, but you can cancel any time and keep access until the end of your billing period.

Question 14

Do you offer refunds?

Accepted Answer

Cancellation stops future billing immediately. Past charges are non-refundable.

Question 15

What happens if I add more property units than my plan covers?

Accepted Answer

You'll need to upgrade your plan or add extra property unit add-ons to keep adding beyond your current allowance. RentalBux counts in property units (not properties) - so an HMO room or a separate flat each counts as one unit. We'll prompt you with the right upgrade when you hit the limit.

Question 16

Is my financial data secure?

Accepted Answer

Yes. RentalBux uses bank-grade AES-256 encryption at rest, TLS 1.3 in transit, and is hosted on UK and EU data centres. Bank feeds run through FCA-authorised open banking providers - RentalBux never sees or stores your bank credentials.

Question 17

Are you GDPR-compliant?

Accepted Answer

Yes. RentalBux is registered with the ICO and operates under UK GDPR. You can export or permanently delete all your data at any time from account settings.

Question 18

Can I export my data?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Export individual reports as PDF/CSV/Excel, or request a full account export (all transactions, properties, attachments) as a single zip file.

Question 19

Do you offer two-factor authentication?

Accepted Answer

Yes. 2FA via authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy, 1Password) is available on every plan. It's optional for accountant collaborator accounts at the moment, though we recommend enabling it.

Question 20

How does RentalBux handle joint ownership?

Accepted Answer

Set the ownership percentage per property (e.g. 50/50, 60/40 or any custom split). RentalBux automatically allocates income and expenses to each owner's tax records and generates separate quarterly MTD updates for each.

Question 21

Can I track foreign property income?

Accepted Answer

Yes. RentalBux supports both UK and foreign property income (SA105 and SA106) with separate reporting per jurisdiction. Multi-currency conversion isn't supported yet - record foreign income in GBP using your own HMRC-acceptable exchange rate.

Question 22

Does RentalBux support Furnished Holiday Lettings?

Accepted Answer

Yes - though note that the FHL regime was abolished from 6 April 2025. RentalBux continues to support historic FHL records and treats new lettings under the standard property income rules.

Question 23

I hold property through a limited company. Can I still use RentalBux?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Limited company landlords get full corporation tax computations, dividend tracking and director's loan account support - no separate tool needed.

Question 24

Can I import letting agent statements?

Accepted Answer

Yes. RentalBux auto-extracts rent received, fees, deductions and disbursements from agent statement PDFs and CSVs from major UK agents.

Question 25

I'm a sole trader - does RentalBux work for me?

Accepted Answer

Yes. RentalBux is built for both landlords and sole traders, with full support for self-employment categories under SA103 alongside SA105/SA106 for property.

Question 26

Can I file both rental and self-employment income?

Accepted Answer

Yes. RentalBux is one of the few tools that handles combined trades - add a self-employment alongside your rental portfolio and submit both quarterly updates from a single dashboard.

Question 27

Does RentalBux know what's tax-deductible?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Each transaction category is mapped to HMRC allowable / disallowable rules, with smart prompts when something looks borderline (e.g. mixed-use mileage, capital vs revenue spend).

Question 28

How do I get help if I'm stuck?

Accepted Answer

In-app live chat (Mon–Fri, 9am–6pm UK), email at info@rentalbux.com, and a self-serve help centre with step-by-step guides and video walkthroughs.

Question 29

What's your typical support response time?

Accepted Answer

We respond to all support queries within 24 hours, typically much sooner during UK business hours.

Question 30

Do you offer a product demo for new accounts?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every new account can book a free guided demo with a UK-based specialist to walk through setup, MTD workflows and how to get the most out of RentalBux.

Question 31

How do I close my account?

Accepted Answer

From account settings → Delete account. You'll receive a final data export and your records are permanently removed within 30 days, in line with GDPR.

Question 32

If I downgrade or cancel, do I lose my data?

Accepted Answer

No. Your data stays intact and read-only for 90 days after cancellation, giving you time to export reports or reactivate without losing history.

Question 33

Which languages and currencies do you support?

Accepted Answer

The interface is English (UK) only. Transactions can be recorded in any major currency with automatic GBP conversion at HMRC's published rates for reporting.

Question 34

Do you have an Agent Dashboard for accountants?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The Agent Dashboard gives you a single view of every client, their MTD status, outstanding queries and quarterly deadlines - with one-click switching between client books.

Question 35

Can my accountant access my RentalBux account via the Agent Dashboard?

Accepted Answer

Yes - invite them as a collaborator from your account settings. Free on every plan, no extra seat charge.

Question 36

What permissions do accountant collaborators have in the Agent Dashboard?

Accepted Answer

Permissions are inherited from the subscriber's custom role access - the subscriber decides exactly what each accountant collaborator can view, edit or submit, and can change or revoke access at any time.

Question 37

Is there a partner programme for accounting firms?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The RentalBux Accountant Partner Programme includes wholesale pricing, co-branded client onboarding, dedicated account management and free practice training. See /partners/accountant-partner-programme for details.

Question 38

Can my firm be billed centrally for all my clients?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Partner firms are invoiced monthly for all client subscriptions on a single consolidated invoice with optional cost-centre breakdowns.

Question 39

Which UK banks does RentalBux connect to?

Accepted Answer

All major UK current and business accounts: Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, Santander, Halifax, Nationwide, Monzo, Starling, Revolut, Tide, Wise and Metro Bank - plus 30+ smaller providers via FCA-authorised open banking.

Question 40

Is open banking safe?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Bank feeds run through FCA-authorised open banking providers (TrueLayer / Plaid). RentalBux receives read-only transaction data and never sees or stores your bank login credentials. You can revoke access at any time.

Question 41

How often do bank feeds update?

Accepted Answer

Bank feeds don't auto-refresh on a schedule yet - you'll need to press the Sync button on the Banking tab to pull in the latest transactions. Automated background refresh is on the roadmap.

Question 42

Can I import transactions by CSV?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We recommend using the CSV template provided in RentalBux for the smoothest import - column mapping is currently manual, so the template ensures everything lines up correctly.

Question 43

Do you integrate with Stripe?

Accepted Answer

Yes - connect Stripe to pull payouts and fees automatically into RentalBux, useful for self-employed professionals collecting card payments.

Question 44

Can RentalBux pull data directly from letting agents?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Statement PDFs and CSVs from major UK agents (Foxtons, Hamptons, Savills, OpenRent, Belvoir and others) can be auto-imported and reconciled to the right property.

Question 45

Which payment methods do you accept?

Accepted Answer

All major UK and international debit and credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex) and Apple Pay.

Question 46

Are your prices inclusive of VAT?

Accepted Answer

Prices shown on the pricing page exclude VAT. UK customers will see 20% VAT added at checkout; EU and rest-of-world customers are billed under reverse-charge / zero-rated rules where applicable.

Question 47

Can I get a VAT invoice for my subscription?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every payment automatically generates a VAT-compliant invoice with your business name, address and VAT number, downloadable from your billing page.

Question 48

What is your refund policy?

Accepted Answer

Cancellation stops future billing immediately. Monthly subscriptions can be cancelled at any time and past charges are non-refundable.

Question 49

Can I be billed in a currency other than GBP?

Accepted Answer

No - subscriptions are billed in GBP only for now. Most cards convert at competitive interbank rates if your account is held in another currency.

Question 50

Should I pay monthly or annually?

Accepted Answer

Annual billing saves 25% versus monthly and locks in your rate against future price changes. Monthly billing offers maximum flexibility - switch any time from your account settings.

Question 51

Is there a mobile app?

Accepted Answer

Yes - native iOS and Android apps with receipt capture, transaction review and quarterly MTD submission. Free with every plan, including the Free tier.

Question 52

Can I log in with Face ID or fingerprint?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Face ID, Touch ID and Android biometric login are all supported on every device, layered on top of your password and 2FA.

Question 53

Can I submit MTD updates from my phone?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Review your quarterly figures on the Submission tab and file directly to HMRC from the mobile app - same flow as on desktop, with confirmation receipt stored on the device.

Question 54

Is there an iPad or tablet version?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Both iOS and Android apps are universal - they automatically adapt to tablet layouts, with a desktop-class portfolio dashboard on screens above 10 inches.

Everything landlords ask, answered straight.

Getting Started

Making Tax Digital

Pricing & Plans

Security & Data

For Landlords

For Self-Employed

Support & Account

Agent Dashboard

Integrations & Bank Feeds

Refunds & Billing

Mobile Apps