If your firm uses both BrightAP and BrightTax, you can import sole trader accounts data directly from BrightAP into the self-employment section of an Individual Tax Return (ITR) in BrightTax. This removes the need to manually rekey financial figures and ensures consistency between your accounts production and tax return workflows.

• The client must exist in both BrightAP and BrightTax.
• The sole trader's accounts must be prepared and available in BrightAP for the relevant period.
• You must have access to both BrightAP and BrightTax under your user account.
• Navigate to the client's ITR in BrightTax and ensure you are in Edit mode before starting.

1. In BrightTax, navigate to the relevant sole trader client and open their Individual Tax Return (ITR).
2. Switch to Edit mode using the toggle in the bottom left of the screen.
3. Under the section What Makes Up the Tax Return, locate and open the Self-Employment section.
4. Click Create, then select Link to Accounts.
5. A dropdown will appear asking you to choose the accounts source. Select BrightAP.
6. Search for and select the relevant business entity from BrightAP.
7. The system will display the available financial statements for that entity — for example, year end 31 March 2025. Select the relevant period.
8. Click Import. BrightTax will automatically populate the self-employment section of the ITR with the figures from BrightAP, including turnover and other financial data.
9. Review the imported figures, then continue with the tax return as normal — run Check and Calculate, add any additional income types (such as dividends), and complete the return.

Once the import is complete:

• The self-employment figures are populated in the ITR and can be reviewed and edited in BrightTax as normal.
• You can add other income types (employment, dividends, property, etc.) alongside the imported self-employment data.
• Run Check and Calculate to validate the return before submission.
• The imported data does not sync back to BrightAP — changes made in BrightTax after import are independent.

BrightAP does not appear as a source option in the dropdown

• Confirm your user account has access to BrightAP. If you cannot see BrightAP in the dropdown, contact your BrightTax administrator to check your access permissions.
• If BrightAP is not part of your current subscription, contact the Bright sales team to discuss adding it.

The client entity is not appearing in the BrightAP search

• Check that the business entity has been created in BrightAP and that the entity name matches what you are searching for.
• Ensure the accounts for the relevant period have been saved in BrightAP — draft or unsaved accounts may not appear.

The imported figures are incorrect or incomplete

• Check the source accounts in BrightAP to confirm the figures are correct at the point of export.
• Ensure you selected the correct accounting period during the import step.
• If figures appear incomplete, check whether all income lines are mapped correctly in the BrightAP accounts.

I imported the data but need to reimport after making changes in BrightAP

• You can reimport by returning to the self-employment section, removing the existing link, and repeating the import process. Note that any manual edits made in BrightTax after the original import will be overwritten.

Q: Does the import work for all accounting periods?

A: Yes, the import works for any period where accounts are available in BrightAP. You select the specific period during the import step.

Q: Can I still edit the figures in BrightTax after importing from BrightAP?

A: Yes. The imported figures populate the ITR in BrightTax, but they can be edited directly within the tax return if adjustments are needed. Changes made in BrightTax do not update BrightAP.

Q: Is this the same as the Company Accounts to Corporation Tax integration?

A: No. The Sole Trader import is for individual clients with self-employment income, populating the SA103 section of an ITR. The Company Accounts to CT integration is a separate workflow for limited companies — see the related article below.

Q: Will this feature be available if I have not yet received the update?

A: This feature is being rolled out to all BrightTax users. If you cannot yet see BrightAP as an option in the Link to Accounts dropdown, you should expect access shortly. Contact support if access has not arrived after a few days.