Phone systems for accountants: built for Making Tax Digital, January, and the client who rings you instead of HMRC.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax began on 6 April 2026 for around 780,000 sole traders and landlords, with 970,000 more from April 2027. A once-a-year conversation is becoming a quarterly one, and HMRC’s own helplines still average an eleven-minute wait. This page sets out what that does to a practice’s phones and how Telexico builds around it.
From the first ring to the recording.
The same cloud phone system routes every call the way your business works, then keeps a record of it.
What the phones carry in accountancy practices now.
HMRC received 11.48 million Self Assessment returns by the 31 January 2026 deadline, 475,722 of them on the day itself, and estimated that a million people still missed it. Its adviser lines handled 85.1% of attempts in 2025/26 with an average wait of 12 minutes 35 seconds, improving to 11 minutes 35 seconds by the summer of 2026. Clients who cannot get through to HMRC ring their accountant, and in January they ring in volume.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax replaces the annual return with quarterly updates for sole traders and landlords: those with qualifying income over £50,000 from 6 April 2026, over £30,000 from April 2027 and over £20,000 from April 2028. HMRC describes it as the most significant change to Self Assessment since 1997. For a practice it means four touchpoints a year with every mandated client, and a phone system that has to cope with a steadier, higher load rather than one January spike.
Six things that decide whether a accountancy phone system works.
Each one is drawn from a published source listed at the foot of the page, dated. None is a guess.
Quarterly becomes the rhythm
MTD for Income Tax: 780,000 clients mandated from April 2026, 970,000 more from April 2027. Each quarterly update is a chase, a query and a call.
January does not go away
11.48 million returns by the deadline, 475,722 on the day, peak hour 5pm to 6pm. The practice line is the helpline the client actually reaches.
HMRC’s wait is your call volume
HMRC’s adviser lines averaged 18 minutes 38 seconds in 2024/25 and 12 minutes 35 seconds in 2025/26. Clients ring the person who answers, which is you.
Confidentiality inside and outside the firm
ICAEW’s Code of Ethics (R114.1, from 1 July 2025) requires accountants to be alert to inadvertent disclosure, maintain confidentiality within the firm and take reasonable steps so staff comply, across collection, storage, retention and destruction.
Complaints need a record and a route
ICAEW firms must tell clients in writing how to complain, including the right to complain to ICAEW; ACCA’s 2026 guidance expects prompt acknowledgement, six-year complaint records and access to its free ADR service; AAT expects written acknowledgement.
Fraud season tracks the tax calendar
HMRC logged more than 170,000 scam referrals in the year to July 2025, 47,000 of them fake refunds. 43% of UK businesses identified a breach or attack in the 2025/26 survey, phishing most often. A client asking you to change bank details by phone needs a verified route back.
Every seat, fully loaded.
- Call recording, the Telexico Mobile App and Telexico Web UC included
- Handsets pre-provisioned and shipped ready to plug in
- Moves, adds and changes from the portal, no engineer visit
What the regulator expects of accountancy practices, and what the phones have to do about it.
The left column is the obligation as published; the right column is how we configure the system to meet it. Read the source before relying on the summary.
| Requirement | Where it comes from | What the phone system must do |
|---|---|---|
| Confidentiality within the firm and when working elsewhere (R114.1 a–d; 114.1 A1) | ICAEW Code of Ethics 2025 | Recording access by role, no shared voicemail, the practice number on personal mobiles via the app rather than personal numbers |
| Clients told in writing of the complaints procedure and the right to complain to ICAEW; record of matters discussed with new clients | ICAEW Practice Assurance standard 2 guidance | Engagement-stage calls recorded and attached to the file; IVR option for complaints |
| Complaints acknowledged promptly; complaint records kept six years; ACCA ADR route offered | ACCA complaints-handling guidance (June 2026) | Recordings tagged to complaints with retention extended beyond the 90-day default |
| Customer due diligence and transaction records kept five years, then deleted unless an exception applies | Money Laundering Regulations 2017, reg 40; HMRC ECSH33520 | Retention policy applied per recording so deletion is as controlled as keeping |
| Tell callers that calls are recorded, the purpose, lawful basis and retention | ICO right to be informed; Lawful Business Practice Regulations 2000 | Announcement on every line and a privacy-notice paragraph we draft with you |
| Secure accounts and devices; spot attacks; plan the response | NCSC Small Business Guide (2026) | Verification call-backs on a recorded internal route before any payment detail changes |
| Emergency calls must survive a power cut for at least an hour where relied on | Ofcom guidance on General Condition A3 | Battery back-up and 4G/5G failover for the office connection |
Swipe the table sideways on a phone.
The Telexico blueprint for accountancy practices.
Hosted cloud calling with the Telexico Mobile App, Web UC and standard SIP handsets, configured for the way a accountancy actually runs.
The practice number follows the fee earner
Office, home or a client’s premises: the Telexico Mobile App and Web UC put the practice number on every device, so personal mobiles stay personal and nothing is missed because someone is working from home.
A January queue with a callback
Position announcements, callback requests and an overflow to the AI receptionist that captures name, UTR reference and the question, then emails the transcript to the right partner.
Routing by what the client needs
A menu that separates “a letter from HMRC”, “my accounts” and “payroll” so the right desk answers first time, with reporting on what people actually ring about.
Recording with a retention rule you set
Announced on every line, 90 days as standard, extended per recording where an engagement or complaint requires it, and deleted when your policy says so.
Teams and CRM in the flow
Microsoft Teams calling where the firm already lives in 365, and screen-pops from the CRM so the caller’s file is open before you say hello.
A connection that does not drop in January
Full fibre with 4G/5G failover and battery back-up, and any remaining ISDN or analogue lines migrated before 31 January 2027.
A typical inherited set-up and a Telexico accountancy system.
| Moment | What usually happens | Telexico |
|---|---|---|
| January | Engaged tone, voicemail, a partner’s personal mobile on the website | Queue with callback, AI receptionist overflow, every call logged |
| Hybrid working | Calls forwarded to personal mobiles; clients learn personal numbers | Practice number on the app and the browser; the firm keeps the number and the record |
| Call records | Notes from memory | Recorded, announced, retained to a policy, tagged to the file |
| HMRC-driven calls | Everything lands on reception | Menu routes letters, accounts and payroll to the right desk; reporting shows the mix |
| Payment fraud | A convincing caller changes bank details | A verified call-back route, recorded, before any change |
| Lines | ISDN or analogue, withdrawn 31 January 2027 | Hosted on full fibre with failover |
| Growth | New lines and a new engineer per office | One system across offices; one bill; a named UK engineer |
Swipe the table sideways on a phone.
How a accountancy day runs on the new system.
- 08:30A partner takes a client call at home on the Telexico Mobile App; the practice number shows, the call is recorded to the file.
- 09:10The “letter from HMRC” option fills up; the queue announces waits and offers callbacks instead of an engaged tone.
- 11:00A client disputes fee advice given in March. The recorded call is found by date and settles it.
- 13:00An email asks to change a supplier’s bank details. The policy says call back on the known number, on the recorded internal route, before anything changes.
- 16:45The MTD quarter reminder goes out by SMS from the practice number; replies land in the shared inbox.
- 18:30The AI receptionist takes a new-client enquiry, captures the details and books a callback for the morning.
The calendar a accountancy phone plan is built around.
- 6 April 2026MTD for Income Tax mandatory for qualifying income over £50,000
- April 2026DMCC Act alternative-dispute-resolution changes in force, reflected in ACCA’s June 2026 complaints guidance
- 30 October 2026Openreach closes the exceptions process for remaining analogue lines
- 31 January 2027Self Assessment deadline for 2025/26; WLR and ISDN withdrawn the same day
- 6 April 2027MTD for Income Tax extends to qualifying income over £30,000
- 6 April 2028MTD for Income Tax extends to qualifying income over £20,000
Accountancy phone systems by area.
Installed from Wolverhampton across the Midlands, and through UK partner engineers elsewhere. Each area page covers the local detail.
The services behind a accountancy system.
Everything for accountants
Broadband, WiFi, CCTV, SMS and AI for the sector in one place.
Business phone systems
Hosted cloud calling with the Telexico Mobile App, Web UC and desk phones.
AI receptionist
Answers, captures and books when the team cannot, with a transcript every time.
AI call intelligence
Every call transcribed, summarised and flagged for complaints and opportunities.
Business broadband and full fibre
The connection the phones depend on, with 4G/5G failover built in.
The PSTN switch-off
What the end of analogue and ISDN lines means for your building.
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Businesses that run on Telexico.
A few of the companies we look after — across hospitality, healthcare, property and retail.
Every seat, fully loaded.
Phone systems for accountancy practices: your questions.
Can staff use their own mobiles?
Yes, through the Telexico Mobile App, which presents the practice number and records to the practice system. Personal numbers never reach clients, and when someone leaves, the number and the call history stay with the firm.
Do we have to record calls?
No, but engagement calls, fee discussions and complaints are where practices find it pays. Recording is lawful under the Lawful Business Practice Regulations 2000 when callers are told; the ICO expects your privacy notice to state the purpose, lawful basis and retention. We set the announcement and the retention rule with you.
How long should we keep recordings?
That is your policy, not ours: 90 days is the default, and the system can extend individual recordings where an engagement, an ACCA six-year complaint record or an MLR five-year record requires it, then delete on schedule.
Does it work with Microsoft Teams and our CRM?
Yes. Teams calling is available where the firm already uses Microsoft 365, and CRM screen-pops show the client file as the call lands. Tell us which CRM and we confirm the exact integration before you sign.
Can you handle the January spike without more staff?
A queue with callback, routing by reason and the AI receptionist overflow mean fewer calls are lost and the ones that are get a transcript and a callback. It does not replace your team; it stops January being decided by how many lines you have.
What does it cost?
One per-user price per month quoted in writing, with UK calls, set-up and number porting included, rolling 30-day terms available or 12 months with handsets included, and no mid-contract price rises.
Built the same way: the rules, the pressures, the blueprint.
Where the accountancy facts come from.
Checked on 7 October 2026. Regulations and figures change; read the current version of each document before relying on the summary above.
- GOV.UK: find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (26 Mar 2026)
- GOV.UK: one year until Making Tax Digital for Income Tax launches (22 Apr 2025)
- HMRC: 11.48 million beat the Self Assessment deadline (3 Feb 2026)
- HMRC annual report and accounts 2025 to 2026, executive summary (9 Jul 2026)
- HMRC performance update, April to June 2026 (13 Aug 2026)
- ICAEW Code of Ethics (effective 1 July 2025)
- ICAEW: Practice Assurance standard 2 guidance for smaller and new firms
- ACCA: updating ACCA internal complaints handling guidance (June 2026)
- AAT client care policy (1 Jul 2025)
- Money Laundering Regulations 2017, regulation 40
- HMRC Economic Crime Supervision Handbook ECSH33520 (10 Dec 2025)
- NCSC Small Business Guide (9 Apr 2026)
- Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025/26 (30 Apr 2026)
- GOV.UK: scams warning as Self Assessment customers targeted (20 Aug 2025)
- ICO: what privacy information should we provide?
- Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000, reg 3
- GOV.UK: Moving landlines to digital technologies (28 May 2025)
- Openreach: updated WLR commitments, published by Ofcom (19 Dec 2025)
- ISPreview: Openreach confirms post-January 2027 measures (24 Sep 2026)
- Ofcom: guidance on General Condition A3.2(b), power cuts and emergency calls (10 Oct 2018)