How to use Splitstick

Signing up and starting your trial

1. Go to splitstick.uk and tap Start free trial.
2. Enter your email, a password and (if you like) your business name.
3. Open the email we send you and tap the link to confirm your address.
4. Answer the short setup questions: your trade and whether you're VAT registered.
5. Start your 14-day free trial. Nothing is charged until the trial ends, and you can cancel any time.

Connecting WhatsApp

1. In Splitstick, open Settings, then WhatsApp.
2. Tap Connect WhatsApp. A 6-digit code appears.
3. Tap the button to open WhatsApp. The code is already typed in for you.
4. Press send. You'll get a reply saying you're connected.

Sending a receipt on WhatsApp

1. Open your chat with Splitstick in WhatsApp.
2. Take a photo of the receipt (or send a PDF) and send it.
3. A few seconds later you'll get a reply with the shop, amount, VAT and category.
4. Something wrong? Tap the link in the reply to change it.

Scanning on the website

1. Open Scan in Splitstick.
2. Tap Take a photo, or Choose photos or PDFs to pick files.
3. Splitstick reads the receipt and shows it to you to check.

Uploading lots at once

1. Open Scan and choose up to 20 photos or PDFs at once (on a computer you can drag them onto the page).
2. Bigger batches show a progress page while they're read. You can leave it - anything read is saved.
3. When it's done you'll see the list of everything that was read, with any that need a look flagged.

Checking and fixing a receipt

1. Open Receipts. Ones marked check need a quick look.
2. Tap one. The scan is at the top, with a note saying what to look at.
3. Change anything that's wrong - category, amounts, date - and tap Save. It's then marked as checked.
4. Receipts that say Read clearly don't need anything doing.

A receipt with several pages

1. For an invoice with several pages, send all the pages together (or send the PDF).
2. Splitstick puts the pages together and files the invoice once, using the total from the last page.
3. Send the pages in one go. If they arrive far apart, they may be read separately.

Credit notes

1. Scan a credit note or refund from a supplier just like a receipt.
2. It's filed as a minus amount, marked Credit note, and comes off that category's total.
3. If one is read as a normal receipt, open it and change the type to Credit note (money back).

Foreign receipts

1. Scan a receipt in any currency as normal.
2. Splitstick converts it to pounds at HMRC's monthly exchange rate for the month it was spent.
3. Your list shows the pound amount, with the original amount underneath.

Sending everything to your accountant

1. On the dashboard, press Send to your accountant and pick the tax year.
2. You'll get one folder: a spreadsheet totalled by category, a PDF report and every receipt scan.
3. Or send accountant to Splitstick on WhatsApp: you'll get the spreadsheet and report as files, plus a link to the full folder to forward on. The link works for 14 days.

The SA103 summary

1. Open Settings, find Tax return summary (SA103) and press Download SA103.
2. It lists your expenses by the box numbers on the self-employment pages of the tax return.
3. It also splits them into the four Making Tax Digital quarters, ready to copy into your own software.

Logging mileage

1. Open Mileage.
2. Enter the date, where you went and the miles, then tap Log journey.
3. Splitstick works out the claim at HMRC's mileage rates and includes it in your accountant folder.

The free category finder

1. Go to splitstick.uk/expense-categories (no account needed).
2. Type what you bought, such as "diesel" or "new drill".
3. You'll see which category it goes in, with any common catches explained.

Cancelling, and what you keep

1. Open Settings, then Plan and billing, and choose Manage payment, invoices or cancel.
2. Cancel from there. You won't be charged again.
3. Your receipts and exports stay in your account, so you can still log in and download everything.