Has anybody used or got experience of this? Her Majesty's Rsoles and Customs now want returns in this format.
Is it free?
Is it easy?
Does it work with Excel?
I've got fairly simple yearly returns but they won't accept pdf's any more.
Any advice appreciated.
Ta
0
Comments
XBRL is a standard way of moving data between different software systems. It uses XML which is a way of marking up commercial data. XML is a bit like HTML (if you are familiar with that). It differs in one way - that is, HTML is a rigid design whereas XML can be used to describe any commercial data.
XBRL is being used to move business data - mainly financial data - around the world. I think it was adopted as a standard in America first of all and now it is spreading to Europe.
You will be able to read an XBRL file into Excel but not convert an Excel file to XBRL without some software. I did a quick Google search and there's some free software that will convert Word and Excel documents to XBRL rather like the way you can save Word or Excel documents as PDFs at the moment. Whether they are any good and whether you are better to buy a converter is outside my knowledge.
If you are using an accounts program, such as Sage, you should contact your software suppliers as they will understand the need to generate XBRL files and will be able to advise accordingly.
Just what I need another bit of freeware to clog up my old workhorse of a desktop!