Choose bookkeeping software by testing it against the official record-keeping rules that apply where you operate: the general retention period is five years in Australia, the UK and Singapore, while Hong Kong requires at least seven years, although exceptions and company-specific rules can increase the period. In the US, the IRS allows any suitable system that clearly shows income and expenses, so the decisive questions are whether your records remain accessible, complete and capable of supporting the relevant return—not whether a particular software format is prescribed. These figures come from the named tax authorities’ official pages checked on 2026-10-01.
“One-person company” is not a uniform legal category across these jurisdictions. Check the rules that match your actual business form, tax registration and location rather than treating the label as a single filing status.
What should I check before choosing bookkeeping software?
Use a jurisdiction-specific shortlist. The official record pages reviewed for this guide, checked on 2026-10-01, support the following minimum questions:
- Can the software capture the transactions, supporting documents and transaction details required locally?
- Can it retain records for the applicable period, including longer periods triggered by an exception?
- Can you retrieve original or supporting documents after changing software?
- Can it export data in a usable format or provide another official means of access?
- Does it support any required digital links, updates or filing process?
- Can you control access, preserve the integrity of records and document the system itself?
A feature checklist is more reliable than a brand list because the official sources set the compliance conditions, while software prices, product names and optional feature claims are not stated on the official pages reviewed on 2026-10-01.
How long must records be kept in each country?
Retention is the first difference to test. The following periods come from the authorities and official pages checked on 2026-10-01.
| Jurisdiction | Official record-keeping position | What to test in software |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Most records must be kept for 5 years. The period generally starts when the record was prepared or obtained, or when the related transaction or act was completed, whichever is later. The ATO also says some records need longer retention, and that ASIC requires companies to keep records for 7 years. | Retention rules by record type, configurable alerts, legal holds where relevant, and deletion controls. |
| United Kingdom | Self-employed records must be kept for at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline for the relevant tax year. | A visible tax-year retention schedule and protection against premature deletion. |
| United States | Federal rules generally specify 3 years for supporting records in ordinary cases, 6 years where unreported income exceeds 25% of gross income, and 7 years for certain worthless-securities or bad-debt claims. Employment-tax records must be kept for at least 4 years. Records may need to be kept indefinitely where no return is filed or a fraudulent return is filed. | A flexible retention policy that can accommodate exceptions and indefinite preservation rather than a single blanket deletion date. |
| Singapore | Self-employed persons must retain proper records and accounts for 5 years, supported by invoices, receipts, vouchers and other documents. For companies, the IRAS tax requirement is also at least 5 years from the relevant Year of Assessment. | Secure retention for structured transactions and their supporting documents, including when the accounting period changes. |
| Hong Kong | Section 51C of the Inland Revenue Ordinance requires records of income and expenditure to be retained for not less than 7 years. | Long-term retrieval, access control and reliable preservation of all prescribed record categories. |
Sources for the figures: Australian Taxation Office, Overview of record-keeping rules for business, checked 2026-10-01; GOV.UK (HM Revenue & Customs), How long to keep your records, checked 2026-10-01; IRS, How long should I keep records?, checked 2026-10-01; IRAS, Keeping Proper Records and Accounts and Record Keeping Requirements, checked 2026-10-01; Hong Kong IRD, Record Keeping, checked 2026-10-01.
Do not reduce these rules to one universal timer. Australia’s overview says some records require longer retention, and the US periods depend on the taxpayer’s circumstances and filing position. The official pages do not provide a complete list of every longer-retention case here, so additional Australian cases are not stated on the official page reviewed on 2026-10-01.
What records must the software capture?
Australia: Does it record the required transaction details?
The Australian Taxation Office says records must cover transactions relating to tax, superannuation and registration affairs, including documents concerning business income and expenses. A record generally includes:
- the date, amount and description;
- relevant GST information for the transaction;
- the purpose of the transaction; and
- relationships between the parties, where relevant.
For an expense used for both business and personal purposes, clear documents must show the business portion. Test whether the software and its attachments can preserve that evidence rather than merely produce a total expense.
Source: Australian Taxation Office, checked 2026-10-01.
United Kingdom: Can it support Self Assessment records?
Sole traders must keep business income and expense records for Self Assessment, together with records of personal income. If accounts are not prepared, income and expenses must still be recorded for each tax year, which runs from 6 April to 5 April. Matching the accounting records to that period may make the return easier to complete. Limited companies follow different rules.
Source: GOV.UK (HM Revenue & Customs), checked 2026-10-01.
United States: Will the system clearly show income and expenses?
The IRS says a taxpayer may choose any recordkeeping system suited to the business that clearly shows income and expenses. Except in a few cases, the law does not require a special type of record.
That means the selection test is functional: can you produce records that prove the income and deductions shown on the return? Specific federal requirements for records created or maintained through electronic accounting software are not stated on the official IRS pages reviewed on 2026-10-01.
Source: IRS, checked 2026-10-01.
Singapore: Are the accounting records supported by source documents?
Self-employed persons must keep proper records and accounts that allow earned income and claimed business expenses to be readily determined. Invoices, receipts, vouchers and other supporting documents must support those records; estimates and improper records are not acceptable.
For Singapore companies, the IRAS also expects source documents, accounting records and schedules, bank statements and other transaction records to be retained. Keeping bank statements alone constitutes poor record keeping.
Sources: IRAS, checked 2026-10-01.
Hong Kong: Can it preserve the prescribed business records?
The prescribed record categories include books recording receipts and payments or income and expenditure, vouchers, bank statements, invoices, receipts, asset and liability records, and day-to-day entries of money received and spent.
Businesses dealing in goods also need records of goods bought and sold, including enough detail for quantities and values to be verified. Service businesses need records of services provided in sufficient detail to verify the entries.
Source: Hong Kong IRD, checked 2026-10-01.
Can I keep original documents, or do digital records replace them?
The answer depends on the jurisdiction and the type of record.
-
Australia: Digitally stored records must remain identifiable, labelled or indexed. Records must not be altered and must be protected from alteration or damage. The ATO may ask to see appropriate safeguards.
Source: Australian Taxation Office, checked 2026-10-01. -
United Kingdom: Making Tax Digital creates digital records, but taxpayers must still keep original records or supporting documents—or copies—such as bank statements and invoices.
Source: GOV.UK (HM Revenue & Customs), checked 2026-10-01. -
Singapore: Source documents such as receipts, invoices and vouchers may be kept physically or electronically.
Source: IRAS, checked 2026-10-01. -
Hong Kong: The IRD publishes an information pamphlet on the admissibility of business records kept electronically for tax purposes, but its specific conditions are not stated on the official page reviewed on 2026-10-01.
Source: Hong Kong IRD, checked 2026-10-01. -
United States: Specific federal conditions for electronic or software-kept records are not stated on the official IRS pages reviewed on 2026-10-01.
Source: IRS, checked 2026-10-01.
Ask whether the software keeps source documents, copies or links in a form you can retrieve for the full required retention period. A searchable total is not necessarily a substitute for an invoice, receipt or other supporting record.
Can I export the data if I change software?
Data portability deserves a direct test because official requirements differ.
In Australia, can the data leave the system in a standard format?
Yes, the ATO says digitally stored data must allow extraction and conversion into a standard format, giving Excel and CSV as examples. If the record-keeping system changes over time, you must be able to reconstruct the original data. The software should therefore provide a usable export, while your own records should document the system and any routine procedures for destroying digital records.
Australia also requires that digitally stored records be in English or easily convertible into English, and that encryption keys or password access be provided when requested.
Source: Australian Taxation Office, checked 2026-10-01.
In Singapore, must old transactions be migrated into new software?
No. IRAS says there is no specific requirement to migrate accounting transactions from existing software into newly purchased software. The old transactions must still be retained and retrievable for 5 years from the relevant Year of Assessment or the end of the GST accounting period to which they relate.
IRAS also suggests producing business-account data listings in Microsoft Excel format to help expedite an audit review.
Source: IRAS, checked 2026-10-01.
For Australia, Singapore and the other jurisdictions covered here, the official pages reviewed on 2026-10-01 do not establish one universal export specification. Test the actual export with your own data and confirm that it preserves the fields, attachments, labels and transaction history needed for compliance.
What does Making Tax Digital require from UK software?
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax adds a specific selection test for UK sole traders and landlords registered for Self Assessment. The start dates for sole traders and property income depend on qualifying income, which HMRC defines as total self-employment turnover and property income before expenses, based on the previous year’s tax return.
| Qualifying income | Start date stated in the guidance |
|---|---|
| More than £50,000 | 6 April 2026 |
| More than £30,000 | 6 April 2027 |
| More than £20,000 | 6 April 2028 |
Source: GOV.UK (HM Revenue & Customs), Making Tax Digital guidance, checked 2026-10-01.
If the rules apply, the software must support compatible digital records, quarterly updates every 3 months and submission of the tax return through software. Quarterly updates are summaries of self-employment and property income and expenses; they are not tax returns.
Each digital record must include the amount, date and income or expense category. If you have more than one sole-trader business, you must create separate digital records and send separate quarterly updates.
Source: GOV.UK (HM Revenue & Customs), checked 2026-10-01.
HMRC states that it does not provide the software. A spreadsheet may continue to be used, but bridging software is then required to link the spreadsheet to the quarterly-update and return-submission process. The exemption conditions are not stated on the official pages reviewed on 2026-10-01, so do not assume a particular exemption applies.
Source: GOV.UK (HM Revenue & Customs), checked 2026-10-01.
Must multiple products be digitally linked in the UK?
If you use more than one software product for Making Tax Digital, the products must be digitally linked so that records can move into the submission process. A manual copy-and-paste or cut-and-paste transfer is not an acceptable substitute.
Once a record has been sent in a quarterly update, the official guidance says it must not be manually moved within the record-keeping software or transferred to other software in that way. If a bank connection creates records, you may need to add a Self Assessment category, and the taxpayer remains responsible for checking the records’ accuracy before submission.
Source: GOV.UK (HM Revenue & Customs), checked 2026-10-01.
What should the final software checklist contain?
Ask each provider to demonstrate, using non-sensitive test information, that the system can:
- capture the transaction fields required in your jurisdiction;
- store or link relevant receipts, invoices, vouchers, statements and other supporting records;
- apply the correct tax-year, assessment-year or calendar retention rules;
- prevent unauthorised alteration and record access;
- retrieve old records after a software change;
- export transactions in a usable form where required;
- keep separate businesses or relevant record streams separate;
- provide access to encrypted data when the authority requests it;
- support UK Making Tax Digital links and quarterly updates when those obligations apply; and
- produce records that a tax authority can readily inspect.
Ask for explanations of how each function meets the rule. A general statement that software is “cloud-based,” “secure” or “tax-compliant” is not a substitute for checking retention, retrieval, export and supporting-record controls.
Frequently asked questions
Does a sole trader have to use accounting software?
The official rules reviewed on 2026-10-01 do not create one universal software mandate for every sole trader in every jurisdiction. For example, the IRS allows any suitable system that clearly shows income and expenses, while UK Making Tax Digital rules require compatible software for the taxpayers covered by that process. The correct question is whether the system and record workflow meet your official obligations.
Can cloud bookkeeping software replace all paper records?
Not necessarily. The UK guidance continues to require original records, supporting documents or copies such as bank statements and invoices, while Singapore allows source documents to be kept physically or electronically. Australia and Hong Kong impose their own integrity and electronic-record considerations, but the specific conditions of the Hong Kong electronic-records pamphlet are not stated on the official page reviewed on 2026-10-01.
What is the most important difference between these countries’ retention rules?
Australia, Singapore and the general UK self-employed rule use a five-year baseline, while Hong Kong requires at least seven years. The US rules are more situation-dependent, including different periods for particular tax issues and indefinite retention in some cases. The sources and all figures above were checked on 2026-10-01.
Should I keep old transactions in new accounting software after upgrading?
In Singapore, IRAS says migration is not specifically required, provided the old software’s transactions remain retrievable for the required five-year period. In Australia, the requirement is to reconstruct original data if the record-keeping system changes. In either case, test retrieval before relying on an upgrade or replacement system.
What do I check before signing up for bookkeeping software?
Start with your official retention period, required transaction fields, supporting records, access and integrity controls, and any export obligation. Add digital-linking and quarterly-update checks if UK Making Tax Digital applies. Software prices, product names and unverified product features are not stated on the official pages reviewed on 2026-10-01.