First i would like to distinguish between book keeping and accounting.
For Companies:
Book keeping is recording of day to day business transactions, i.e. This is what QF helps us with.
Accounting, is drawing up the profit & loss statement, Balance sheets i.e. the financial statements in statutory format for submission to Co House and HMRC. With these financial statements we also submit Company tax return to HMRC.
For Self employed/sole traders:
Booking is as above.
There is accounting i.e. drawing up financial statements, but these don’t need to be submitted anywhere.
However, data almost similar to these financial statements is submitted via personal self assessment tax return to HMRC.
I would be very cautious of sharing book keeping data directly with HMRC.
We are not sure if this is how HMRC will want it.
There are some (very few i think) that allow submission i.e. online filling (i think at the moment this is limited to self assessment tax return) directly from the book keeping software.
Usually an accountant has their own software that does the accounting bit for you.
So the question is, will HMRC want the book keeping data or the accounting data.
I would be cautious of sharing book keeping data, as its day to day records of the business, which is subject to changes when necessary at the end of the year.
Maybe HMRC would like to have access to business bank account data only - who knows!
HMRC will be getting data on offshore bank accounts from next year, so maybe this is their way to have access to UK bank data…