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In our “Future-proof your tax strategy: 5 trends you can’t ignore in 2025” webinar, one question sparked a lot of discussion:
“What should we focus on if we have a relatively small budget?”
It’s a fair question. With economic pressure mounting, tax teams are often expected to do more with less. But as Nathan and Harry discussed in the session, you don’t need a huge budget to make a huge impact. You just need to invest in the right thing.
The best ROIReturn on Investment for 2025? A tax technology review
If you’re trying to stretch a limited budget, here’s where both Nathan and Harry were aligned: Spend your money on understanding your existing systems.
“If I had to choose just one thing to invest in, I’d bring someone external in to assess our systems. Let them write up what’s working, what’s not, and what the future should look like. That kind of visibility shapes everything going forward.” – Harry Porter
This isn’t about installing new software or launching a massive transformation. It’s about getting clarity on your current tax tech setup, what’s strong, what’s broken, and where opportunities lie.
Why it matters more than ever
With mandates like e-invoicingElectronic invoicing - widely referred to as e-invoicing - is the exchange of a digital document between a supplier and a buyer. E-invoices are issued, transmitted and received in a structured data format that enabled automatic and electronic processing. They contain data in a machine-readable format so that an AP system can read an invoice without manual data entry, leading to faster and more efficient invoicing., real-time reporting, and ViDAViDA or 'VAT in the Digital Age', is an EU initiative proposed by the European Commission that seeks to modernise and harmonise VAT processes for member states, by embracing new technologies. It is aimed at updating processes for the management of VAT, and reduce the VAT gap and fraud. The proposal also aims to address challenges in the area of VAT raised by the development of the platform economy. gaining momentum globally, the systems you have today will either enable or obstruct your compliance tomorrow.
A technology audit gives you the foundation to:
- Identify weaknesses before they become pain points.
- Understand how your ERPEnterprise resource planning (ERP) is a type of software that organisations use to manage main business processes., tax engine, and manual processes interact.
- Prioritise fixes or integrations that deliver maximum value.
- Build a bulletproof business case for future investment.
And as Nathan pointed out in the webinar:
“It’s often someone new to the team who asks for this. They want to make a splash. But honestly, everyone should be asking for it. Unless you really know your IT landscape inside and out, this is the single best thing you can do.”
It impacts everything
Think of your tax technology ecosystem like plumbing. If it’s not mapped correctly, every downstream process is at risk. A tech review gives insight into how your systems affect:
- Tax determination
- E-invoicing mandates
- VAT compliance and reporting
- ERP transformations
- Data accuracy and audit readiness
And preferably you want this audit before a big change like an ERP upgrade. Trying to retrofit tax compliance after the fact? Painful and expensive.
At Innovate Tax, we’ve helped businesses of all sizes use a technology review to get clarity, build internal alignment, and make smarter decisions.
We estimate our clients save an average of 40% on planned spending after receiving our analysis as part of their review.
Whether you’re preparing for change, planning a transformation, or just trying to keep things running cleanly, this is your best first step.
