I've come to submit my VAT return through Quickbooks, but I haven't done any of my invoicing through Quickbooks, so all the return figures are empty. What do I do??

Hi there, jamiekennerley-h.

Thank you for visiting the QuickBooks Community. I'll be sharing the important task you need to perform to ensure you can submit your first VAT return in QuickBooks Online smoothly.

When submitting a VAT return, you'll have to register for the Making Tax Digital (MTD) process. This is to keep your financial records in a digital form and can submit your VAT returns through QBO. 

Then, I reccomend making sure that you set up and add the tax rate for VAT in QuickBooks so you can apply this to your entries. With this, yes, you'll have to input your clients and create invoices manually so you can mark them as paid. Then, assign the correct VAT rate for each transaction to complete your return.

Here's how:

1. Click the + New button. Then, choose Invoice.
2. From the Customer dropdown list, select a customer.
3. Select the specific invoice date.
4. From the Product/Service column, select a product or service. You can also select +Add new to create a new product or service right from the invoice.
5. Enter a Quantity, Rate, and Amount if needed.
6. Select a VAT rate.
7. Click Save and close.

Additionally, QuickBooks can automatically calculate VAT on your invoices for easy and accurate filings. Then, it lets you know when your tax payment is due, so you can file on time and avoid extra fees or penalties.

Once everything is managed, you're now ready to submit your first VAT return. Please follow the steps below on how to perform the process.

1. Go to the Taxes menu.
2. Select VAT.
3. Choose Prepare return.
4. Check the figures for each box, then elect Submit to HMRC.
5. Select the I declare the information is true and complete box, followed by Submit to HMRC.
6. While the submission is taking place, don't close page until you receive the receipt confirmation message.
7. Click Done to close the window.

Then, you’ll receive an email confirmation containing the submission receipt number along with information about your return. After that, you need to record the payment of VAT to HMRC in QuickBooks. This way, you're able to record every time money goes in or out of your bank account so that your book balance is at the end of each tax year.

Lastly, you may refer to this article to see various details about MTD for VAT and how it works in QuickBooks: Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT FAQ.

Please let me know if still need some assistance in preparing tax returns. I'm always here to help, jamiekennerley-h. Have a great day!