Antique dealer software for second-hand goods and the margin scheme
Antiques, watches and jewellery are different trades with the same tax problem: goods bought from people who are not VAT registered, sold on a margin, with a stock book that has to tie each purchase to each sale.
Exports to Xero and Sage.
One piece, one record, one margin
Stock is serialised rather than counted. Each piece carries its own acquisition, its own costs and its own VAT treatment, which is what the margin scheme requires and what a quantity-based inventory system cannot express.
Where no single item exceeds a low value, dealers sometimes reach for global accounting. Milleso does not offer it: the product models per-piece treatment throughout, and pretending otherwise would be a claim the engine does not support.
Buying from the public
Purchases from private sellers are recorded against a client rather than a supplier, with identity documents where a compliance duty attaches and the cash thresholds watched. High Value Dealer registration bites at ten thousand pounds in cash, and Milleso warns at nine.
What this uses
The modules behind this page, and the plan that opens each. This table is generated from the rule the software enforces, so it cannot advertise something your plan will not open.
| Module | What it does | From |
|---|---|---|
| Stock | Serialised inventory with all-in cost and VAT position. | Trade |
| Intake | Photograph once - record, screening, AML file and VAT treatment. | Trade |
| Invoices & VAT | Margin scheme, reverse charge, investment gold. | Trade |
| Clients | Buyers, sellers, trade, consignors and wish lists. | Trade |
| Compliance | AML audit trail, cash thresholds, the investment gold register. | Trade |
| Reports | Ageing, carry cost, margin by brand, where the money is stuck. | Trade |
Questions
- Does it do global accounting?
- No. Global accounting was removed deliberately rather than left half-modelled. Milleso decides VAT treatment per piece, which is what the margin scheme requires for higher value goods.
- Can I buy from the public?
- Yes, recorded against the client with identity documents where the duty attaches, and with cash watched against the High Value Dealer threshold.
Answers on this
- What is a margin scheme stock book and what must it contain?
The item-by-item record HMRC requires under the VAT margin scheme: twelve mandatory columns, no separate VAT, six years, and what happens without one.
- What is the VAT margin scheme for second-hand watches?
Under the margin scheme you pay VAT on the difference between what you paid for a watch and what you sold it for - not the full price. Rules, records and traps.
- Do I need to register as a High Value Dealer?
If you accept or make cash payments of £10,000 or more for goods, you must register with HMRC before you take the money. The threshold changed on 30 June 2026.
- Best consignment software for UK resale shops in 2026: Ricochet, ConsignCloud, SimpleConsign, ConsignPro, Liberty, Shopify apps and Milleso compared
Most consignment software is American and priced in dollars. ConsignCloud is the most usable from the UK; Shopify plus a consignment app is the cheapest; none of them model UK VAT on consignment.
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