SelfSubmit is designed to help you stay compliant with HMRC Making Tax Digital requirements. You remain responsible for ensuring the information you submit is accurate.

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Operations

Infrastructure

SelfSubmit runs on managed cloud services — not your own servers. This page maps the usual enterprise checklist to what actually applies and what you should do.

9 of 10 items apply directly. Firewall in the traditional sense does not — managed cloud hosting, a managed database, HTTPS, and authentication replace it. You do not need to buy servers or install iptables.

Your stack

LayerProvider
Application & CDNManaged cloud host
DatabaseManaged PostgreSQL
AuthenticationClerk
PaymentsStripe
EmailResend
SMSSMS provider (optional)

Checklist

Backups

Shared

Database and file data must be recoverable if something goes wrong.

Provider: Our managed PostgreSQL host provides automated backups on paid plans. Receipt and document files are stored in durable cloud object storage.

What to do

  • In your managed database console, confirm backup / point-in-time recovery (PITR) is enabled on your plan.
  • Keep DATABASE_URL and DIRECT_URL only in production environment variables — never in git.
  • Receipt files live in cloud object storage; submissions and records live in the managed database — both are production-critical.

Backup testing

Your action

A backup you have never restored is only a hope. Test at least once before HMRC live filing.

What to do

  • Create a restore branch or export a snapshot to a development database quarterly.
  • Verify you can read submissions, businesses, and receipts metadata after restore.
  • Log the test date (spreadsheet or internal note) — auditors and insurers like evidence.

Disaster recovery (DR) plan

Your action

A short written plan is enough at your scale — you are not running a secondary datacentre.

What to do

  • Document: if the cloud host is down → check the provider status page, post on /status, wait for the provider.
  • If the managed database is down → check that provider’s status page; restore from PITR or a failover branch per their docs.
  • If Clerk is down → sign-in blocked; communicate via email/status page; no local workaround.
  • Owner contact: support@selfsubmit.co.uk. Target: restore service within 24 hours for major outages.

Monitoring

Shared

Know when the app or cron jobs fail before users tell you.

Provider: The cloud host shows deployment errors, function failures, and cron run history.

What to do

  • Review host logs and observability after each production deploy.
  • Keep error-monitoring DSN environment variables set in production for stack-trace alerts.
  • Optional: UptimeRobot or similar (free) ping https://www.selfsubmit.co.uk and /api/cron/… health if you add one.
  • Watch Stripe, Clerk, and Resend dashboards for webhook delivery failures.

Logs

Shared

Runtime and audit trails for debugging and security.

Provider: The cloud host retains function and edge logs. Clerk and Stripe log webhooks and auth events in their dashboards.

What to do

  • Use the host’s log viewer when investigating 500 errors or failed cron runs.
  • Login attempts and security notifications are stored in the managed database (Settings → Login protection).
  • Do not log UTR, NI numbers, or passwords in application code.
  • Optional: forward host logs to a log service if you need long retention.

Uptime

Shared

Availability expectations for customers and HMRC sandbox credibility.

Provider: A global edge network hosts the app; typical SLA depends on your cloud hosting plan.

What to do

  • Publish service health on /status (already on the site).
  • Subscribe to your cloud host and database provider status pages for incidents.
  • Optional: external uptime monitor emailing you when the homepage is unreachable.

DB monitoring

Shared

Database health, connections, and storage.

Provider: The managed database console shows CPU, connections, storage, and query insights.

What to do

  • Set email alerts for storage limits and connection spikes in the database console.
  • Use pooled DATABASE_URL in production (…-pooler… host) as already configured.
  • Run prisma migrate deploy in CI/build (already in the production build command).

CDN

Provider-managed

Fast static delivery and edge caching worldwide.

Provider: The cloud host automatically serves the Next.js app and static assets from its CDN / edge network. No separate CDN to configure.

What to do

  • Ensure images and icons are served from the app domain (already the case).

DDoS protection

Shared

Mitigate traffic floods and abusive sign-in patterns.

Provider: The cloud host includes platform-level DDoS mitigation. Clerk Attack protection (bot detection) adds sign-up/sign-in abuse filtering.

What to do

  • Keep Clerk bot detection enabled (you already have this).
  • SelfSubmit login-protection lockouts limit brute-force on your APIs.
  • Higher hosting plans may offer additional WAF / IP rules if you ever need them.

Firewall

Provider-managedN/A — different model

Traditional perimeter firewalls apply to servers you own — not this architecture.

Provider: You use serverless functions and a managed database. Security is enforced by HTTPS-only access, Clerk authentication, API route protection, database network isolation, and platform networking — not a hardware firewall you configure.

What to do

  • No action required for a classic firewall.
  • Optional later: a CDN/WAF in front of the domain, or host firewall rules on a higher plan.
  • Keep middleware protecting /dashboard and API routes (already in place).

Recommended next steps (priority order)

  1. Confirm managed database backups / PITR on your plan.
  2. Bookmark host logs and database monitoring; check after each production deploy.
  3. Verify Stripe + Clerk webhooks show successful deliveries in their dashboards.
  4. Once before HMRC live filing: restore the database to a test branch and spot-check data.
  5. Write a one-page DR note (email + status page + provider status URLs) — keep it in your records.
  6. Optional: free uptime monitor on https://www.selfsubmit.co.uk and error-monitoring alerts.
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