I am trialling Solar Accounts (on iMac); (looking for an Imac application replacement for Money Manager (PC only) that I've used for years. It is the only reason I keep a PC; otherwise I'd ditch it. (I am not interested in Parallels, VmFusion, etc for Mac: I see no point in having a Mac if you have to think like a PC!)
I am VAT registered, flat rate. I have one bank account that is used for personal and business use. I know that's not ideal but it suits me and doesn't bother my accountant: (I've had an HMRC investigation and there were no problems.)
Some questions, please.
At the start of my financial year, I enter all entries together with my estimated expenditure for each entry for the whole of the year, and then as I go amend the amount or delete the entry depending on how much is actually spent: can that be done on SA?
where part of an expense includes personal expenditure, such as purchase using a credit card where some is personal and the rest a business expense, can I enter some items as personal and the rest allocated to the respective business expense category then group all the items so that they appear as one payment for both an internal statement and bank statement reconciliation.
re VAT, I calculate VAT payable as I go and enter it as an expense on each month so at the end of VAT period the money is set aside. Can I do that on SA?
re tax, I calculate a percentage of my income (net of VAT) and treat that as an expense on a monthly basis so that at the end of financial year I have enough money set aside for tax. The calculation is done automatically, namely ((£x including VAT times VAT flat rate) minus VAT amount)*% - using an extra column feature in Money Manager. Does SA have something similar or would I have to do the calculation manually and enter the amount as an expense.
5) for VAT returns, can I choose which entries are included in the VAT calculation or would all items be included, thereby requiring me to delete my set aside amounts and re-enter them at the start of the next VAT period.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you.
Hi Michael,
Thanks for your interest in Solar Accounts. To answer your questions:
Although Solar Accounts is not designed to record expenses before they occur, you could do this. However, you will need to be sure that such expenses are not included in reports when preparing your VAT return (eg. by ensuring the expense dates are outside the VAT period).
Yes, in the Money Paid Out window you can allocate to multiple accounts. The first line can be a business expense with VAT at 20%, and the second line can be allocated to 'Owners Drawings and Personal Use' with VAT at 0% (assuming you are self-employed). Note that if you leave the flat rate scheme and you will need to split the transaction into two so as to prevent the personal component from affecting the Box 7 figure of your VAT return.
Solar Accounts is designed to calculate the VAT for you and allocate it to the 'VAT Liability' account. It also records your profit due to the flat rate scheme in a separate income account. For example, say your flat rate is 10% and you record a Money Received transaction for £120 (including £20 VAT). In this case Solar Accounts will allocate £12 to the VAT Liability account, £100 to the Sales Income account and £8 to the 'Gain due to Flat Rate VAT' income account.
If you prefer to manually calculate your VAT liability and the figures on your VAT return you must ensure that the VAT Treatment is set to 'Out of Scope' for all transactions. (The easiest way to do this is just to tell Solar Accounts that you are not VAT registered). Then to record VAT due create a General Transaction from the VAT Liability account to an appropriate expense account.
You will need to do this manually - Solar Accounts has no way to calculate your income tax liability.
Yes, you can choose what transactions affect the VAT return. To exclude a transaction, set the VAT Treatment field for that transaction to 'Out of Scope'.
