Another question from me!
I registered for VAT at the normal rate and got a refund after doing my first quarter VAT return because I reclaimed all my start up VAT. I then went flat rate from the beginning of the second quarter and paid 10% on the second quarter VAT return.
I have now added all of the accounting transactions for the financial year to date into Solar and afterwards realised that I didn't change the VAT rate in the settings at the end of that first quarter, so everything is currently calculated at 17.5% and therefore not tallying.
Do I have to delete all those vat-related transactions back to the beginning of the second quarter, change the settings to flat rate, and then re-enter them again to get the VAT reports to tally or is there an easier and quicker way to fix this?
I read somewhere that it only calculates flat rate from the point you select it then start adding transactions after that point, which would mean I am going have to delete and re-enter but I just want to check first before I do that.
It's a pity it can't be changed by entering a date so it can recalculate it (in the same way that you can configure the dates in the reports).
It might also be a useful idea to have some sort of pop up message appear at the end of every VAT quarter asking you if you wish to change the VAT rate.
I wonder, if I was to set the vat to flat rate, then select to edit the transactions in question, make no actual amendment, but save again, would it recognise it as a new transaction and amend the VAT that way?
Hi Sarah,
No you don't need to delete any transactions. You can edit the VAT rate on the transaction. You can also say whether the transaction comes under the Flat Rate Scheme by clicking the small up arrow to the right of the VAT Treatment drop-box. Click the arrow and all will be revealed!
Cheers,
This software is one step ahead of me! (ok, maybe a few steps sometimes!!)
There's still room for improvement I think - it sounds like the 'Up Arrow' is not obvious enough. Something to look into...
A few more questions/feedback
When I set 2 custom dates in P&L it saves them and are always there whenever I re-visit the accounts even after logging out. However the 2 dates I set in the balance sheet don't save if I have logged out. Is this a bug or is it supposed to be like that?
Because I am on the web a lot, I have a habit of clicking away from pages using the cross in the top right hand corner and consequently i'm sometimes inadvertently doing this with Solar. It's made worse because it loses my date settings as per the above query.
Is it possible to have a box appear that confirms you want to shut the system down? You can always give the option for 'don't show this again' for those who don't want the pop up box to appear.
Does the VAT liability total amount shown on the balance sheet include the amount you have gained from VAT flat rate (shown on P&L).
I had someone pay a deposit for an order who then disappeared. However the total invoice value was for double that amount. Do I show the remaining unpaid amount as a bad debt expense? If so, what transaction do I use so it balances out?
oops sorry this was meant to be a new message.
Hi Sarah,
To answer your questions:
Solar Accounts only saves the Profit and Loss parameters. This is by design, although we may change this in future.
Thanks for the suggestion - we'll record that as a feature request.
No - the 'Profit due to Flat Rate VAT' is the amount you keep youself and don't have to send to HMRC.
Yes, record a bad debts expense as described here:
http://www.solaraccounts.co.uk/help/how-to-write-off-a-bad-debt.php
The amount of the credit note should be the balance of the invoice.
Regards,
Hi Sarah,
We've just produced a new version of Solar Accounts which saves the parameters of all the Accounting reports (including Balance Sheet). You can download it here:
http://www.solaraccounts.co.uk/download.php
Cheers,
