Preparing for a VAT Return

You should have a cut-off date by which invoices relating to a VAT period/quarter must be entered. This allows time to analyse and process the VAT claim. Once the cut-off date is reached, it is important that the VAT period/quarter is set to Manual so that no automatic transactions can be entered into the period/quarter whilst the analysis is taking place. This topic describes how to achieve this and how to sense check your VAT data.

We have also produced a video to guide you through this process — go to Video — Preparing for a VAT Return.

  1. Select Maintenance, then select Accounts from the menu.
  2. Double-select to select the VAT ledger in the Select a ledger dialog.
  3. The Account Maintenance window is displayed labelled according to the selected ledger. Select the applicable VAT period, then select the Tax tab. select EDIT.
  4. Select Manual from the Status drop-down list to prevent any further automatic postings to this VAT period/quarter, then select SAVE.
  5. Next, you need to review the postings in the selected VAT period. select LINKS, then select Details from the Details panel.
  6. The Detail Enquiry window displays the transactions posted to the VAT period/quarter. Select CRITERIA.
  7. The Detail Enquiry Criteria dialog is displayed. Select the Periods tab, select Period Range, then select All from the Period Range drop-down list. select OK.

    This ensures that all documents are displayed in the Detail Enquiry window that are applicable to the VAT period.
  8. In order to sense check the data, the following columns need to be visible. If required, right-select the column header then select the required column(s)
    Column NameDescription
    Document Type

    Displays the document type the VAT has been posted to.

    Number

    Displays the document number the VAT has been posted to.

    Nominal

    Displays the VAT input or output nominal the VAT has been posted to.

    Date

    Displays the tax date of the VAT.

    Period

    Displays the accounting period the VAT was posted to. It is possible to have documents in different accounting periods posted to the same VAT period. This typically occurs when invoices arrive later and the accounting period has been closed. This will not cause any issues with the VAT return but may mean that your VAT period does not match your trial balance for the same accounting period.

    Account

    Displays the VAT period/quarter the document is posted to. This should be the same period across all documents on the Detail Enquiry dialog when checking the VAT return.

    Value

    Displays the VAT amount posted against the document.

    User Value

    Displays the Net value associated with the VAT document. If the tax type is set to X - Outside the scope, this will be zero. A value should be present for all other standard tax types.

    Tax Type

    Displays the tax type set on the detail line of the document.

  9. Sense check the data to ensure the relevant tax type and VAT amounts have been applied. If required, you can use EDIT to make any required changes to the documents prior to reconciling with the VAT 100 report. For more information, refer to Editing and Reposting Documents.

Next Steps:

Estimating Partial VAT for Month-End  (if applicable)

Reconciling a VAT Period with a Trial Balance