Do I log payments against invoice date or date received?

[d000hg]

It can be over a month from issuing an invoice to getting the money cleared in my bank account. Is there a particular date I should use in my accounts for a payment? The invoice date? The date payment was started? The date I actually have the money cleared in my account?

Thanks.

[TheFaQQer]

Either the date that the money was received, or the date that the invoice was raised.

As long as you are consistent, it's not important - I use the date that the momey was received, as that helps cash flow.

IANAA.

[Jason]

I record the invoice itelf on the date issued and the payment on date it turns up in my account.

[THEPUMA]

For VAT purposes you can use the date paid. For accounts purposes, it is neither. it is based upon the work actually performed prior to the balance sheet date so you have to account for work performed but uninvoiced at the balance sheet date.

[MrRobin]

My understanding was that you should use the date that the invoice was raised - not printed, posted, paid or anything else. Within that invoice you can have several items with all manner of different dates up to and including the invoice date.

Again... IANAA.

[techno]

IANAA.....

It is important depending on what VAT system you are running.

I do the Cash Accounting VAT so the VAT is not due until I am paid, whereas the standard Accrual VAT means the VAT is due based on the date of the invoice.

therefore I log the date the payment turns up in the bank.

[VectraMan]

For VAT purposes you can use the date paid. For accounts purposes, it is neither. it is based upon the work actually performed prior to the balance sheet date so you have to account for work performed but uninvoiced at the balance sheet date.

Does that mean if the week straddles the year end (as is going to happen to me this month), the 07/08 accounts ought to include the four days I'll have worked but not invoiced for?

That seems unnecessarily complex.

[ASB]

For VAT purposes you can use the date paid. For accounts purposes, it is neither. it is based upon the work actually performed prior to the balance sheet date so you have to account for work performed but uninvoiced at the balance sheet date.

I seem to recall that a couple of years ago there was a proposal that accounts could be prepared on cash received basis rather than bills delivered. [I think the suggestion was that where an enterprise could prepare VAT accounts on cash received basis this would also enable accounting for CT etc to be prepared on the same basis]. Am I right in assuming this is now as dead as a proverbial dodo ?

[ASB]

Does that mean if the week straddles the year end (as is going to happen to me this month), the 07/08 accounts ought to include the four days I'll have worked but not invoiced for?

That seems unnecessarily complex.

Yes. Its a current asset of work in process (granted some folk - possibly even most - don't actually bother).

FWIW for us this used to be a right royal pita. We would often have about 40k uninvoiced plus 50k on the sales ledger. This would therefore increase the profit by 90k and this was due for CT. Obviously I would much rather this was in the following years accounts but sadly that is not allowed.

[THEPUMA]

Does that mean if the week straddles the year end (as is going to happen to me this month), the 07/08 accounts ought to include the four days I'll have worked but not invoiced for?

That seems unnecessarily complex.

Strictly speaking yes. It is aimed at bigger businesses such as lawyers and accountants who generally do a lot of their work some time before they bill for it.