Reply to: advantages of invoicing on a quarterly basis?

[SueEllen]

You guys are polite. I recognised the idiot's (OP) name so didn't reply.

[ratewhore]

nearly 10-15 mins browsing.. whooohooo

and your point is....

I don't have one...




...again!!!

[northernladuk]

You must have a lot of time on your hands...

nearly 10-15 mins browsing.. whooohooo

and your point is....

[ratewhore]

<cough>
Posts: 4,317

nearly 3 posts a day - woohoo!!!

and your point is?

[northernladuk]

You must have a lot of time on your hands...

<cough>
Posts: 4,317

[ratewhore]

I don't want to be rude to the original poster.... scratch that.. yes I do.. incredibly. I had a little look over his posting history.

<snip>

You must have a lot of time on your hands...

[cojak]

Good Grief!

OP - GET A PROPER ACCOUNTANT!!!!

Stuff all over your receipts/timesheets in an envelope once a month and let them do the rest if you're so disorganised!

[northernladuk]

I don't want to be rude to the original poster.... scratch that.. yes I do.. incredibly. I had a little look over his posting history.

Not only has he been told by a number of people a number of times about invoicing monthly I noticed these gems...

How much can I spend on a laptop

On expenses and obviously i need to invoice it to my company?

and then proceeded to break down the reciepts and ask if he can calim delivery costs

Kinda like this one for entertainment value..

I have around 1000pounds worth of travel expenses to claim for 3months worth of work almost over the last 3 months, since i haven't invoiced my agency yet for the 3months worth of work i dont want to take out the expenses from my business account as its looking a tad thin anyway, since my quarterly returns are due by the end of this month, can i avoid inputting my expenses into the spreadsheet for my accountants until January or do i have to put them in there even though i don't want to take the expense out of my business account, I suppose I have to declare them for this quarter?

and for another coffee on the screen moment...

I was told to pay my sallary on the 19th of every month but forgot they they told me this, so sometimes i would pay 5months unpaid salery in 1 go purely because iIwasnt working so felt uncomfortable taking it out of my business bank account when the funds were not so plentyfull.

This post started to make sense...

blast I am no good with sums, why the heck do I have to fill in this spread sheet when I pay them 75pounds a month, I have no idea how to fill in the spreadsheet
sales invoice
bank receipts
bank payments
expenses etc etc

I can't even be bothered to quote hilarious snippets from Being caught in London with no train ticket, bad mouthing Fujitsu, 16 bank charges in on month thread, your 126 from agencts 400quid charge etc etc

Sockpuppet or retard... it's your call....

[ratewhore]

And that is assuming that your agency is competent when it comes to paying all of the days that you invoiced.

Sadly many are not and you could end up out-of-pocket with a 3 month back-date fighting for days not paid by the agency.

Good luck reclaiming them...

Let's assume the OP has credit checked the agency, and they are good for up to £45K of outstanding debt. Most agents I have credit checked have only been good for £10K.

[Robot]

Not sure my accountant has explained that one to me.

You saying I need to pay tax and VAT on the invoices I've raised but haven't received payment for*, and probably never will from the ******* agency that's gone bust taking my money with them?

At the moment, and the way I'm going to continue until someone with a big enough stick tells me to change:

1. issue invoice
2. wait for invoice to be paid
3. pay VAT due in quarter the invoice was paid
4. pay corp tax on invoices paid in the company's financial year

[the above is with me operating a ltd company on the traditional VAT scheme, not the newer flat rate one]

So in regards the OP's question, point 3 above is the only time I see a real advantage if I manage to delay issuing an invoice so I know it won't be paid until the start of the next VAT quarter. Obviously the delay shouldn't be longer than a week or two or you've only yourself to blame if something happens to whoever is supposed to be paying it.


* the only thing I've seen to support this 'pay up before you receive the money' approach is when on the flat rate VAT scheme, and then you can claim back relief against any VAT paid on invoices that turn into bad debt.

For clarification: -

There is a difference between cash accounting for VAT and preparing annual accounts on the accruals / prepayments basis.

RE 4. pay corp tax on invoices paid in the company's financial year.

If the year-end is 31 Dec 09, and you invoice on 31 Dec 09 but don't receive the cash until say 2 Feb 10, you pay the corporation tax on the invoice raised 31 Dec 09, on 1 Oct 10.

What I think you are saying is the invoice is paid on 2/2/10 so it appears in the accounts to 31 Dec 2010, CT payable 1 Oct 11, which is not right.

I have ignored bad debts, as you could treat invoices not paid as a bad debt and get corporation tax relief on the bad debt.

[cojak]

And that is assuming that your agency is competent when it comes to paying all of the days that you invoiced.

Sadly many are not and you could end up out-of-pocket with a 3 month back-date fighting for days not paid by the agency.

Good luck reclaiming them...

[northernladuk]

Not sure my accountant has explained that one to me.

You saying I need to pay tax and VAT on the invoices I've raised but haven't received payment for*, and probably never will from the ******* agency that's gone bust taking my money with them?

At the moment, and the way I'm going to continue until someone with a big enough stick tells me to change:

1. issue invoice
2. wait for invoice to be paid
3. pay VAT due in quarter the invoice was paid
4. pay corp tax on invoices paid in the company's financial year

[the above is with me operating a ltd company on the traditional VAT scheme, not the newer flat rate one]

So in regards the OP's question, point 3 above is the only time I see a real advantage if I manage to delay issuing an invoice so I know it won't be paid until the start of the next VAT quarter. Obviously the delay shouldn't be longer than a week or two or you've only yourself to blame if something happens to whoever is supposed to be paying it.


* the only thing I've seen to support this 'pay up before you receive the money' approach is when on the flat rate VAT scheme, and then you can claim back relief against any VAT paid on invoices that turn into bad debt.

Hats off to you for bothering to post a sensible reply to this ridiculous question!

[ratewhore]

So I shouldn't expect a visit from HMRC () by continuing that method?

I would hope not.

[PAH]

Yes, that's called cash accounting...

Cash is king.

Until we have hyperinflation.

So I shouldn't expect a visit from HMRC () by continuing that method?

[ratewhore]

At the moment, and the way I'm going to continue until someone with a big enough stick tells me to change:

1. issue invoice
2. wait for invoice to be paid
3. pay VAT due in quarter the invoice was paid
4. pay corp tax on invoices paid in the company's financial year

Yes, that's called cash accounting...