A support organisation representing small businesses, including hairdressing and beauty salons, is insisting firms prepare properly for the forthcoming VAT rise.
All VAT registered traders will be affected by the increase, which will see VAT rise from its current 17.5% rate to 20% at midnight on January 4.
The change is relatively simple, says The Forum for Small Businesses. However, it is warning companies that in practice the process could get complicated.
Forum chief executive Phil Orford explained: Many smaller businesses will have to changes their prices before they start trading on January 4 and this will take a sizeable amount of forethought for retailers with thousands of items in their product ranges. Businesses can of course keep their prices the same and absorb the increase but this will affect their bottom lines.
However, the main problems businesses are likely to encounter around the VAT rise will be with their accounting systems.
Firms will need to make sure that their accounting system changes accordingly and is issuing invoices and recording sales and transactions at the new rate from January 4. Any outstanding invoices for work which was genuinely carried out before the date can still be processed at 17.5% so most businesses will probably need to create a new standard VAT code at 20%, but retain a code for the old 17.5% rate."
He concluded: Business owners also need to check that everything is at the correct rate when completing their next VAT return.
All VAT registered traders will be affected by the increase, which will see VAT rise from its current 17.5% rate to 20% at midnight on January 4.
The change is relatively simple, says The Forum for Small Businesses. However, it is warning companies that in practice the process could get complicated.
Forum chief executive Phil Orford explained: Many smaller businesses will have to changes their prices before they start trading on January 4 and this will take a sizeable amount of forethought for retailers with thousands of items in their product ranges. Businesses can of course keep their prices the same and absorb the increase but this will affect their bottom lines.
However, the main problems businesses are likely to encounter around the VAT rise will be with their accounting systems.
Firms will need to make sure that their accounting system changes accordingly and is issuing invoices and recording sales and transactions at the new rate from January 4. Any outstanding invoices for work which was genuinely carried out before the date can still be processed at 17.5% so most businesses will probably need to create a new standard VAT code at 20%, but retain a code for the old 17.5% rate."
He concluded: Business owners also need to check that everything is at the correct rate when completing their next VAT return.
