Do My Books

Reducing your companies Debtor Days will improve cash flow, reduce the risk of bad debt and decrease financing and interest costs. So there’s a lots of reasons to do it! But how?

1. Improve the flow of documentation. If you are presently raising invoices once a week consider raising them once a day. The faster your debtors have them the faster they can pay.
2. Go digital! If you must have proof of delivery dockets or signed invoices scan them immediately and your time spent filing and finding dockets will be reduced by up to 80%, This will allow you to provide the documentation your customers need fast as well as reducing the write off’s from missing documentation. Do My Books have an IT partner who provides an excellent scanning solution. Contact us if you need further details.
3. Keep track of what your doing. Every time you contact  a debtor by phone or email  log the communication  in your accounts or CRM package. If you don’t have one or don’t know how to do this contact us we’ll help you out. This will allow you to see the debtors  you are spending too much  time calling and if you are not around it will allow your partners and colleagues to see who you have been calling.
4. Offer a settlement discount. If you are paying large overdraft interest rates it may be beneficial to offer your debtors a small discount for paying within 30 days say 1.5%.
5. Email Statements. I’ve been in so many offices and seen people trying to fold, envelope and put stamps on 500 statements. WHY? Email them to your debtors save at least 55cent on each statement from  postage let alone time spent, printing and paper. You will also have an electronic record of when the statement was sent so it cant get ‘lost in the post’. Use technology work smarter! If you don’t know how to email statements again Phone us we can help you SAVE!
6. Badger people. This is unfortunate but it works. If a debtor is slow to pay you have to badger them, Phone ever day don’t stop until you have been paid. You might be frightened of loosing a customer but a sale isn’t a sale until its paid in full.
   

   Sometimes in credit control you have to badger your debtors!

7. Work fast. There’s no point in chasing a debt for two years  to find the company has gone into liquidation . If your not having any luck in collecting a debt go legal as soon as possible.
8. Monitor the situation, Calculate your debtor days monthly and watch them very carefully. If you don’t they can easily get very high very fast.
9. Call in person. This is not pleasant but it works. Tell your debtor your passing by so you’ll call in to collect the cheque. They wont like it but it often works
10. Incentivise your staff, If you have sales people working on commission hold back a percentage of their commission (or it all!) until the invoice is paid. This will give them an incentive to get involved int he debt collection process.

Without a doubt 2010 will be a though year for Irish SME’s but by working smarter you can ensure your business not only survives but thrives!

If you need any advice on your software, processes or generally debt collection feel free to contact Ralph for a free consultation and business review on.  We can also provide training on improving your debt collection process.

hello@domybooks.ie 0863336665 or 091 -442 882

1.  Income Tax

Under the provisions of Section 73 TCA 1997, the remittance basis of assessment did not apply in respect of UK source income. However, Section 73 ceased to have effect in respect of UK income arising on or after 1 January 2008 (see Section 18 Finance Act 2008).

2.  Capital Gains Tax

The remittance basis of assessment also applies in respect of the foreign chargeable gains of non-domiciled individuals (The remittance basis of assessment for foreign chargeable gains never applied to Irish citizens not ordinarily resident here).

Under the provisions of Section 29(4) TCA 1997, the remittance basis of assessment did not apply in respect of UK source chargeable gains. However, under the provisions of Section 42 Finance (No.2) Act 2008, the remittance basis of assessment applies to chargeable gains arising in the UK as and from 20 November 2008.

3.  Current Issue

Section 18 Finance Act 2008 and Section 42 Finance (No.2) Act 2008 do not have retrospective effect. However, arising from certain matters contained in a recent tax appeal case, Revenue are prepared to examine – on a case by case basis and subject to the statutory 4-year time limit for claiming repayment of tax – claims for repayment of tax where it is claimed that a repayment of tax would be due had the remittance basis of assessment, rather than the arising basis of assessment, applied for a relevant year of assessment in respect of an individual’s UK source income and/or chargeable gains.

A submission may be made to the individual’s relevant Revenue office. Such submission should contain all relevant details as regards the income and chargeable gains assessed and the amount of remittances in respect of which the claim refers.

Note 1 – With effect from 1 January 2006, the income of a non-Irish sourced employment (including UK sourced employment) attributable to the performance inthe State of the duties of that employment is chargeable to income tax under Schedule E and the remittance basis of assessment does not apply in respect of income within the charge to income tax here under Schedule E.

Note 2 – The UK source income and chargeable gains of an Irish resident individual relieved under Paragraph 3 above will, if remitted to the State during a future tax year, be chargeable to tax in that future tax year (assuming that the individual is tax resident here in that future tax year).

Note 3 – Where a lesser figure of UK source income or gains is assessed, the credit previously granted in respect of UK tax paid on such income or gains will also have to be reduced to reflect the lesser figure assessed.

Taken from revenue eBrief 11/10

Do My Books

Galway Accounts and Business Software Providers

Prior to officially registering your business with the revenue comissioners you may incurr expenditure. This expenditure may be allowable as a business expense subject to the following conidtions:

Introduction
Section 82 TCA 1997 provides that certain pre-trading expenses of a trade or profession are allowable in calculating the trading income of that trade or profession once it commenced. The relief applies to trades or professions, whether incorporated or not, which commence on or after 22 January 1997.
Under Section 82, a deduction is available in respect of pre-trading expenses which:
• are incurred in the three years prior to commencement of the trade or profession, and
• apart from Section 82 would not be allowable, but would have been allowable if they had been incurred after the date of commencement of the trade or profession.
Accordingly, the provisions of Section 81 TCA 1997 apply for the purposes of calculating the deduction. For example, only pre-trading expenses which were wholly and exclusively laid out or expended for the purposes of the trade or profession are allowable.
No relief is allowable under any other provision in respect of a payment which qualifies for relief under Section 82.
Expenses
Examples of pre-trading expenses are:
• Accountancy fees
• Advertising costs
• Costs of feasibility studies
• Costs of preparing business plans
• Rent paid for the premises from which the trade or profession operates.

At Domybooks one of our core services is Bookkeeping. Below I have listed our the main  services this covers.

• Processing of VAT returns
• Recording purchase invoices
• Preparing sales invoices
• Bank reconciliations
• Sundry Reconciliations
• Accounting data entry
• Payroll preparation
• Processing of expenses
• Debt Collection

Outsourcing your book keeping to an expert can save you time and money allowing you to focus on your business.

With our online service you can also access your accounts online.

If you would like to speak to Domybooks about outsourcing your business please do not hesitate to email

bookkeeping@domybooks.ie

or Call 086-3336665 / 091-442882

This is the Blog of an Galway Accountant providing Bookkeeping services and accountancy software

As authorised resellers and trainers Do My Books can now provide training on Big Red Book at excellent rates. All training on Big Red Book is carried out by a Big Red Book trainer and qualified accountant so quality is guaranteed. Training is offered nationwide on site in your company. Our Big Red Book Training covers the following areas

Course Overview

Section 1: Installation and Setup

Installing Big Red Book

Registering Big Red Book

Big Red Book Trainer and Reseller

Section 2: The Relationship between all the books

Purchases Book

Cheques Journal

Sales Book

Cash Book

Bank Account

Section 3: Making Entries in the Big Red Book®

Section 4: The Bank Reconciliations & VAT Schemes

Section 5: The Book Enquiry and Report Facilities

Section 6: The Nominal Ledger

Section 7: VAT on Cast Receipts

Section 8: Allocation

Section 9: Backing Up

Big Red Book is extremely easy to use and we are confident you will be proficient after a day. If at the end of your training you dont feel confident we will be happy to offer further remote training free of charge.

Big Red Book Training

1. Do My Books along with our partners Xero Online Accounting can now allow you to access your accounts anywhere you have internet access. Accounting shouldn’t be a chore – it should be a chance to get a quick and real time view of your financial position. Now you can with Xero online accounting and Do My Books. Your bookkeeping can be completed in one location while your accountant can access your accounting information from another- Real time!
2. Xero is an online accounting system that’s simple, smart and secure, helping you save time and money, and making your finances easier to handle. Xero puts you back in control so you can focus on what you do best – running your business.
3. Work online, in real time and take control – everything you need is at your fingertips allowing you to make decisions quickly
4. Immediate up to date overview of your business finances and cashflow – you can see it at a glance
5. Unlimited user logins – Xero lets your accountant, business partner, stakeholders – Or anyone else you authorise into your account to collaborate on your figures.
6. Xero even works on your mobile, giving you an overview of the accounts for every organisation you manage. See your bank balances, recent transactions and who owes you money on the go. You can even call any contact with a single tap. Xero Mobile works on your iPhone, Windows Mobile or your Blackberry.

If you would like to arrange a free demonstration please email: xero@domybooks.ie or contact 086-3336665 or 091-442882

New Electronic VAT Refund (EVR) procedures with effect from 1 January 2010
The following is some information on the new EVR procedures for both Irish and Foreign Traders and their agents.

New and existing agents, acting on behalf of Irish traders can make an application on behalf of a client for a refund of VAT incurred in another Member State, provided that they:

• have a TAIN number (Tax Advisor Identification Number) and
• are registered with ROS and
• have been linked to their client for EVR.

Agents must register with Revenue by obtaining a TAIN number (Tax Advisor Identification Number). This function is handled by Dublin North City District, TAIN Section, 14-15 Upper O’Connell Street, Dublin 1, Tel: 01-865 5000, e-mail: dublinagents@revenue.ie. To register, Agents must apply in writing stating their tax number, their full Name, Address, Tel/Fax/E-mail and supply a list of their clients which should include each clients’ VAT number.

Once registered, the Agent will be linked to their client(s) on Revenue’s Online Service (ROS). If not already registered, an Agent must register for ROS through www.ros.ie.

A new tax head “EVR” will be available on ROS from 1 January 2010. Agents (or their clients, if registered on ROS) can make an application for refund of VAT online under EVR. An agent may submit a maximum of 5 applications to each Member State in any calendar year.

When an application is submitted online, a message is forwarded to the applicant’s ROS inbox stating that their application has been received by Revenue and that it has been forwarded to the relevant Member State for refund.

If an application is successful, a decision message will be forwarded to the applicant’s ROS inbox.  Payment will then be made (by electronic fund transfer) to the bank account provided in the application.

EU Member States have different requirements. Some States may require that invoices/importation documents be forwarded with the application as a scanned attachment. These attachments must not exceed 5MB in size. If attachments exceed this amount, then only the largest invoices should be attached. The Member State of Refund may request that the remaining invoices be forwarded for examination.

The Tax Authority of the Member State of Refund may also request additional information before a final decision is made on an application. The applicant will be notified directly via the contact details provided in their application i.e. e-mail or telephone.

Allowable expenditure may differ from State to State. If in doubt, you should contact the Member State for clarification.

ROS allows for the submission of a maximum of five applications to each Member State in a calendar year. However, some States may only accept four.

If errors occur when completing the application or you are prevented from submitting the application, you should direct your enquiries to the ROS helpdesk at: roshelp@revenue.ie or telephone 1890 201 106.

Queries relating to refund procedures operated by other Member States, should be directed to the Tax Authority of that State.

Further information is available on the Revenue website atwww.revenue.ie/eu-vat and the European Commission website: www.ec.europa.eu

Enquiries can also be addressed to: unregvat@revenue.ie or telephone Lo-call 1890 252 449.

Started a limited company recently? Do My Books can now file your first B1 Annual return for the competitive price of €129 + VAT . It is very important to file your B1 on time as a late filing can lead to late fee’s and the additional cost of an audit on your next set of accounts.

If you would like advice on filing a B1 or would like to contract do my books to file your b1 please do not hesitate to email

b1@domybooks.ie or contact Ralph or Caroline on 086-3336665 or 091-639970

If you are using Sage instant accounts and it closes down untidily the next time you try to log in you may get the error message “username in use”  you can try deleting the Queue.dta file.  With all users logged out of Sage.  Search for the Queue.dta file which is in the ACCDATA folder for the company that is experiencing the problem. Delete this file (Sage will recreate it when it opens again)
Hopefully you can now log in again.

If you require any other advice on Sage accounts please do not hesitate to contact Do My Books Accounting Software Provider Ireland

We can offer fantastic deals on Sage, Big Red Book and Xero online accounts.

Ph: 086-3336665

Office: 091-639970

email help_I_broke_sage@domybook.ie

Choosing accounting software is a very important decision for a small business. From my experience the relationship ends up like a marriage (Very expensive if it goes wrong!)

Changing packages is difficult, costly and time consuming so its better to get it right the first time.

After 10 years of using accounting packages and 3 years implementing them I have come up with a list of tips below :

1. Carefully write down what you want from a package first. When choosing you will see lots of amazing features but if your not careful you can get distracted from what YOU need from the software.
2. Review ongoing costs, Some accounting software providers charge an annual license fee, others don’t.
3. Consider how the package will suit in 5 years time. If you are considering expanding can the package expand with you.
4. Don’t over complicate the issue-there’s no point in buying a large package with a  products and job costing modules when all you will use it for is basic book keeping.
5. Check is there local expertise available, This will be very useful if you need support or training.
6. Ask for a demonstration disc , it will give you a good feel for the user interface.
7. Ask other business’s what they use.
8. Check is the accounting software compatible with other software you use. For example linking a payroll system to an accounting system.This can save a lot of time with data entry.
9. Will the software work on your existing hardware? Upgrading hardware can be costly.
10. Are the reporting modules suitable, Your accounting package will contain all your financial information so reporting will be critical.

At Do My Books Accountants Galway we can provide a number of accounting packages including Big Red Book, Xero Online accounts, Sage and Tas books so why not give Ralph a call on 086-3336665 for a free demonstration of any of the packages listed above or email software@domybooks.ie