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Olly replied on November 05, 2008 16:44 to the problem "Alliance & Leicester statement upload does not include interest/bank charges" in FreeAgent Central:

Thanks for letting us know Andy!

Andy Tenkai started following the problem "Alliance & Leicester statement upload does not include interest/bank charges" in FreeAgent Central.

Andy Tenkai replied on November 05, 2008 16:16 to the problem "Alliance & Leicester statement upload does not include interest/bank charges" in FreeAgent Central:

Turns out my issue was user error, my interest charges were shown on the instant reserve account (my balances on FreeAgent now exactly match those on my alliance and leicester statements). So therefore it does work with QIF statements. Sorry to have confused the issue.

Olly replied on November 05, 2008 14:16 to the problem "Alliance & Leicester statement upload does not include interest/bank charges" in FreeAgent Central:

Andy

Please could you email me an example file? support at freeagentcentral dot com

Andy Tenkai replied on November 05, 2008 14:02 to the problem "Alliance & Leicester statement upload does not include interest/bank charges" in FreeAgent Central:

This seems to have happened to me too with Alliance and leicester statements... I use the .qif files from the export on A & L

Ed Molyneux replied on October 08, 2008 09:45 to the question "Taxable date for expenses/bills is cash not invoice date" in FreeAgent Central:

prolibris,

That - an option 'billed on' or 'incurred on' date which can be set earlier than the bank transaction date - is something we've been mulling over for some time.

Our treatment of normal expenses on, effectively, a cash basis (apart from Bills) is mostly 'good enough' for the speed at which most purchases pass through the banking system nowadays. Certainly you won't find that many accountants worrying too much that your weekend purchases appear on the statement as Monday.

The existing treatment is driven to some extent by the desire to keep things as simple as is acceptable from an accounting point of view.

But you're right - it's not strictly correct and I think that before long we'll be adding that option 'billed on' date.

prolibris replied on October 07, 2008 15:45 to the question "Taxable date for expenses/bills is cash not invoice date" in FreeAgent Central:

Ed,

While I appreciate the solution that the Bill Tracking module provides, I'm not sure that it's the simplest solution to the invoice/cash accounting problem. At least not for me.

I don't really want to track bills, as such - merely to make sure that the bill falls into the correct period based on the date of the invoice not the date on which payment leaves the bank account.

Most (legitimate) retailers will supply an invoice with the date of purchase, but only charge the bank account on the date of despatch, so there's frequently a bit of a gap. Even suppliers collecting by direct debit will have different billing and collection dates (our ISP, for instance, bills on the 20th of the month and collects on 8th the following month). These are not bills I want to track.

To ensure that I'm accounting for VAT in the correct period I would now have to identify those bills with different billing and collection dates, manually enter them (with a contact name) and effectively reconcile them against the bank statement, which is almost a return to the QuickBooks approach I've just abandoned.

I love the simplicity of bookkeeping based around the record of the bank statement. Is it not possible simply to have an adjustable "Billing Date" field on the bank record which, if set, ensures it falls into the correct period (as suggested by the OP) ? Rgds Tim

A comment on the discussion "HMRC compliant format for Corporation Tax return accounts" in FreeAgent Central:

1-4: Thanks for your advice. Useful, thanks :)

5: It still doesn't balance. There's a problem with getting the figures from the closing balance of the previous year into FreeAgent. http://getsatisfaction.com/freeagentc... – Mike Wilson, on October 07, 2008 14:54

Ed Molyneux replied on October 06, 2008 17:23 to the discussion "HMRC compliant format for Corporation Tax return accounts" in FreeAgent Central:

>> You won't get your "suitable for submission" accounts without accruals & prepayments :)

Well, that decides it, then!

Mike Wilson replied on October 06, 2008 16:25 to the discussion "HMRC compliant format for Corporation Tax return accounts" in FreeAgent Central:

@Ed; thanks for listening :) Would you mind giving Stuart a call and giving him all the features he's asking for? :)

Thanks a lot :D

Stuart Jones replied on October 06, 2008 16:23 to the discussion "HMRC compliant format for Corporation Tax return accounts" in FreeAgent Central:

You won't get your "suitable for submission" accounts without accruals & prepayments :)

Ed Molyneux replied on October 06, 2008 12:59 to the discussion "HMRC compliant format for Corporation Tax return accounts" in FreeAgent Central:

All,

We're currently implementing a way of bringing opening trial balances into FreeAgent at any point in the accounting year - not just the limited set that we support at the moment.

As Stuart indicates, it's possible to enter these as journal entries, but our new method will be much simpler for us mere mortals. You'd still need a 'closing trial balance' from your previous accountant, though.

Secondly, we'll be introducing an 'accounts export' tool that will wrap up a selected set of accounts screens to form a PDF file that, with an experienced accountant to check things over, should be suitable for submission to HMRC and Companies House. Standard notes and delcarations will be included.

(and if we get you Accruals and Prepayments, Stuart, even you might be happy to sign them off!)

So, probably a month or two (or three) away, but we'll get there.

Ed Molyneux replied on October 06, 2008 09:29 to the question "Taxable date for expenses/bills is cash not invoice date" in FreeAgent Central:

So everyone should now be aware that we now support Bills...

A comment on the discussion "HMRC compliant format for Corporation Tax return accounts" in FreeAgent Central:

Thanks Stuart :)

"Closing Trial Balance". You learn something new every day! – Mike Wilson, on October 05, 2008 22:52

Stuart Jones replied on October 04, 2008 07:30 to the discussion "HMRC compliant format for Corporation Tax return accounts" in FreeAgent Central:

This is how to do it:

1. Ask previous accountant for closing trial balance. This is a full list of the closing balances from the last accounts. You won't get anywhere without the trial balance.
2. The closing balances become the opening balances.
3. Enter these in FreeAgent.
4. Remember the opening profit and loss reserves is the amount shown on the trial balance +/- last year's profit/loss.
5. Ask for more help when it doesn't balance! lol

Mike Wilson replied on October 03, 2008 14:31 to the discussion "HMRC compliant format for Corporation Tax return accounts" in FreeAgent Central:

I've got a similar issue going on.

I can prepare the accounts, but it's getting the balance sheet balanced with translating the correct carry forward balances from my previous accountant's annual accounts into the FreeAgent Central opening balances that's the issue here!

Stuart? Over here *waves hand*

Stuart Jones replied on October 03, 2008 07:37 to the discussion "HMRC compliant format for Corporation Tax return accounts" in FreeAgent Central:

This isn't an easy one to answer!

The accounts which accompany the Corporation Tax return should comply with the Companies Act format and numerous other pronouncements by accountancy bodies, Uncle Tom Cobley, etc. Most accountants can't achieve 100% accuracy!

I have seen HMRC accept FreeAgent accounts but they will normally expect the "proper" accounts.

My personal opinion is HMRC have been a little harsh on you about the non-submission of the accounts and the subsequent penalties.

Rather than answer the final paragraph here I shall contact you direct.

Logic Labs started a conversation in FreeAgent Central on October 03, 2008 02:57:

HMRC compliant format for Corporation Tax return accounts

Has anybody got an example of a suitable format for submitting accounts with Corporation Tax return? i.e. HMRC suitable Profit/Loss and Directors Report (I only submit abbreviated accounts to companies house)

Basically before I started using FreeAgent, I used QuickBooks and submitted my company returns myself. I unfortunately didn't attach a copy of the accounts and directors report with the corporation tax return, and am now incurring penalties and interest on the non-filing of the return. I only submitted abbreviated accounts to Companies House, and I believe these are not suitable for accompanying the return, and I need a full set of accounts. Is the Quickbooks/FreeAgent p/l report suitable to just submit to HMRC? Along with a copy of the abbreviated accounts as a directors report?

Could anyone advise me as to how this should be laid out, or if there are any accountants willing to do this, advise me with the cost and estimated time to produce the p/l in HMRC format. (I've got the accounts in QuickBooks 2006, and all expenses/receipts as PDF's/paper, if required).

prolibris started following the question "Taxable date for expenses/bills is cash not invoice date" in FreeAgent Central.

Ed Molyneux replied on August 21, 2008 08:37 to the question "How do I change my tax code?" in FreeAgent Central:

Logic Labs:

We're going to change the behaviour of the Setup Payroll action so that it doesn't clear or overwrite payslips dated before the new payroll start date you specify.

To apply the tax code change, you'd just use the new tax code, a suitable start date (matching an existing payslip probably) and enter the remaining gross salary to be paid that year.