Business Manager. Enhancements Version January

Transcription

1 Business Manager Enhancements Version 3.39 January

2 Contents Contents... 1 Installation Instructions... 3 Business Manager Enhancements... 4 Making Tax Digital for VAT... 4 Overview... 4 Update Business Information... 5 Setup for MTD VAT... 7 Agents Submitting VAT VAT Inspector Other Business Manager Enhancements Receipt Bank Import Autosetup Chart of Accounts Create Autosetup Template Imports Outlook 2019 (64 bit) Page 2

3 Installation Instructions Windows 7*, Windows 8 and Windows 10 Operating Systems only Before you start, ensure that you have read about the enhancements. You will not be able to load this version of the program if your licence has expired. If you are getting messages telling you that your licence has expired but you have renewed your contract, take the option File Licence Get Key BEFORE you load this version of the program. Offline Plus (formerly known as Multi-User) We recommend that you update any outstanding batches back to the master data before loading the new program. Remember to make an up-to-date backup of your Business Manager data. The option to install the latest version of the program can be found under Accounts Software in the Support area of the Farmplan website ( You will need your customer number. Make sure that the Business Manager program is closed. Follow the on-screen instructions to Download. The exact procedure will vary according to the version of Windows and browser that you use but just follow the instructions on the screen. You will download a file called setup.exe, supplied by Reed Business Information (our parent company), which should then be Run. If Windows SmartScreen (a warning message) appears to block the installation, click on More Information and then Run Anyway. A black box may appear on your screen during the installation. Ignore it it will disappear when the installation is complete When the installation is complete go into the program your data will be automatically updated to run with the new version (3.39) of the program. You will need to answer some additional questions about your business as part of this process. *Please note Windows 7 will not be supported by Microsoft from January Future versions of Business Manager will not install onto Windows 7 machines after this date. Please contact Farmplan to discuss upgrading your PC if this is applicable. Page 3

4 Business Manager Enhancements Full details of all changes can also be found in the option Help Contents - Business Manager Summary of Enhancements Version 3.39 If you would like help or more information about any of the changes in the program, please contact Software Support on Making Tax Digital for VAT Overview What is Making Tax Digital for VAT? MTD is a government initiative to digitalise the UK tax system. It will take place in phases, starting with the electronic submission of VAT through compatible software from April Who will it affect? Most businesses and landlords with turnovers in excess of the VAT threshold (currently 85,000) will have to keep digital records and submit VAT returns digitally from the first complete VAT return period starting after 1st April There are a small number of entities which have a deferred entry date of 1 st October 2019 but you will have been contacted if this applies to you. These details may be subject to change. Please contact HMRC for full details. MTD VAT Compliant This software is MTD for VAT compliant. This means that you will be able to use it to submit MTD VAT returns to HMRC. When do I start to use MTD? You can continue to use the existing process before this date with this version of the program, however you may wish to register to use the MTD process straight away through HMRC s pilot scheme. The majority of VAT registered businesses must use the new MTD submission process for VAT figures from April Page 4

5 Update Business Information When you first access your business, you will be prompted to enter some additional business information that will be required for Making Tax Digital. You will be asked to check your business address and VAT registration number are correct and also select a business type from the drop-down list. You will then need to confirm whether you use this software to calculate a VAT return. Only answer No if this is not relevant, for example if this business is not VAT registered. You are not committing to joining Making Tax Digital at this point. If the answer is Yes you will be asked to confirm the next VAT return to be calculated i.e. the current open VAT period. Page 5

6 Making Tax Digital will require that each VAT return is closed as it is submitted to HMRC to prevent the figures being subsequently changed. If you have not closed all your completed VAT periods you will be given the opportunity to close these automatically at this point. NB VAT periods for submitted returns will have to be closed before you can set up the software to submit VAT digitally via MTD so this will save time if you have several that are still open. We recommend that you check that you have an up to date backup of your data before you close any VAT periods. Passwords As Making Tax Digital VAT submissions are made directly from this software without any further verification once you have linked your business to HMRC, we strongly recommend that you use a password so that your data can only be accessed by authorised users. If you wish to change the password once you have left this screen go to File - Select Business and click on the Password button. When the Update Information has been entered you will be able to continue using your software as before. When you are ready to start submitting your VAT figures using MTD you should sign up with HMRC and connect this software to HMRC (see page 7). NB this must be done for the first complete VAT return after April Page 6

7 Setup for MTD VAT Step 1 - Sign up with HMRC Before you can set up Business Manager to send your VAT returns digitally you must have signed up for MTD VAT with HMRC. This can be done through the HMRC website Search for Use software to submit your VAT Returns and follow the instructions on the screen. After you have signed up, it may take up to 72 hours to receive the confirmation that you are ready to go. NB once you have signed up with HMRC then you must submit returns via MTD enabled software. For many, but not all, businesses this can be done before April 2019 so you can join HMRC s pilot programme now if you wish. However they have specific criteria for potential pilot businesses so do not worry if you are not accepted before April (For example if you pay by direct debit, sign up needs to be completed 15 days before or 5 days after the end of the period.) It will be mandatory from April 2019 for the majority of businesses. Step 2 - Close finished VAT Periods Next make sure that you have closed your VAT periods in the program for all returns already sent to HMRC. This will ensure that the open periods on Business Manager agree with the open periods at HMRC. In future when you submit your VAT return digitally the VAT period will automatically be closed and you cannot amend it. NB If you have already notified HMRC about the VAT figures in the current open VAT period in the program you will be warned that you cannot enable MTD until you have closed it. The current open VAT period is shown on the Home Page and should be the next one that is due to be reported to HMRC. NB once MTD has been enabled you should not return to an earlier backup prior to the VAT submission to change any VAT related figures. Once figures have been submitted to HMRC any corrections must be made in the following VAT period. Page 7

8 Step 3 Configure your MTD Settings To enable the MTD VAT functionality of the program you will need to configure your MTD settings. Go to Setup VAT MTD Settings. MTD settings Have you signed up for Making Tax Digital for VAT? Once you have signed up for MTD VAT with HMRC and have received your confirmation , you are ready to start using MTD for your submissions. Select Yes to the following question to link your machine using this business with HMRC. NB if this data is on a network and other users will need authority to submit VAT returns then they must follow this procedure on their computers too. Combining VAT figures with another business. In addition to being able to submit the VAT figures from this dataset, direct to HMRC, the software also allows you to combine your VAT figures with those from another dataset before submission. (This method should be used for businesses previously using spreadsheets or manual calculations to add figures from two or more datasets together before submission.) Page 8

9 This can either be done by: Exporting your figures to be combined in another dataset i.e. via another dataset Importing VAT figures from another dataset i.e. combine with other VAT figures before submitting them to HMRC. If this is not relevant make sure that you say that the submissions from this business are direct from this dataset and are not be being combined with other VAT figures. The final question relates to the status of the person making the submission, and will effect the legal declaration made on submission. Agents see page 10 for more details about signing up for MTD. Once the options have been selected click Save, then click on the Connect to HMRC button. You will then be taken through the HMRC connection process where you will be asked to enter your User ID and Password: Page 9

10 At the end of this process you will need to Grant authority for Business Manager to interact with HMRC. If successful you will receive the message Authority Granted. Close this window and you will return to Business Manager. You are now set up to make MTD VAT submissions. The VAT section on the Home Page will tell you the status of your next VAT submission. Agents If you act as an Agent on behalf of your clients you will need to create an Agent Services Account (ASA) with HMRC, if you do not have one already. Follow HMRC s guidance to link existing authorised relationships you already have. You will be required to input your existing Government Gateway (GG) IDs to link to your ASA. Go to and search for Agents: use software to submit VAT Returns Each client should be signed up for Making Tax Digital for VAT. When you connect to HMRC through the program, as above, enter your ASA ID and password. Page 10

11 Submitting VAT Once you have finished entering data for a VAT period, the VAT return can be completed by submitting figures to HMRC. If you wish to check your reports prior to submission these can be viewed from the Report Library. Alternatively the reports (VAT Return, VAT Audit Summary and VAT Audit Detail) can be printed from the submission screens by clicking on the report name. Close VAT Click on Close VAT. This option can be found at the top right hand of the Home Page, the Data Entry menu, on the left hand tool bar under Data Entry, or from the Header Bar under Data Entry. This option to submit your VAT and close the period is only available to users with a current support contract. If your licence is out of date you will be warned that this is unavailable when you attempt to close the period. Check that you have the most up to date licence by going to File Licence. NB The VAT period close screen displayed will depend upon the MTD setup options previously selected. For more details please see below: Option 1 Close without using MTD (page 11) Option 2 Make an MTD VAT submission directly to HMRC (page 13) Option 3 - Combine Figures - Submitting VAT via another dataset or software package (page 14) Option 4 Combine Figures - Including VAT figures from another dataset or software package (page 15) Legal Declaration When you make an MTD submission through the software you will be asked to make a legal declaration confirming the information being submitted is true and complete when the VAT period is closed. After this a successful submission message will be received. See Office Accounts VAT VAT Period Details for a receipt ID from HMRC which will prove that they have received it. NB In order to safeguard your submission information it is strongly recommended that you take a backup of your data AFTER the submission has been made. You should NOT return to an earlier backup made prior to the MTD submission to change any figures that might affect the VAT return. Any amendments must be made in a subsequent open period. You will now see a warning message if you try to restore a backup which may affect a previously closed VAT period. Page 11

12 Option 1 - Closing without using MTD If MTD for VAT is not yet mandatory for your business, and you have not yet signed up for MTD, you can choose to continue sending VAT returns to HMRC without using MTD. MTD setup option selected Clicking on Close VAT Period Manually closes the VAT period and automatically prints the VAT return. Other reports can be selected to print at the same time. If it is not convenient to print these reports when the period is being closed all of these reports can additionally be printed at any time from within the Report Library. You are also offered the opportunity to use the internet to make an online submission. This is not an MTD submission but will take you to the original Government Gateway portal where you will be able to key in your VAT figures. NB - This option will only be available to businesses not yet signed up for MTD and must not be used for new VAT submissions once you have received your User ID and password. Page 12

13 Option 2 - Making an MTD VAT submission to HMRC directly from this dataset If you have signed up with HMRC for Making Tax Digital for VAT and are using this dataset to submit your VAT figures without combining any other figures, you will see the following screen: MTD setup options selected NB if the current open VAT period does not agree with the latest period expected by HMRC you will be unable to proceed with this option. You will need to change your MTD settings back to say No (i.e. not signed up for MTD) and close all open VAT periods using Option 1 until the current period agrees with the one expected by HMRC. At that point change the setting back to Yes any previously entered links with HMRC will be remembered. Click Close VAT Period and send to Direct to HMRC to make your submission. If you would like to print your VAT reports at the same time these can be selected. Additionally, they can be printed at any time from within the Report Library. Page 13

14 Option 3 - Combining Figures - Submitting VAT via another dataset or software package If you have signed up with HMRC for Making Tax Digital for VAT and are exporting your VAT figures to be combined with another business before submission you will see the following screen: MTD setup options selected Click Close VAT Period and Export to file to create a file which can be imported into another dataset to be combined before submission. If you would like to print your VAT reports at the same time these can be selected. Additionally, they can be printed at any time from within the Report Library. Page 14

15 Option 4 - Combining Figures - Including VAT figures from another dataset or software package If you have signed up with HMRC for Making Tax Digital for VAT, are using this dataset to submit your VAT figures and wish to combine them with some other figures you will see the following screen: MTD setup options selected Click on Add/Edit to access the import screen where you will able to add figures from a CSV file. NB if you are using a file that has been created in another accounts package, it must be in the correct format. Read the Help option for more details. Page 15

16 Click on Import to browse for your other VAT figures, then select the appropriate files to import. You can import multiple files, by clicking Import again until all files have been added. Click Back to return to the submission screen. The imported totals will be shown in the Imported column. Page 16

17 Click Close VAT Period and send to HMRC direct to submit your total figures. If you would like to print your VAT reports at the same time these can be selected. Additionally, they can be printed at any time from within the Report Library. NOTE the imported figures are only included on the VAT return and submission. They will have no other effect on this business s accounts or any other reports including the VAT summary and VAT audit detail reports. PLEASE NOTE the ability to submit VAT via MTD and close VAT periods is only available to users with a current support contract. If the Close VAT option is unavailable check that you have the most up to date licence by going to File Licence. For more details please contact our support line on Page 17

18 VAT Inspector The VAT inspector screen now shows additional details about the VAT returns. The VAT Returns overview screen shows the VAT Period Status. If periods have been closed, the method by which they were closed is also recorded. Drill down into each return to see more information for each submission. The VAT Period Details tab shows when the VAT figures were submitted to HMRC and the receipt ID that was issued which can be quoted in the case of any queries. The VAT Period figures tab gives the amounts included in the 9 VAT boxes and includes details of any figures which were combined, if applicable. The VAT Period details tab shows submission details including the receipt ID from HMRC. Page 18

19 Other Business Manager Enhancements Receipt Bank Import Receipt Bank is a third-party application which enables users to import pre-coded transactions into their accounting software either by scanning their invoices (using mobile phones or scanners) or by bringing them in from s or other digital records. The Business Manager software can now import these records, either as cash analysis payments or purchase invoices in the form of a file. In addition to importing the data, a link is also created to the image of the transaction held by Receipt Bank allowing easy viewing of the source document. For more details please visit their website. Look under the option For Business and then Pricing to start a free trial. Please contact Receipt Bank directly if you wish to sign up for this service or have any queries about its operation or pricing. Maintain Lists in Receipt Bank Export to CSV If you wish to be able to code your transactions in Receipt Bank using your Business Manager Heading codes, Enterprises, Search codes and Farm codes then these codes can be exported here. NB - in Receipt Bank these codes are set up as Lists. Currently Receipt Bank calls these Categories, Projects and Customers. Look under Settings Maintain Lists to import them into Receipt Bank via a CSV. Page 19

20 Checking Transactions in Receipt Bank Note that: It is important to review the account settings in Receipt Bank to ensure they are treated correctly when they are exported into a file. Transactions labelled as Receipts in Receipt Bank will be brought in as Cash Analysis Payments (marked as paid transactions). Therefore they must have a bank account (payment method) allocated to them in Receipt Bank. They will be allocated a Payment Type of Other and reference equal to the Receipt Bank ID. Transactions called Invoices by Receipt Bank will be brought in as Purchase Invoices (marked as unpaid). NB Invoices can only be imported into Business Manager. Invoices are not supported in Cash Manager therefore cannot be imported. If you use Cash Manager it is important that you check that all entries to be exported from Receipt Bank have been marked as Receipts (cash analysis payments) and not Invoices. VAT details such as the amount and status will be brought in exactly as they are in Receipt Bank so these need to be checked to ensure correct treatment in Business Manager. If you want to include a link to the image of the document within Business Manager make sure that you have turned Image Sharing on. Do you want to archive documents after they have been exported? This will prevent them being exported again but still allow you to view them in Receipt Bank. Overview of coding in Receipt Bank An image or file of each invoice or receipt should be uploaded into Receipt Bank by going to Add Items. Alternatively they can be uploaded from the phone app or via your Receipt Bank address. Once they have been processed, they will appear in the Inbox where they can be allocated an overall category (heading code/enterprise) from the list if they only contain one item. Receipt Bank will learn the category to use for similar transactions added in the future. Adding more details or multiple items (lines) can be achieved by clicking on the Type. NB Receipt Bank is a third-party package and, as such, cannot be supported by Farmplan. The exact operation of Receipt Bank is subject to their developmental changes. If you need help on using this application, please contact Receipt Bank. Page 20

21 The Export Process From Receipt Bank - When you are ready to export invoices (Business Manager only) or receipts (cash analysis payments), select them under Ready to Export and download them in a CSV format. Select the Receipt Bank Default if every transaction only contains 1 item i.e. has been coded at the top level. If there are any transactions that have been split by more than one line use Receipt Bank Default (line items). Save the file in a known location. Import into Business Manager In Business Manager go to File Receipt Bank Import/Export and browse to the file that you created from Receipt Bank. The import procedure will ask you to link the coding used on Receipt Bank's website with the coding that you use in Business Manager. For each code combination this is a one-off procedure and made easier if you originally exported the codes into Receipt Banks s Lists. Page 21

22 You will only need to add new links as new codes are introduced. You will be guided through the process by a series of screens and more details can be found in the program s Help. Once imported it will be possible to view and edit the transactions if required. It will also be possible to view the source document by clicking on the link at the top of the transaction screen. Outlook 2019 (64 bit) Business Manager is now compatible with Outlook 2019 (64 bit) for batch ing documents such as invoices, statements, remittances etc. Page 22

23 Autosetup The Autosetup Templates have been changed to include heading codes which will provide additional information for future Making Tax Digital changes (i.e. Self-Assessment). NB This is normally only applicable to new businesses. Existing coding structures are unaffected. The program uses the Business Type information (entered when creating a new business or during the Update Business Information process) to create appropriate heading codes for Sole Traders, Partnerships and Limited Companies when enterprises are selected through the Autosetup option. The default codes created as part of the Autosetup will ensure that there are appropriate codes required for self-assessment; for example there are now three insurance heading codes - Business Insurance, Building Insurance and Vehicle Insurance. There are also now separate templates for the various types of Property Enterprises. To simplify the setup process, where required, we have added 2 new enterprises to the template for general Livestock enterprises and a General enterprise for non-farming businesses who just require the standard overheads. Chart of Accounts A few minor changes have been made to the Chart of Accounts but the existing coding structures will remain unchanged regardless of the business type selected during the Update Business process. Changes that you may see: Page 23

24 If the business is a Limited Company, it will no longer have Private Income or Expenditure bands if they had not been used in the past The Tax/Dividends band has been renamed Other Capital Adjustments. It will have been removed altogether if the business is not a Limited Company and has no existing codes in it. Create Autosetup Template We have made the Create Autosetup module available to all users. This option is found in the Tools menu. The Autosetup Template option allows the creation of a set of template files that is based on the existing Enterprise and Heading Code structure within the current business (dataset) that can then be used to quickly create the coding structure in a new business. The template files will contain an exact copy of this coding structure with the options to include Fixed Assets and Unlinked Purchase, Sales and Overhead Heading Codes if required. (N.B. The template will not contain any data, i.e. financial information or records. However if you wish to transfer any outstanding invoices you can use this in conjunction with the Offline Data Entry option). This would be advantageous, for example, if you wish to resetup your existing business, perhaps to change the year start of the business or have another business with a similar enterprise and heading code structure. Having created the template, you are able to create a new business using the new details available within the Autosetup option, rather than having to setup all Heading Codes and Enterprises individually. Page 24

25 Imports During the Data Import process, the number of characters which are visible on the imported item, has been increased from 50 characters to 100. This will affect any options that involve the import of data from another applications such as Property Manager and Sales Order Processing, as well as both the Anglia Farmers and Fram Farmers imports. Page 25

26 Farmplan Computer Systems Alton House Alton Road Ross-on-Wye Herefordshire HR95BP Phone: Fax: Crops Livestock Business & Accounts Training IT Solutions Support Page 26