VAT Calculations in Express

[Ultraclean]

Hi
Does anyone else have problems with the VAT calculations in Express?
Nearly all of our orders have the wrong VAT worked out. Only by pence, but always wrong and always too much.
We sell multiple items all with 17.5% VAT at prices between £2.60 & £3.25

I rang the help desk today to point out this error, AGAIN.
Here is the email answer:
I have posted your query to our Express Developers.
They have told me this is how Express calculates tax and at the moment there are currently no plans to add additional options for Tax calculations.
The next version up from Express however would fix this for you.

It seems that it is OK to sell defective software, it is just tough if it does not work correctly!
Stewart

[Bruce]

Stewart,

As you are aware this is a known issue. Can we have a few order numbers where tax has been calculated incorrectly I will also need the Store ID so that the Express team can look at this for you. Please mail me the details.

Kind regards,

[craftyangel]

Hi, we too have problems with vat calculations, which is very noticeable in a recent invoice for 1 item, sub total €20+p+p €4.50 total invoice should be €24.50 but invoice printed out as €24.31...gremlins somewhere are eating up our cents!!! As i say, this is not the first time!!

We also have problems when pricing goods in that we cannot get our on-line price exactly as we want and we either have to go 1c below or above which looks wierd!!

And finally,...on the subject of vat,, we are based in Ireland and should not be charged vat (eu directives etc) on our monthly fee ( which is over €36 euro) but actinic tells us that they cannot change their system to issue vat free invoices-in other words tough! other companies from Ireland please note!

crafty angel

[Bruce]

Mary & Stewart,

I should have replied to this one quite some time ago.

The reason for you getting incorrect rounding to your VAT is because you are taking the order total goods (exclusive of tax) and multiplying by 17.5% and the answer is sometimes a few pence off what Express is charging.

This is because Express is calculating tax at item line level rather than order level. This is very common practice and perfectly legitimate practice - here is a paragraph from section 17.6 of the HMRC VAT Guide:

"Retailers are increasingly using sophisticated till technology to identify the VAT due on each transaction and issue an invoice. If you do not use a retail scheme, but instead calculate VAT at line level or invoice level, you must not round the VAT figure down. However, you may round (up and down) each VAT calculation."

So the 'error' you are reporting is in fact just due to rounding (at item line level) and is neither an error nor anything for either you, your customers or the VAT man to be concerned about.

Kind regards,