Batch Invoice

This screen is used for batch input of invoices and credit notes to customers.

Batch input is designed for those who need to rapidly input significant volumes of Sales Invoices or credit notes. It may be that a catch up of transaction data is necessary or that volumes of transactions are such that there a large number need to be input. Batch input simply means that a number of sales invoices or credit notes can all be entered at once. The Information needed is the same as that for the single sales invoice/credit note transaction, and as such in order for the process to be as easy and simple as possible a few minutes spent setting up customer and other details in advance is well spent.

You can add as many transactions to the screen as you wish, however we recommend that no more than 20 lines per batch be entered for optimum efficiency. The system has a session time-out period of 40 minutes, so please be sure to submit a batch before leaving your computer for a period or the information may be lost and will need to be re-input.

Screen Navigation

As well as using the mouse you can navigate around the batch screen using key strokes. The only exception is the SUBMIT button. Press the access Key (ALT or CTRL) at the same time as the bracketed letter on the button.

In the Windows environment use the ALT key, for Apple Mac use CTRL+ALT or CTRL depending upon the browser.

Document Type

Select Invoice or Credit Note as appropriate.

Transaction Date

The date of the transaction. Dates can either be entered manually or selected from the pop-up calendar by clicking on the  icon. Dates must be entered in the format DD/MM/YYYY, for example, 21/1/2000.

For batch input items the tax point for VAT purposes will be the same as the transaction date.

When entering dates manually, a date guessing routine speeds up the input by taking the user input and assuming the missing month and or year based on the current date as the user leaves the field i.e.

the date today is 30th October 2009

• User enters 15 or 15/ and tabs - field displays 15/10/2009
• User enters 15/9 or 15/9/ and tabs - field displays 15/9/2009

Customer

Enter the Customer from which the income has been received.

Auto-complete field names

Rather than a drop-down to select from a list, simply start typing and the system will identify any occurrences of the combination of characters entered and you select from that shorter list. As an example, type 'able' and the system will offer:

Able Contractors

Capable Cleaning

Reasonable Roofers

etc.

Adding new customers / suppliers

If the combination of characters you enter does not provide any results, press tab and the system will know you need to add the customer/supplier and ask you to confirm the details. At this point add address, email contact etc if required.

Employee for P11d Purposes

Visible only if Personnel P11D Expense & Benefit Tracking has been selected in the optional features tab on the Organisation Profile.

Select an employee/director to whom this transaction is to be associated for P11D purposes.

Invoice Number - IMPORTANT

Enter the Invoice number (or credit note number). The value in this field is used to group items into separate transactions.

If you wish to let the system generate the next invoice number in the series enter '#' plus any character, such as '#1' to signal which items should be grouped. When the batch is submitted the invoice will be given the next number in the series. If you enter 2 lines with invoice number '#1' and 3 lines with invoice number '#2' will create 2 invoices using the next available invoice numbers as defined on the business profile.

Sales Item

Sales Item

A list of sales items offered by the organisation.

Rather than a drop-down to select from a list, simply start typing and the system will identify any occurrences of the combination of characters entered and you select from that shorter list. As an example, type 'con' and the system will offer:

Consultancy Services

Design Consultancy

Office Contracting

etc.

If the combination of characters you enter does not provide any results press tab and the system prompts for a new sales item to be set up. Navigate to the Sales Items menu.

Income - Sales Items - Add

Enter sales items information as usual.

If you are simply recording invoices that have already been generated externally you can use the system sales item "Sales Value" for the entire value of the invoice on a single line item. The income will be recorded against the UK Sales Account.

Rate

The rate for the selected sales item is the default unit amount set up when the the sales item was created. The default rate can be overridden if required.

Net Amount

The net amount associated with the item.

When recording purchases, if you have a gross amount and want liberty to calculate the net amount and vat amount simply enter the gross amount in this field, select the appropriate VAT code, and type "g" in the VAT amount field.

VAT Rate

The appropriate VAT rate for the account must be selected. Default VAT rates can be associated with an account via the Account Maintenance screen which is available from the chart of accounts view.

If the business is on the HMRC Flat Rate VAT Scheme, as defined on the VAT details tab of the Business Profile, the VAT rate will default to "Out of Scope" for all purchase transactions. This can be changed if necessary. Exceptions may apply for purchases of capital assets of significant value, please consult your professional advisor.

Current VAT Rates

17.5%, 5% & zero, used for normal UK VAT transactions.

Exempt

Used when a transaction is an exempt supply; such as the purchase of insurance. See the VAT Guide (Notice 700) for more details or visit the Revenue and Customs site at www.hmrc.gov.uk

EU Acquisition

Used when you purchase from a VAT registered business in an EU member state. Make sure that the VAT code is set to EU Acquisition, and that the VAT amount shows the VAT which would have applied if the purchase had taken place in the UK.

EU VAT

Only used if you have you have incurred VAT in an EU member state, (i.e. local VAT). This CANNOT be recovered as input tax for UK VAT. You may make a claim for refund from the member state. A scheme exists to do this known as "Refunds of VAT in the European Community for EC and non-EC businesses" The details are in notice 723, refer to the Revenue and Customs site at www.hmrc.gov.uk Use of this VAT code is described more fully in the "VAT and Liberty Accounts" user guide.

Out of Scope

Used when a transaction is not in the VAT system at all. For example payments into a money purchase pension scheme are out of scope because they are equivalent to savings. Using this code will result in no VAT reporting impact.

None

This code is used where there is no VAT on a transaction. This is not the same as zero rated, exempt or out of scope. The impact is that the value of either the supply or purchase is included in the VAT 100 return.

Special Note - Reverse Charge for Purchases From Non EU Countries

Typically this is required for a purchase from a non-EU country where no VAT has been paid. It simply provides a means of accounting for the VAT that would have been paid if the good or service was purchased in the UK. Applying a reverse charge VAT process will have no impact on your VAT liability.

Reverse Charging for non-EU purchases is not currently supported in the batch input screens. To apply the reverse charge VAT procedure on a purchase created via batch input simply open the transaction in the normal screen after it has been created and set the reverse charge flag.

If you subsequently view the item you will notice that the VAT rate has been set by the system to "Out of Scope". This is correct. If you need to make changes to the transaction you must reset the VAT codes to the appropriate code so that the Reverse Charge can be created again using the correct VAT amounts.

VAT Amount

The amount of VAT charged on this item is automatically calculated based on the vat code selected but can be changed.

When recording purchases, if you have a gross amount and want liberty to calculate the net amount and vat amount simply enter the gross amount in the net amount field, select the appropriate VAT code, and type "g" in the VAT amount field.

Departments, Activities and Funds

Line item entries may be analysed to Departments and/or Activities where this has been activated. In addition, for Not-for_profit Organisations a Fund must be selected.

In each case use the drop-down to choose the analytical area appropriate to the line item. If no selection is needed just leave the field or select Not Applicable.

For information about analysis areas see Sites, Departments and Activities

Editing a Sales Invoice/Credit Note Transaction

After a batch of sales invoice transactions has been entered, each individual invoice or credit note may be edited (Note that the original batch screen is not available to be edited). If an invoice has been included in a VAT return then the details of the invoice may only be viewed or certain details re-analysed, they cannot be changed or deleted. Likewise if an invoice is dated in a closed financial year it also cannot be changed.

Locate the individual sales invoice/credit note transaction from the Sales menu.

Sales - Invoices and Credit Notes - Edit the relevant document

Receiving Payments

Receiving payments for invoices entered via batch is the same process as for singly input invoices. See Receive Payments for more information.

Sales - Receive Payments - Select the relevant Customer

Reports

After creating via batch input, sales invoices are handled and reported in the same way as single invoice inputs. So that batch input invoices remaining unpaid will appear listed on the Home page as well as in an Aged Debtors report and Customer Accounts listing.

Reports - Customers