Becoming VAT Registered

If your business mainly invoices other businesses who are registered for VAT then it may well be beneficial to become VAT registered.  You can then save any VAT you are paying on purchases (including Tempo's fees).  If your turnover hit's £77K (2012 threshold) then you must register for VAT.

How does my business become VAT registered?

Tempo can handle the application process for you but we may need to find out a little more about your business first via a short questionnaire (including predictions of turnover etc).  Unfortunately the actual application can take HMRC several weeks to complete.

How do I file my VAT returns?

Tempo can take care of this for you!  However, it is important to make sure that sales, purchase and banking details on your Tempo account are kept up to date so that the VAT return is accurate.  We ask you to confirm this online before filing the return on your behalf each quarter.

How do I pay my VAT bill?

Tempo makes this really easy by telling you exactly when, how much and where to pay any VAT due at the end of each quarter.  It also appears as an event in your "company schedule" in Tempo, so that you know if a deadline is coming up.  (We email reminders too...so you can't forget!) .  The only thing you have to do is send the actual payment to HMRC using your internet banking and then click a link in Tempo to let us know you've made payment.

Can I use the flat rate VAT scheme?

Yes - we can advise on whether this looks like a better option for your business.

Tempo can handle cash based VAT accounting and the Flat Rate Scheme with ease.

For further advise on becoming VAT registered please get in contact with the Tempo support team.
 

New:  HMRC's Video introduction to VAT can been watched here.