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Newsletter: 20/08/2010

Office news

Priscilla has been with us about two months now, and she is getting on very well, looking after your accounting issues especially. Many of you have probably spoken to her by now. Otherwise all is quiet on the office front.

Most of this newsletter is devoted to the subject of the New Zealand GST increase on 1 October. Do make sure you update your GST tax code in Fastbase before the deadline. Also you will need to do a Fastbase software update before that date. See the notes below for details.

The discussion below should address the most obvious GST questions, but there may be considerations specific to your business; talk to your accountant or give us a call if you have questions.

Russell Bell

GST change on 1 October

From 1 October 2010 a new GST tax rate of 15% will take effect in New Zealand.

Fastbase has always supported the ability to set a new tax rate, to take effect on a nominated date. The main thing you need to do is set the new Start Date and Tax Rate for the GST tax rate, under Utilities - Tax Codes. However there are some considerations you should be aware of, for example regarding transactions that span the cutover date. Also we have made some software fixes to improve the handling of the rate change.

We have upgraded Fastbase to resolve two issues we found. Previously, if you set a Start Date for the tax code of 1 October, the change would not take effect until 2 October. We have fixed this, now the Start Date is effective from the correct date. Also previously, for AR credits Fastbase applied the GST rate as at the date of the credit, not the date of the original invoice. We have fixed this also. Now for AR credits, Fastbase applies the GST rate based on the original invoice date.

We strongly recommend you do a Fastbase software update before 1 October, to ensure these issues are resolved for your Fastbase system.

To effect the new GST rate, the following steps need to be done by a user with Fastbase security level 9 for Utilities. This can be done any time prior to 1 October.

1. Go into Utilities - Tax Codes - select the NZ GST tax code
2. In the next unused Start Date field, enter 01/10/2010
3. In the Tax Rate field, enter 15.00
4. Click on Save
5. Restart Fastbase

This will put into effect the new tax rate for all taxable transactions dated 1 October 2010 or later. Transactions dated before 1 October 2010 will still be subject to the old rate of 12.5%. This sounds simple, however you should be aware of special considerations for transactions that span the cutover date.

If you are on GST invoice basis, invoices dated 30 September with receipts/payments on or after 1 October will be subject to 12.5% (ie. the invoice date applies). If you are on the GST cash basis, invoices dated 30 September with receipts/payments on or after 1 October will be subject to 15% (ie. the receipt/payment date applies).

For customer (AR) credits, Fastbase will use the GST rate based on the original invoice date. Unless there are unusual circumstances, you should not need to do anything special for customer credits.

However for supplier (AP) credits, Fastbase does not apply the AP credit to the original AP invoice (if any). Fastbase uses the GST rate based on the credit date.

If you create an AP credit after 1 October, and you want to use the old GST rate, you will need to change the credit date to a date prior to 1 October. For example, you are doing an AP credit on 1 October applicable to a 30 September purchase. Create the credit; the default date for the credit (in the header) is today's date, 01/10/2010. Change this date to 30/09/2010. The 12.5% GST rate will apply.

For AR journals, Fastbase will use the GST rate based on the journal date. If you want to use the old GST rate (because the journal relates to transactions prior to 1 October) you should set the journal date prior to 1 October.

For goods credits, Fastbase will apply the GST rate based on the credit date. Treat in the same manner as AP credits, ie. date the goods credit prior to 1 October if required.

The GST report will use the correct GST rate depending on whether the report is for a period either prior to or after 1 October. Note that GST reports should not be run for a period spanning the cutover, e.g. September through October. If you need a GST report spanning the cutover you will need to run separate reports and consolidate them manually.

You may want to leave the September period open for longer than usual, to facilitate creation of AP credits, goods credits or journals dated prior to 1 October.

For the first month or two after 1 October we recommend you pay close attention to your printed stationary items, ie. Invoice, Purchase Order, Customer Quote, Customer Order, Packing Slip, Customer Credit, Supplier Credit etc. Before sending documents to customers, please check if the GST amount on the printout is correct.

If you have any questions or need help with any of this please call us.

Customer statements in CSV format

We have had a few enquiries recently about sending customer statements in CSV format. There is an existing Fastbase feature for this. On the Customer Maintenance - Preferences tab, one of the Print Statement options is "Yes, Email CSV". If you select this, when you print customer statements (via Processing - Print Customer Statements) the statement will be sent to the customer in CSV format. Contact us if you want more specific information. This feature is enabled by a setup option - you won't see the "yes, Email CSV" option unless the setup option is enabled. Contact us if you want it enabled.

Single invoice per order

When you make a new customer order, there is an existing option "Single invoice only ?" - if you select this, you can only make one invoice for the order. You can now control the default for this option on a per-customer basis.

We have added a new option, "Single Invoice per order? - Y/N" to the Customer Enquiry and Maintenance screens, on the Preferences tab. The default setting is "No", which means there is no change to the current Fastbase behaviour. If "Yes" is selected, when a new order is created, the "Single Invoice Only?" option will be set to "Yes".

Order number on Customer Credits

Previously it was not possible to edit the Order Number field on Customer Credits. Also, the Order Number of the credit could only be viewed under Transaction Enquiry. We have also changed Fastbase so that the Order Number can be edited on the initial entry screen of a customer credit. The field is displayed on the Customer Credit entry screen and also the line item entry screen. This feature is enabled by a setup option, contact us if you are interested.

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