Have I filed all my clients' returns?

Have I filed all my clients' returns?

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SA On Line.

Is there a way to check if I have filed all my clients' tax returns without having to go into each client's scren in turn? It takes ages that way.

An option to generate a client list with SATR filing dates, perhaps?
Richard Langner

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By andyprentice
02nd Feb 2006 10:50

Alan...
....thanks for these comments, maybe I should use Outlook, or as you say, do a copy and paste. Perhaps next year will work out a way of automating - not too concerning as we use tax software for submissions anyway, but I like having a table in excel where I can see all that's happening - thanks again.

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By ACDWebb
02nd Feb 2006 00:27

Having thunk, and done a bit of research
it can be done but is a little convoluted.

Unfortunately it appears that one of the things Outlook has never exported is the sent or received date. But you can get around this because the HMRC emails contain the same basic wording depending on whether it was successful or not.

So first in Outlook select File : Export : Messages.

Hopefully this should give you the option to Export a folder to a file and you can select Excel as the file type. Unfortunately I cannot check this as I dumped Outlook Express from my home machine when I installed Outlook.

With luck you can select the folder that you want to export messages from and restrict the fields exported to Subject and Body which are the two fields that give sufficient information to carry on.

Assuming you have managed that OK open the exported file in Excel.

You will hopefully have 2 columns of exported data headed Subject and Body These should be columns A & B with the data starting at row 2

In C2 put the formula =TRIM(LEFT(A2,FIND(" ",A2))) This will extract Successful or Unseccessful from the header.

In D2 put the formula =VALUE(RIGHT(A2,10)) This will extract the UTR as a Value. If for whatever reason the UTR in your client list (referred to in F2 below) is Text rather than a Value then remove VALUE() from the formula.

In E2 put the formula =TRIM(MID(B2,FIND("received on",B2)+12,IF(C2="Successful",11,10))) This should extract the date.

Finally assuming that you put a Client list on another sheet with UTR in the first column and Name in the second, and name that 2 column / n row range ClientList you could put the formula =VLOOKUP(D2,ClientList,2,FALSE) in F2 to get the client name related to the UTR.

Then copy those formulae down the sheet for the rest of the exported records

Like I said a bit convoluted, and I cannot check whether Outlook Express will export in the same way as Outlook, but if it does that should do it for you

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By ACDWebb
02nd Feb 2006 09:39

But of course
having now found a machine with OE on it does not export to Excel so that stuffs that idea

One other suggestion I did see when looking around 'tinternet last night was to set OE in a table view that shows the items you want (received/sent date, Subject and Body text) then select the relevant emails and copy/paste them into Excel

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By ACDWebb
01st Feb 2006 16:56

I'll have a think tonight
Like I said I had a method from Lotus Notes Not so sure about Outlook.

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By ACDWebb
30th Jan 2006 16:46

As David says your emails back from HMRC might be the answer
I had forgotten that route, which I did use as a cross check extracting the headers through Notes & then forcing the bits I wanted (status & UTR) into an Excel report with a macro to automate the splitting of the header to required parts.

Much easier this year as I can get to it through the TR software

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By ACDWebb
30th Jan 2006 13:17

I do not think so from HMRC site
No just had a quick look and nice as it would be it does not seem to be available

If you use other software you might be able to report on the FBI audit trail.

Depends on your software & the reporting options available in it

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By User deleted
30th Jan 2006 13:34

Check - yes, Easy - no
You can log on to the Inland Revenue portal and check the status of an individual client. That's going to be time consuming for all of them.

What do you do with the emails confirming receipt - I transfer mine into a separate directors, so can take a count.

As the heading includes the first nine numbers of the UTR (Roll eyes!) you can cross check from that.

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By ugdiv
30th Jan 2006 13:48

Thanks, just what I thought.

I only started FBI-ing this last week or so. Wish I'd done it before, although it did get me out of the office- a trip down into town. Don't get out much these days!

So some are manually filed. I'll ask the HMRC if they can provide a summary screen for next year.

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By ISLWYN
30th Jan 2006 15:22

I find it quite easy
Just go through the screens as if you are preparing to input another Tax Return. You will come to the summary screen where you "add a client".The right hand column should say "submit" if it has been input and NOT submitted or the "status" column will say "received" if you HAVE sumbitted or "saved" if you HAVEN'T.

The Stutus date will also show the date you submitted.

I hope this makes sense.

Good luck.

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By andyprentice
01st Feb 2006 13:09

Alan...
...I keep a separate folder in outlook express where the IR responses automatically go to - but how do you extract that data into Excel - is there an easy way?


Thanks.

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