All over it like a bad suit
It's pretty simple for Xero users, too. And we feel like we've communicated pretty well - something we wouldn't use a press release to do, however.
We are communicating the changes directly to UK users in product through a dashboard notification, our Help Centre and through our blog, Happy New VAT rate! and Flate Rate VAT.
I suspect Netsuite's target is larger and more complex competitors in whose customers there there may well be some enforced sobriety on Dec 31 to nurse their systems through the changes.
We expect our customers will partying into the wee small hours.
e-conomic is very flexible for this
I have just made the relevant amendments in e-conomic. The system can deal with multiple rates so that if a user issues a sales invoice on - say - 2nd January 2010, dated 31st December 2009 the lower rate can be selected and if the invoice is dated post 1st January the higher rate can be used.
FreeAgent - we're ready too
At FreeAgent we've programmed in both rates to give added flexibility for our users, so that they can choose the appropriate rate for invoices for which the special rules apply, e.g. a service provided before 31st December 2009 but invoiced after 1st January 2010 could be issued at 15%.
We have also programmed in the new VAT flat rates so that our users issuing invoices after 1st January 2010 will be using the correct rate.
We've told our users about this via our newsletter and our blog, as well as on our GetSatisfaction forum.
So our users are reassured that we're on the case and will be joining Xero's customers for the New Year's Eve party.
Or having their own of course :-)
Thanks for helping with my research!
I'm preparing a piece on this for AccountingWEB.co.uk and BusinessCloud9.com and while the VAT rate changes are a very good way to highlight the differences in managing on premise and on demand software updates, I still get the distinct whiff of opportunism in some of the publicity flying around.
Much of it is replaying what happened a year ago when the rate was increased - and since businesses and accountants had to navigate their way through that switch, a large number of them are likely to still have in their heads what they need to do to reverse it by changing VAT default settings, or reverting to the previous code, as Pastel instructs. Of course, a large number of firms will probably have forgotten what they did 12 months ago.
Richard raised an important point though - as our VAT turorial explains, the biggest complication is how you deal with old invoices, credit notes and trasactions that cross over the changeover date, for whatever reason. Good to hear that Kashflow, e-conomic and FreeAgent are capable of handling these scenarios. But do the same facilities apply across the board?
Thanks too to Greyoltwit for alerting me to the Sage reporting issue. Seems like I've got a bit more poking around to do.
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John Stokdyk, Technology editor
Same as last year
Hi John, sorry I hadn't realised you were keeping a list.
Of course, it's sorted in Liquid too, just like last year- clients informed through their dashboard and an old rate code available for old transactions.
Merry Christmas to all
Richard
PS like the CD comment- just checking with my team if it was one of them that dared to be so cutting!!
Sorted
It should be easy enough for any cloud software to roll out the change automatically. Set the date of change and then let the system do the rest, make sure Flat Rate scheme is dealt with and allow for an override for things like the extension after midnight on 31st. Other than telling users what's going on, that's it really.
Like John says, a bit of opportunism here. Given the apprehension amongst accountants though, we owe it to them to highlight benefits such as this. It's a practical example of where cloud based software has an advantage.
Julian
Adding to it as I go along
Thanks Richard & Julian,
I've added your applications to the article just published on BusinessCloud9.com and will keep both it and the AccountingWEB.co.uk version updated as new material arises. As part of our research into Cloud accounting apps in general, I'll be doing some poking around the various applications in the next 2 weeks or so to see how they all cope with the niggles and nuances that crop up with the rate switch.
PS - This discussion group has proved particularly helpful to me in getting quick feedback on the story. I hope it's been of use to both the developers and users among you.
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John Stokdyk, Technology editor
Aqilla - very straightforward for our customers
...and of course it keeps the previous VAT analysis intact too.
Hybrid on premise and SaaS virus software
Hi anonymous,
Lile most anti-virus and spyware products, what you've got there is a a good on premise/desktop product, coupled with a SaaS update service provided by the author. It's always up to date, but only providing you've got an Internet connection and an auto update process running.
SaaS can be aything from a full suite of programs to a plug in component such as linking your application (of any kind) to Google maps.
David Terar
Not blurry at all, just hybrid
Hi anonymous,
Your desktop product is on premise. The update service the author is giving you is actually some software provided to you as a service over the Internet (instead of sending you a CD/DVD through the post). That's actually SaaS (and so a Cloud based service), but don't tell anyone, the label will frighten a lot of people off.
David Terrar
Types of Cloud
Hi anonymous,
Yes, the Cloud metaphor leads us down a very misty path to a whole set of new meteorological jargon, and I don't wish to go there...
Freeform Dynamics wrote a cool "Cloud Computing for Dummies" mini book for Microsoft, which has a neat diagram on this very subject. No online version yet, but I used it, with their permission, on slide 7 of this presentation:
http://www.slideshare.net/david_terrar/intellect-saas-paper-launch
(UPDATE - just spotted you can upload images with comments - cool! - see the diagram attached below - click on it to see it enlarged)
It lists the different types of Cloud components, including platform (aaS) and infrastructure (aaS). So SaaS can cover a whole range of services delivered over the web - business appications, productivity tools, communication tools, social tools, trading communities and plug-ins.
David Terrar
Ready for the VAT rate change
Fusion Accounts is also ready for the VAT rate change.
The VAT rate change will result in the following automatic changes -
1) All products with a 15% vat rate will be changed to a 17.5% rate.
2) The default rate of 15% will revert to 17.5%.
The 15% rate will still be available from the vat selection for transactions dated before 01/01/2010
Good question JC
....actually with Aqilla, VAT is configurable down to the individual company / organisation so in effect people can still exercise their own control. This is how the software is able to cope with multiple taxonomies.
Whether Cloud / SaaS / Web Based whatever, it's still an improvement on having to supply CDs to install in every on-premise instance. In some cases this does not even mean doing it only once just to the core finance system. One retail company I was talking to the other day, was having to apply a software patch to every one of their Windows NT (yes, I know it's obsolete but lots of people still use it) based POS systems. Not the kind of thing you want to do midway through a busy sale period!
On the other hand...
....last Christmas one of the Sainsbury's checkouts "died" whilst Mrs S was doing the Christmas shopping. Unwilling / unable to deal with the failiure immediately in order to restart the checkout process, the operator and store manager chose to "guess" the value of shopping in a hugely generous fashion. Result: Bargains galore!
Happy Christmas everyone!
Automated
Our approach is to do it automatically. At the moment our users see a message on their dashboard explainign the changes. If they click the button to confirm they want to have their accounts automatically updated then they get added to a list of users who will automatically have their default rate and rates on repeat invoices updated at midnight on 31/12/09.
I wouldn't have thought the FRS changes are a problem for most. As long as the user knows tha rate they should be on they just change that setting themselves.
Where FRS gets fun is if a user has a reporting period with 31/12/09 in the middle of it. They need to report partially on the new rate and partially on the old. We have provided a solution for this
We posted full details on this to our blog earlier this month.