Step 2: Set your default tax rates

Step 2: Set your default tax rates

Set Default Tax Rates

Now you've connected your accounting software, here's a quick but significant step - make sure you don't skip this one! Your preferred settings here will save you a lot of time later from coding each line item individually on what tax code taxed items should be. 

Here's a video to take you through setting up your Default Tax Rates

Setting your default tax rates from Lightyear on Vimeo.

Regardless of which Accounting Software you're using, it's important to set your Default Tax Rates to ensure that any bills processed through Lightyear are coded to tax correctly. To do this, click 'Edit' next to 'Tax Rates' in the Accounting Software Settings section.

Select one Default Tax Code and one Default Tax Free Code using the dropdown fields at the top of the page, e.g., 

With this done, Lightyear is now ready to start receiving PDF files.

Tax Gross Up

If you do not claim tax in your tax returns, you can set a Supplier Rate. This function will automatically gross up the net amount of an invoice to the override amount.  

For example: if you set 0% VAT with an override rate of 20%, any documents that come to Lightyear with tax on the lines will add the 20% tax amount, but appear to have 0% tax.

From here, you can choose any of your existing tax rates (you will more than likely have more than what is shown in the image above) or create a new one. Click the green Edit pencil  icon on the Tax Rate you want to adjust.

Click the Supplier Rate Differs checkbox.

A new field will appear for Supplier Rate, where you can enter the rate to gross up to. From the above example, enter 20

Now, whenever an invoice comes in with that tax rate in it it will auto default the Tax to 0%
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It is a good idea to keep any tax rate that differs separate and only apply it to those suppliers that will use this particular difference when applying the supplier to the maps in your account. 

Tax Gross Up per Supplier

To apply the grossed up Tax Rate to a specific Supplier, click on the supplier tab to the left of your screen in the toolbar ribbon.

When clicked, your supplier list will appear on screen.

Using the green Edit pencil  icon on the line you wish to add this grossed up tax rate to. In Profile, you can select the tax rate that we previously set from the menu that appears after clicking on the Default Tax Code dropdown menu.

You will see the tax rate in the list that appears. Choose the new tax rate (that we previously set up to show as 0%)


Don't forget to click Update to save all changes. 

From now, when this chosen supplier sends invoices, the tax rate will automatically default gross to 20%.

Now you are ready to move on to the next step and Send a document into Lightyear.



      

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