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Bilanzi

The VAT return

Bilanzi works out the VAT return from the lines you post anyway. You check it position by position and file it in the ESTV ePortal.

Where the figures come from

Not from a second round of data entry. Every entry carries its tax details: which rate applies, whether the supply is taxable, exempt or excluded, and whether you can deduct the input tax. The return reads exactly those lines for the period you choose.

That is why you can trace every figure back to the individual receipt, right on the screen. If a position is wrong, you correct the entry, not the return. Where a manual correction is needed, you record it as a correction, and it stays visible.

Effective method or net tax rate

Under the effective method, you charge tax on your turnover at the statutory rate and deduct the input tax you paid on purchases and investments. The return is quarterly. This method suits you well if you buy or invest a lot.

Under the net tax rate method, you multiply your gross turnover by a rate the ESTV has approved for your business. There is no input tax deduction then, because it is already built into the rate. The return is half-yearly. You still charge your customers the statutory rate.

Bilanzi handles both, each on the basis of agreed consideration. You enter your approved rate as it appears in your ESTV approval. If you have two rates for two activities, you assign each revenue account to a rate once.

Quarter by quarter

The return always shows one period: a quarter under the effective method, a half-year under the net tax rate method. The arrows take you to the previous or next period. Next to it is the deadline for filing, 60 days after the period ends.

Once everything is checked, you finalise the return. After that it no longer changes. If you find a mistake later, you record a correction return that refers to the original.

Rates and box numbers, checked at the source

A tax rate is a legal fact, and Bilanzi does not make any up. The rates sit in the app with their official source beside them. A rate is only used once an owner has compared it with the source and released it. That takes one click per row, and Bilanzi records who did it and when.

The same goes for the box numbers of the ESTV form. Until a number is released, a plain label stands in its place, such as «Total agreed consideration». A number that looks official but is not would be worse than no number at all.

Filing happens in the ePortal

Bilanzi prepares the return as a file for the ESTV ePortal. You upload it there, check the figures in the form and file. With a net tax rate, you enter the ESTV activity code once with the approved rate for this. Then you record the filing in the app, with date, channel and reference. You attach the ESTV receipt as a document.

That way you will still know a year from now whether the second quarter was filed. Bilanzi shows the deadline next to every period.

Reconciled with the ledger

Before filing, Bilanzi reconciles the return with the ledger, separately for turnover and input tax. A difference may exist, but only an explained one. An unexplained difference cannot be recorded as filed. So it does not end up in a report that nobody reads.

At year end, the reconciliation is part of the closing. The closing runs through a checklist with blocking items, freezes the annual accounts and opens the next year from them.

Anything else on your mind?

Can I use Bilanzi if I am not registered for VAT?

Yes. You state during setup whether your business is liable for VAT. If it is not, VAT does not appear in your books at all, not even a VAT account. If you register later, you add the registration with its date.

Which methods does Bilanzi support?

The effective method with a return every quarter and the net tax rate method with a return every half-year, both on the basis of agreed consideration.

How do I file the return with the ESTV?

You upload the return as a file to the ePortal and file it there. Then you record the filing in Bilanzi, so it is part of your books.

What does it mean that a tax rate is released?

An owner has compared the rate with the official source and confirmed it. Bilanzi stores the name, the date and the source. Only then does a return calculate with that rate.

What if I invoice in euros?

You still account for VAT in Swiss francs. Bilanzi converts each line at the rate fixed on the invoice. That way the tax in francs matches the tax on the document exactly.

What it costs

This is part of the Free plan, so it costs nothing, and of every other plan too.

All plans and prices

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Your business needs you. Start with Bilanzi.

The best test is a quarter you have already filed. Create an account, post that quarter again and compare the result with your last return. The VAT return is part of the Free plan.

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