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Revenue's Continued Removal Of Paper Transactions

Revenue’s Continued Removal Of Paper Transactions…

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PAYE the Price for Digital Life…

In recent years, Revenue have begun to modernise their systems across the board and move to a largely paperless mode of working, including a full revamp of the PAYE system. This revamp of outdated systems is ongoing. Most recently, Revenue issued new guidance and information in April of this year regarding the introduction of a new electronic system of professional services withholding tax (ePSWT). With the recent updates to other Revenue systems, this new update is a welcome change and somewhat overdue to get all systems in line and ensure that no individual system is outdated and move further into a paperless system.

It is proposed that this new system will be introduced on July 1st, 2021 and will act as the final removal of the paper F45 form. This new solution will have far reaching effects for both employers and employees and will naturally require a period of adjustment. The paper F45 form will be replaced with new electronic ‘Payment Notifications’ on Revenue’s Online Services system (ROS). There will be ongoing updates and information available to view via the Revenue site so we would advise keeping up to date with all new updates. Revenue will add a new link to the ROS main screen entitled “Manage Professional Services Withholding Tax” which will link through to the new system. It is important to note that when inputting a payment notification, the tax registration number of the company in question will be required.

From the new “Manage Professional Services Withholding Tax” link, the next steps will differ based on your respective needs and whether or not you are registered for PSWT. Accountable individuals who have been registered will click into the “Payment Notifications” section, where they will then be permitted to input individual payment notifications and search previous payment notifications among other uses which we will discuss here.

Search Payment Notifications:

The search facility under the “Payment Notifications” will also offer the ability to amend or cancel payment notifications as well as generating acknowledgements for payment notifications submitted, which will be a handy tool for your files going forward.

Batch Payment Notifications:

Batch uploads can be completed by uploading a CSV file of payment notifications, which will greatly streamline this process.

Amend Payment Notifications:

One key feature of this system will be the ability to self-correct the record up until such a point as the F35 has been fully filed. Before this point, certain fields of the PN can be amended, and the accountable person will also have the ability to delete an existing payment notification or add a new one.

Payment Acknowledgements:

Accountable persons will be able to generate a payment notification acknowledgement PDF for all payment notifications. These acknowledgements can be given to as a tax record.

All accountable persons will be required to file an annual return detailing all payments during that tax year, the filing deadline will be Feb 23rd. This is intended to streamline the entire process from the current paper-based system and make it easier to process a refund once the paper F45 form is finally removed. The changes to this process will be as follows:

Old Process:
File a paper F45.
Deduct 20% from a specified person.
Give paper F45 to a specified person.
Remit the 20% to Revenue on a monthly basis as part of the F30 return.

New Process:
Make a Payment Notification on the ROS system as specified above.
Deduct 20% from a specified person.
Remit the 20% to Revenue on a monthly basis as part of the F30 return.

Something which is important to note as we make the change over to this new system is that as the change is happening mid-year there will be additional requirements for 2021, most notably there is a requirement that the F35 continue to be filed, but without the need for the schedule of payments after August 2021. There will also be a requirement for an additional F35. The traditional F35 will be required to be submitted by 23rd August 2021 for the period January to June 2021 including the usual schedule of payments. The F35 for the period July to December will be due by 23rd February 2021 and will not require any schedule of payments as we move into a more digital system.

We hope that this information has been useful for you and as always, please don’t hesitate to contact us here at EcovisDCA where we remain open and ready to help. Please do not hesitate to contact us.

WHAT’S A FACEBOOK WHEN IT’S AT HOME?

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With small and medium enterprises (SMEs) making up a generous portion of all Irish businesses currently, we have spoken at length about the many and varied issues which face these companies. There are a great many difficulties to be faced in setting up and ensuring the continued thriving of a small business, and often it can seem like there are very limited helpful tools at your disposal. Today, we are going to focus on the positives considering how integral SMEs are to the Irish economy, now is a good time to take into consideration how these companies can utilise available tools to ensure the success of your small or medium business from the outset.

 

One of the greatest tools at any company’s marketing disposal at present are those largely free channels which allow a company to get their message to a wider audience known as social media. As we have discussed previously, social media and website marketing can be a key tool for companies of all sizes, with video marketing seeing a massive surge in popularity across social media in recent years. Social media can be a tricky tool to get a handle on at first, but could well be the key to getting more customer traffic into your business.

 

So what happens if you happen to not be the most internet or media savvy small business owner? Finally, there might be assistance on the horizon for you to empower you to harness the power of this medium. Recently, smaller Irish companies have been encouraged to contact their local Enterprise Office to gain assistance in building or improving an online presence for their company.

 

An initiative through your local Enterprise Office can help you unlock the online potential of your business by offering training and the ability to apply for a grant of up to €2,500 to build or update your website. If this seems like an ideal solution to your company’s tech worries, the only condition is that your small business must have fewer than 10 employees. If this is the case, we would advise contacting your local Enterprise Office to find out what your options are and watch your business grow as a result. As it has been estimated that approximately 90% of Irish consumers will research a product or service online before proceeding to make a purchase, it is now almost essential to have an online presence for your business.

 

Minister for Communications Denis Naughten has advised that even companies that already have an online presence should avail of this training to build on their existing presence.

“I would encourage any small business employing 10 people or less to avail of the training to make sure they are using Facebook and Google properly and to be able to receive payments online.”

 

Indeed, in this digital age we would encourage all clients to ensure that their online presence is functional and up-to-date. Should you require any assistance or guidance on any financial or business matters, please do not hesitate to call us here at DCA Accountants.

 

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~ DCA PARTNERS, DECLAN DOLAN & EAMONN GARVEY

THE DIGITAL DILEMMA

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Irish businesses remain slow to tap online shoppers – but selling through the internet is easier than you’d think.

 

According to many futurists, digital commerce will slowly but surely outpace – and perhaps eradicate – retail as we know it. However, it seems that Irish companies haven’t been getting the message. According to a study by the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, only 22% of Irish small and medium enterprises trade online.

That may not seem life a problem, but the online spend of Irish consumers is on course to reach €13bn by 2020. In other words, if you’re selling to consumers without selling online, those companies that are trading digitally – whether from Ireland or abroad – are making inroads into your business.

Luckily, the process of setting up safe and reliable e-commerce is far easier than it used to be. A few key principles will help you make the transition well.

 

Simple, Safe Solution

Once upon a time, setting up an e-commerce site was a major project involving a huge amount of investment and a bespoke solution from your web design firm. However, the barriers to entry have fallen as more firms adopt online selling. At the most basic level, Squarespace offers a simple and cheap way to get an elegant website – and take orders – quickly. More advanced solutions are also cheaper than before thanks to affordable payment providers such as Paypal. Whether you’re happy to use an off-the-peg site, or want a web design firm to design something a bit more special, make sure the solution for shoppers is straightforward and affordable.

 

Customer Service

Next to price, good customer service is an online shopper’s key consideration – in fact, at its best, good service can outweigh cost for many consumers. So you should gear up your business to provide service for online shoppers – that means a clear selling and delivery process for online transactions, and clarity within your organisation about who looks after this area.

It’s not enough, however, just to have excellent service – your shoppers need to be aware of it too. Having a telephone number that customers can call – not just an ‘info@’ email address – reassures online shoppers. So too does a postal address. Also, as soon as you have some customer testimonials to share through your website, do so.

 

Know the Law

Some new EU regulations governing online selling have come into force, so it’s vital to be compliant with them. If you trade with customers within the EU, products or services purchased must be delivered within 30 days of the customer making the order unless they agree otherwise. If you won’t be able to deliver on this, you must inform the consumer who then must agree a revised date of delivery. In the EU, customers can cancel or withdraw from a purchase without giving any reason within 14 working days of making the order – as a trader, you must then refund any money paid within 14 days. You can only levy charges based on the cost of returning the goods.

You can no longer charge customers extra for paying by a particular method of payment – such as by credit card – than the costs actually incurred by you. Also, if you operate a telephone hotline, you can no longer chare more than the basic telephone rate for the telephone calls.

 

Getting set up to take and fulfil orders online isn’t an expensive or hugely laborious task. It just calls for a bit of organisations and effort, which should hopefully position you to tap a growing digital economy.

 

Eamonn Garvey

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