Agents & invoices

[SarahL2012]

For the past 6 months I've worked via an agent where I filled in weekly on-line timesheets and once the client had approved the cash appeared in the bank the following week. I then got sent a remittance advice to say I'd been paid.

I asked about invoices in the first month & they asked me to email them over. They obviously aren't checking the invoices to the amounts they have paid me because 1) I had an error on 1 which I've just picked up doing my VAT return, 2) they've overpaid me for an expense claim which I've also only just spotted and 3) I haven't invoiced them for 2 months now & no-one has chased me [contract finished end of Oct - bit behind with admin...]

Is that normal? I thought usually agencies would have self billing if they weren't paying on invoice, but it is definitely a remittance note being posted through - one that looks like it was an old payslip design as it happens.

[northernladuk]

They aren't gonna complain one bit if you don't invoice them lol...

[Alan @ BroomeAffinity]

Agents & invoices

They're probably self billing and don't care what you send them. Can you remember agreeing to self billing? Is the remittance advice maybe a self billed invoice?

Also, you haven't checked this for 6 months. What if the errors weren't in your favour?

EDIT: missed the last paragraph of your post. You could probably just ignore this post altogether. :-)

[SarahL2012]

Definitely no self billing - it's just a remittance advice.

And I'm only 2 months behind with the admin (1 month now - took me ages to work out that they'd overpaid me. Couldn't get anything to reconcile).

Don't they need VAT invoices from the supplier to reclaim VAT?

[Alan @ BroomeAffinity]

Don't they need VAT invoices from the supplier to reclaim VAT?

Yup. Is it a very small agency?

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

If you're VAT registered and aren't on self billing then you need to be sending valid VAT invoices. Have you been accounting for VAT correctly? I'm surprised the agency haven't queried this. They won't be reclaiming any VAT you've charged them without valid invoices (well they might, but they shouldn't be).

If you ARE on a self billing arrangement, then they need to be sending you proper self billed VAT a invoices, not just remittance notes.

[SarahL2012]

If you're VAT registered and aren't on self billing then you need to be sending valid VAT invoices. Have you been accounting for VAT correctly? I'm surprised the agency haven't queried this. They won't be reclaiming any VAT you've charged them without valid invoices (well they might, but they shouldn't be).

If you ARE on a self billing arrangement, then they need to be sending you proper self billed VAT a invoices, not just remittance notes.

I'm definitely accounting for VAT correctly (I'm an accountant) but I've no idea what they're doing. They are not a particularly small agency either, although this is the first time I've worked with them. Another contractor colleague said he's never bothered to send them anything because they've never asked for it. Definitely not self billing either because I asked them that in the first month & they don't do it.

Anyway, now up to date with the admin so will email them the last few invoices and ask whether they want their £59.43 overpayment back :-)

[Forbes Young]

I'm definitely accounting for VAT correctly (I'm an accountant) but I've no idea what they're doing. They are not a particularly small agency either, although this is the first time I've worked with them. Another contractor colleague said he's never bothered to send them anything because they've never asked for it. Definitely not self billing either because I asked them that in the first month & they don't do it.

Anyway, now up to date with the admin so will email them the last few invoices and ask whether they want their £59.43 overpayment back :-)

I would advise you always to raise your own sales invoices to marry up against the receipts and also against the self-billing ones if you need to adhere to this method in future (even if you just keep them on file yourself to back up each sales receipt). This is safer in case you have a VAT investigation.
Also you will need a VAT sales invoice to account for VAT for this £59.43 overpayment if you keep it.