Are there any other UK programmers struggling with a flurry of clients panicking about the VAT rate change from the 1st December announced this week?
I've had two separate issues today, one where the VAT is easily changed via a configuration variable in the code for the cost calculation, but where the rate was unfortunately hardcoded into a PDF invoice template, and another where the client had input thousands of prices into the database with VAT included at 17.5% and wanted a fast way to adjust them to the new rate for monday.
Fortunately neither task was particularly difficult - negotiating when to actually effect the change will be more awkward - I don't want to be sat here at 12.00am monday uploading stuff and I don't trust DTS to roll some database changes for me when I'm not here.
I feel bad for the smaller businesses who could really do without having to fork out for these kinds of system changes at such short notice - but on the other hand, I'm in a small business too, and we programmers gotta eat! I don't think this is quite what the government was intending but I guess it's certainly stimulating the economy in the IT sector!
UK VAT change keeps programmers in business?
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- Skittlewidth
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- Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2002 9:18 am
- Location: Kent, UK
Re: UK VAT change keeps programmers in business?
I don't think a change like this is enough to keep anyone in business. But it is a nice bonus to have a little extra work... I imagine there'll be a lot of ecommerce apps that don't maintain the VAT rate against each order so changing it to 15% will break lots of old historical invoices that were bought at 17.5%. That'll be biggest change for most sites.
- Skittlewidth
- Forum Contributor
- Posts: 389
- Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2002 9:18 am
- Location: Kent, UK
Re: UK VAT change keeps programmers in business?
You're exactly right. One of the systems I've had to alter stores a breakdown of all invoices into net price, commission and VAT amount as well as total cost, but it doesn't store the VAT rate that was applied at the time.
Thankfully we're working on phase 2 of the app at the moment anyway and will definately start storing that data so that the transition back to 17.5% in 13 months time should be much easier.
Thankfully we're working on phase 2 of the app at the moment anyway and will definately start storing that data so that the transition back to 17.5% in 13 months time should be much easier.