❌ Difference #1
Losing a Purchase Invoice: the Consequences

“I don’t have it to hand… I’m sure I received it by email,
but I can’t find it anywhere…”

Losing a purchase receipt... it can happen.

Yet it costs you money, even if this isn’t always immediately apparent.

If a purchase invoice is overlooked, we cannot reclaim the VAT or deduct the expense correctly.

Let’s take a practical example:

You buy a machine for €2,400 including VAT (i.e. €2,000 excluding VAT + €400 VAT).

If you submit the invoice: you reclaim €400 VAT the following month.
If you forget to submit it: you deduct the €2,400 including VAT as an expense, but you do not reclaim the VAT, and you must wait until the tax return is filed (April/May of the following year) to obtain a limited tax benefit (equal to the amount of the corporation tax saving, i.e.: €400 x 15% = €60).

In short:

🔸 Tax saving: only 15% (i.e. €60 if you are on the reduced corporation tax rate)

🔸 Recoverable VAT: €400 immediately, from the following month’s return.

👉 A net loss of €340… plus an immediate cash flow loss.

And if you’re on the simplified or quarterly scheme, the delay can last several months, which puts an unnecessary strain on your cash flow.

📁 1. Centralise your invoices as they come in

You have access to a secure shared Google Drive folder.
It is well-organised, accessible 24 hours a day, and allows you to:

drag and drop your invoices as soon as you receive them or take a photo of them,
check at any time what you have submitted,
check whether a set is complete (e.g. 12 rent payments, 12 phone bills…).

📷 2. Get into the habit of scanning/uploading immediately