When you upgrade to QuickBooks 2008 R3, you may be asked to enter values from the PDF version of your last VAT report. This ensures that QuickBooks can compensate for a display issue in VAT agency reports. These values must come from the PDF version of your VAT return as generated by QuickBooks; if you enter the values from the VAT return that you filed with the HMRC, your future VAT reports will be incorrect.

If you entered incorrect values while upgrading to R3—and you no longer have your original company file—you can fix this as follows:

1. Back up your current company file. (To do so, go to the File menu and click Save Copy or Backup, then follow the onscreen instructions.)

2. Determine the starting and ending date for the last VAT period that you have not yet filed in QuickBooks.

   Typically, this is the current VAT period.

3. Temporarily edit unfiled transactions that affect VAT for the first day of that last unfiled VAT period. To do so:

   1. Go to the VAT menu and click VAT Agency Report.

   2. For the VAT Agency, select HMRC.

   3. For the From date, enter the earliest of the following:

      • Day 1 of the current VAT period; or

      • The oldest date for which you have transactions that haven't been filed yet. You typically need do this only if you added or edited transactions that take place in a VAT period for which you have already filed a return.

   4. For the To date, enter Day 1 for the last unfiled VAT period.

      That is, unless you added or edited transactions in previous VAT periods, you will generate the VAT report for a "period" of a single day.

      For example, if you are filing for the period from January 1, 2008 through March 31, 2008, enter 01/01/2008 for the To date (and, in most cases, the From date).

   5. Click Refresh.

   6. If boxes 1 through 4 contain non-zero values, edit the transactions that affect those boxes such that the date is Day 2 of your unfiled VAT period.

      If you have an opening balance amount, that means transactions were added or modified in a VAT period that has already been filed. You will also have to locate these transactions and change them to take place on Day 2.

      Important: Write down the transactions that you edit so that you can find them later. If the transaction took place before Day 1 of your unfiled VAT period, also write down the date that the transactions took place.

      Tip: For a list of transactions that affect a Box figure, double-click it to open a VAT Agency Detail Report.

      For example, if you have not yet filed for January 1, 2008 through March 31, 2008, and you have an invoice that took place on January 1, 2008, you would edit that invoice so that it takes place on January 2, 2008.

   7. Repeat until the values in boxes 1 through 4 are all 0.00.

4. File a "dummy" VAT return to zero out the values in boxes 6 through 9. To do so:

   1. Go to the VAT menu and click File VAT.

   2. For both the To and From date, enter Day 1 of the unfiled VAT period.

   3. Confirm that your balance owing and Boxes 1 through 4 are 0.00.

      If they are not, see the earlier steps about locating and editing transactions that affect these figures.

      Important: If these values are not zero, and you proceed with the rest of these instructions, the amounts on your next VAT return will be incorrect.

   4. Click File VAT Return. Since you neither owe nor are owed money for this dummy filing, you will simply be asked to fill out your VAT return. You can ignore this instruction.

5. After filing your dummy return, restore the transactions that you edited to their previous state.

   That is, for each transaction that you wrote down earlier, open the transaction in QuickBooks and change the date of the transaction to its original date.

6. You can continue using QuickBooks and file your VAT at the appropriate time as usual. The VAT calculations will be correct.