Clarification on flat rate VAT purchase input

[CowlingQS]

Hi,

Sorry new to accounting, so apologies if this seems a silly question.

I just want to clarify the knowledgebase statement of
•The VAT columns on the purchase entry form are not available and all purchases are entered gross without VAT.

If I make a cash or credit card purchase of £120 including VAT, should I enter it as a payment of £120 in the net column and show zero VAT (as it is blocked out in the flat rate scheme) rather than £100 with zero VAT?

Thanks in advance

[Glenn]

@CowlingQS

If I make a cash or credit card purchase of £120 including VAT, should I enter it as a payment of £120 in the net column and show zero VAT (as it is blocked out in the flat rate scheme) rather than £100 with zero VAT?

Exactly right, you can’t claim back the VAT on flat rate (with some rare exceptions) so you need to enter the NET as the total, in this case £120. In fact when you enter a purchase invoice it shouldn’t even show the NET and VAT columns just the total.