Also none of the VAT return dates overlap. As the software automatically selects all sales and purchase entries none of the sales or purchase can be mistakenly shared among the VAT returns.
I guess it is unusual to do 5 vat returns at once. I saved all 5 vat returns before connecting to HMRC. I then tried to ‘prepare’ 01/09/2021 - 30/11/2021 as the first in sequence. I got the message above and eventually rolled back all of the VAT saved returns. But I still got the above message when I tried to prepare 01/09/2021 - 30/11/2021 as first in the sequence.
However I found I could file the next 4 VAT returns to HMRC without a problem. Which would presumably mean that none of those could have possibly overlapped with 01/09/2021 - 30/11/2021 because they themselves would have had an overlap problem.
I note that there is a practically identical post with the same problem and with the same VAT quarter 01/09/2021 - 30/11/2021 which seems to be a rather strange coincidence?
“Overlapping” is a slightly inaccurate wording in the error message - the basic issue is that QuickFile has one unbreakable rule that VAT returns must be submitted/saved in strict chronological order. If you want to submit an earlier period and you already have a later return saved/submitted then the only way around it would be to roll back all the subsequent returns one by one in reverse chronological order until you reach the point where the period you want to submit is the latest un-saved period, then do that one, then re-create and save all the subsequent returns again, in order from oldest to newest.
But do not do this without reading the rest of my message first…
The reason QuickFile has this strict rule in place is because of the way it automatically pulls in “late entries”. When you submit a return for a given quarter QuickFile doesn’t just include entries dated strictly within the relevant quarter, it also includes any items dated before the start of the quarter you are filing that have not already been included in a previous saved/submitted return. This is done so that if you submit a return and then subsequently come across some missing items that should have been included (e.g. if a supplier invoiced you late), you can enter those items at their correct accounting dates and the VAT will be dealt with in the next available return without you having to do anything else specific.
By the look of the numbers in your screenshot this is exactly what has happened here - because you submitted the Dec 2021-Feb 2022 return without having previously saved the Sep-Nov 2021 one, all the items that belong to that earlier quarter have been included in the submitted return for Dec 2021-Feb 2022. You’ll see in the “rolledback” returns the earliest period was -£23.10 and the next was +£18.90, but in the “submitted” returns the Dec-Feb one shows -£4.20 (the sum of those two periods that were rolled back).
If you roll everything back again and then try to submit the earliest period it will presumably re-calculate the same -£23.10 value. But because you’ve already accounted for those items (un-intentionally) when you submitted the Dec-Feb return, what you actually want to submit for that earliest period will be a nil return. I’m not an accountant so I strongly recommend you speak to yours before going any further as I’m not sure whether you can simply submit the nil return and keep records of what happened or if you’re obliged to disclose the error to HMRC on a separate form. I suspect given the tiny amounts involved it’ll be fine (they usually only care about errors that result in £10,000+ of underpaid VAT) but I can’t say for sure.
If you can just submit the nil return then you’ll need to
make manual adjustments to zero out all the boxes on the earlier period and submit that
turn off the “online filing” setting in QuickFile
re-save the next period (Dec-Feb) return again making manual adjustments to make all the boxes agree with what you actually submitted first time round
continue to re-save all the subsequent ones without submitting online - the automatic calculations for these these should agree with what you originally submitted but if they don’t then you’ll need to adjust those too
turn online filing back on
if you found that you did have to make any adjustments to the last three returns to make everything line up, then remember what the aggregate of those adjustments was so you can apply the same in reverse to your next return when it comes time to submit that.
Yes, it’s painful. No, I don’t work for QuickFile so please don’t take it out on me
It appears then that the Vat return for 01/12/2021 - 28/02/2020 also contains all the entries for the previous quarter 01/09/2021 - 30/11/2021. Thank you for very your clear explanation of what happened - I had no idea that QuickFile would automatically pull in ‘unincluded’ items from previous returns !!!
