There are a number of common concerns and questions which are asked when a small or new business owner first thinks about registering for VAT…

Do I need to register for VAT?

Hopefully yes as you will be obliged to register for VAT if your turnover exceeds £67,000 in any given year. It is therefore worth considering an early voluntary registration to get it out of the way.

Another advantage of early registration is that it will enable you to claim VAT on start up costs sooner.

Finally, as it is only small businesses that don’t need to register by issuing invoices without VAT you are signalling to your clients that you are only a small business – this may put you at a disadvantage compared to competitors who may look bigger and be perceived as more reliable.

Won’t registering for VAT make my selling prices more expensive?

If you are dealing with businesses that are VAT registered, then your own registration won’t matter as they will only be concerned with the net price.

If you sell to the public, then VAT will make the price more expensive but as you will need to register if your sales exceed £67,000 non-registration is only really worthwhile for small businesses.

How can Oriel Help with VAT registration?

We can monitor the likelihood of exceeding the threshold on an ongoing basis via quarterly or monthly management accounts. If you do decide to register, we can set this up for you and prepare the returns for you as part of our standard accounting service.