In addition, Highgate Law & Tax is also celebrating its win in the “Capital Markets” category, proving itself to be a comprehensive law firm with an extensive portfolio of expertise and the ability to successfully navigate diverse legal challenges.

The awards gala evening, which was organized by the media and educational group EPRAVO Group and the weekly TREND, was held at the Double Tree by Hilton hotel in Bratislava. For Highgate Law & Tax it was not only an opportunity to celebrate its success, but also to thank its clients and partners for their trust and support, without which this milestone would not have been possible.

This double triumph confirms Highgate Law & Tax’s excellent reputation for legal and tax services and reinforces its position as a leading player in the legal services market in Slovakia.

Článok Highgate Law & Tax and its double triumph in the prestigious Law Firm of the Year competition je zobrazený ako prvý na Highgate.

Good question to start with, and I hope I don’t lose my job. Which cannot be said for accountants who are in a “junior” position, or students who perform/had performed the initial transcription of data from documents into the accounting system. In my opinion, these positions will disappear in the job market and will be replaced by applications/software that already handle these tasks. Alternatively, these positions translate into visual inspection of the extracted data itself. Accountants who are senior/chief accountants (or independent accountants) will be transformed into an “advisor”role. They will solve problems that artificial intelligence can no longer recognise/ grasp and that is the application of individual legislative changes to specific accounting cases.

• Digitalization – which direction have you moved in within digitalization, have you only applied paperless accounting or are there other benefits hidden behind it?

On 1 January 2022, an amendment to the Accounting Act was issued and, in addition to changes in accounting, it also specified information on the “Electronization (digitalization) of accounting”. We were very pleased with this amendment and welcomed the digitalization of accounting with open arms. I don’t want to go into great detail in what all digitalization has helped us, but I will mention the most important facts, namely:

• We have reduced the number of physical folders by 70%, which means that our closets are empty and everything is backed up on external servers (within the Microsoft system)
• We have reduced printing and paper costs by 60%
• Searching for documents within the archive has been accelerated
• Handing over of documents from clients has been made faster and more transparent, accountants can also account during the month and do not have to wait for the physical handing over of documents for a whole month
• At the same time, the error rate when overwriting invoice data has been largely eliminated (but I’m getting into automation here)

• What worries you the most, resp. annoying for directors/clients in terms of administration related to accounting?

The simple answer – handing over documents. The vast majority of clients consider the submission of documents to be an administrative burden and would be very happy if they did not have to carry it out. Depending on the size of the entity, it is necessary to distinguish who should be responsible for the administration of the accounts. In the case of a one-person company, the managing director usually performs all acts himself. Checking what he handed in, if he handed in, when he handed in is easy (he keeps track of everything). For medium and larger companies, I recommend setting up the processes of handing over documents so that the administrative burden is borne by a person with less added value (assistant, student, receptionist). There are various tools for collecting documents – whether it’s creating a collection email to send documents, or creating a repository where you can copy each document or just drag and drop. If we are talking about cash receipts, the managers/owners or corporate card holders should be disciplined enough to take a picture of the receipt on their mobile phone and save it to the app immediately after purchasing the service/goods (so there is no risk of loss and traceability). In short, it’s all about setting up processes, which at the end of the day, of course, have to be followed.

• What can the client automate? What is your specific experience?

From the client’s point of view, these are:

Bank and bank statements – provide the accountant with passive access to the bank, so the client does not have to deliver bank statements on a monthly/weekly basis

Approval process – the process where an invoice received goes through various levels of approval before it reaches the accountant for posting or payment

Handing over documents – set up a collection email where all suppliers will send you invoices for services/goods, or set up one collection folder in a shared folder that the client/accountant will have access to

Issuing invoices – use applications that have the ability to link to the bank from an accounts receivable matching perspective. You can then automatically send reminders to non-payers. Ideally, export to csv., xls. or directly xml. to the accounting software

CRM – management software that is linked to an accounting program

From an accountant’s point of view:

• Import bank statements/payment gateways/delivery notes into accounting software
• Import of issued invoices into the accounting software
• Import and extraction of incoming invoices
• Import of cash documents into accounting software

• Following automation, where do you see the role of the accountant? Rather in the role of advisors or in the role of digitizing work, which removes the administrative burden?

I think it should be half and half. The accountant should be the one who encourages the client to use different applications, ways to speed up data transfer and document submission. The accountant can also benefit from this, as he does not have to wait a whole month for the delivery of the documents, but can charge the documents continuously. An accountant should be innovative and should be knowledgeable about just such applications. I personally want to make light of the work, but I mean that in a good way. Do something faster than the competition and also draw the benefit of eliminating my bugginess. In our company, we have an accountant’s decalogue, where one of the points is the application of innovative elements in the field of accounting. Of course, another point is the quality of advice explained in human language.

• How you have set up your company’s document submission processes. How should directors participate in the control of accounting?

We currently bill up to approximately 400 clients, where we try to maintain homogeneity in the processes we set up. About 70% of our clients upload documents to our server by storing them in specific shared folders. Of course, there are a few clients who still send or deliver documents physically (old school). Generally for CEOs, or for larger companies in the CFO position, it is very important that they participate in the accounting to the extent that they push the accountant to report the results to them at least on a quarterly basis. This is a very important process of control and I’m going to crack the whip now, but this is how you find out how complete an accountant’s bookkeeping is. Alternatively, you can ask the general ledger and inquire what the individual account balances consist of. If you get an inventory or a relevant answer from the accountant on this, the accountant knows what is going on in the books.

• Is the choice of banking institution important for the company?

I dare say that many companies underestimate this choice. At the end of the day, choosing the right bank can save time not only for the accountant, but also for the client. Unfortunately, some banks do not support innovation, even if they pretend to, and the basic problem remains the export of a bank statement in xml format. In human language this means that the accountant has to post the bank statement manually = the client has to pay more for posting (as manual posting takes about 4-5 times as long as import posting). Last but not least, it is also the possibility of linking the banking institution directly with accounting software or other applications, where you can make payments directly from the accounting system or external application.

• What experience do you have in linking management programs with applications or accounting software?

There are about 4 most used accounting software in Slovakia, where everyone has their own philosophy – they don’t want to let anyone into their kitchen. Therefore, even the API connection itself is often very cumbersome. We are looking for ways around the unavailability of individual accounting software. Basically, data entry is based on import vs. export. And somewhere in between that import and export, you need to use a smart IT guy who can program the transfer bridge. It is certainly advisable to consult your accountant when choosing a management program, online invoicing application or other program, or read references for the product and ask what all the program can be connected to and what exports it allows.

If you would like to learn more about automation and digitalization in accounting, please feel free to contact us via the form here: highgate.bytylehnice.sk/contact/

If you are interested in this topic, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Článok Peter Šopinec answered questions about digitalization and automation in accounting at a conference for IT companies je zobrazený ako prvý na Highgate.

If you are interested in this topic, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Článok Digitized record.
Interview of Kristina Margetova for Hospodárske noviny je zobrazený ako prvý na Highgate.

Amendment to the Accounting Act with effect from 01.01.2022 – the unstoppable technological shift within global industries has not bypassed accounting and the associated circulation, processing and archiving of accounting documents. A section of the accountancy community called for change and this was heard with the amendment. Are accountants and software developers sufficiently prepared for the changes that will take place from 01.01.2022? In today’s article we will look at what the amendment to the law changes in accounting, how this change will affect the client, but also the organisation of the work of the accountants themselves.

Automation and digitalisation in accounting

First of all, we will explain the different concepts that are associated with the digitisation of accounting.

Digitisation of accounting

Digitization – a subset of which is archiving and automation. The aim of digitisation is to replace paper documents with electronic structured reports (data) that can be archived digitally by accounting units and circulated via e-mail, online document sharing or ElectronicData Interchange(EDI).

Accounting automation

Automation – is a process that streamlines internal or external processes within accounting and data transfer. It replaces routine manual activities such as transcribing data from invoices into accounting software or physically handing over documents to the accountant (document cycle, including archiving).

The 5 main benefits of digitalisation:

1. Saves costs on administration, archiving, printing, paper and last but not least on electricity (more environmentally friendly)
2. Physical presence of an accountant in the office is no longer necessary
3. Faster transfer of data/accounting documents from client to accountant and vice versa
4. 24/7 access to your document archive in an online interface – no more basements and closets full of folders
5. Easy search for booked documents in the electronic archive

5 main benefits of automation:

1. Automatic extraction of data from documents without time-consuming transcription (reduction of errors on the accountant’s side)
2. Automated tool can process a larger number of data in a short time, without the need for rest
3. Reducing costs for printing, delivery of documents, archiving of documents and also for staff salaries
4. The time saved translates into added value in terms of advice and complexity of accounting cases that AI cannot provide.
5. Setting up automated cash flow processes can save a company the human labor costs associated with sending reminders and prompts to pay invoices at a fraction of the cost.

Accounting laws: digitising accounting

Before digitisation, we should study the individual laws and the associated legislative requirements. We draw your attention to the individual laws that should not be forgotten:

1. Act No. 18/2018 Coll. on the protection of personal data and on amending certain laws (GDPR)

Especially when digitising payroll accounting and HR, employment contracts

2. Act No. 431/2002 Coll. on accounting

Preservation and archiving of accounting records, transformation of an accounting record, the verifiability of an accounting record as well as the definition of the accounting record itself

3. Act No. 222/2004 Coll. on VAT

Invoice storage, invoice and its content

4. Act No. 395/2002 Coll. on archives and registers
5. Act 305/2013 Coll. o electronic form of exercising the competences of public authorities and on amendment and supplementation of certain acts ( e-Government Act)

In particular, conversion and guaranteed conversion, the procedure for guaranteed conversion, the certification clause, the limitation on conversion.

How to digitise accounting?

An entity may decide within its internal guidelines whether to keep its accounts electronically (digitally), on paper (as most entities do now), or in a combination of electronic and paper formats. The amendment introduces the equivalence of the paper and electronic form of the accounting record, subject to the following criteria:

The paper form of the accounting record:

• The credit note must be made on paper or printed using software, sent or received as a paper document

Electronic form of the accounting record:

• The accounting entry must be made and received in an electronic format (determined by the accounting entry originator or by agreement with the accounting entry recipient) and sent by electronic means (directly from the software) or by electronic mail (e-mail)

The following three requirements apply to both paper and electronic forms of the accounting record:

1. The authenticity of the origin of the accounting record must be ensured (the maker must be able to prove that he has actually made the record, e.g. on the basis of a written order, the beneficiary accepts the accounting record by the act of paying it)
2. Integrity of the content of the accounting record (the record must be processed or scanned so that no alteration occurs when the record is transformed or sent and made available)
3. Legibility of the accounting record (human readability must be ensured)

The accounting entity has the obligation to ensure requirements from the moment of making an accounting record, during its transformation, receipt and transmission, disclosure, until the end of its retention period.

The authenticity and integrity of the accounting record (verifiability of the accounting record) may be ensured pursuant to §32:

• Signature record of the responsible person (handwritten signature, qualified electronic signature, similar demonstrable signature record – code, code, or character)
• Electronic data exchange
• An internal control system for accounting records

An important fact to remember about reliability and integrity is that it is the responsibility of the entity to ensure the integrity of the accounting record so that it cannot be modified and potentially misused. An internal directive (or internal directive) should be used to define how accounting records are to be secured.

The most important section in the digitization of accounting is §33 of the Accounting Act, which speaks about the transformation of the accounting record. The question remains how the majority of accountants will cope with the digitalization of documents (I dare say that most accounting software is partially ready for digitalization) and whether they will be able to “shed” their habits (iron shirts) and adapt to the online trend, which to some extent is also offered by the amendment we are discussing.

Transformation of an accounting entry and its elements

1. By transformation we mean – a change of the form of an accounting record (whether from paper to electronic or vice versa) while the integrity of the accounting record is preserved
2. The transformation can only be carried out if the accounting entry is provable.
3. Transformation from paper to electronic form can be done:
   

1. By guaranteed conversion in accordance with specific regulations
2. By scanning into a file format in raster graphic form (e.g. an image saved in .pdf, .png, .jpg, .tiff format), preserving the completeness of the accounting record, the content and visual consistency, the legibility of the entire area of the accounting record and the integrity of the content.
3. The transformation from electronic to paper form can be carried out:
   

1. Guaranteed conversion in accordance with special regulations
2. Using a computer output device that allows printing on paper, while maintaining the completeness of the accounting record, the content and visual consistency, the legibility of the entire area of the accounting record and the integrity of the content.
   

Bingo in the digitalisation of accounting ?!

And now BINGO!!! You ask if it is necessary to keep the original cash receipt from the purchase of small assets up to 1700,- EUR? The amendment says the following: ‘An accounting record whose form is the result of a transformation of an accounting record and is deemed to be evidential shall not be required to be presented in its original form, unless special regulations provide otherwise.

7 tips for digitising your accounting

7 tips on what an entity that decides to keep and archive its accounts digitally should keep in mind.

1. The entity should determine how to store accounting records (appropriate accounting software), for example electronically, so that it can make the electronic records available (to the auditor, tax authority, or disclose them to the public)
2. Accounting records must be archived by the entity for 10 years following the year in which they were last used (it is therefore advisable to choose secure storage that is also backed up at sufficient intervals)
3. When exchanging and sending electronic invoices, the parties should sign a written agreement on sending electronic invoices
4. When circulating electronic documents, a safeguard mechanism must be provided to ensure that the content of the accounting record is not misused or modified. At the same time, the electronic documents must contain a signature record of the responsible person
5. When transforming from electronic to paper form, the transformation may only be carried out for electronic documents that do not contain a qualified electronic signature or a qualified electronic seal
6. A change of an accounting record from paper to electronic form by scanning may be made only once (provided that it is legible and complete). The provision implies that transformation cannot be carried out if the documentary record has already been subject to transformation
7. In digitization, the most important parameter , which ensures the four most important factors namely:
   1. approval process for electronic documents
   2. archiving of electronic documents
   3. transmission and protection of electronic documents
   4. and Object Character Recognition (OCR) extraction of electronic documents.

Have you kept your accounts in paper form so far and are you wondering whether it is possible to transform the accounts into electronic form for previous years?

The amendment to the Accounting Act also had this in mind and states that the relevant provision on the protection of accounting records as amended from 2022 may also be applied to the retention and protection of accounting records created before 2022, provided that the other relevant provisions of the Accounting Act are complied with.

In other words, an entity may transform all accounting records from previous years if the requirements are met:

• the reliability of the origin of accounting records
• the integrity of their contents
• Readability
• and demonstrability.

At Highgate Group , we are ready for the pace of digitisation, where we are trying to make our clients’ work easier with the handover of documents and their archiving. The right cocktail of automation, archiving and digitisation saves time and money on the client’s side, which they can invest in the development of their business. On the side of the external accounting company, the automation of processes gives time for individual consultations in the field of accounting or economic consulting or tax optimization.

If you are interested in this topic, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Článok Digitisation of accounting je zobrazený ako prvý na Highgate.

Before we move on to the actual details of an e-shop invoice, let’s try to think together about which group of people are usually the final customers of e-shops. I suppose the reasoning need not be long. They are generally ordinary citizens (i.e. not taxable for VAT purposes). Our reasoning can go on and on. What happens to the invoice that is sent to the customer by the e-shop, either in electronic form or packed directly into the package? With a physical invoice, the customer will probably throw it in the trash first. The electronic invoice may only be archived by the more “honest” ones in case of a claim or return of goods. Is an invoice even necessary? If so, in what form and what should it contain?

From the position of the final customer we move to the position of the e-shop and our obligations regarding the invoice. We will not discuss whether an invoice is even necessary from a legal and tax point of view at the moment, as there may be x number of variables (nature of delivery, type of customer, type of seller, country of destination, etc.). Rather, we will focus on what it is good for the invoice to contain “technically“.

10 Tips and Tricks that make it easier for an accountant to work with invoices from e-shop

The formal side of the invoice is usually based on structured data (information) that is directly reflected on the invoice. At this point, we are not going to be very interested in the “layout” of the invoice itself, but rather in the content.

1. Variable Invoice Symbol – I dare to say that this number is one of the most important numbers on the invoice for the accountant, unless the e-shop uses a unique IBAN system. Why, you ask? It’s very simple. The variable symbol is our “key word” that the accountant can use to identify a specific order, pay the invoice, find and match the payment to the invoice and close the process. Setting up the correct variable symbol has a few pitfalls to avoid, as they can complicate your accounting automation at the end of the day.
2. Information about the method of payment – most e-shops use several types of payment gateways or cash on delivery companies. With hundreds or even thousands of invoices, it often happens that some invoices are shown as unpaid in the balance account. For accounting clarity, it is important to have all payments paired across payment gateways and CODs.
3. Invoice payment – when paying an invoice, the basic rule applies – the currency in which the invoice is issued is the currency in which the payment for the invoice should be received and vice versa.
4. Some e-shops are growing very dynamically – this means that what they were able to track with hundreds of invoices is no longer possible with thousands. Every entrepreneur is interested in the profitability of the individual countries, markets or domains from where the goods/services were purchased. It is therefore advisable to set up the correct structure of analytical accounts, individual centres, contracts or activities from the outset. At the end of the day, proper implementation of individual “tags” in invoices can save you time spent on excel spreadsheets dividing up individual revenues as needed.
5. From 01.07.2021 the amendment to the VAT Act entered into force a special regulation of the OSS tax, which on the one hand facilitates entrepreneurs to pay VAT for individual Member States through the Slovak financial administration, but on the other hand it can cause considerable problems when issuing invoices under individual tax rates according to the country of supply of the service/goods. If you mix in invoices issued in foreign currencies and their conversion to EUR, this can add up to quite a significant complexity for your accountant. Therefore, take advantage of our experience with the set VAT rates for EU member states and prepare your e-shop for VAT filing via the single OSS regulation.
6. Date of delivery – date of issue – date of order. So many dates and which one is the most important in terms of accounting and VAT filing? Many e-shops confuse the date of delivery with the date of the order or the date of the invoice. Note, however, that the date of issue may be the same as the date of delivery, but may not be the same as the actual delivery of the consignment (especially in the case of cash on delivery).
7. Invoice numbering – one of the tools to easily separate different countries or types of invoices (credit note, bill of lading) is the numbering itself. As with the variable symbol, it is a good idea to avoid certain characters when numbering invoices and to set the logic of the number series correctly. If you can’t cope with the number series, contact our professionals.
8. Invoice for B2B and B2C and differences in issuing – Most e-shops operate in the B2C segment, where the rules are relatively simple. The difference arises in the B2B segment, where incorrect setting of the VAT ID number or VAT ID number control may complicate the accountant’s reporting in the summary statement, possibly incorrectly charged VAT or even uncharged VAT. Tax control tends to be uncompromising, and it can be painful to finish such deliveries, even with possible interest on late payment.
9. Linking invoices to stock – e-shops focused on the sale of goods often have a problem with the stock records themselves. The ideal way to link the warehouse and the accounting itself with the invoices issued using stock with unique SKUs can simplify the actual work with the invoices issued. With the right warehouse management setup, you get the advantage of exports from your accounting software for evaluating the profitability of individual products.
10. Invoice issued for influencers – the digital-consumerist age also requires a different approach to achieving marketing goals. One of them is also sales promotion by advertising through influencers who “promote” the goods/services on various social networks, usually through the so-called “influencers”. barter, i.e. he gets for free the products he “promoted”. Do these products also need to be invoiced? If so, how much?

Invoices abroad

Every accountant has come across a foreign invoice at least once. Domestic invoices are usually easy to read and understand – as they must be for tax control purposes. However, what about invoices we issue abroad and their recording obligation for VAT purposes with respect to other EU countries? If you sell goods or services to EU Member States, it is your responsibility to issue invoices based on the rules of the Member States of identification. Therefore, the taxable person should find out what invoicing rules apply in the Member State of consumption (of the customer). The rules can vary from the formal side (language, information about the goods/services, dates) to the visual side (predefined invoice format).

Mandatory elements of the invoice

According to § 74 para. 1 of the VAT Act the invoice must contain the following:

• the name and surname of the taxable person or the name of the taxable person, the address of the taxable person’s registered office, place of business, place of business, place of residence or address of the place where the taxable person usually resides, and the tax identification number under which the goods or services were supplied by the taxable person,
• the name and surname of the recipient of the goods or services or the name of the recipient of the goods or services, the address of the recipient’s registered office, place of business, place of business, place of residence or address of the place where the recipient usually resides, and the tax identification number under which the goods or services were supplied to him,
• the serial number of the invoice,
• the date on which the goods or services were supplied or the date on which payment was received, if that date can be determined and if it differs from the date of the invoice,
• the date of the invoice,
• the quantity and type of goods supplied or the extent and type of service supplied,
• the tax base for each tax rate, the unit price excluding tax and discounts and rebates if not included in the unit price,
• the tax rate or exemption applied; in the case of exemption, reference shall be made to the provision of this Law or of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28. November 2006 on the common system of value added tax, as amended, or the verbal information “the supply is exempt from tax”,
• the total amount of tax in euros to be paid, except for the amount of tax applied under the special arrangement in section 66,
• the wording ‘invoice made out by the customer’, where the customer who is the recipient of the goods or services makes out an invoice pursuant to § 72 par. 6,
• the words ‘reverse charge’ where the person liable to pay tax is the recipient of the goods or services,
• data on the new means of transport delivered pursuant to § 11 par. 12,
  (m) the wording ‘surtax adjustment – travel agents’ where special arrangements under section 65 apply,
• the words ‘surtax adjustment – second-hand goods’, ‘surtax adjustment – works of art’ or ‘surtax adjustment – collectors’ items and antiques’, depending on the goods to which the special arrangement under Article 66 applies,
• the name and surname or the name of the tax representative pursuant to § 69a or § 69aa, the address of his/her registered office or residence and his/her special tax identification number, if the foreign person is represented by a tax representative pursuant to § 69a or § 69aa.

Článok What should the invoice from the e-shop contain ? je zobrazený ako prvý na Highgate.

Even though 2021 is coming, we still see some accountants manually uploading some data into accounting software, despite the existence of ways to import this data into the accounting software in a structured way. Highgate Group is an accounting company that will never develop its own accounting or extraction software. Not only is this not within our power, it is not within our remit either. Our role in accounting is to be an advisor and analyst if needed, but often times we mainly “clean up the mess” if someone has insight into the company (e.g. a bank, investor, buyer) or the client has wilder business and/or habits.

Our role is also to advise clients on asset protection, tax and levy optimization, contract setup, representation before investors, invoicing to own company, etc. (for a list of some of the topics we cover, please visit our education platform). We want to be our client’s full-service legal, tax, levy and accounting advisor. It is therefore not our role to develop technical solutions.

And that’s the way it should be.

And if we want our clients not to pay a disproportionate amount for accounting in relation to their revenues, it is also our task to act as a consultant who knows the various standard technical solutions and can find the ideal solution for a particular client in their tangle. In this context, it should be taken into account that for most smaller companies, bookkeeping is only a necessary legal obligation without added value. The ultimate goal is that the client does not pay for manual bookkeeping. That is why, especially for e-commerce, we can provide significantly lower prices for bookkeeping than the market standard.

Článok Manual bookkeeping and inefficient tax and tax system still complicate the functioning of small and medium-sized companies – interview for Trend je zobrazený ako prvý na Highgate.

Invoices issued

The invoices issued agenda is a prime example of saving and automation in accounting. Forget Excel – which has its advantages, no doubt, but is not really suitable for issuing a large number of invoices. For e-shops, it is desirable to have a connected e-shop with the invoicing application to such an extent that the system handles it from order confirmation to issuing the final invoice with its transfer to the accounting software itself. The current offer of internet applications for issuing invoices is very varied and I will highlight at least the basic three that can save you time and money – superfaktura.sk, ikros.sk, idoklad.sk. How can these invoicing tools save us time and money?

Time – connection with e-shop and automatic invoice issuing after order confirmation, easy duplication of already issued invoices, automatic filling in of the customer from ORSR / Finstat without the need to fill in the company identification data, setting up regular invoices, sending invoices directly from the application, invoice issuing simply from the mobile phone and many other advantages

Finance – Individual web applications support bulk export of issued invoices to various accounting software. For larger data volumes, invoices for a given period can be exported with a few clicks, and re-imported into the accounting software with a few clicks. Less work with manual uploading of documents for the accountant = lower price for accounting. Our motto is: Don’t pay for what can be automatically charged

Tip: Invoice automation is especially suitable for e-shops where several invoices are issued daily.

Banks

The right choice of banking institution should not be underestimated. Not all banks offer electronic communication via xml outputs as part of the basic or business package (some banks charge extra for this service). Convenient transfer of data from the bank to the accounting software (usually via xml feed or linking the bank itself with the accounting software) remains a priority in terms of time and financial savings.

Time – you can set your accountant to have “read access” to your bank account and thus you do not have to worry about sending pdf and xml outputs every month.

Finance – by automatically importing credit and debit operations from the bank, with the correct assignment of variable symbols, we can achieve faster posting of individual movements on the bank account, where we significantly save the time of posting the bank statement compared to manual “uploading” of these operations. Again, the motto “Don’t pay for what can be automatically charged” applies.

Tip: Banks that have no problem with electronic communication and provide it in the basic package are Fio banka, Tatra banka, VÚB banka.

Invoices received

There are various invoice extraction software on the market that attempt to automate the incoming invoice agenda, but the variety of individual invoices makes incorporating extraction more challenging. The automation itself can be set at two levels of saving, namely:

1. I want to pay the accountant less (I do part of the work)
2. I have a number of invoices from one supplier

Case no. 1. – in practice, we encounter a large number of clients who keep an internal list of invoices received – on the basis of which they later make payments. We can set the list to be easily importable into the Received Invoices agenda and thus again save time on the accountant’s side.

Case no. 2. – this type of invoice import can only be implemented for clients who purchase goods/services from a specific supplier (where there are usually more than 15 invoices received on a monthly basis). Of course, the supplier must also be willing to provide a list of these invoices in excel format, which we can modify for possible import into the accounting agenda.

Tip: For more demanding clients, we can also make the accounting software available, where you can easily save individual invoices received directly into the accounting software and also export them in xml format to the bank as a payment order.

Online database of documents

The hurried times, the impact of the coronavirus on meeting opportunities and the convenience of people dealing with everything over the Internet have also affected the accounting industry – in this case, let’s take the word “affected” in a positive sense. If you’ve been bothered by having to take your receipts to your accountant in person every month – there’s already a solution to this problem. External data storage or internal document sharing can save you time while giving you the ability to access invoices and receipts online if desired.

Online accounting

• Most accounting companies use “boxed accounting software” that is installed on a computer (let’s call this process OFFLINE where you need equipment and software to do the accounting)
• On the other hand, with ONLINE accounting, we don’t have to bother with any installation, we just need a device and the internet, and the accounting software is provided as a service of a specific supplier.

What does online accounting combined with automation mean for our accounting team?

1. Communication with the accountant via chat, email, phone, uploading documents via cloud storage or shared folders (without the need to physically upload documents)
2. Online outputs, with the possibility of basic reports from the accounts payable ledger, accounts receivable ledger, interim profit and loss, cash balance, current VAT
3. Automatic linking of the e-shop with the accounting software and their mutual synchronization
4. Automatic invoicing from e-shop with link to accounting software and flow of issued invoices to accounting software
5. Online linking of the bank with the accounting software
6. Payment gateway billing for e-shops based on imports

Summary

Especially with e-commerce, it doesn’t make sense for a business to pay more for accounting than is reasonable. Accounting, at its most basic, is just a necessary evil for many smaller businesses, unless they also want to take advantage of related tax optimisation services or take advantage of some of the government’s measures. So our aim is to simplify accounting as much as possible and only charge where it adds real value to the client. And that can be not only in accounting automation (for some of our larger clients with eshops, we have spent some time implementing automation features into the accounting system), but also, for example, in the following services related to business rescue due to COVID-19:

• Who is entitled to and how is sick leave, holiday pay, unemployment benefit calculated?
• How can this reduce the employer’s costs?
• How to terminate relationships with employees and contractors? Legal and practical pitfalls;
• How can I still reduce my tax liability for 2019?
• How can you reduce the tax-tax burden on employees today without laying them off?
• What about the rent? Left? Termination?
• Government measures and their use – contributions, deferrals, state-assisted financing, …
• How do foreclosures or tax audits work today?
• What are the restrictions on the payment of dividends and other liquidity from the company to the owners?
• How to legally and fiscally separate the healthy and valuable part of the business from the contaminated part?
• On the other hand, with ONLINE accounting, we don’t have to bother with any installation, we just need a device and the internet, and the accounting software is provided as a service of a specific supplier.

If any of this interests you, or if you have any insightful experiences with accounting automation, please let us know.

Článok Online accounting je zobrazený ako prvý na Highgate.

What are the benefits of external bookkeeping?

• Save money

You pay a lump sum to the external company every month, which includes complex accounting processing. However, you save not only on the salaries of the in-house employee, but also on the workstation, the computer and the necessary training.

• You guarantee expertise

Don’t know how to properly account for goods purchased from China that you subsequently sold to the US? Instead of a lengthy internet search, an external company will simply sort it out for you.

• Ensure the required quality

In the case of an outsourced company, a team of specialists will look at these documents before the actual sending of the accounts or tax return. This way, fewer errors occur than with in-house bookkeeping.

• You delegate responsibility

In the case of bookkeeping by an external company, the liability for damages shall be borne by the company concerned. If you do your bookkeeping in-house, this responsibility is yours.

• Don’t worry about your documents

An external company will ensure that your data is not leaked or your documents are lost or copied.

• You will receive special services

Many companies provide comprehensive services. A team consisting of an accountant, a lawyer and a tax advisor will find the best solution to your questions.

7 reasons to choose Highgate Group for your bookkeeping

1. Law, tax and accounting under one roof

We provide legal, tax and accounting services. It’s cheaper, more efficient and better quality! If you are a small or medium-sized company, it is you who will most appreciate not only the price, but also the quality convenience that this combination brings. Why? Because with the increasing diversity of tax and accounting laws, it is increasingly necessary to consult two or even three advisors for any transaction. This is usually a lawyer, a tax advisor and an accountant. It is necessary for each of them to look at the matter from his point of view. If you have to arrange these three areas individually, you will have to prepare yourself for a higher price for advisory services or there may be a problem in the form of unnecessary taxation or lack of legal protection.

2. We are passionate about tax and accounting

We really enjoy tax and accounting. That’s why we write a lot of articles and blogs on topics we find interesting and will save you money. If you have an e-shop, get inspired, How to save money on accounting for your e-shop. We also work with well-known Slovak daily newspapers and economic media, for whom we are happy to provide an expert view on tax and accounting issues or explain the latest news in this area. We also participate in various events and organize our own conferences, for example in the HubHub in Bratislava.

3. We have a team of experts with the best experience

Our team consists of accountants with extensive experience from both small and large consulting and accounting firms. The founders of our company Peter Varga and Tomáš Demo can be proud of their experience gained from the largest business transactions in Slovakia! In cooperation with the rest of the team, Highgate Group guarantees that we will look at any legal, tax, and accounting problem in all its complexity.

4. We can help you even if you are a one-person eseroce

We are happy to welcome among our clients not only fast-growing and medium-sized companies, but also small one-person companies with one invoice per month. As our focus is always on making our work efficient, even with a small company we can provide cost-effective yet high quality bookkeeping. Another advantage is the aforementioned fact that you can gradually take advantage of all the services under one roof (including, for example, tax optimization) that you will need in the development of your business. If you are a sole trader, you will be wondering whether it is worth paying social security contributions for your pension, unemployment insurance or maternity insurance and how much. We will therefore be happy to advise you on how to set up your processes to make this as advantageous as possible for you. In the meantime, you can read our summary article on the advantages and disadvantages of paying social contributions.

5. We deal with tax and levy optimisation in detail

We focus on how to effectively reduce the tax and levy burden on our clients. Not only large multinational companies, but also one-person companies can be tax-optimised. As we are also a law firm, when advising on tax optimisation we always ensure that the proposed solutions are legally defensible. We also have extensive experience in scaling businesses abroad, as well as in the legal use of foreign companies, including offshore ones.

6. We can also advise you in the technical field

Bookkeeping is not just about uploading documents and we know it. That’s why we often look for solutions to technical requirements of our clients. We will recommend suitable applications for issuing invoices for your goods or services so that these invoices can be automatically imported into the accounting software. We also provide automatic import of payment gateways (e.g. via GoPay, PayPal, Adyen, Klarna, Revolut or Dotpay). For example, we can advise you on how an e-shop should correctly issue an invoice for cash on delivery. Our extensive experience with courier companies guarantees that you set up processes for orders delivered by courier companies in accordance with the law.

7. We focus on automation

As we are advocates of progress, we try our best to keep up with the times and technological innovations that make life easier not only for entrepreneurs but also for accountants, thus reducing the overall cost of accounting. For some of our clients, we have been able to get as low as 10 – 20 cents per accounting entry thanks to automation, while the average market price of an accountant is 1 euro.

We can also help you with the actual recording of cost invoices. Choosing the right invoicing system and the right link to your accounting software will ensure that you have online reports and outputs directly from your accounting system. We’d be happy to help you and look at whether this automation space is possible for your company.

Článok Why outsource your bookkeeping? je zobrazený ako prvý na Highgate.

If we were to simplify the changes that have been adopted, they have a more significant impact on small entrepreneurs in particular. This is not only because of the 15% income tax, but also because of the effective combination of a number of other institutes that small entrepreneurs are able to make use of and thus reduce the amount of effective taxation to a minimum. In some cases, favourable case law and the practice of the tax authorities (often unintentionally) also contribute to this. For larger companies, it is the relatively flexible expensing of tax losses that seems to be most interesting from a tax perspective. On the other hand, the system is becoming more complicated and new exceptions and departures from the standards are emerging. In the area of rates alone, today’s income tax law has several times more tax rates than in 2004. This also means more work for accountants and tax experts. But a complicated tax system is not an ideal scenario for Slovakia in the long term.

We have reported more on this at our last two conferences.

If you are interested in this topic, let us know.

Článok TAX AND ACCOUNTING 2020 je zobrazený ako prvý na Highgate.

We accountants also want to adapt to the times, so we need to offer products and services that are affordable and technically convenient for today’s generation and e-commerce entrepreneurs. We strive to make our services not only about manual posting of receipts, but also about consulting with the efficient setup of automated accounting. Each e-shop has its own specifics and our task is to set up document flows together with the client so that the need for human input is as low as possible.

The very choice of the e-shop and the platform on which the e-shop will operate is extremely important in terms of the price for accounting. Equally important is the appropriate choice of billing system, which should be easy to connect to the accounting software. It is the linking of your accounting software with an online invoicing system that is the key to success in saving money on your bookkeeping, while saving you time on the actual invoicing and ordering.

Last but not least, we should not forget about the correct choice of payment gateways. Not all payment gateways provide the necessary outputs for accounting purposes. You may think that the choice of payment gateway will not affect the price of processing documents. But the opposite is true.

The key to savings in online shop accounting is the automation of the processes themselves. From the generation of the order, to the receipt and pairing of the payment by the payment gateway, through the automatic issuance of the invoice to the customer, to the actual posting of the invoice by the accounting software. This is what the process of running an e-shop looks like in a nutshell, where “robots and computers” work for us. Therefore, the client does not pay for manual billing. That belongs to the last century. The client only pays for the added value.

Therefore, if you are planning to open an online shop or just feel that you are paying your accountants a lot for your e-shop, we will be happy to help you with the appropriate choice of online billing system and also the selection of the right accounting software to maximize your savings on your accounting fees.

Článok How to save money on accounting for e-commerce? je zobrazený ako prvý na Highgate.