If you need to work out VAT for any particular reason, it is good to have a VAT calculator to use that is reasonably straightforward. The one on the Elson Accountants website certainly fits into that range.
Where can I find the website and what topics does it cover?
The home page of the website is at www.elsonaccountants.com. Not only does the firm provide the services of a chartered accountant, they can also act as business advisers.
Their website gives you a further break down of the services provided, so if you are in business already or you are thinking of starting up, you might find them very useful. And of course, they also provide a VAT calculator online that you can use completely free of charge.
How do I find the VAT calculator?
You can find it from several places, so if you decide to have a quick look round the site first, you will still be able to get to it quite easily.
If you scroll down once you arrive on the home page, you will see a bullet pointed list that includes the VAT calculator (as a clickable red link) at the bottom. Clicking on the services tab at the top of the page will allow you to see a long list of the services they provide, and it is in red type part way down this list too.
The direct link to get you straight to the VAT calculator in future is www.elsonaccountants.com/vat-calculator.htm. It can be worth bookmarking it if need be.
How do I use it?
The VAT calculator is very easily set out, so you can see at a glance how and where to put the appropriate figures. And in fact you will soon notice that there are two calculators on the page, so make sure you are using the right one for your needs at all times.
The first one enables you to work out how much VAT to add to an order you already have the net price for. Simply type in the relevant figures, including the delivery charge if necessary, and click the calculate button. The appropriate figures that you need will then appear in the boxes below. To perform another calculation all you need to do is hit the reset button – it’s as simple as that.
The second calculator allows you to figure out how much VAT is included in a total price. So for example, you might have something priced at £2.97 and you want to work out how much of that is actually VAT.
Just as with the previous example, you type in the figures you have and click on the calculate button. Once again all the relevant boxes below will then refresh with the correct figures.
This is very easy to use and provided you make sure you know which calculator you need to use each time, it can save you a lot of hard work tapping away on your own calculator at home!
Is there anything else I should be aware of?
In a nutshell, no – once you have tried out the calculator a couple of times you will be well away and probably won’t need any help. Since it is provided free there is no support for it as such, although the company is happy to hear from potential new customers at all times.
Really the one tripping point here is that you could accidentally use the wrong calculator. But since the description of each one is included immediately above it, there is very little chance of that happening.
So the next time you have some puzzling sums to work out regarding VAT, you will know exactly where to go.