[stevieg]

Hi All,i recently gave a quote for a business,  i was told at the time that the price was good and would secure the job.
I got an E mail saying i had not got the gig and was very surprised so contacted the guy in charge and he said my price was great but what seemed to work against me was that i didnt charge Vat?
Can anyone shed any light on why this would be a problem.
Ps he asked me if i was Vat registered and told me to put that on the E mail quote so i stated no Vat.

[formb]

A bit strange. If I put out a quote for a business it is usually excluding VAT anyway.

Perhaps someone gave a similar quote to yours including VAT, thereby making the quote quote cheaper once VAT had been reclaimed.

[Halfadaylee]

Sometimes being vat'd tells them you are a bigger company.
Joe

[stevieg]

Hi so are you saying that there is Vat to charge on top of your quote?
Also when i spoke to him i still got the impression that mine was the cheapest but the non charging of Vat seemed to be the issue!

[stevieg]

Hi Joe,why would that be an issue? They contacted me based on my google listing and furthermore my website so getting that far would mean to me that they were just interested in getting a cheaper price and my not wearing fancy clothes etc. After  we all do the same job!(hopefully)But i do get your point in some respects.

[Halfadaylee]

Maybe they just want the feel of dealing with a big company?
They also claim back the vat or off set it against what they charge
Joe

[formb]

Yes I usually add VAT to a quote for a business, as everyone does.

When dealing between VAT registered business you don't really take VAT into account as it will be claimed back.

[bobplum]

this happened to me a few years back when operating as a sole trader,plumbing.
Went to do a job at a large company,gave the price,no vat as my turnover was not in that range and i can still see the look on the girls face,she couldn't work out i was not vat registered,it was all most  like i was a cowboy operator,she just could not accept i was not charging vat,i explained about the threshold but it just did not sink in
i did do the job.
i think it has something to do with how they can claim money back of hmrc

[Moderator David@stives]

There are a few benefits of  VAT registration which make it quite appealing for small businesses.

Boosting Your Business Profile – starting out as a small business or new limited company it can be tough to compete against the big boys. Most people are aware of the VAT registration threshold, so voluntarily registering your business for VAT might give the impression that your business is bigger and more successful than it actually is.

Easing Business Dealings – many suppliers and organisations are unwilling to do business with companies and SMEs that aren’t VAT registered. You might find that without the ability to produce a proper VAT invoice many of these people will be unwilling to deal with you. The advantage of voluntary VAT registration is you will be issued with a VAT registration number and can more easily deal with external businesses.

[ronnie paton]

stevieg you cant just add vat you have to be registered to do so and then you do a vat return every quarter

[sean mcc]

Me personally would not register for VAT,i will be keeping under the threshold, its a pain if you are not the best with paper work and a vat bill every quarter is not a pleasure.Been there and done that.

[AuRavelling79]

As a window cleaner, not being vat registered has been no hindrance to me. I clean for a multinational car manufacturer, schools and obviously small businesses. But rarely "organisation" policy kicks in and only dealing with other Vat registered companies is sometimes one of them. Sometimes it is a hard and fast rule at other times you need to ask the "gurly" dealing with you to see if the boss can make an exception as you're "only the window cleaner". Usually they can.

In a previous life I sold reconditioned toner cartridges for laser printers and had worked as a director for a vat registered company. I had a good relationship with a police force and when I set up self employed they would use me but only if I was VAT registered. So although my turnover was below the threshold I registered.

When I lost the contract to supply them about three years later I dropped my Vat registration and losing that contract was the catalyst for me going full time w/c.  

[Dean Taberner]

I love being VAT registered. It give me the feeling that I'm loaded for a few months but then makes me feel skint for a week or two every 3 months when I have to pay the VAT bill.

I'm flat rate VAT so I do make a little on each VAT payment that is paid to me, and the paper work is minimal.

I'm still not much for window cleaning though so I need to get that side sorted sooner rather than later before I start smashing the windows that are put in front of me.

Dean.