Monthly VAT worksheet: what Envoice prepares and what you file yourself

What Envoice.mu's VAT Manager prepares each month, what stays with you and your accountant, and how to check the figures before you file on the MRA portal.

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Let's be clear about one thing first, because it matters: Envoice prepares; you file. Envoice doesn't submit VAT returns for anyone. It gets the figures ready, and you (or your accountant, working with you) check them and submit the return on the MRA portal under your own registration.

That split isn't a limitation we're apologising for. The person who files is the person responsible for the return, and that should be you, with your own login and your own eyes on the numbers.

What the VAT Manager prepares

On the Business plan, the VAT Manager builds two things from the invoices, credit notes and expenses already in Envoice:

  • the monthly VAT worksheet, showing your output VAT (charged on sales) and input VAT (paid on purchases);
  • the VT03 annex that goes with the return.

Because your invoices and credit notes are already in Envoice, the sales side assembles itself. Expenses come in through AI receipt reading, so a photo of a supplier's receipt becomes an expense entry, which you then check.

A word on "monthly". According to the MRA's guidance, businesses with taxable turnover up to Rs 10 million normally file quarterly rather than monthly, though they can choose monthly. The VAT Manager prepares a monthly worksheet, so check your filing period with your accountant before you build a return on it.

On Starter and Starter Plus, VAT preparation is available as an add-on. Prices are per workspace, before VAT; check envoice.mu/pricing before you rely on a figure.

What stays with you

Some things software can't decide for you, and shouldn't try:

  • The treatment of each supply. Standard-rated, zero-rated and exempt look similar on an invoice and behave differently. Zero-rated sales carry no VAT but you can recover related input VAT; exempt sales also carry no VAT, but related input VAT isn't recoverable. If you're not sure which applies to a product or service, mark it and ask your accountant. Don't pick the one that looks better.
  • Input VAT on exempt-related purchases. It comes out of the claim. If you make both taxable and exempt supplies, apportionment applies, and your accountant needs to confirm the method.
  • Approving and filing. You log in to the MRA portal, enter the figures and submit. Payment of any VAT due is yours too.
  • The deadline. According to the MRA's guidance, the return is normally due 20 days after the period ends, or by the end of the following month when you both file and pay electronically. Your accountant can confirm which period and date apply to you.

Check before you file

A worksheet is only as good as what went into it. Before you file, run through these:

Do the sales agree with your books? Total sales on the worksheet should match total sales in your records for the month, with a difference of zero. If they don't, find out why before filing, not after.

Is every expense in? A missing receipt is input VAT you can't support. Look for the usual gaps: fuel, phone bills, supplier invoices that arrived by email and never got saved.

Did credit notes land in the right month? Because issued invoices are locked in Envoice and corrections go through credit notes, every adjustment has a date and a trail. Make sure the ones affecting this period are in it.

Does a repayment position make sense? If the worksheet shows more input VAT than output VAT, there should be a reason you can name, such as a large equipment purchase. A surprise is a sign that something is coded wrong.

Working with your accountant

Plenty of businesses have an accountant review the worksheet before filing. Envoice has an accountant role for that: give your accountant their own login and they can look at the figures without you sending spreadsheets back and forth. They give their view, you approve, you file.

Checklist

  • ☐ Every sale invoiced in Envoice, with the right VAT treatment
  • ☐ Every purchase receipt captured, including fuel and utilities
  • ☐ Zero-rated and exempt supplies marked correctly; doubts sent to your accountant
  • ☐ Input VAT on exempt-related purchases excluded
  • ☐ Worksheet sales agree with your books, difference zero
  • ☐ Credit notes for the period included
  • ☐ Any repayment position explained
  • ☐ Return filed on the MRA portal by you, within 20 days of the period end (or by the end of the following month if you file and pay electronically)

See your VAT worksheet build itself

The free trial includes the VAT Manager, and there's no card needed: www.envoice.mu. Questions about how it fits your accountant's process? WhatsApp +230 5881 9999.