Ftax VAT Setup (for Agents)

We are very grateful to our clients for their comments and suggestions, without which these guides would not be possible.
If you have a suggestion to improve this guide or its associated video, please email tracey@ftax.co.uk

Ftax VAT Setup for Agents – Step by Step Instructions

The Ftax VAT PDF form can be used in a number of ways:

• Agent only - when you submit your client's VAT return using your own or your client's data and without any further input from the client.
• Client only - when your client wishes to submit their own VAT return and other than the provision of this form, does not require any support from you.
• Both Agent and Client - when you and your client intend to work on your own respective copies of the form to complete your client's VAT return. The two copies 'sync' via the Ftax servers so that both Agent and Client view the same data and can securely transfer data from one form to the other.

This guide explains how to set up the form up for each of these possibilities. It is broken down into the following steps and explains how to:

1. Download the form, open with Adobe Reader and comply with the Special Notice
2. Set up an Agent only copy
3. Set up a Client only copy
4. Set up a form to which both Agent and Client may contribute

1. Download the form, open with Adobe Reader and comply with the Special Notice:

Always download the latest version of the form from the Ftax website and take a copy before you start, in case you need to setup additional copies.

Open the form with Adobe Reader:

If this is the first time you have used the form, a Special Notice will be displayed:

You must comply with this before you continue. Further details are available in the video Ftax Setup Checklist. You can look at the Special Notice at any time by clicking the question mark in the red ball on the front page of any Ftax form:

2. Set up an Agent only copy

Download the latest copy of the form and open with Adobe Reader. Tick to select 'Agent' before clicking the red 'Enter' box:

The words 'Agent copy' will now be visible in the bottom right of the form:

Now go to the right hand navigation bar and work your way down the list to set up the form:

2.1 Login to Account: click the top button in the right hand menu column to Login to your Ftax Account.

2.2 Select/Enter Client: Select a tax filer, either from the lists of SA100 and CT600 tax filers who have used Ftax via your account before, or by directly entering the name and UTR. 

2.3 Validate Credit: Allocate a credit to the tax filer's UTR for that year. If a credit has already been allocated, a popup will confirm this. If the client has not yet been entered into your Ftax account and/or has not yet been allocated a credit for that year, then you will be prompted to agree to allocate a credit.

2.4 Import Form Data: If an Ftax VAT form with this UTR has been used before, then you will be prompted to click 'Import Form Data' to import the existing VAT form data, either from this tax year or from the previous tax year. Otherwise, the box will be ticked for you and the focus moved to the next button.

2.5 Set VAT Form: Finally, click the Set VAT form button and save the Agent copy of the form ready for use. You are advised to include the client's name and UTR in the filename before storing the VAT form in a known location.

If you are completing the form on behalf of a client and require no further input from them, you are now ready to use the form.

3. Set up a Client copy

As with setting up the Agent copy of the form, you should download the latest version from the Ftax website and open the form with Adobe Reader. This time, you should tick to select 'Client':

The words 'Client Copy' will now be visible in the bottom right of the form:

As with the Agent copy, you should now go to the right hand navigation bar and work your way down the list to set up the form:

3.1 Login to Account: click the top button in the right hand menu column to Login to your Ftax Account.

3.2 Select/Enter Client: Select a tax filer, either from the lists of SA100 and CT600 tax filers who have used Ftax via your account before, or by directly entering the name and UTR. 

3.3 Validate Credit: Allocate a credit to the tax filer's UTR for that year. If a credit has already been allocated, a popup will confirm this. If the client has not yet been entered into your Ftax account and/or has not yet been allocated a credit for that year, then you will be prompted to agree to allocate a credit.

3.4 Import Form Data: If an Ftax VAT form with this UTR has been used before, then you will be prompted to click 'Import Form Data' to import the existing VAT form data, either from this tax year or from the previous tax year. 

IMPORTANT: The next step differs from the procedure to set up an Agent form

You will now see an eight character password displayed on the form:

Make a note of this password before you move on to the next step, as it will no longer be visible when you click to set the form. Your client will need this password before they can enter any data and make their submission.

3.5 Set VAT Form: Finally, click the 'Set VAT form' button and save the form in a known location so that it can be emailed to your client. 

3.6 Email the form to your client. It will now look like this:

3.7 Send the password to your client using a different means, for example telephone. You may wish to send your client a link to the video Ftax VAT - Getting Started (for Clients) or direct them to the videos and FAQs section of the Ftax website. The form is now ready for your client to use.

N.B. Your client will only need to enter their password once. After this, the form will open with no requirement for a password. If your client forgets or loses the password before they have the opportunity to use it, you can either follow the instructions above to create a new form and import their data, or generate a new password for them via the Ftax website. In either case, you will not need to allocate a new credit to that Client and you can generate a new form, or a new password, as many times as necessary. To create a new password without generating a new form, you should log in to the Ftax website and go to Client Manager:

Select the client and then click to edit their details:

At the bottom of this screen you will see a 'Generate new password' button. If you click this, you will be warned that if you proceed, the old password will be invalidated and that you must therefore give the new password to your Client before they can continue:

The new password will now appear on your screen. Copy this and send to your client securely:

4. Set up a form to which both Agent and Client may contribute

Follow the procedure to set up an Agent copy of the Ftax VAT form as described above in section 2. Then set up a Client copy as described in section 3. No credit need be allocated to the Client copy if an Agent copy has already been created. The two copies of the form will henceforth be synchronised via the Ftax servers so that both Agent and Client view the same data and can securely transfer data from one to the other. When new data is added to the form, the following message will appear:

Please note that the Ftax servers keep a copy of each version of the form. If either Client or Agent inadvertently 'save' a version of the form excluding data which has been added by the other, you can ask for a previous version of the form be re-instated by sending a support request via the Ftax website.

We are very grateful to our clients for their comments and suggestions, without which these guides would not be possible.
If you have a suggestion to improve this guide or its associated video, please email tracey@ftax.co.uk