Sound familiar?
- Working the deduction out by hand on every invoice, and knowing it has to come off the labour only
- Invoices sitting on your books looking part-unpaid because the contractor kept 20% back
- Rebuilding the same subcontractor figures every month before the 19th, from a spreadsheet and a pile of invoices
Why tradespeople choose VioTrade
The deduction, worked out properly
Split each line into labour or materials and the deduction comes off the labour only - never materials, never VAT. Your invoice then settles at what the contractor will actually pay, so it is not left looking part-unpaid for the rest of its life.
Statements and monthly figures for your subbies
Record what you pay each subcontractor at their verified rate of 0%, 20% or 30%. Their monthly Payment and Deduction Statement comes out as a PDF you can email them, and the CIS300 figures are totted up per subcontractor for the tax month with the filing deadline on them.
The reverse charge, on the right customers
Record once that a customer is not an end user and their invoices state the VAT without charging it, carrying the wording HMRC requires. Zero-rated work drops out of the scheme on its own, so new-build stays as it should be.
How it works
Say which schemes apply to you
Turn on CIS, the reverse charge, or both, and say whether you are a subcontractor, a contractor, or both. Nothing changes for anyone who does not work under these schemes.
Invoice as usual
Mark lines as labour or materials and the deduction, the balance due and the VAT treatment follow automatically. The PDF carries the CIS figures and the statutory reverse charge wording.
Pay your subbies and pull the figures
Record each payment as you make it, from the office or from your phone on site. At the end of the tax month, send the statements and take the CIS300 figures to HMRC.
CIS tax months run from the 6th to the 5th, not the calendar month, and the CIS300 is due by the 19th - so that is how the figures are cut. VioTrade produces the statements and the monthly totals; you file the return with HMRC yourself. We do not submit anything on your behalf, and verification numbers are entered by hand after you have spoken to HMRC.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need Xero or QuickBooks as well?
No. CIS is built into VioTrade at no extra cost. Several better-known trade apps expect you to enable CIS inside a paid accounting package first and then read it back, which means paying twice. If you do use Xero or Sage, the connection is there, but you do not need it for CIS.
Does VioTrade file my CIS300 with HMRC?
No, and be wary of anything at this price that says it does. VioTrade produces the monthly figures per subcontractor, ready to enter, and the statements your subbies are owed. Filing the return and verifying subcontractors stay with you.
Is the deduction taken off materials?
Never. CIS comes off the labour element only, and never off VAT. Mark each invoice line as labour or materials and the split is handled for you. Note that the reverse charge works the opposite way and does include materials supplied with the work, which is exactly why the two are kept separate.
What if some of my customers are end users?
That is the normal case for a lot of builders. The reverse charge is recorded against the customer, not the invoice, because it depends on whether they are an HMRC end user - a developer building to sell or let on their own account pays VAT as normal. Record it once on their contact and every invoice follows.
Can I record a subcontractor payment on my phone?
Yes. Recording a payment and sending a subbie their statement both work from the mobile app, including out of signal - payments recorded offline sync when you are back. The CIS300 summary and verification numbers are on the web, since they are desk work once a month.