Calculations with accountable persons
Current as of: August 21, 2020
Persons who have received accountable money from an organization and must make expenses or purchase property in its interests are called accountable persons. These are, for example, employees going on a business trip, or employees purchasing goods and materials for their employer. Although the accountant does not necessarily have to be an employee of the organization: money against the report can be issued, for example, to a person who performs work according to the GAP.
To streamline settlements with accountable persons, an organization can develop a Regulation on settlements with accountable persons or another similar document. A list of persons who have the right to receive money on account may also be approved. As a rule, for this purpose an order is issued, the form of which we have given in a separate material.
The basis for issuing money on account can be an administrative document of a legal entity (say, an order) or a written statement from the accountable (clause 6.3 of the Central Bank Instruction No. 3210-U dated March 11, 2014). We talked in more detail about the grounds for issuing money on account in our consultation, where we also provided a sample of the corresponding order.
Synthetic accounting with accountable persons is maintained on account 71 “Settlements with accountable persons” (Order of the Ministry of Finance dated October 31, 2000 No. 94n). We talked in more detail about standard accounting entries for accounting for settlements with accountable persons.
Currently, the procedure for using cash register systems in settlements with accountable persons is of particular interest. We will tell you more about this in our material.
Compensation of employee expenses in the interests of the organization
Often in an organization there is a need to compensate an employee for amounts that were not given to him in advance, but were spent from his personal funds for the needs of the company.
The Labor Code defines “compensation” as monetary payments established to reimburse employees for costs associated with the performance of their labor or other duties (Article 164 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
Company expenses, if there is a business purpose and documentary evidence, can be recognized as tax expenses (clause 1 of Article 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
Compensation to an employee for expenses incurred is not his income and is not subject to personal income tax and insurance contributions (Letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated 04/08/2010 N 03-04-06/3-65).
The legislation does not regulate the procedure for compensating the expenses of employees who used personal funds in the interests of the organization. The organization itself must establish a procedure for compensation of such costs in a local regulatory act (LNA). It is advisable to provide in the LNA:
- purposes for which acquisitions can be made for the organization from personal funds;
- the circle of persons who can make payments in the interests of the organization from personal funds;
- the procedure for providing compensation for expenses incurred;
- application form for reimbursement of expenses;
- documents that must be attached to the application for compensation of expenses.
Since no advance was issued for expenses incurred by the employee, the amount cannot be considered accountable, and it is not appropriate to use account 71.01 “Settlements with accountable persons” (Instructions for using the Chart of Accounts, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated October 31, 2000 N 94n).
In this case, it is better to use account 73.03 “Settlements for other operations” (working chart of accounts 1C). This account allows a balance of both debit and credit, therefore, the organization’s debt to the employee can be reflected in such an account.
More details How to reflect the acquisition of goods and materials by an employee for personal funds if the money was not reported?
The most typical cases of settlements with accountable persons are discussed in the publications:
- Advance report for business trip for cash
- Advance report for business trip (corporate card)
- Advance report on the purchase of electronic services from a foreigner
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Issuance to the accountable and return of money to them: whether to use cash register
Let us recall that CCT is generally used by all organizations and individual entrepreneurs when making calculations. Is it necessary to use a cash register when issuing money to an accountable person or when returning accountable funds to them?
Let us remind you that settlements are the acceptance (receipt) and payment of funds in cash or by bank transfer for goods, work, services, incl. in the form of advance payment or advances (Article 1.1 of the Federal Law of May 22, 2003 No. 54-FZ). It would seem that when money is issued on account or when accountants return an unspent advance, calculations are made. Is it necessary to use CCT in this case?
According to the Moscow Office of the Federal Tax Service, the issuance of cash from the cash register on account is essentially not a settlement in the sense included in the concept of “settlements” by Federal Law No. 54-FZ of May 22, 2003. Therefore, there is no need to use CCT in this case (Letter of the Federal Tax Service for Moscow dated June 14, 2018 No. 17-26/2/ [email protected] ). The position expressed by regional tax officials was confirmed by the federal tax department in a later letter (Letter of the Federal Tax Service dated June 29, 2018 No. 17-15 / [email protected] ).
Extending the logic to the return of money by an accountable person, the employer should also not use CCT when accepting unspent funds from an accountable person.
On the use of cash register systems when making payments through an accountable entity
What should an organization do that has issued money on account, and this accountant has purchased goods or services? Should the organization at whose expense the payment was made issue a check with the attribute “expense” at the time of payment?
The tax department believes that if the accountant has not presented a power of attorney confirming that he is acting on behalf of the organization, it will be considered that the transaction was carried out with an individual. Therefore, neither the accountable person nor the organization that issued the money to him should issue a cash register check. Only the seller of goods, works or services should use CCP.
And even in the case when the accountable person presents a power of attorney and it is considered that the payment is made between organizations, only one cash register unit should be used and only one cash register receipt will be generated. The cash register check, as in the previous case, is issued (sent) by the seller (Letter of the Federal Tax Service dated August 10, 2018 No. AS-4-20 / [email protected] ).
Please note that from 07/01/2019, the mandatory details of a check for settlements between organizations (IP) will include the name of the buyer (client) (name of the organization, full name of the IP) (clause “d”, clause 15 of Art. 1, clause 2, article 4 of the Federal Law of July 3, 2018 No. 192-FZ). A check generated after the specified date will allow identification of both parties to the settlement. In this regard, there will be no need to use cash register systems simultaneously by the seller and the buyer.
New rules for issuing money will be reported
Accountable money can be issued without applications. An employee also has the right to receive a new report before reporting for the previous one. These are the main changes in working with accountable amounts, which have been in effect since August 19, 2020.
The Bank of Russia changed the procedure for conducting cash transactions by instruction dated June 19, 2017 No. 4416-U. Since August 19, the cash book can be maintained by any employee of the accounting department, and not just the cashier (clause 4.6 of the Procedure). To take advantage of the amendment, make changes to the job description of the employee who is assigned to maintain the cash book. Establish an additional payment for the employee; it is enough to agree on it in an additional agreement to the employment contract (Part 2 of Article 151 and Article 72 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). No changes to the staffing table are required.
From August 19, cash documents can be drawn up on the basis of fiscal documents (clause 4.1 of the Procedure). It is permissible to issue “receipts” and “consumables” electronically (clauses 5 and 6 of the Procedure). But this will require an enhanced qualified signature. It is not necessary to print receipts for “receipts”; they can be sent by email to the person who deposits the money.
But in the case of “consumables”, the recipient of the funds must also have an electronic signature. In practice, “physicists” often do not have it, so they will not be able to certify a document in this way. Then it is safer to draw up a cash receipt order in the usual way on paper
Money can be issued on account either at the request of an employee or on the basis of an administrative document (clause 6.3 of the Procedure, approved by the instruction of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation dated March 11, 2014 No. 3210-U, hereinafter referred to as the Procedure). This may be an order, instruction or other document. For example, an order to send an employee on a business trip. Previously, it was possible to issue money on account only on the basis of an employee’s application.
The requirements for the content of the document remain the same. Both in the application and in the order, write the amount and period for which the company issues money on account. The document must be signed by the manager. If you issue money on account without an application or administrative document, tax officials may consider that since there are no documents, there are no accountable persons. Then their amount will be added to the cash book balance, and if the balance is higher than the limit, it will be considered that it has been exceeded. Inspectors fine up to 50,000 rubles for this violation. (Article 15.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). Failure to submit an application violates the procedure for issuing cash rather than conducting cash transactions, and you cannot be fined for this.
The main thing is that both the applications and the administrative documents for the issuance of money on account include the amount of cash, the period for which the cash is issued, the signature of the manager and the date. The form of the application and administrative document is arbitrary. It’s safer to compile them when you issue money on report to salary cards. Otherwise, there is a risk that tax authorities and the bank may decide that this is not accountable income, but other income, and demand personal income tax from it.
An employee can be given a new amount to report at any time. You can issue money even if the employee has not reported on the previous advance (clause 6.3 of the Procedure).
The report deadline remains the same. The employee is required to report on accountable amounts within three working days after the end of the period for which the money was issued (clause 6.3 of the Procedure). You decide for yourself for what period to issue the money. You can set different deadlines depending on the employee’s position. An exception is reporting for a business trip, for which the employee must report within three working days after returning from a business trip.
What's changing | When does it take effect | As it was | How did it happen | Document No. |
Rules for issuing money on account | from October 13 | An order for issuing money on account was drawn up for each accountant | Money can be issued on the basis of one order. You can issue a report in cash in any of two ways - at the request of the employee or according to an administrative document. The rule is effective from August 19. | Letter dated October 13, 2020 No. 29-1-1-OE/24158) |
The Ministry of Finance clarified whether it is possible to issue employee reports on a card | from August 19, 2020 | The company has the right to issue money to the employee on a salary card report. Specify the procedure for settlements with accountable persons in the accounting policy. To reduce the risk of tax claims, indicate in the payment order that you are transferring accountable amounts. Receive from the employee documents confirming payment by bank card, for example, cash receipts, a bank statement on the card, etc. The Ministry of Finance of Russia gave such recommendations in an earlier letter - dated 08/25/14 No. 03-11-11/42288. | letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated July 21, 2017 No. 09-01-07/46781 | |
The Central Bank named 6 mandatory details for an order for accountable | from August 19, 2020 | There were no requirements for the order for those accountable, since cash could only be issued upon the employee’s application. | Draw up an order or other administrative document for each cash withdrawal for which there is no application from the employee. It is impossible to issue accountable money only according to an expenditure order. Make sure that the order contains six mandatory details - without them, inspectors may decide that there was no cash issuance under report and will be fined 50,000 rubles. for violation of cash order: 1. Full name of the person to whom you are giving money on account 2. Amount to be issued 3. For how long is cash issued? 4. Signature of the manager 5. Date 6. Registration number of the order. | Letter of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation dated 09/06/17 No. 29-1-1-OE/20642 |
Rules for issuing money on account | from August 19, 2020 | Money is issued on account if a previously received advance is closed | You can issue money even if the employee has not paid off the previous report. The requirement to close a previously issued advance has been removed. | Directive of the Central Bank of June 19, 2020 No. 4416-U |
Procedure for registering a cash book | from August 19, 2020 | Entries in the cash book are made by the cashier | The cash book can be maintained not only by the cashier, but also by other authorized persons | Directive of the Central Bank of June 19, 2020 No. 4416-U |
The procedure for registering incoming and outgoing cash orders | from August 19, 2020 | Signatures are placed on receipts and consumables, in the cash book | Signatures are placed only on paper documents. Electronic signatures are provided for electronic cash orders and the cash book | Directive of the Central Bank of June 19, 2020 No. 4416-U |
The procedure for conducting cash transactions | from August 19, 2020 | All cash transactions are documented with incoming and outgoing cash orders when they are completed. It is permissible to issue receipts for the total amount based on the CCP and BSO control tape | Both receipts and consumables can be issued upon completion of cash transactions based on fiscal documents. We are talking about the documents provided for by the Federal Law of May 22, 2003 No. 54-FZ “On the use of cash register equipment when making cash payments and (or) settlements using electronic means of payment” | Directive of the Central Bank of June 19, 2020 No. 4416-U |
Dates for transition to online cash registers have been approved | The first stage of transition - from February 1, 2020 | It was not clear from what date to start using online cash register systems | From February 1, 2020, only new cash registers can be registered. From July 1, 2020, old equipment must be replaced with new ones. | Federal Law dated July 3, 2016 No. 290-FZ |
Fiscals and patent entrepreneurs can switch to online cash registers later | Transition for UTII and patent - from July 1, 2020 | It was not clear how to switch to online cash register for those who were allowed not to use cash register at all | all benefits for the non-use of cash registers are cancelled, on UTII and patents you need to switch to online cash registers from July 1, 2020 | Clause 7 of Art. 7 Federal Law dated July 3, 2016 No. 290-FZ |
Some activities are exempt from online cash registers | From February 1, 2020 | The list of exempt activities was smaller | Those who: - sell newspapers, ice cream, transport tickets, vegetables and fruits (out of season); — provides meals to students in educational institutions; — trades in retail markets, fairs; — engages in small household services: shoe repair, metal repair, key making, supervision and care for children, the elderly, and the disabled; - sells food and non-food products in passenger train cars, from hand carts, bicycles, baskets, trays; — sells kvass, milk, vegetable oil, live fish, kerosene from tank trucks; — accepts glassware and waste materials from the population; — sells products of folk arts and crafts; — engaged in plowing vegetable gardens and sawing firewood; — provides porterage services at train stations. Entrepreneurs, when leasing residential premises owned by them, are also exempt from using cash desks. | Article 1 of Federal Law dated July 3, 2016 No. 290-FZ |
The procedure for registering incoming and outgoing cash orders will be clarified (draft) | After 10 days after the official publication of the Directive (expected from July 1, 2020) | When depositing money, the depositor is given a receipt counterfoil | If the receipt is issued electronically, the receipt to the contributor, at his request, can be sent by email | Directive “On amendments to the Directive of the Bank of Russia dated March 11, 2014 No. 3210-U (being registered with the Ministry of Justice). |
Paper BSOs canceled | From July 1, 2020 | Until July 1, 2020, companies and individual entrepreneurs providing services to the public will be able to use BSO as before. That is, forms can be filled out by hand or printed using automated systems | The rules for issuing strict reporting forms will change significantly. Sellers will need to send data on issued BSOs electronically to the tax office. The procedure for transferring BSO to the tax office will be the same as when sending cash receipts | Federal Law of July 3, 2016 No. 290-FZ |
>Understanding the new rules for reporting
It is better to issue money for a long term. It's safer
The company has the right to set a separate deadline for each accountable amount. This needs to be fixed in an order or memo. You can prescribe a single reporting deadline for everyone or fix different deadlines depending on the level of the position or the purpose of the money. For example, an accountant has three months to buy rare parts and report on these expenses. The deadline for the report on the purchase of household needs is three working days.
However, the above orders must be created in advance. In one of the cases, the company set a period of 24 months for reporting on funds. But she lost the trial because she presented an order for such a long term during the trial. During the audit of the company, the tax authorities did not see him. The judges considered the company’s actions to be an evasion of additional charges, and therefore did not take the order into account (resolution of the Third AAS dated September 28, 2015 No. 03AP-4126/2015).
What changes need to be taken into account in 2019
Legislative reform of accounting provisions regarding the issuance of funds for reporting in budgetary institutions began back in 2020. According to the order of the Ministry of Finance dated July 1, 2013 No. 65n, a number of amendments were made to the instructions on budget classification, changing some codes for the classification of operations of the general government sector (KOSGU). Thus, analytical accounts have been updated in the budget accounting registers, reflecting the movement of accountable amounts. At the same time, amendments were included in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
In 2020, the Central Bank made changes to the report by adopting regulatory legal act No. 4416-U dated June 19, 2017, which introduced significant amendments to the instructions of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation dated March 11, 2014 No. 3210-U. The main modifications concerned paragraph 6.3.
New reporting rules:
- only an employee with whom the employer has signed an employment contract (Article 15 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation), as well as individuals working under a civil law contract (letter of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation dated October 2, 2014 No. 29-R-R-6/7859) can receive reporting money );
- Employees do not have to provide an application to issue money. The basis for payment of the advance amount is an order, instruction or decision signed by the manager;
- the issuance of the required amounts can be carried out even if there is a debt on accountable money issued earlier.
Thus, from August 19, it has become easier to issue accountable amounts.
If you miss the statute of limitations, you will have to pay personal income tax
If more than three years have passed since the date on which the employee was supposed to account for the accountable amounts or return them, the statute of limitations is considered to have expired. The company will not be able to repay the overdue debt even through court. In such cases, judges recognize that the employee received an economic benefit, which is subject to personal income tax (Resolutions of the North-Western District No. F07-5021/2016 dated 07/14/16, Central District No. F10-3997/2016 dated 11/02/16). If the statute of limitations has not expired, the accountable money is the employee’s debt (Resolution of the Fourth AAS dated March 25, 2015 No. 04AP-726/2015).
To protect themselves, organizations sign agreements with employees to repay the debt in installments, acts of reconciliation, or receive letters from them acknowledging the debt. In these ways, companies trigger the limitation period in a new circle (Article 203 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, paragraph 20 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated September 29, 2015 No. 43). But the reconciliation report or other documents must be signed before the expiration of the statute of limitations, otherwise they will not save you from the claims of the tax authorities (Resolution of the AS of the North-Western District dated July 14, 2016 No. F07-5021/2016).
What has changed in the algorithm for issuing funds?
The new 2020 reporting rules represent the following sequence of actions:
- The employee submits to the accounting department an order for the issuance of money against a report signed by the head of the institution in any form.
- Accountable persons, the changes of 2020 approved this innovation, may now have debt on previously issued advances. But before issuing, you need to make a complete reconciliation of mutual settlements with him.
- The employee provides an advance report no later than 3 working days after the date established in the order. All available documents confirming expenses must be attached to the advance report. Unspent money is returned to the organization's cash desk (the accountant creates a cash receipt order).
- An accountant or cashier checks the received expense report and primary documents to ensure they are filled out correctly. The inspection period is set independently by each institution through local regulations.
IMPORTANT! If the management of a budget organization wants to protect itself from non-repayment, it is possible to approve a ban on the issuance of funds if the employee has an existing debt. For this purpose, the Regulations on settlements with accountable persons are approved.
No changes in accountable amounts were recorded in 2020. The employee has the right to receive any amount of money in advance without restrictions. However, if an employee settles accounts with suppliers, contractors or performers as a representative of a budget organization, the cash amount given to him cannot exceed 100,000 rubles under one contract.
The lack of economic benefit will be proven by the company’s attempts to return the money
If the tax authorities make a claim, it would be advisable for the company to try to return the money during the audit. For example, if the amount of accountable funds is significant, enter into a written agreement with the employee that he will return the money in installments over a long period of time. The lack of income will be proven by the very fact of such an agreement and the first returns. The fact that an employee has violated the deadline for submitting an advance report is not a reason to charge additional personal income tax.
In one case, the director of the company did not report on accountable funds for more than a year. During this time, the debt grew to 88 million rubles. Tax officials did not miss the chance to get additional funds into the budget and offered the company to withhold personal income tax from this amount, imposed a fine and accrued additional penalties. The organization managed to win the dispute - the accountant and the company converted part of the amount into a loan, the director returned part of the amount to the company's cash desk, and the company returned part of it in court. The company decided to withhold the remainder from the salary in the amount of 50 percent.
The inspectors tried to challenge such re-registrations and returns, since they occurred after the inspection. But the court sided with the company. By default, accountable amounts are issued with the condition of reporting or return. Inspections must prove otherwise. They did not provide evidence that the employee received an economic benefit. All their arguments in favor of additional charges were based only on the violation of the deadline for submitting the advance report. The company tried to repay the debt, even after a tax audit. Consequently, in fact, the employee did not receive income, therefore fines and penalties are unlawful (Resolution of the Central District Administrative District dated July 19, 2016 No. F10-2385/2016).
The AC of the Central District agreed with this decision in its resolution dated November 2, 2016 No. F10-3997/2016. During the trial, the director will present documents regarding some of the funds issued. He returned the other part to the cashier. The court overturned the decision on additional assessment.
How to prepare an advance report in 2020, taking into account the latest changes?
The rules by which advance reports are drawn up are given:
- in the instructions of the Bank of Russia “On the procedure for conducting cash transactions...” dated March 11, 2014 No. 3210-U;
- Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated October 13, 2008 No. 749 (it is often also called the regulation on business trips);
- Law “On Electronic Signature” dated 04/06/2011 No. 63-FZ;
- the above-mentioned resolution of the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation dated August 1, 2001 No. 55 (its norms today should be considered as recommendations).
The rules established by these regulatory legal acts (LLA) are presented in the table:
Questions about filling out an advance report | Answers | Norms of legal acts |
How many copies of the report are needed? | One | Paragraph 2 instructions to resolution No. 55 |
When is the report completed? | 3 working days counted from the date:
| Paragraph 2 clause 6.3 of instruction No. 3210-U |
In what form is the report prepared? | In paper or electronic | Clause 1 Art. Law No. 402-FZ |
Whose responsibility is it to prepare the report - the accountant or the accountant? | Accountable | Paragraph 2 clause 6.3 of instruction No. 3210-U |
Accountant and accountant | Paragraph 2 instructions to resolution No. 55 | |
How to show the amounts spent? | The report includes a list of supporting documents and the corresponding amounts of expenses. Documents - attachments to the expense report are numbered in the same sequence in which they are included in the report | Paragraph 4 instructions to Resolution No. 55 |
What should an accountant do? |
| Paragraph 5 instructions to Resolution No. 55, para. 2 clause 6.3 of instruction No. 3210-U |
Who approves the report? | Manager or authorized employee | Paragraph 7 instructions to Resolution No. 55 |
Head | Paragraph 2 clause 6.3 of instruction No. 3210-U | |
Is it allowed to use an electronic signature? | Allowed, but all signatories of the report must have it | Art. 6 of Law 63-FZ |
You can see how an advance report is prepared.
As for innovations, there are none directly related to filling out the expense report. However, as of August 19, 2017, the rules for issuing accountable money and issuing cash forms have been updated (directive of the Bank of Russia dated June 19, 2017 No. 4416-U).
Details are in the articles:
- “Changes in the procedure for conducting cash transactions”;
- "New rules for working with accountables."
Cash limit
Russian civil legislation does not limit the circulation of money.
Any organization or individual has the opportunity to use funds for their needs. The only condition is the legality of such use. The right to spend money does not depend on its form. These regulations are provided for in Chapter 6 of the Civil Code of Russia. The Central Bank of Russia, in paragraph 1 of its Directives dated October 7, 2013 No. 3073-U, directly noted that cash payments are made without restrictions between citizens who are not individual entrepreneurs. In the case of settlements between companies or entrepreneurs, some features established by the Bank of Russia should be taken into account.
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Domestic companies and entrepreneurs do not have the right to spend cash from the cash register. Exceptions that allow the use of cash are directly listed in clause 2 of the Directive of the Central Bank of Russia dated October 7, 2013 No. 3073-U. Acceptable cases of spending such amounts include:
- payment of salaries to company employees;
- social payments;
- insurance payments, but only if the insurance was purchased in cash;
- receipt of cash by individual entrepreneurs for the personal needs of a citizen;
- payment for goods, works or services;
- issuing money for reporting to the responsible employee;
- refund of money received as payment for returned goods (work or services);
- cash issuance by payment agents.
Companies and entrepreneurs cannot use cash for other purposes.
All cash transactions, the parties to which are enterprises and individual entrepreneurs, must be made taking into account the maximum allowable amounts. The Central Bank of Russia has established that the cash payment limit for one transaction cannot exceed 100,000 rubles.
If a participant in cash transactions is a citizen who is not registered as an individual entrepreneur, then the maximum payment amount is not taken into account. The limit does not apply in the case of the issuance of money in 2020 against a report from the cash register or payment of wages. This rule is enshrined in clauses 5 and 6 of the Directives of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation dated 10/07/2013 No. 3073-U.
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation issued Instructions No. 3210-U dated March 11, 2014, which approved the procedure for conducting cash transactions. This document is mandatory for companies that use cash in their activities.
From the content of these instructions of the Central Bank it follows that the cash in the company’s cash desk at the end of the day cannot exceed the limit. This indicator is developed and established by the enterprise independently. The limit is calculated using the formulas attached to Instructions No. 3210-U dated March 11, 2014, and taking into account the company’s actual indicators.
All cash in excess of the limit must be deposited at the bank. This requirement is mandatory. Its violation may be grounds for imposing an administrative fine on the company.
It is important to note that entrepreneurs are exempt from the obligation to set a limit.
Advance report: what can be taken into account
The issuance of funds by an organization to a person in an employment relationship with it is standard business practice. The money that the company, with the participation of the accounting department, transfers for reporting is accompanied by documentation confirming its intended use. Documents are carefully reviewed by regulatory authorities. The main question that worries employees responsible for the expense report: both accountants and accountable persons - what can be taken into account? Despite the abundance of explanatory letters, guidelines, guidelines and instructions, many issues remain controversial. An employee whose “hands” are entrusted with accountable funds is constantly forced to think about how to collect documents confirming his expenses, and the accounting department has to check the submitted papers and checks line by line. In general, the following rules apply to advance money:
- Funds are issued for business and operational needs and travel expenses.
- The basis for issuing funds is the order of the manager. The manager makes a decision after the accountable person submits an application.
- After making the expenses for which the funds were allocated, they must be reflected in the report, attaching supporting documents.
- The accountable person must submit an advance report with justification for expenses to the accounting department within three days after the official date of return from the business trip. This date is considered to be the date indicated on the return ticket or waybill if the employee uses a car.
- If an employee receives money for business needs, then he must submit an advance report within the time limits established by a special order of the head of the organization. As a rule, such an order is issued in the form of an annex to the accounting policies of the organization.
- Employees of the organization must be familiar with all administrative documents relating to the procedure for issuing money on account and submitting advance reports confirming expenses.
What documents are officially accepted as justification for expenses?
This issue creates the greatest difficulties for all participants in checking advance reports: both for the checking workers and for the reporting ones. According to the current established practice of tax audits, supporting documents are:
- cash register receipt;
- passenger tickets, boarding pass;
- sales receipts/invoices;
- receipts, strict reporting forms (SSR) and other forms on the basis of which one can draw a conclusion about the validity of expenses.
In practice, for each item on the list, the accountant may have certain requirements, and accountable persons may have questions.
Here are some examples
- Documents compiled in a foreign language must be translated into Russian. Not all information specified in the document is subject to translation, but only that which is essential for accounting.
- Is it possible to indicate dates in the expense report that fall on weekends or holidays? If days on business trips are considered, they are indicated in the report as part of the total duration of the business trip, determined by the order and passenger tickets (waybills). For these days, daily allowances are paid as usual. If we consider the days when inventory items are purchased or any services are provided to the employee, then questions may arise related to the involvement of the employee in performing work duties on weekends. The procedure for working on weekends is established by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and is controlled by the labor inspectorate. Therefore, it is better to avoid completing documents on weekends and, as expected, take a break from work. It is not recommended to invite business partners to a representative dinner on a weekend or holiday.
- An organization can independently develop an advance report form and approve it in its accounting policies. The mandatory use of the unified form AO-1 has been abolished since 2013. In practice, many continue to use the old “verified” form, which has two sides (approved by Resolution of the State Statistics Committee of Russia dated August 1, 2001 N 55). The first side (title side) is filled out by the accountable person and the accountant, approved by the manager. The second (reverse) side is filled out by the accountable person and confirmed by his signature. On the second side, in the free lines, the accountable person lists all the documents that are attached to support expenses.
- If funds were issued not in the form of cash (from the cash register), but via a corporate card to an account specially opened for such transactions, the procedure for filling out the advance report does not change. The legislation does not limit the amount of amounts that an organization can issue for reporting; they can be very significant, but even the smallest amounts issued must be taken into account in the advance report. At the same time, it is necessary to remember the legally established standards for cash payments between legal entities and individual entrepreneurs - no more than 100 thousand rubles under one agreement. If you need to purchase goods or materials in large quantities, the accountable person must take care in advance to agree with counterparties on the conclusion of contracts for each batch that does not exceed the specified limit for cash payments. This restriction does not apply to non-cash payments. In practice, restrictions on the issuance of amounts for reporting are established by corporate rules, which are defined in the company’s internal policies.
Cash and sales receipts - how to accept them?
Most often, reporting employees have difficulties with cash receipts - from stores, points of sale of tickets for public transport, gas stations (if you need to travel on company business by car). If other documents (invoices/sales receipts) are attached to cash receipts, then there will be no problems and they can be accepted for accounting. Any documents can be attached to the advance report. Moreover, these documents must confirm not only the fact of payment for material assets, but also the fact of their receipt. A cash receipt only confirms the fact of payment, so it is not enough to confirm the fact of purchase of goods (work, services). The regulations on cash registers determine that a cash register receipt is a primary accounting document printed by a cash register on paper, confirming the fact of a cash payment and (or) payment using payment cards between the user and the buyer (client), containing information about these settlements registered cash register software and hardware that ensure proper accounting of funds during settlements. Currently, the use of cash register technology is undergoing significant changes. The transition to a new order, modern and technological, will allow information about each purchase to be transferred online to the tax office, and buyers will receive and save cash receipts on their mobile devices. On July 1, 2020, the old order will cease to apply. At the same time, service sector enterprises, owners of vending machines, as well as persons applying patents and UTII, that is, for small businesses that were not obliged to use cash registers, will have another whole year to switch to the new procedure; for them it becomes mandatory from 1 July 2018. Thus, until mid-2020, there will be two procedures for issuing cash receipts: on old machines and new ones. Following the previous procedure, it is necessary to check the presence of the following mandatory details on cash receipts:
- name of company;
- TIN;
- serial number of the cash register;
- serial number of the check;
- date and time of purchase (service provision);
- cost of purchase (service);
- a sign of a fiscal regime.
According to the new rules, the mandatory details of a cash receipt will be checked automatically in the format established by the tax authorities. This will greatly facilitate the control of documents confirming payment. A mandatory element of the new cash register receipt is a QR code, thanks to which any buyer can check the legality of the purchase being made. It must be remembered that in some cases it is allowed to issue not a cash receipt, but a strict reporting form (SSR). The cash receipt and strict reporting form must contain, except in cases established by law, the following mandatory details:
- serial number for the shift;
- date, time and place (address) of settlement;
- name of the organization or surname, name, patronymic of an individual entrepreneur;
- taxpayer identification number;
- the taxation system used in the calculation;
- sign of calculation (receipt of funds from the buyer - receipt, return to the buyer of funds received from him - return of receipt, issuance of funds to the buyer - expense, receipt of funds from the buyer issued to him - return of expense;
- name of goods, works, services, payment, disbursement, their quantity, price per unit taking into account discounts and markups, cost taking into account discounts and markups, indicating the value added tax rate;
- the calculation amount with a separate indication of the rates and amounts of value added tax at these rates;
- form of payment (cash and (or) electronic means of payment), as well as the amount of payment in cash and (or) electronic means of payment;
- position and surname of the person who made the settlement with the buyer (client), issued a cash receipt or strict reporting form and issued (transferred) it to the buyer (client);
- registration number of cash register equipment;
- serial number of the fiscal drive model;
- fiscal sign of the document;
- the address of the website of the authorized body on the Internet, where the fact of recording this calculation and the authenticity of the fiscal indicator can be verified;
- subscriber number or email address of the buyer (client) in case of transfer of a cash receipt or strict reporting form in electronic form;
- the email address of the sender of the cash receipt or strict reporting form in electronic form in the event of transfer of a cash receipt or strict reporting form in electronic form to the buyer (client);
- serial number of the fiscal document;
- shift number;
- fiscal sign of the message.
The organization's posting of inventory items purchased for it by an employee is carried out on the basis of primary accounting documents, in particular an advance report, sales receipts, as well as documents confirming the fact of payment - KKM checks, receipts for a cash receipt order (see letter from the Federal Tax Service dated June 25. 2013 N ED-4-3/ [email protected] ). At the same time, part 2 of Art. 9 of Law N 402-FZ defines a list of mandatory details that any primary accounting document must contain. Namely:
- Title of the document;
- date of document preparation;
- name of the economic entity that compiled the document;
- content of the fact of economic life;
- the value of the natural and (or) monetary measurement of a fact of economic life, indicating the units of measurement;
- the name of the position of the person (persons) who completed the transaction, operation and is responsible (responsible) for the correctness of its execution, or the name of the position of the person (persons) responsible for the accuracy of the execution of the event;
- signatures of the persons provided for in paragraph 6 of this part, indicating their surnames and initials or other details necessary to identify these persons.
Invoices submitted for reporting must be drawn up on behalf of the organization, and not the individual employee, otherwise the costs for them will be difficult to attribute to the company’s costs. In 2016, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation indicated (determination of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 03/09/2016 No. 302-KG16-450) that primary documents are recognized as executed in violation of the requirements of the law and are not accepted for accounting in the following cases:
- lack of information in them necessary to identify the persons who signed them;
- when the name of the purchased goods is not clearly indicated (for example, “household expenses, office supplies, household chemicals, building materials, expenses, children’s New Year’s gifts”);
- there is no date of compilation;
- The columns “quantity” and “product price” are not filled in;
- The seller's signature is missing.
If the transaction performed is subject to VAT, then invoices must be attached to the documents for the purchase of goods, works, and services. The type and content of invoices are regulated by Article 169 of the Tax Code and Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 914 (dated February 2, 2000).
Business trip: what can be taken into account?
Documents that confirm the expenses of business travelers usually include:
- round-trip tickets for air, railway, and bus transport, cash receipts for the issuance of bed linen;
- confirmation of travel expenses to train stations/airports located outside cities, in hard-to-reach areas;
- documents from the place of residence - hotel bills, strict reporting forms or cash receipts;
- travel insurance policies;
- documents confirming payment of other travel-related fees;
- documents on payment for obtaining visas.
To confirm payment for the use of a passenger taxi, a cash receipt or receipt in the form of a strict reporting form is issued. The specified receipt must contain the required details:
- name, series and number of the receipt for payment for the use of a passenger taxi;
- name of the freighter;
- date of issue of the receipt for payment for the use of a passenger taxi;
- cost of using a passenger taxi;
- last name, first name, patronymic and signature of the person authorized to carry out settlements.
In the receipt for payment for the use of a passenger taxi, it is allowed to place additional details that take into account the special conditions for the transportation of passengers and luggage by passenger taxis. Thus, the driver of a passenger taxi is obliged to give the passenger at the end of the trip either a cash receipt printed by cash register equipment, or a receipt in the form of a strict reporting form, which must contain the established details.
Let's sum it up
The advance report is checked by the accounting department for the intended use of funds, the presence of primary documents confirming the expenses incurred, and the correctness of their execution. The verified expense report is approved by the head of the organization or another person with appropriate authority. Based on the data of the approved advance report, the accounting department writes off accountable amounts in the prescribed manner. BDO Unicon Outsourcing employees are always ready to tell you what difficulties you may encounter when filling out an advance report, what can be taken into account and how to draw up documents. The company offers a full range of consultations and professional services for personnel records and employee settlements.