Category: articles

How to avoid a paralysis of the Finance Division when preparing the next report on payment practices and performance in commercial transactions?

We have been hearing rumours across the industry in Poland that some companies, all of which were preparing reports on payment practices and performance, i.e. on payment backlogs, for the first time ever took over 2 weeks to get them done. It appears that finance specialists dedicated all their efforts to satisfying statutory reporting requirements only. How did that happen? Probably because they lacked tools fit for the job.

Can a payment backlog report, therefore, be prepared in a matter of hours?

It certainly can. All it takes is a suitable functionality which enhances the existing ERP system in such a way as to support the process of generating the necessary data. Microsoft Dynamics 365/AX system users can now use a proprietary solution developed by the INLOGICA team for this purpose. The payment backlog functionality in its standard version makes it possible to quickly generate a Payment Backlog report which includes the financial information required of a report on payment practices and performance.

The report itself is just one aspect of the payment backlog functionality.

It is just as necessary to closely watch the in-house payment practices too, as exceeding the statutory threshold of outstanding or late payments during a period of 3 subsequent months is considered as causing so called “excessive payment delays”. The threshold is currently set at PLN 5 million, and exceeding it can lead to serious consequences. They can range from having proceedings launched against the organisation by the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection to high fines, the amount of which depends on the sum of delayed payments and the period of delay. The threshold beyond which the provisions on excessive payment delays apply will be decreased to PLN 2 million as of January 2022.

How to keep it in check?

By regularly monitoring payment practices. The extended version of INLOGICA’s payment backlog functionality for Microsoft Dynamics 365/AX is equipped with analytics and regular monitoring of payment delays in commercial transactions using defined system alerts.

The Polish Ministry of Finance have published a preliminary logical structure of a new version of the JPK-VAT file for a declaration with registers (JPK-V7M).

The updated version contains a number of changes which entered into force as of July this year. For example:

• the GTU procedural markings (for groups of goods and services) have been made more precise now,
• the MPP procedural markings (referring to the split payment schema) have been eliminated,
• the markings for SW (mail order sales from Poland) and EE (telecommunications, broadcasting and electronic services ) procedures have been replaced with one common procedural marking WSTO_EE (intra-community distance sales of goods and provision of telecommunications, broadcasting and electronic services to consumers and non-taxpayers in another EU state),
• a marking element for the IED procedure has been introduced (with reference to taxpayers who facilitate buyer and seller contact by using an electronic interface, i.e. for example an online store, as part of their business activities),
• several definitions of fields with relevant texts have also been updated, including those referring to VAT refunds, for which also additional shortened refund deadlines have been added, for example a 40-day deadline for making a VAT refund in connection with using the National E-Invoicing System (KSeF), planned to go live in January 2022. The new JPK-V7M(2) structure will be applicable to settlement periods starting on or after January 2022.

In practice, the first JPK-V7M files will not be transmitted in their latest version until February next year.

After 20 years, Microsoft is scrapping its Open Licence programme.

Under the programme, customers – typically small and mid-sized businesses, government and educational institutions – would conclude open agreements on the basis of which they would acquire services and licences (usually perpetual ones). That programme will end on 31 December 2021.

From the beginning of the next year, it will no longer be possible to renew licences or purchase new ones under Open Licence agreements. The void space is being filled in by the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) model, which has been around for some time now, and has evolved into the leading Microsoft software purchasing programme for small and mid-sized organisations (up to 500 users).

Monthly or annual subscriptions for all Microsoft 365, Office 365 and Dynamics 365 licences can be acquired under the Cloud Solution Provider programme. Gradually, perpetual software licences (intended for local installation only) are being moved to the CSP programme, too – for example the popular Office Standard 2019 software. 1 and 3-year licences are available in the CSP programme as well.

Can we help you with any questions about the CSP programme? Do you have licensing needs?

We will be able help you through this change.

Being an authorised Microsoft software reseller transacting in the CSP model, we can quickly and efficiently supply you with licences following a straight and transparent order fulfilment path.

A new Microsoft Windows 365 service has been available to business users in Poland for a few days now – it is a fully cloud-based computer. The service consists in the streaming of the Windows system with the entire content – applications, settings, data – from Microsoft’s cloud onto any device, in a secure way.

It appears that Microsoft 365 is the perfect response to the new remote and hybrid work reality.

If you happen to work from any location and on any device, you no longer need to bother about keeping your system and apps up to date, or about the accessibility and security of your work results. You can now easily switch between your laptop, tablet and phone. Conveniently and effortlessly.

Windows 365 is available in the following versions:

• Business for small and mid-sized enterprises (up to 300 users)
• Enterprise for larger businesses.

You can select the most cost-effective subscription version to suit the number of virtual machines, memory demand, additional services required by your organisation.

Take part in the real technological revolution and enjoy a full Windows experience via Cloud PC!

An electronic invoice is a digital file which contains structured invoice data. It will become an optional invoice format in Poland starting from 1 January 2022.  

According to the announcements of the Polish Ministry of Finance, it is also likely that it will become mandatory for all businesses to issue structured invoices starting from the year 2023.

How is it going to look in practice?

First and foremost, the recipient has to give their consent to being issued an e-invoice in the form of a structured file.  

If the recipient does not agree to receiving their invoices through the National E-Invoicing System (KSeF), then it will still be possible to issue invoices in a structured data format, but nevertheless the recipient will have to receive the respective invoices in a format that they will accept (in a digital or paper form).

E-invoices issued in on-premises or cloud-based accounting software will be transmitted to the KSeF via an API.

• The KSeF will timestamp the invoice and allocate to it a unique ID.
• The date of invoice transmission to the KSeF will be taken as the date of e-invoice issue, while the date of allocating an ID will be considered to be the date of invoice receipt.

If the recipient does not consent to receiving e-invoices, the existing rules governing the invoice receipt date will apply.

Communication with the KSeF will enable downloading a single invoice or a batch of invoices.

It will be possible to correct an invoice by issuing a structured correction invoice, which will have to contain a reference to the ID allocated by the KSeF to the original invoice.

Correction notes, RR invoices, and proforma invoices will not be recorded in the National E-Invoicing System. The current rules for issuing and receiving those documents will apply.

How can businesses benefit from e-invoicing?

• Certainty that the counterparty has received the invoice.
• Guarantee of invoice authenticity, content integrity and readability.
• Increased efficiency of automated invoice posting due to a unified invoice structure.  
• No need to issue invoice duplicates.
• No need to retain invoice documents.
• No need to hand over invoices to tax authorities.
• Preferential 40-day VAT refund deadline.
• Exemption from the duty to sent the JPK-FA single audit file at the request of the tax authorities.

Due to changes in Polish legislation which came into force as of 1 January 2021, some businesses are now obliged to report on payment practices and performance.

Following significant demand from Microsoft Dynamics 365/ AX users, the INLOGICA team have developed a solution which supports, facilitates and automates the process of generating data required to compile the report.

The functionality will be available in two variants: standard and extended ones.

The standard version makes it possible to generate, directly from the Microsoft Dynamics 365/AX system, the financial data necessary to submit the annual report on payment practices and performance in commercial transactions via the biznes.gov.pl platform.

The extended version, in addition to the basic function of generating report data, also enables regular monitoring of payment backlogs, shielding the business against crossing the statutory “excessive payment delays” threshold.

The user is free to define system rules, the violation of which will trigger a system alert, thus minimising the risk of involuntary exposure to the consequences drawn by Polish authorities.

A tool dedicated for Microsoft Dynamics AX, available for system versions:

• AX 4, 2009 and 2012

The tool allows automatic customer/ vendor data completion based on integration with the REGON 1 Online Database maintained by Statistics Poland.

After entering the tax identification number (NIP), the system automatically fills in the remaining counterparty’s details, such as: the name, address, registration data. At the same time, the customer’s/ vendor’s account is being created or updated.

It is possible to enhance the tool by adding a functionality for verifying the counterparty against the VAT Payer Register.

This allows the user to check whether the buyer of goods or services is registered for VAT (i.e. as an “active” VAT Payer).

The proprietary JPK module for Microsoft Dynamics AX is designed to quickly generate JPK single audit files according to the logical structure templates published by Poland’s Ministry of Finance (as at 8 May 2020).

Structures available in the module:

• JPK_VAT (VAT register) SAF-T schemes (1)/(2)/(3), for periods ending on 30.09.2020
• JPK_V7M (VAT register and monthly VAT declaration), for periods starting on 01.10.2020
• JPK_FA (customer invoices) SAF-T schemes (1)/(2)/(3)
• JPK_KR (accounting ledgers)
• JPK_WB (bank statements)
• JPK_MAG (warehouse).

The data for creating JPK files is generated based on Microsoft Dynamics AX fields and functions. The standard fields are supplemented with setup tables in the JPK application. The application needs to be set up once only, after software installation.

The intermediate step for the creation of JPK files is the data stored in auxiliary tables. It serves as a basis for generating XML files, which conform to JPK logical structures. This solution architecture makes it possible to review the generated data before exporting it into XML files.

The module also has an add-on which makes it possible to select a suitable SAF-T scheme version during the JPK file generating process.

Within the implementation, the Microsoft Dynamics AX system will by updated by procedural markings required for purchase and sales documents: groups of goods and services (GTU), document types, and procedures necessary to correctly generate the JPK_V7M file.

At the Customer’s request, the JPK module can be enhanced by the JPK Delivery add-on for comprehensive management of the generated JPK files and their transfer to Polish authorities directly from the Microsoft Dynamics AX system.

The module implementation agreement with INLOGICA covers a comprehensive programming and consultancy service.

The JPK module is a Microsoft Dynamics AX functionality available for system versions AX 4, 2009 and 2012.

VAT Payer Verification is a Microsoft Dynamics AX add-on available for system versions AX 4 and 2012.

The Polish Ministry of Finance makes the VAT Payer Register available on their website so that members of the public can verify the VAT registration status of businesses. Thanks to this solution, it is possible to obtain a confirmation whether a counterparty is registered for VAT (is an “active” VAT payer). In response to the demand from Microsoft Dynamics AX users, the INLOGICA team have developed a solution to check the VAT registration status directly from the system level.

The VAT Payer Verification add-on validates the customer’s/ vendor’s status in Poland’s Ministry of Finance’s database using the Polish tax identification number (NIP), or in the European Commission’s VIES database for cross-border EU transactions.

The functionality optionally enhances the financial journal, invoice journal and purchase order journal posting processes. If the system determines that the counterparty has the “inactive” status during the VAT payer validation process, the posting of the invoice will be aborted and the user notified about the reason for aborting the posting with an appropriate message.

It is also possible to check the status of an individual counterparty by initiating the verification process at the vendor/ customer account level.

The VAT Payer Verification add-on has settings which make it possible to:

• determine the verification validity period
• determine in which windows the function is to be visible
• define the validation mode for individual journals
• define the validation mode during the posting of purchase orders.

The Whitelist is a Microsoft Dynamics AX functionality available for system versions AX 4 and 2012.

The tool guarantees a higher degree of security of the performed transactions.The solution enhances the Microsoft Dynamics system by a new functionality which enables automatic validation of bank accounts assigned to counterparties by integration with the VAT Payer Register maintained by Poland’s National Revenue Administration. The verification is performed on the date of the query, and the results of the query are archived.

The Whitelist add-on contains the following functionalities:

1.    Verification at the vendor invoice posting level.

The validation will be initiated when posting vendor invoices via a reference to a purchase order. The system verifies the bank account assigned to the invoice.

The validation will be initiated when posting vendor invoices via invoice journals. The system verifies the bank account assigned to the vendor for the invoice line/ attachment. Verification in journals is initiated in processes: Validation and Posting.

2.  Verification during the process of creating vendor disbursement transactions.

The verification will be initiated when starting the Create vendor disbursement transactions function in the payment journal. Verification will also be initiated in processes: Validation and Posting of payment journal

3.  Bulk verification of vendor bank accounts.

The function that is initiated on a selected day, validates the vendor bank accounts entered in the system against the flat file.

It is also possible to add a customised function for verifying a counterparty’s bank account to the posting process individually requested by the customer.