VISUAL NEWSLETTER –
MAY 2001
Retail Sales Tax issues continue to plague the computer
services industry. While it would seem to be simpler to just tax everything the
current government prefers to keep things complicated for now. For this reason
we will be sending out two types of invoices where applicable at month-end.
The first invoice will cover the following:
Hardware installation and services.
Software installation and configuration.
Programming changes to Libra Software.
The above services are classified as taxable under the
Retail Sales Tax law in Ontario.
The second invoice will cover:
Training, Consulting.
Telephone Technical Support.
Custom Programming Services.
Data Management & Recovery Services.
These services are classed as non-taxable under the Retail
Sales Tax law in Ontario.
Custom programming is classed as programming performed for
the use of a single company and its related divisions.
Hopefully these separate invoices will eliminate some
confusion on the part of provincial tax auditors looking for mistakes.
Keep in mind that Visual Accounting has just undergone a
Retail Tax audit for the period of 1997-2000. This should get you off the hook
for any tax audit liabilities as relates to one of our invoices for the period
in question.
Considering the significant time and complexity of our last
audit there is a lot to be said for a synchronized national sales tax.
Pay as you go services do not seem to be for everyone. Some
companies appear to prefer a fixed monthly fee for support services. For this
reason we have decided to offer monthly support plans for those companies that
would prefer them. These plans will cover basic how to questions and what to do
when things go wrong, as they are known to do.
The basic charges will be based on a per module rate of $10
per month per site. Modules that can be covered include:
1)
General Ledger
2)
Accounts Payable
3)
Accounts Receivable
4)
Inventory Control
5)
Order Processing
6)
Cost Accounting
7)
Property Management
8)
Visual Canadian Payroll
9)
Novell & Windows Networking
10)
Windows & MS Office Questions
11)
Basic Consulting Inquiries
12)
Custom Programming Support
These programs cover telephone technical support only, which
may include assistance restoring data from backups. On-site visits and data
recovery services are not covered.
Annual upgrades to Visual Canadian Payroll, Visual Sales Analysis,
Visual Fixed Assets and Visual Accounting Features are included in any complete
monthly plan.
Libra Signature upgrades and custom software refitting can
be factored into annual plans but are subject to variations in pricing as
dictated by GEAC / Libra and ongoing fluctuations in the U.S exchange rate.
Visual Accounting
(905) 458-6650