VAT estimate - introduction

Fixed cost markup - configured versus real

Recipes calculate cost as ingredients plus a markup percentage from your organization settings. If that percentage is a guess, every price calculated from the margin rests on a cost that does not exist. The “Fixed cost markup” card shows two numbers side by side: the one set in the app and the one that follows from the period's costs - fixed costs plus labor costs divided by direct costs (ingredients and packaging).

• A gap larger than 15 percentage points is spelled out directly
• When there is a gap, we show how the minimum price changes at a 40% margin
• Missing labor costs are flagged - the result is then understated
• You change the markup in Settings, then click “Recalculate all” on the recipe list

Why you need this tab

The most common problem of a bakery owner is not “how much did I earn” but “how much of this money is not mine”. You usually learn the VAT amount only after the 20th of the following month, when your accountant gets in touch - and by then the money has often already been spent on flour and wages. The “Finance” tab shows the estimate as you go, so you set money aside during the month instead of scrambling at the last minute. It is built around VAT rules in Poland.

• Estimated VAT payable for the selected settlement period
• Payment deadline and the number of days left
• Calculated from documents you already have in BakePilot
• By default visible only to the Administrator role
• Available in the Mistrzowski (Master) plan

This is an estimate, not a tax return

The most important caveat: BakePilot does not calculate tax and does not replace accounting. The amount in the Finance tab is an estimate for cash flow planning - it should tell you roughly how much to set aside in your account. Your accounting remains the source of truth and it prepares the VAT return. The same note is printed under the amount on the period card.

• An estimate for cash flow planning, not a tax return
• Does not replace your accountant or accounting software
• Not meant for filling in official forms
• May differ from your accountant's calculation, and that is normal

Where the data comes from

The tab does not ask you for extra work - it uses the documents you already keep in BakePilot. On the output tax side, that is the tax you collect from customers, it takes sales invoices and receipt sales from daily reports. On the input tax side, that is the tax on your purchases, it takes purchase invoices (downloaded from KSeF, Poland's National e-Invoicing System, and scanned) and costs added manually.

• Output: sales invoices issued in BakePilot
• Output: takings from receipt sales in daily reports
• Output: off-register sales - amounts from sales channels (for example delivery platforms) that do not have “Rung up on the cash register” ticked in Settings, at the VAT rate chosen for the channel
• Input: purchase invoices downloaded from KSeF or scanned
• Input: costs added manually in the Finance tab
• Documents go to a period by their sale date

The period card - what you see on it

At the top of the tab there is the “VAT estimate” card for the selected period. The header says whether it is “To pay”, “To carry forward to the next period” or “Nothing to pay”, with the amount below it. Next to an amount to pay you see the “Payment deadline” with the date and the number of days left - the deadline is the 25th day of the month following the period. Below are two items: “Output VAT (sales)” and “Input VAT (purchases)”.

• “To pay” - the amount to set aside for the period
• “To carry forward to the next period” - when VAT on purchases exceeds VAT on sales
• “Payment deadline” - the 25th of the following month and a day counter
• “Output VAT (sales)” and “Input VAT (purchases)” as components

Changing the period

You choose the period in the top right corner: with the “Previous period” and “Next period” arrows or from the drop-down list. You cannot go into the future - the furthest is the current period. Whether a period is a month or a quarter depends on your invoice settings.

1. Open the “Finance” tab
2. Click the “Previous period” arrow or open the list with the period name
3. Choose a month or a quarter - the whole tab recalculates for that period

Breakdown by rate and source documents

Under the period card there are two tables: “Output VAT by rate” and “Input VAT by rate”, with the columns “Rate”, “Net”, “VAT”, “Gross”. The input breakdown covers only costs added manually - invoices from KSeF and from the scanner do not carry a split by rate, so they go into the total without a breakdown. Further down, the “Documents in the calculation” section groups documents into expandable lists with a link to each of them.

• “Sales invoices” - with a link to each invoice
• “Receipt sales” - day by day, with a link to the daily report
• “Off-register sales” - day by day (with sales points, with the point name), with a link to Reports
• “Purchase invoices” - from KSeF and from the scanner
• “Costs added manually”
• Net and VAT totals for each group

The tab shows its own gaps

BakePilot does not pretend to know everything. If something is missing, a yellow “data gaps” box appears under the period card with a list of what is missing. Treat it as a to-do list if you want a more accurate estimate. When there are no gaps, the box does not appear at all.

• Days without a split of takings by VAT rate - receipt sales from those days were left out of the calculation
• No daily reports in the period
• Documents in a currency other than PLN - skipped
• Purchase invoices without VAT amounts read - left out of input VAT

Settlement settings

In the “Invoices” tab, the “Settings” button opens “Invoice settings”. There you tick “Active VAT payer” and choose the settlement period: “Monthly” or “Quarterly”. This determines which periods the Finance tab shows and the payment deadline it calculates. If you untick active VAT payer, instead of amounts you will see the message “Your company is not an active VAT payer”.

• “Active VAT payer” - turns the estimate on or off
• “Monthly” or “Quarterly” period

Administrator password

If your bakery works on one shared account, you can lock the Finance and Time tracking tabs with an extra password. You set it in “Settings” in the “Administrator password” section - only from a link sent by e-mail. Once unlocked, a “Lock again” button appears in the top right corner of the tab.