Customers asking to pay cash to avoid VAT.

[Will C]

The one that winds me up is

“I will pay you cash, you are fully insured arnt you?” 

my normal answer is “if you don’t want the job to exist because you think you will save a few quid then any insurance or any other paperwork is going to not exist on the same level, in fact I am just a figment of your imagination!”

[gand]

1 hour ago, pleasant said:

It's the idiots that come into my place and want to buy a new saw, mower etc and then say will it be cheaper if I pay cash. I normally say how so?

 

They then come back and say something like, 'Well, with cash you can just stick it in your pocket'

 

.....err, yeah, so how does that work then, when I have an invoice for it, and a bank account transaction to the supplier for the purchase of it? First thing tax man wants to see is either the stock I have purchased, or the money for it!!! Some people are right numpties. I normally say 'well, if you can find me a supplier who can sell me a load of stock with no purchase paperwork that I can pay cash for, then I may be able to do a cash deal for you'

 

I normally get a blank look.

I have to say that conversation comes up daily with quite a lot of our customers. Some of which you know they should be vat registered. It can get rather annoying as they try the same each time they come in, thinking we'll eventually give in

[Thesnarlingbadger]

Had someone 5 months back hand me £6500 cash at the end of a week long job which was short of the vat. 
 He basically said to me that he wasn’t going to pay the vat as it would cost him more and it wouldn’t make any difference to me. 
 I politely explained to him that I wouldn’t except that and that if he had discussed this with me sooner I could have taken parts off the job to bring the cost down.

 He got annoyed and told me to pay my staff cash instead and they they would prefer that anyway 😂.

 After explaining overheads, mortgages, other costs that need to be above board and the simple fact it was completely illegal he finally gave in and took the money back and said he would do a transfer.

 I got paid for this last week.

 The house/estate this guy lived in was a good couple of millions worth.

[Mick Dempsey]

I have noticed an uptick in this sort of thing in 2023.

[Steve Bullman]

5 hours ago, Mick Dempsey said:

I have noticed an uptick in this sort of thing in 2023.

Everyone’s feeling the pinch that’s why!

[Mick Dempsey]

Yeah, that’s a gibbon

[eggsarascal]

1 hour ago, Steve Bullman said:

Everyone’s feeling the pinch that’s why!

That’s about the size of it from what I understand, that said, I’ve never done a cash job so I might be getting confused.

[maybelateron]

If a potential customer says they want to pay cash to avoid the VAT I simply quote them what I need PLUS the VAT, but let them think I am doing them a cash job. If they accept the quote they can pay with cash, I put it through the books, and I am happy with the outcome.

[Steve Bullman]

 Talk about people being desperate. I put some pallets up on the village facebook group free to collect. Guy messaged me asking if he could have them for firewood. Hes coming round with a wheelbarrow to collect them. He lives on the council estate the other side of the village, about half a mile away 😁 

 

Should have put them up for £595 in hindsight.

 

[josharb87]

£500 for cash though, right?