The accountant's list
Your accountant is preparing the quarter's figures and sends a list: for each shipment, the import entry, the duty and VAT figures, the broker's invoice, and the supplier invoice it relates to. Your imports person starts searching. Some entries are in the broker's emails as PDFs. Some need downloading from a portal. Statements list totals, but it is not clear which shipment each line belongs to.
Two days later, most of the list is done. A few entries cannot be found and have to be requested from the broker again.
Why the paperwork is never in one place
Import entries and related documents arrive after the goods, from brokers, forwarders and statements, each with its own references. Nobody files them against the shipment when they arrive, because the shipment is already on the shelf and everyone has moved on. So they have to be matched later, in bulk, from memory and search.
| Document | Where it usually is |
|---|---|
| Import entry | Broker email or portal |
| Duty and VAT statements | Monthly statement, not per shipment |
| Broker invoice | Accounts inbox |
| Supplier invoice | Buyer's email or purchasing system |
| Freight invoice | Accounts inbox |
How these figures are treated in your accounts and returns is a matter for your accountant. We do not advise on tax. We make sure they have what they ask for.
What scattered records cost
Your team loses days each quarter or year end to searching. Your accountant's time, which you pay for, goes on chasing and matching. Missing documents need requesting again, sometimes from brokers you no longer use. And if records are ever reviewed, a well-organised file per shipment is far easier to work with than a search through old email.
The gaps also hide problems. An entry that never arrived might mean a shipment was cleared under the wrong reference, or a charge that belongs to you was billed to someone else. Found within a few weeks, that is a quick question to the broker. Found at year end, it is an investigation.
And the knowledge of which broker handled which shipment, and how to get documents out of their system, tends to sit with one person on the imports side. When they are away at the wrong moment, the accountant waits.
The shipment file we build
- Each shipment has a file linked to its purchase orders, containers and landed cost record.
- Emails from brokers and forwarders are read, and entries, invoices and statements are identified and filed against the right shipment by their references, with anything uncertain queued for a person.
- Where brokers offer a portal download or data feed, documents are collected from there.
- Statement lines are matched to the shipments they relate to, so totals can be traced back.
- A checklist per shipment, agreed with your accountant, shows which documents are present and which are missing, so gaps are chased while they are recent.
- At period end, a pack is exported per shipment or per period in the format your accountant prefers.
- Documents filed as they arrive, not months later.
- Gaps visible each week.
- One export for the accountant.
What period end looks like after
The accountant's list is answered with an export. Missing entries were chased weeks ago. Statement totals can be traced to shipments. And when a question comes up about an old shipment, the file has everything in one place.
Is this your period end?
- You search emails for import entries when the accountant asks.
- Statement lines are hard to match to shipments.
- Some entries have to be requested again.
- Imports and accounts keep separate records.
- Period end takes days of document hunting.