A month of tests, and the numbers do not line up
At the end of the month the owner looks at the slot balance, the card machine totals and the invoices. The number of tests recorded does not match the number of MOT payments taken. Some of it is retests, some is account customers who pay monthly, and some is discounts given at the desk. Some of it nobody can explain.
Finding out means printing lists, comparing registrations and asking staff about individual days. It takes long enough that it happens rarely, if at all.
Three records that never meet
The test is recorded in the official MOT testing service. The payment for testing slots is made to the scheme in advance. The money from the customer is taken at the desk, online, or on account through your own systems. Each of these is correct on its own. Nothing joins them.
Retests, partial retests, discounts, trade customers and vouchers all make the comparison harder. A test with no matching payment might be a legitimate free retest, a trade account, or a mistake. Without a way to tell which, the owner has to trust that everything is fine.
Staff changes make it harder still. A desk assistant who knows that the builder's merchant pays monthly and the taxi firm gets a rate may leave, and the next person does not know which unpaid-looking tests are fine. Over time, the only safe assumption becomes that nobody really knows.
What an unreconciled month hides
| Mismatch | Possible explanation |
|---|---|
| Test done, no payment | Free retest, account customer, or genuinely unpaid |
| Payment, no test | Deposit, cancelled test, or wrong registration |
| Discount given | Approved offer, or one given without authority |
| Slot usage higher than tests invoiced | Retests, aborted tests, or missing invoices |
| Account tests not billed | Trade customers not invoiced at month end |
Most of the time the explanation is innocent. The point is to know, rather than hope, and to catch the occasional real error while it can still be put right.
There is also a planning point. If slot usage and paid tests are compared regularly, you can see how many retests, aborted tests and trade tests you do, which helps when deciding how many slots to buy and how to price your trade accounts.
How we build the MOT fees check
- Tests done are taken from the records your centre holds, such as your own test log or reports you can download, by registration, date, tester and result.
- Customer payments are read from your till or garage system, card provider reports and accounts package, such as Xero or QuickBooks.
- Each test is matched to a payment by registration and date. Retests are matched to the original test so free and reduced fee retests are recognised under the rules you set.
- Trade and account tests are matched to the account, and any not yet invoiced are listed for month end.
- Discounts are compared with the offers you have approved, and anything outside them is flagged.
- A short exceptions list shows only what does not match, with room for a note explaining each one.
We work only with data your centre is entitled to and can export. We do not access official systems on your behalf unless there is a proper, permitted way to do it.
Month end, explained
At month end the check has matched almost everything. Three items remain: a test with no payment that turns out to be a trade customer's van not yet invoiced, a discount that was not on the approved list, and a payment against a mistyped registration. Each gets a note, and the trade invoice goes out that day.
The owner has a clear picture of what was tested, what was paid, and why the two differ.
- Tests, slot usage and payments compared regularly
- Retests and trade accounts recognised properly
- Unapproved discounts flagged
- Only exceptions shown to a person
Would you know if a test went unpaid?
- You rarely compare tests done with money received.
- Retests and trade tests make the numbers hard to follow.
- Discounts are given at the desk without a record of why.
- Trade customers are sometimes invoiced late or not at all.
- Working out the difference takes hours, so it is skipped.