Assigning VAT Rates to Products
How to set the correct VAT rate on each product in AskBiz POS — standard rate, reduced rate, zero rate, and exempt — so every transaction is correctly taxed and your VAT return is accurate.
Key Takeaways
- Every product must have a VAT rate assigned — AskBiz uses this to calculate the correct tax on every transaction.
- The UK has three main VAT rates: Standard (20%), Reduced (5%), and Zero (0%). Most retail goods are standard-rated.
- Common zero-rated categories include most food and drink, children's clothes, books, and printed materials.
UK VAT rates at a glance
As of 2024, the UK has three VAT rates: Standard Rate (20%) — applies to most goods and services. Reduced Rate (5%) — applies to domestic fuel and power, children's car seats, and some other categories. Zero Rate (0%) — VAT is charged but at 0%, meaning no tax is collected. Zero-rated differs from Exempt (which means VAT doesn't apply at all) in accounting terms. Common zero-rated items: most food, children's clothing and footwear, books and newspapers, prescription medicines. If you're unsure about a specific product, consult HMRC's VAT rates guide or your accountant.
Setting the VAT rate on a product
Open a product in Operations > Retail > Products. Find the VAT Rate dropdown. Select Standard (20%), Reduced (5%), Zero Rated (0%), or Exempt. The selling price you enter is inclusive of VAT at the selected rate. AskBiz automatically calculates the ex-VAT price and the VAT amount for every sale. On receipts, the breakdown shows the net price and VAT amount separately, as required by UK VAT regulations.
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Start for free →Mixed-rate baskets
Many retail businesses sell a mix of standard and zero-rated goods. For example, a health food shop might sell supplements (standard rate) alongside food items (zero rate). AskBiz handles this automatically — each item in a transaction carries its own VAT rate. The till displays and the receipt show the VAT breakdown by rate: total at 20%, total at 0%, and so on. The MTD VAT export (POS Overview > MTD VAT) splits your output tax by rate for your VAT return.
Common VAT mistakes to avoid
1) Setting all products to Standard rate by default — food businesses often make this mistake, resulting in overcollected VAT. 2) Mixing up Zero and Exempt — technically different treatments in VAT accounting. 3) Not updating rates when HMRC changes them — check your product settings any time VAT rates change. 4) Setting the VAT rate on service items incorrectly — services you supply are usually standard-rated unless a specific exemption applies. When in doubt, check with your accountant before setting up a new product category.
Bulk-updating VAT rates
If you discover that a whole category of products has the wrong VAT rate, the fastest fix is a CSV export. Go to Operations > Retail > Products > Export. Open in Excel, filter by Category, update the VAT Rate column for all filtered rows, and reimport. AskBiz updates existing products (matched by SKU) without creating duplicates. Historical sales are not retroactively corrected — the change applies to future transactions only.