Fictitious invoices

[gowiththeflow48]

Hi guys,
Somebody who isn't me bought a shell company so this shell company can invoice my main company for consultancy. What is the best to put on the invoice, so in case of a tax audit I can easily say and prove the services?

 

[JohnLocke]

You need to back it up with a website or some offline business in order for this to work.

 

[gowiththeflow48]

You need to back it up with a website or some offline business in order for this to work.

My main company is doing IT services. The shell company should do something my main company isn't doing. I thought about timesheets etc but this is maybe too obvious . Any tips?

 

[JohnLocke]

The best you can do is to setup a website with products or services different to what you are doing in the your main company. This looks much more real to people and if done right they will accept it. When you invoice people, you want to invoice companies without VAT if possible.

You need to think out of the box here and don't expect people to spoon feed you with what services or products would match.

 

[gowiththeflow48]

I thought maybe some experienced people could point me in the right direction.
The do's and don't do's...

 

[Milky Moon]

You can setup a grafics design comany, and bill for grafix. You source those graphic designs at fiverr (with a different account!/company), so you will have a portfolio to show, which you claim you designed yourselves.

 

[Hans Hoffmann]

Thats a really shady scheme looking from compliance perspective. If you wont back it up with some serious proofs it wont work for amount bigger the 10k. You need to get a website which will state that the "consultant" is really proficient, it would be good if there would be some other projects of that "consultant" stated, partners and stuff, you need to make it look like its somekind of really high end consultants. Saying that you need to keep in mind that the quality of the documents should be on the high-end too.

 

[blizz]

If you wont back it up with some serious proofs it wont work for amount bigger the 10k

I call BS again! Did you set this amount?

I'm already so excited to see what service you are going to offer in the near future

 

[Hans Hoffmann]

I call BS again! Did you set this amount?

I'm already so excited to see what service you are going to offer in the near future

Its based on my expierience working in private banking, cinsultancy schemes are outdated by 10 years now

 

[blizz]

Its based on my expierience working in private banking, cinsultancy schemes are outdated by 10 years now

okay

 

[Hans Hoffmann]

My main company is doing IT services. The shell company should do something my main company isn't doing. I thought about timesheets etc but this is maybe too obvious . Any tips?

The first thing that comes in my mind, if your company is an IT company, then you might just sell yourself your own work. Let me explain this briefly. That shell company could be your "outsource company" which is working on some IT projects for you. You can easely explain that by the fact that you did some rocket science calculations and came to the fact that outsourcing that project is cheaper then working on it on your own (like Indian software development outsource). You write all the technical documentation, time sheets, schedules, sign the agreement and do the business and ask one of your developers to develop something according to that documentation so that you had proofs that there is somekind of app/programm developed by your counterparty. But I am really not sure just a thought.

 

[Mike Forman]

As indicated above by Hans Hoffman you have to keep some proof :
- explain what has been offered
- have email communication (you can set this up yourself and create a fictious person)
- contract which states just as with real outsourcing the cope of the project, deadlines, costs, services ...

Auditors focus on service fees, and they will pick out some and ask to provide more details. If you have the above I mentioned this should be enough (make sure you also have some real integration or software)

 

[TurnedToRobot]

It hasn't to be so complicated as people here tend to let it look like! You generate a Invoice from company A - make sure the fees reflect what services company A offer and make sure that you use a name, address, country etc on the invoice you generate!

It is at no point your responsibility if your customer has moved to another place to live or if he gave you wrong address information. If you keep each invoice below 10K euro each and let everything look generic you won't get troubles.

 

[Hans Hoffmann]

It hasn't to be so complicated as people here tend to let it look like! You generate a Invoice from company A - make sure the fees reflect what services company A offer and make sure that you use a name, address, country etc on the invoice you generate!

It is at no point your responsibility if your customer has moved to another place to live or if he gave you wrong address information. If you keep each invoice below 10K euro each and let everything look generic you won't get troubles.

I have to admit that the post creator is asking about tax audit this is not a regular bank check when you provide invoice and the check up is finished. Atleast it depends from the country, because where I live tax audits are painful as hell.

 

[TurnedToRobot]

IF OP is still around, then setup a Wordpress website reflecting the fees you have on your invoices (the amounts) and you will be fine. Keep it to services non tangible goods to avoid questions about tracking codes, courier slips etc.