Almost any transaction requires documentary evidence. So, when it comes to transferring funds, an extract from the bank or a payment order is required. If the contract involves the provision of services, an act of acceptance of the work performed is drawn up. This is a bilateral document confirming the size or fact of payment and execution of work.
Why is an act drawn up?
The sample act of acceptance shows that the fact that the contractor has fulfilled his obligations is recorded. The customer, in turn, confirms with his signature that he agrees with the agreed cost, quality of service and is ready to pay for them if the contract does not provide for 100% prepayment.
Acts may be drawn up on a monthly, phased or one-time basis for specific work performed. They must be made in duplicate, one of which is transferred to the contractor, the other to the customer.
The tax legislation does not provide for the form of such a document, but there are certain requirements that are mandatory for compliance so that it is possible to attribute expenses to reduce the tax base, which is taken to determine income tax.
The Federal Law "On Accounting" provides a clear requirement for the preparation of this type of document for all absolutely companies, otherwise such expenses will not be taken into account when calculating income tax. In practice, in addition to the act, tax inspectors also require a contract for the provision of services or the performance of work. An exception may be a small household service, for example, refilling a printer cartridge or repairing office equipment.
Rules for registration
It does not matter on which form the act of acceptance of the work performed is printed: on a letterhead, with the logo of the enterprise, or on an ordinary sheet of paper. The main thing is that it be properly designed and meet the requirements of accounting.
Basic Rules:
- The document should be based on a specific transaction. The details of the contract must be prescribed in the act.
- It should contain a full and detailed description of the provided service or work performed, its qualitative and quantitative characteristics.
- It is necessary to have information on the consent of the customer to provide specific services.
- The place and date of preparation should be indicated.
- Full details of the parties, stamps and signatures of authorized persons.
If the act does not contain this information, then it is quite simple to challenge them.
It should be remembered that any typos, inaccuracies and errors can lead to the fact that the customer or the contractor will not be able to protect their rights in court.
Document between legal entities
If two organizations with the status of a legal entity cooperate, then it is mandatory that they draw up an acceptance certificate for the services rendered or the work performed. This should be done not only for the tax service in case of verification, but also for personal safety net. If, within the time period specified by the contract, the customer discovers that the service is not provided in full or not as high quality as the parties agreed, the transaction can be appealed in court.
Some features of the preparation of the document will allow you to protect yourself:
- In the case of the provision of several services, each should be placed on a separate line and fully described. Present such information in the form of a table.
- The acceptance certificate must carry information on the full details of both parties. In such cases, it is possible to avoid disagreements about the signatory and other subtleties in court.
- The amount of payment must be spelled out in numbers and duplicated in words.
- In the ideal case, the sum of the contract and the act should coincide completely.
If possible, it is recommended to verify the authenticity of signatures of signatories on both sides.
Cooperation between individuals and legal entities
In some cases, enterprises hire individuals to perform a certain type of work or provide services. In this case, the legislation prescribes to draw up the acceptance certificate of the work performed. A sample of such a document is also not provided for by law, but it must be mandatory for the enterprise to have the right to take these costs into account when determining the basis for taxation.
At the legislative level, there is also an obligation to conclude an agreement with an individual and to attach a BSO receipt, which is a form of strict reporting. The receipt confirms the fact that the individual received payment for his work. In the form of an acceptance certificate between an individual and a legal entity, it is recommended to indicate information on the presence or absence of claims of both parties to each other.
Cooperation with IP
As in other cases, legal entities, working with individual entrepreneurs, must draw up an act. The acceptance certificate must contain complete information about the individual entrepreneur: and TIN, address of residence, contact details.
In cases where the individual entrepreneur has hired employees, then in the act it is necessary to display information about the performer of a particular work.
Transport services
In the case of the provision of transport services, the acceptance certificate of the services provided confirms the fact that the contractor delivered the agreed cargo at a specified time and place.
In addition to the general requirements, the route of transport should be displayed in the document. You should also indicate the vehicle, its registration number and other additional characteristics, including TTN details and waybill numbers.
Intermediate acts
In practice, there is such a document as an interim act of acceptance of services or work performed. It is compiled when it is necessary to fix some kind of intermediate result, for a certain period. For example, if the contract provides for the execution of work on schedule.
Another situation where an interim act can be drawn up is a desk audit. In these cases, a document is needed in order to fix the conduct of a specific type of work for a certain period of time.
Also, the act may act as evidence in court. If an entrepreneur applies to investors or creditors for a respite, then it is possible that documents will be required confirming the need to attract additional financial resources.
The sample certificate of acceptance of services or works used in such situations contains the same information as in standard cases.
Corrective act
This type of acceptance certificate is required when the initial volumes of work or services do not meet the agreed conditions in the contract. The document is usually required by the contractor so that he can issue an additional invoice for payment. However, the corrective act can be used to provide a claim to the contractor if the customer is dissatisfied with the quality.
When communicating with the same creditors and investors, an adjustment document may also be required so that the entrepreneur can confirm the need for additional finance.
Finally
Drawing up an acceptance certificate is not a fad of the tax service, but rather an opportunity to protect yourself from an unscrupulous counterparty. Quite often there are cases when the contractor provides services or does the work on time, efficiently, receives the agreed money for this, but for some reason does not sign the act. In the future, if the customer wishes to return at least part of the funds paid to the contractor, then without a document he will not succeed. Moreover, if the customer goes to court, considers the lost profits, then the contractor can also double pay the plaintiff's claims.
On the other hand, if the contractor is unscrupulous, and the customer does not display his legal quality requirements in the act, then it is practically impossible to prove in the future that the service or work does not meet the requirements of the contract and other regulatory documents.
The act is very simple to draw up. The main thing is to display the main points: the details of the parties, the quality and scope of work, etc., then the parties will not have any problems.