vat headache help please

[wesleythorne]

I have a site that now has to account for vat. All the prices online need to stay the same but as far as i can make out i need to export a csv file then reduce the prices so that when actinic applies 17.5% the price is the same again.

The exported csv file is 500k but when opened in excel show nothing at all.

I do not use excel much am not savy with it.

When we did open the excel file up by importing from excel she had me delete lots of rows and cells and still couldnt achive what i want.

I have now emailed her the csv file and hope that actinic can sort this out.

There must be an easier way to convert all prices to include vat?

I dont like the way actinic handles vat at all, retail prices are are displayed poorly and the whole issue leaves a nasty taste in my mouth.

Just received my v8 as we have cover but the same vat issues are still a problem.

wesley

[stopfordian]

Try this for size...

Please make sure you Export a Snapshot before attempting this!

What follows is the method to reduce your Actinic prices to exclude VAT. Then, with VAT setup correctly, will add VAT accordingly:

In Actinic
File > Export Froogle Data Feed to a filename of your choosing (e.g. Froogle.txt).
Warning: ** this will only export products which are not hidden **

Open Excel, and on a blank worksheet, Data > Import External Data > Import Data (navigate to the Froogle.txt file you just saved) and Open.
The Text Import Wizard opens up, leave as Delimited, row 1 and Windows (ANSI) and click Finish. Where do you want to put the data, =$A$1, click OK.
Now in Excel, delete all columns except 'price' and 'offer_id'.
Change headers 'price' (now column A) to 'old price' and 'offer_id' (now column B) to 'product reference'.
In cell C1, enter 'price'
In cell C2, enter =ROUND(A2/1.175,2)
Still on cell C2, double-click the little square in the bottom right of the cell (your cursor should change when you hover over it) - this copies the formula to the end of your data.
File > Save As > NewPrice.csv (remember to change the type to CSV (Comma delimited))
If you get "The selected file type does not support workbooks...", click OK.
Click Yes, to "NewPrice.csv may contain features that are not compatible..."
File > Close
You will then see "Do you want to save the changes you made to NewPrice.csv", click No.

Now, back in Actinic...
File > Import > Flat File Import > Next
Browse File Name to NewPrice.csv
Update, Text - Comma Delimited, ANSI (Windows), Yes. Click Next.
The "Map fields" screen now appears with a question against old price - this is correct. A tick also appears next to product reference and price - this is correct. Click Next.
Enter the Failed Import file, then Finish.

You will also need to make sure you have set up VAT under View > Business Settings > Tax.

Due to rounding issues, there may be some items which are pennies different than before but I can't help with those.

Hope it helps.

[wesleythorne]

hi thanks will try this.
I rang support at 2pm on Monday to find out if where they were with my problem. Left phone and was promised a call back.
4.30pm I ring again and get through to a support technician and her reply was ' oh yer sorry forgot about that" she then said she has sent me an email on Friday but I never received it. She has now sent ity over again and I am waiting for it to get through.
All seems very relaxed at actinic, some of us are trying to run a business...
Wesley

[wesleythorne]

hi, ran your conversion but got an error with import. I think i need to change all values of new price to be in pennies ie '175' can you advise on this as actinic only allows pennies and not pounds for imports. No decimal places!
Thanks
Wesley
Still waiting for my email from actinic suppport , ihave emailed them the correct email address but they seem to have given up on me.
Wesley

[leehack]

You do need to import as pennies, to do this multiply your value by 100.

[wesleythorne]

hi, thanks have multiplied by 100
Imports most things ok now but I get about 40 errors out of about 500 products.
The error is 'short desription can not be left blank'
All our products have a short description so not sure what this is about.
Any ideas,
thanks for your help.
Actinic didnt seems to have a clue and you have given me more info than they have and I pay them for cover!
Thanks
Wesley

[leehack]

The imports can sometimes fail because of quotation marks ("). When i import a spreadsheet i stick to 5 simple fields than never ever mess up unless i am in the wrong.

These are

Short Description
Full Description
Price (in pence and net of vat)
Image filename
Section Name

Make sure there are no strange spaces or quotes or punctuation marks that may be confusing the import.

When i have errors like that, i add a 6th field to my spreadsheet and write the letter A into each one that has an error. I then sort the column in excel so that all of the A's are together and then work out what is the problem.

[wesleythorne]

Hi, thanks for all the help, just got it to import correctly after actinic range me back.
Had a problem with duplicate files causing the error, the import from a froogle feed does not like duplicates, took all the data from the actinic databse into excel and started from scratch.

Wesley