Accounting settings in Sweden

Settings on each subscription

Each subscription has its own accounting settings:

• Expense account: the account the cost is booked on, for example 5420 Programvaror.
• VAT code: what kind of purchase it is. It says where the seller is (Sweden, another EU country, or outside the EU) and whether you buy goods or services. The VAT code decides which VAT accounts Cardboard uses.
• VAT rate: 25%, 12%, 6%, or 0%. Use the Swedish VAT rate for the product, also when the seller is abroad. Most software and services are 25%.
• Department / cost center and project: optional.
• Supplier number: needed by some accounting systems, for example Fortnox integrations that use the Draft accounting mode in Cardboard.

Depending on your accounting system, you may see more fields.

Defaults: you don't have to fill in every subscription. Under Default values on the Subscriptions tab, you can set an expense account, VAT rate, VAT code, and department. They apply to every subscription that has no value of its own. Without a default, the expense account is 5420 Programvaror and the VAT rate is 25%. There is no built-in default VAT code, so you must set a VAT code on each subscription or as a default.

Choose the VAT code

Pick the VAT code that matches the receipt:

Most software subscriptions from international suppliers are services from another EU country or services from outside the EU.

Two things to know:

• Swedish VAT on a foreign receipt: if a foreign seller or a courier charges valid Swedish VAT, choose Domestic purchase. This includes import VAT that the courier charges on delivery.
• 0% VAT rate: with 0%, Cardboard books no VAT, whatever the VAT code.

What counts as valid Swedish VAT

You can only deduct Swedish VAT when the receipt meets Skatteverket's invoice rules. A receipt of up to 4,000 SEK including VAT can be a simplified invoice. It must show:

• the date it was issued
• who the seller is, for example their VAT number or organization number
• what you bought
• the VAT amount, or enough information to calculate it

Above 4,000 SEK, you need a full invoice. It also shows the seller's VAT number, your company's name and address, and the VAT rate. If the invoice is in another currency, the VAT amount must also be stated in SEK. See Skatteverket: Momslagens regler om fakturering.

If a receipt mentions VAT but doesn't meet these rules, the VAT can't be deducted. Choose No VAT, or ask the seller for a correct invoice.

If a payment has a receipt but no VAT code, Cardboard doesn't send it to your accounting system. On the monthly Export page, the payment shows up under Needs attention, with a link to the subscription setting.

How each VAT code is booked

Cardboard books VAT on the standard BAS accounts. The VAT code and the VAT rate decide the accounts, and each account feeds one box on the VAT return (momsdeklaration):

Where a cell has three accounts, they are for 25%, 12%, and 6%.

• Domestic purchase: the VAT on the receipt is deducted on 2641. The expense account gets the amount without VAT.
• Reverse charge (the four middle rows): the seller charges no VAT, so you report it yourself. Cardboard books the same amount as output VAT and as input VAT. The two cancel out, so you pay no net VAT and the expense is the amount you paid. Both amounts still show on the VAT return, as required.
• Purchase amount: the VAT return also asks for the net amount of each reverse charge purchase. Cardboard reports it on the 45xx account. See The purchase amount below, and note that not every accounting system gets these lines.
• No VAT: the full amount goes on the expense account. Nothing goes on the VAT return.

To see which accounts a subscription uses, hover the info icon next to its VAT setting.

Examples

Domestic purchase: a Swedish tool for 1,250 SEK, with 250 SEK VAT (25%) on the receipt.

VAT return: box 48 = 250.

Services from another EU country: a SaaS tool billed from Ireland for 1,000 SEK, with no VAT. VAT rate 25%.

VAT return: box 21 = 1,000, box 30 = 250, box 48 = 250. Net VAT to pay is zero, and the cost in your result is 1,000 SEK.

The other reverse charge codes book the same way, with the accounts from the table above. For example, a US service uses 4531 (box 22), and imported goods use 2615 (box 60) and 4545 (box 50).

The purchase amount (45xx and 4599)

Cardboard books these lines only for some accounting systems. Other systems report the purchase amount through their own VAT handling, for example a VAT code on the expense line. The support article for your accounting system says how it works there.

For a reverse charge purchase, the VAT return needs the net purchase amount in box 20, 21, 22, or 50. Cardboard reports it with two lines of the same amount:

• Debit the 45xx account for the VAT code and rate, for example 4535 for a service from another EU country at 25%. This account carries the VAT code that puts the amount in the right box.
• Credit 4599 Justering, omvänd moms. This account has no VAT code, so the amount on it isn't reported in any box of the VAT return.

The two lines cancel out. The cost stays on your own expense account, and your result doesn't change.

Cardboard skips the pair in these cases:

• The expense account is already a 45xx account, for example 4531 or 4535. That line already puts the amount in a box, so a pair would count it twice. Your account choice wins over the VAT code.
• Domestic purchase, No VAT, or a 0% VAT rate. There is no purchase amount to report.

4599 is in Fortnox's standard chart of accounts, but not in the official BAS chart. If you import SIE files into another accounting system, contact our support before you import them. We want to make sure the purchase amount is reported correctly in your system.

Payments without a receipt

If a payment has no receipt, Cardboard books it as No VAT: the full amount goes on the expense account, with no VAT lines. VAT can't be deducted without a receipt. If you've set a missing receipt account under Default values, Cardboard uses it instead of the expense account. Once you match a receipt, the payment is booked with its normal VAT code and expense account.

Other settings

On the General tab of Accounting settings:

• Accounting system: the system you use. It decides export formats and which integrations are available.
• Asset account: the account for the Cardboard card account. This is the account in your chart of accounts that represents funds transferred to Cardboard.
• Merge receipts: receipts merged into one PDF per month, or separate PDFs in a ZIP file.

Related articles

• Fortnox integration

Resources