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VAT Good For Cloud Net VoIP

The government is forcing almost all businesses to submit VAT returns online from April 2010.

I have just been through the process for another company and it is not user friendly. HMRC sends you a confusing 6 page pullout guide in purple, back and green. You then navigate to the forms to register online and away you go. It is a six stage process.

First of all you have to accept their terms and conditions. I don't understand this - you have to do something - then they force you to sign up to accept. It's like going to jail and signing up for the jail terms and conditions. There is no alternative and therefore no point. The terms and conditions state that they can change them at any time any way - so again what's the point.

Now you enter a form with details about you and then create a password which has to be of a format between 8 and 12 characters, contain at least one number and one letter and not contain the word password. Oh and it must be memorable - yeah right!

Now we're on to the entry of the 5 key pieces of information. VAT registration number, postcode of business, date of registration for VAT, final month of last VAT return and figure 5 on last VAT return. All of these pieces of information can be interpreted in different ways for example - I submitted my last VAT return 6 days ago did that count ? - No I needed the one from last October it turned out. So you fill in the form and submit it. It tells you that you are wrong - but not why you are wrong. Helpfully, it lets you try as often as you have the patience to try and eventually you may succeed. It took me 6 failed attempts.

Now I'm waiting for a PIN through the post so that I can change the registration details.

All of this is great for Cloud Net VoIP for two reasons:

1) If you are intelligent enough to navigate the system then you are easily intelligent enough to know that the advantages of Cloud Net VoIP in terms of flexibility, power and cost are massive.

2) Effectively businesses are now forced to have broadband. If you've got broadband and you're paying for it any way - surely you want to use it to host the most powerful VoIP system on the planet Cloud Net Connect with no capital costs.