Working in Tax

This page shows you how to use the Tax module for VAT, provisional tax, filing preparation, and deadline control in Beam Machine.

Product: Beam Machine
Module: Tax
Role: Tax Preparer, Accountant, Finance Lead, Reviewer
Difficulty: Intermediate
Time: 12 minutes first read, actual task time depends on filing cycle
Last Updated: 2026-03-10
Version: Current Beam Machine app build in this repo

Before You Start

• You need access to Tax.
• Your underlying accounting data should already be clean enough to support filing work.
• You should know the entity, tax period, and filing type you are working on.
• Have any required source support ready before you generate or review a return.

What is the Tax module?

On paper, this is your SARS prep file, tax calendar, and submission working papers. In Beam Machine, the Tax module groups together VAT periods, VAT returns, provisional tax, ITR14 / EMP201 preparation, deadline tracking, and a few advanced support views.

When do you use this?

Use this module when:

• a VAT period is due,
• a provisional cycle opens,
• you need to prepare ITR14 or EMP201 work,
• or you need to review deadlines, draft packs, or tax risk views.

If tax work is late or based on bad source data, penalties, interest, and defensive cleanup work arrive fast.

Where do you find it?

Primary path: Finance -> Tax

Important routes:

• /dashboard/tax
• /dashboard/tax/vat-periods
• /dashboard/tax/vat-returns
• /dashboard/tax/provisional
• /dashboard/tax/itr14-prep
• /dashboard/tax/calendar
• /dashboard/tax/provisions
• /dashboard/tax/defence
• /dashboard/tax/risk-heatmap
• /dashboard/tax/grants
• /dashboard/tax/draft-packs

How to work in Tax

1. Open Tax.
2. Confirm the correct entity and period.
3. Decide whether you are working on:
   • VAT,
   • provisional tax,
   • ITR14 / EMP201 prep,
   • deadline review,
   • or a supporting tax pack.

To generate a VAT201

4. Open VAT Returns.
5. Select the correct VAT Period.
6. Click Generate VAT201.
7. Review period status, return status, and any SARS reference shown.
8. Open the generated return and review the 12 VAT201 boxes before treating it as filing-ready.

To manage VAT periods

9. Open VAT Periods to confirm the correct period exists and is in the expected state.

To manage other tax tasks

10. Use Provisional Tax for IRP6 work.
11. Use ITR14 / EMP201 for company and employer preparation work.
12. Use Calendar to review upcoming deadlines.
13. Use Draft Packs, Defence, Risk Heatmap, Provisions, or Grants when those support views are relevant to your workflow.
14. Open ../tax-guides/00-tax-guide-index.md when you need the screen-by-screen tax manual set.
15. Open the deeper South African tax-reference pages when you need interpretation support rather than just route clicks:
    • 10-understanding-employer-tax-and-emp501.md
    • 11-understanding-company-tax-adjustments-and-assessed-losses.md
    • 12-understanding-fixed-asset-tax-allowances-and-recoupments.md
    • 13-mapping-sa-tax-scope-to-live-bm-pages.md

✅ Checkpoint: You should now know whether the tax task is ready to progress or whether the real problem still sits in source finance data.

Common Questions & Issues

"The VAT totals do not match my manual spreadsheet"

Why this happens: Beam Machine calculates from recorded transactions and tax-linked data, not from your memory or an incomplete manual list.

Fix: Check source transactions in accounting and invoicing before assuming the VAT page is wrong.

---

"The tax screen exists, but not every advanced tax concept from the scope docs is visible"

Why this happens: The Beam Machine source docs describe broader South African tax capability than the currently visible UI alone proves.

Fix: Use the live tax screens honestly and treat deeper tax scope as backlog until confirmed in the product.

What's Next

• Read ../tax-guides/00-tax-guide-index.md for the full tax and compliance guide set.
• Read ../tax-guides/13-mapping-sa-tax-scope-to-live-bm-pages.md if you need the source-specification-to-live-UI crosswalk.
• Read 01-working-in-accounting.md if tax numbers do not tie back to source postings.
• Read 04-working-in-banking.md if unreconciled cash is affecting tax confidence.

Related Pages

• ../tax-guides/00-tax-guide-index.md
• ../tax-guides/10-understanding-employer-tax-and-emp501.md
• ../tax-guides/11-understanding-company-tax-adjustments-and-assessed-losses.md
• ../tax-guides/12-understanding-fixed-asset-tax-allowances-and-recoupments.md
• ../tax-guides/13-mapping-sa-tax-scope-to-live-bm-pages.md
• ../12-invoicing-banking-and-tax.md
• ../99-functionality-gap-map.md

SA Compliance Reference

• VAT-registered businesses must submit VAT201 returns to SARS for the relevant VAT period.
• Late or inaccurate submission can result in penalties and interest.

Still Stuck?

• Confirm the route in ../98-screen-map.md.
• Check delivery status in ../99-functionality-gap-map.md.
• Contact support: support@veva.co.za

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