Backup VAT deadline reminders for bookkeepers

A missed VAT return deadline can mean a penalty for your client and an awkward conversation for you, and each date must be entered by hand. If you handle 30 VAT clients quarterly, about 10 deadlines fall in a month, and entering each with reminders takes 6 minutes, that's 60 minutes a month.

Each client's VAT deadline is recorded first in your practice or workflow system or your main diary, taken from the client's VAT account, with a second person or a later check confirming it. A Google Sheet row (client code, period end, the due date and a column showing the primary diary entry is done) then triggers a two-step Zapier automation that creates a Google Calendar event as a backup reminder. The automation doesn't work out or check any date and doesn't submit anything.

A bookkeeper in Leeds files VAT returns for 30 clients quarterly, so about 10 fall due each month. She records each deadline in her practice diary first, checks it against the client's VAT account, then adds a row to a sheet that makes a backup calendar event.

The value isn't monetary: a second prompt that helps stop a missed VAT deadline, not time saved. About 30 minutes a month saved (3 minutes x 10 deadlines) is worth around £15 if your time is worth £30 an hour, but that is not the point. Zapier's Free plan allows two-step Zaps and 100 tasks a month; 10 events a month is well inside that. This assumes free Google accounts for Sheets, Calendar and Forms.

1. 1Record every VAT deadline first in your primary diary or practice system and get it checked against the client's VAT account.
2. 2Create a Google Sheet with client code, period end, due date and a 'primary diary done and checked' column.
3. 3In Zapier, start a Zap when a new row is added to the sheet.
4. 4Add one action: create a Google Calendar event on a shared calendar, with notifications set.
5. 5Test with a dummy row and confirm the event, date and alerts.
6. 6Check the sheet, calendar and primary diary against each other every week.

• This is a backup, never the record. A missed VAT deadline is only prevented by your main diary and a human check.
• Zapier can fail silently, for example if a sheet column is renamed. Compare the sheet and the calendar regularly.
• Use client codes, not names, in the sheet and calendar, since shared calendars are visible to more people.
• Zapier's Free plan allows only two-step Zaps and 100 tasks a month; more steps need Pro at $19.99 (about £15) a month on annual billing.