Business Central 29.0 · Events & exhibitionsRecovering the VAT You're Owed: Automated VAT on Expenses for Event and Exhibition Companies

Feature

VAT calculation and reporting on expenses (Expense Agent)

Availability

Preview

Industry focus

Events, exhibitions and live experiences

Event and exhibition companies run on staff spending. Teams buy materials, pay for local transport, book accommodation and cover subsistence during build-up, live days and breakdown. Much of that spending includes VAT that the business can recover. In practice, a lot of it is never claimed. The Business Central Expense Agent now helps close that gap.

The industry challenge

A typical events business sees intense bursts of expense activity:

• Crews buying supplies from builders' merchants and hardware stores
• Staff paying for hotels, meals and parking on site
• Purchases in several countries for international shows

When VAT on these receipts isn't captured accurately, the business either loses recoverable VAT or risks claiming it incorrectly. Finance teams often don't have time to work through hundreds of receipts after every show, so they make conservative assumptions. Recoverable VAT goes unclaimed and margin quietly leaks away.

What Microsoft is delivering

According to Microsoft, the Expense Agent supports automated VAT handling for expense reports, with four key capabilities:

• Automatic VAT calculation. The agent identifies VAT-relevant expenses and calculates the VAT based on the information in submitted reports.
• VAT-aware processing. VAT values become part of the expense review and processing workflow, reducing manual calculation.
• Better VAT reporting. VAT from employee expenses is aggregated and reported to support financial reporting and tax recovery.
• Consistency. Standardized handling helps apply VAT rules the same way across the organization.

Microsoft also builds in human review. When VAT calculation is enabled for expense reports, accountants must review and confirm the VAT before posting.

The feature is part of the Expense Agent preview.

Where the value shows up

On tight event margins, VAT recovery on staff spending can make a real difference to the profit on a show. The accountant review step keeps that recovery defensible.

A worked scenario

Consider an exhibition stand builder that delivers 60 shows a year (an illustrative example). During one large trade fair, its crew submits more than 400 expense lines for materials, meals and accommodation.

Before, the finance assistant entered most of these without VAT detail, because there wasn't time to check each receipt. With the Expense Agent's VAT handling enabled, the agent calculates VAT on eligible lines from the submitted information. The accountant reviews the calculations, corrects two lines where receipts were simplified invoices, and confirms. The VAT is posted correctly and flows into the VAT return. The show's net cost is clearer, and recoverable VAT isn't left on the table.

Adoption considerations

• Pilot in preview. Test with one team or event before relying on the results.
• Train staff on receipts. VAT recovery depends on valid VAT receipts, so remind teams to collect them.
• Define accountant review. Agree who reviews VAT and how quickly, so reimbursements aren't delayed.
• Check cross-border rules. Foreign VAT recovery follows different rules from domestic VAT. Clarify how you'll handle it.
• Reconcile to returns. Check that aggregated expense VAT matches your VAT return figures.

The bottom line

For event and exhibition companies, staff expenses are a significant cost, and unrecovered VAT is money left behind after every show. Automated VAT handling in the Business Central Expense Agent makes recovery practical at volume, with accountants still in control. It's a feature that can pay for itself quickly in businesses with heavy field spending.

If VAT on expenses is going unclaimed in your business, it's worth exploring this preview with an experienced Business Central adviser.

Source: Microsoft roadmap 573262