HomeHelpAccountingVAT Returns

VAT Returns

VAT Management: current-month output and input VAT, the VAT201 and SARS eFiling exports, and marking a period submitted.

AccountantFinance ManagerSuper AdminLast reviewed 03 Aug 2026

Was this article helpful?

Related Articles

Chart of Accounts

Auto-seeded standard chart, the five account types and 1xxx-6xxx numbering, adding accounts, and the delete/deactivate rule.

Journal Entries

Balanced entries, approval controls, linked-source limits, retained reversals and how journals affect financial reports.

Bank Reconciliation

Review matched and unmatched bank items, mark a reconciliation complete and have a Finance Manager approve it.

Previous

Bank Reconciliation

Next

Invoicing & Payments

South African VAT-registered businesses charge VAT on sales (output VAT), pay VAT on purchases (input VAT) and settle the difference with SARS. TravelFlow summarises both sides on the VAT Management screen at Accounting > Compliance > VAT.

Capturing VAT on Transactions

On the New Transaction form the VAT Rate (%) list offers three choices: 0% (Zero-rated), the standard rate (15%) and Exempt. The VAT amount is calculated for you and you choose whether the amount you typed is VAT inclusive or exclusive.

The 15% standard rate is configured centrally rather than hard-coded in each screen, so if SARS changes it the rate can be updated system-wide.

Known issue — exempt supplies: choosing Exempt stores an empty VAT rate, and the VAT201 figures only count output lines at exactly 15% or 0%. Exempt supplies therefore do not appear on the generated return, so track them separately when you complete your SARS submission.

The VAT Period

The page always calculates the figures for the current calendar month. The dropdown at the top switches the summary panel between VAT periods that have already been saved — it does not regenerate the return for a different date range, and there is no monthly versus bi-monthly filing setting.

The summary shows output VAT, input VAT, net VAT payable and the payment due date, plus a status of draft, submitted or paid. Below it, the transaction list can be filtered by input or output and by VAT rate.

The Four Header Buttons

  1. Export — downloads the VAT transaction data.
  2. VAT201 — downloads a plain text VAT 201 summary showing standard rated, zero rated, exports and adjustments on the output side, purchases, imports and capital assets on the input side, and the net VAT payable.
  3. eFiling — exports a SARS eFiling CSV. Your VAT registration number must be set in company settings and must pass validation (ten digits starting with 4), or the export is refused.
  4. Submit — saves the period in TravelFlow, marks it submitted and stamps a generated SARS reference. This records the submission internally; it does not transmit anything to SARS.

Filing With SARS

Filing itself happens on SARS eFiling. Use the eFiling CSV or the VAT201 text file to transfer the figures, submit on the SARS site, then use Submit in TravelFlow so the period is marked as filed for your own records.

The same figures are available from Accounting > Financial > Reports by generating the VAT Return report, which downloads a text file for the selected period.

Tip: Review the transaction list before generating anything. Rows without a tax invoice are flagged as pending rather than verified, which is the quickest way to spot input VAT you cannot yet claim.