⏱️ Estimated time: 5 minutes

👤 Role: Accounts Manager, System Administrator, Site Manager

What you'll learn

• How to add a new Tax Rate into your system configuration.

• How to update your default item rates to reflect legislative changes.

• How to manage Tax Rates for packages using header or detail posting methods.

When should I use this?

Use this guide whenever regional tax legislation introduces standard, reduced, or updated rates that require adjustment within your system.

Key Logic: Creating a brand new Tax Rate allows you to enforce a new Tax Rate on specific items, while ensuring that other existing Tax Rates (such as Rate A or Rate B) remain fully applicable and unchanged for your existing appointments, stock, and historical transactions. Utilising an empty slot (like Code C) prevents historical data from being retroactively modified, preserving your accounting integrity.

Step-by-step

1. Navigate to Tax Options

Log into Premier Core and open the Manager application. From the navigation menu, select the General Menu. Next, click on Sites, choose Site Settings, and select Tax Options. 

If you are updating multiple sites - this will need to be done via Administrator, following the same process.

2. Enter the New Tax Rate

Locate the first available empty letter slot within the Tax Rates column (for example, slot C). Enter the new percentage value into the text field and ensure the Inclusive radio button is selected to match standard retail accounting setups.

3. Adjust Your Default Category Rates

Move to the Default Rates column on the right side of the panel. Click the dropdown menu next to the target category (e.g., Food & Beverage) and select your newly configured Tax Rate from the list.

Important Notice: When tax updates apply strictly to a subset of goods (such as food items but not beverages), remember that default categories often cover both. We highly encourage you to manually review all individual options within your inventory system and change only the relevant items to the updated rate, while keeping non-applicable items on their standard rates.

4. Manually Updating Individual Item 

If you need to apply the rate to specific items rather than an entire category, you can update them individually.

Navigate to your Appointments configuration or Stock item setups. Open the specific item card, locate the tax dropdown menu, and manually select the updated tax percentage to allocate it directly to that item.

5. Review Package Configuration Rules

If you sell combined packages, the way VAT is applied over your interface depends on your setup in Interface Options within Site Settings. Review your configuration and follow the relevant path below:

• Option A (Post Package Detail): If your system is set to send package details, the package splits automatically. The VAT will be pulled based on each individual item within the package, ensuring the correct rate applies only to the updated elements.

• Option B (Post Package Header): If your system is set to send package headers, individual items will not post over separately. Instead, the package posts as a single entity using whatever fixed Tax Rate has been explicitly set against the package itself.

Warning: If you use Post Package Header, you must manually update the Tax Rate assigned to the package profile itself, as it will not inherit the individual item updates automatically.

6. Save Your Changes

Once you have verified that the new percentage is correctly typed and the default categories or packages are assigned, click the Update button located in the bottom-right corner of the window to apply your changes across the platform.

Best practice

• Run a Test Transaction: Process a quick test sale on an updated item immediately after saving to confirm the system displays the new rate accurately on the customer receipt.

• Need assistance? If you need a hand, the Journey Support Team is available via live chat on our support portal or at support@journey.travel.