If you sell more on credit than you buy on credit, look at the VAT Cash Accounting Scheme.
Using standard VAT accounting, you pay VAT on your sales whether or not your customer has paid you. Using cash accounting, you do not need to pay VAT until your customer has paid you. If your customer never pays you, you never have to pay the VAT.
You can use cash accounting if your estimated VAT taxable turnover during the next tax year is not more than £1.35 million. You can continue to use cash accounting until your VAT taxable turnover exceeds £1.6 million.
If VAT cash accounting is not for you, VAT bad debt relief can be claimed if your customer has not paid you after six months.
