How to prepare a company for an audit in 14 days
A tax audit is not the end of the world if you have your papers in order. Most entrepreneurs in Bydgoszcz get caught on small errors that can be avoided in two weeks. We will show you our work system, without fluff and unnecessary stress.
Days 1-3: The grand cleanup of binders
The first three days are the time for brutal honesty with your own documentation. You must check whether every cost invoice from the last 47 months is reflected in the bank statement. Officials first look at what doesn't match in the numbers. If you are missing even one confirmation of transfer for an amount above 1,400 PLN, you have 72 hours to find it in the bank archive. Money likes silence, and messy papers are the loudest signal for an audit that it is worth looking further.
At Profit Embassy, we have seen cases where the lack of one contract with a subcontractor for 3,200 PLN a month opened Pandora's box. Focus on source documents. Check if invoices are legible – those from thermal printers often fade after 2 years. If nothing is visible, ask for duplicates now. We count facts, not promises, so every scrap of paper must be physically in the office at ul. Gdańska or in your archive at hand.
Messy papers are the loudest signal for an audit that it is worth looking deeper at your business.
Days 4-7: Verification of fixed assets and warehouse
The middle of the week is time for a tour of the company. If you have 4 laptops, 2 printers, and a delivery car in your records, they must physically exist and be used for business purposes. Auditors may ask to see the equipment. A common mistake is keeping a phone in expenses that has been lying in a drawer with a cracked screen for 8 months or was given to a child. We operate within the law, so such things must be straightened out in the records before the official knocks.
Also check the odometer in the company car. If you keep a mileage log, the data must match within 12-15 kilometers. Last year, we helped 23 clients correct such small errors, which saved them from penalties from the Fiscal Penal Code. Remember that the official is not your enemy, but their job is to find discrepancies. If the warehouse matches the status in the computer by 95.2%, you are in the safe zone.
Days 8-11: Checking the white list and SAF-T
The second week starts with technology. SAF-T (JPK_VAT) files are the main weapon of the offices. You must be sure that what you sent to the system matches your binders. Randomly check 14 transactions from the last quarter. Was your contractor on the white list on the day of the transfer? If you paid 16,000 PLN to an account off the list, you have a problem that needs to be described. At Profit Embassy, we analyze such risks within 4-6 business hours.
Verification of contractors is not just an empty formality. The fiscal authorities often use so-called cross-audits. If your supplier from Toruń did not pay VAT, the office will come to you to ask if the transaction was real. Prepare emails, orders, and acceptance protocols. These are hard evidence that the service was performed. Don't get caught by a lack of non-financial documentation – it often saves your skin during an interrogation.
An acceptance protocol for a service for 3,800 PLN is sometimes more important than the invoice itself.
Days 12-14: Interrogation simulation and powers of attorney
The last two days are for psychological and formal preparation. Designate one person to contact the audit. It does not have to be the boss – sometimes it is better for the accountant or a representative to talk, someone who does not act under emotion. Prepare UPL-1 and PPS-1 powers of attorney. Thanks to this, the official will not run around the entire office but will sit in a designated room with a specific person. This limits the risk that someone from the staff will say too much.
Review the list of questions that may be asked. Where did the sudden drop in income in March come from? Why did the investment in a new machine take 5 months? You must have short, logical answers prepared. Without fluff. Honestly, most audits end without penalties if the entrepreneur demonstrates control over the processes in the company. If you have everything prepared according to this list, you can sleep soundly. Your task is to run the business, and ours – to make sure no one wrongly interferes with it.
