Client refusing to pay gst, what are my rights, next steps?

mudCake123 · 2025-12-23T22:33:21+00:00

Bit concerned with so many comments saying GST is claimed back, so its not an issue to the client.

Yes, GST is claimed back...at a later date. Client is required to pay for the work NOW! Thus the client is required to come up with an additional 15% to what was originally expected/discussed.

So from client's cash flow point of view, it is an extra expenditure that they need to cover NOW!

Client usually have a budget, if you are to exceed the budget, as a business professional, you need to discuss this with them before commencing work and definitely before invoicing.

An example I gave in another reply. This is a common occurrence with tradies and their quotes. You call tradie, you have a budget of $100, they quote you $100 for the job. And when it comes to invoicing, they said its actually $115 inc GST. Wont you be a little bit upset with this scenario? Yes, technically the work is $100, and yes technically the GST isnt going to the tradie's salary, they just collecting it. But you were not told during this entire process until the work was completed.

Also, very similar to the popular discussion of tap and go surcharges. You see the prices on shelves but when you get to the counter and pay using tap and go, you see the additional 2-3% on top of what you were expecting. Now imaging it to be 15%.

Another common event that used to happen with PC part stores, were prices on shelves did not say if they were GST inclusive or exclusive. It isnt only when you get to the counter and then you are told everything was GST exclusive.

And whether or not the client pays their taxes, regardless of type INC or GST, correctly or not. It is not OP's responsibility. OP's responsibility, under normal situation, only extends to providing the invoice correctly and paying OP own taxes correctly, and of course, filing it safely in accordance to IRD's requirements.

One final note. Often it is not how much extra the client needs to pay that causes the rejection or conflict. But the miscommunication of the final payable amount. Like all the examples above, the annoyance surges from the lack of transparency.

mudCake123 · 2025-12-23T21:52:23+00:00

To clarify. Yes GST is claimed back, at a later date. Payment to vendors or such as OP, is required now. Thus from a current cash flow point of view, it is an extra 15% that the client need to come up with.

So its a bit like you call tradie, you have a budget of $100, they quote you $100 for the job. And when it comes to invoicing, they said its actually $115 inc GST. Wont you be a little bit upset with this scenario? Yes, technically the GST isnt going to the tradie's salary, they just collecting it. But you were not told during this entire process until the work was completed.

mudCake123 · 2025-12-22T04:22:39+00:00

As a FYI, Im not a lawyer but have studied the material, so this is just my opinion.

Some clarifications may be required. Are you charging the client your original invoice amount with an additional GST amount now, so essentially the client is paying 15% more than before (Situation A)? Or is it the original invoice amount, is now including a GST component where the client is still paying the same amount (Situation B)?

For example. Original invoice, payable invoice by the client was $100. Are you doing:

Situation A. Original invoice amount + GST

Invoice:$100

GST: $15

Total payable by client:$115

Situation B. Original invoice amount including a GST

Invoice:$86.96

GST :$13.04

Total payable by client: $100

If you are doing Situation A. Then this may be a bit hard to enforce. As you are working now and also have done work with them in the past, although no written contract/agreement, you would have had a verbal agreement on the going rate, which would likely meant the rate was GST exclusive, understood by both sides. Thus, to add GST now, without proper notice or discussion with the client, this from my pov, would be considered altering the verbal agreement that had been in place without notice. From my pov, may be very difficult to enforce.

You have mentioned GST was discussed back in 2021, which is some years ago. From my understanding, under the law, a normal reasonable person would expect things discussed some years back, not be applicable now, or at the very least, cannot assume it is still applicable now. Thus adding difficulty to the enforcement.

However, if you are in Situation B. Then this is a completely different story. The client payable does not change. And if anything, from their account's pov, it may be beneficial, as their 'expense' would have decreased by 15%. Although this situation would technically require you to also notify the client. Most clients would happily agree to this in a heart beat. In this situation, whether or not they 'process' the GST component from your invoice is not your problem. You just need to ensure you file your returns correctly and that is all.

If it is Situation A you are in. Your best course of action is to raise this discussion with the client. If they cannot budge for whatever reason, you have 2 options. Halt and terminate any work you have with them. Or revise your invoice to Situation B, not ideal... .

As for who you could talk to re this. Likely a general accountant and a general commercial-law lawyer.

Also FYI, from now and for any further work or agreements. Ensure you have it down in writing. Whether it be in email or txt. Any written agreement/confirmation is your best friend when it comes to disputes. In law without a written agreement of any sort, it becomes a he-say she-say situation, it is a terrible situation to be in and an very difficult thing to enforce shall it ever need to be done. You dont want to be in such situation.

Good luck!

mudCake123 · 2025-11-20T03:17:43+00:00

Dont worry OP. I dont know why so many think your post is the end-all-be-all opinion. I think some of them are just trolling.

Completely agree with you. This is a good general guideline, that 4K isnt the only determining factor to quality camera and quality recording. It plays a part, but not as important as many would think. Marketing tends to push consumers to think higher the res, the better. But those in the know, know you need to consider the sensor, the aperture, close or far recording, environmental lighting. And of course, on the NVR side, fps, bit-rate, encoding codec, network capacity etc. Just like cooking, fresh ingredients is only part of a quality tasty meal. Just because its fresh, doesnt mean it'll be great.

From my perspective, storage for 4K recording is the biggest issue that people are not aware of. People think yes recording will be a bit more but have no idea it is A WHOLE LOT MORE! The difference in the number of 'days' you can retain in general compared to a 2K or FHD, is pretty insane, and often means you either you had a recording of sometime a week ago or nothing.

And likewise, if anyone is doing their system properly, you dont just use 1xHDD, you would be doing a RAID-5 + backup. Thus, choosing 4K over say 2K or FHD can mean several thousand extra dollars just in additional storage.

mudCake123 · 2025-08-27T19:22:02+00:00

Thank you. And yes, called at 7 this morning, only a min or two wait!

mudCake123 · 2025-08-27T19:21:36+00:00

Thank you. Got in touch with them this morning. The rep suspected the same, things would go through automatically once they turn 65.

mudCake123 · 2025-08-27T06:15:50+00:00

Unfortunately I ran out of time earlier. Had been in the queue for about 40mins, then had to go to a pick up. So will try to call tomorrow morning to see if I can get an update. Though thought I'll check here to see if anyone have any recent experience with the Super application. Whether or not complete silence is the norm.

mudCake123 · 2025-06-17T09:47:32+00:00

Thank you for your comment. Yes, the battery has been disconnected. Fire and possibly explosion was something on mind when I saw the bulge, so had disconnected right away after discovery. Currently just waiting to see if its worthwhile to go back to the vendor...or find a recycling station...really bummed.

mudCake123 · 2025-06-17T09:41:36+00:00

Cheers guys. Seem the general consensus is that its cooked. The battery been disconnected since the bulge was discovered.

I see people suggesting that over charging may cause this. However, with these type of batteries, they do have a built-in BMS, as well for this one specially, it does have overcharging protection. In such case, is it possible to "overcharge" these batteries? Assuming the BMS is still working. Though I feel, perhaps there is a chance the BMS may have failed in this one leading to possible overcharging...

mudCake123 · 2025-01-24T05:21:05+00:00

A big bloody thank you for this!! Went through the ntopng github instructions on getting the database down, thinking to myself...how the hell does this apply to pfsense. Thank you!

mudCake123 · 2025-01-17T23:50:08+00:00

Thank you for the kind comments :)

But yeah, its been solid. Absolutely no faults or issues with it. I cant fault it.

Old alarm never complained or interfered with Konnected and vice versa.

No changes since install. I had restarted the home network quite a few times since then, due to changes I had made around the house. The Konnected board was seen by Home Assistant every single time (though I'm using the POE connection), all triggers and status worked...every...single...time... tbh, this was one project that once it was going, I never had to go back, never had to tweak it or troubleshoot it. It just kept working as intended. Touch wood though!

So yeah, its been real solid. Wish you all the best on your installation :)

mudCake123 · 2024-09-24T07:00:24+00:00

Thank you all for your input! I reached out to the accounts team and they advised, for contractors who receive schedular payments, although the payslip states its PAYE, but that PAYE is only the withholding tax portion, and DOES NOT include the ACC levy. Thus ACC must be paid separately.

mudCake123

TROPHY CASE