Importing Products

China We purchase products from China Supplier produces $USD invoice 30% payment on order, we pay through bank and see payment in GBP Time lag at least on month production 70% payment on order completion prior to shipping, we pay through bank and see payment in GBP Time lag at least three weeks shipping Container arrives, DHL process customs clearance, HMRC determine net value of products and shipping costs for VAT purposes DHL clear the VAT plus customs entry cost and invoice us for the latter plus shipping. Therefore we have paid the total order cost for the China order 30% + 70% as seen in bank, however this Gross figure will not tally exactly with the net value plus VAT gross figure determined by the HMRC. When using excel we would normally put the HMRC net figure and VAT at 20% in the ledger so we can claim back the VAT. Any suggestions best practise to handle this rigmarole in Clear Books Thank you