Paying Bills by CC at work

[jben]

Hi All..
Long time reader, first time poster.

So here's my idea.
I pay most of the bills at my workplace and pay everything either by CC or cheque if the s/charge is too high.
Case in point was ATO payments made yesterday.

We always pay ATO by cheque, boss doesn't think you can do it by CC. So he gives me the ATO papers, and just says pay it by the due date (have to go to the post office with the chq etc).
My idea is as follows:
1) Log onto ATO ezypay and pay bill using MY credit card.
2) Write the cheque to myself for ATO amount less surcharge (I pay that).
3) In the cheque butt, write "ATO payment" looking like the money went straight to the ATO.
4) Bank statement shows up as WITHDRAWL/CHQ ####
5) #### corresponds to the cheque book, butt reveals payment to ATO.

ATO is happy, they've been paid. To the company, it looks like the cheque went to the ATO. I'm happy, I've got some points out of it.

Am I missing something here - can it be traced at all? I don't know if it's considered fraud, my boss isn't around a great deal so I'm yet to approach him.

Thanks for any insight!
JB

 

[kpc]

Hi All..
Long time reader, first time poster.

So here's my idea.
I pay most of the bills at my workplace and pay everything either by CC or cheque if the s/charge is too high.
Case in point was ATO payments made yesterday.

We always pay ATO by cheque, boss doesn't think you can do it by CC. So he gives me the ATO papers, and just says pay it by the due date (have to go to the post office with the chq etc).
My idea is as follows:
1) Log onto ATO ezypay and pay bill using MY credit card.
2) Write the cheque to myself for ATO amount less surcharge (I pay that).
3) In the cheque butt, write "ATO payment" looking like the money went straight to the ATO.
4) Bank statement shows up as WITHDRAWL/CHQ ####
5) #### corresponds to the cheque book, butt reveals payment to ATO.

ATO is happy, they've been paid. To the company, it looks like the cheque went to the ATO. I'm happy, I've got some points out of it.

Am I missing something here - can it be traced at all? I don't know if it's considered fraud, my boss isn't around a great deal so I'm yet to approach him.

Thanks for any insight!
JB

I will be informing my boss and getting his approval before I do what you propose.

 

[simongr]

So many things wrong with this. Firstly if your boss can pay by CC and the points accrue to him directly or to the business indirectly through him (assuming this is a small company) then he should be the one to decide where the points benefit lies - with you his loyal servant or with him where the risk to the business really lies.

Secondly I personally feel that hiding this gives an air of indecency - so writing "ATO payment" on a cheque to you might cause issues in terms of perception. If your boss is ok with this then why not write "Jben for ATO reimbursement".

Not sure about the size of the ATO payments but in a tax audit it might be hard to explain large tax deposits into your account.

The other thing personally that would concern me would be if things start getting difficult with your boss and he finds out about this then he might use this as an excuse to get rid of you with redundancy or what not.

Openness is the best way to go here.

 

[Mal]

Secondly I personally feel that hiding this gives an air of indecency - so writing "ATO payment" on a cheque to you might cause issues in terms of perception. If your boss is ok with this then why not write "Jben for ATO reimbursement".

Agree. Perception is the problem.

Is pretty messy if a) The cheque bounces. b) The cheques are pulled from the bank as part of an audit/fraud check (try explaining away why there are numerous cheques written out to a different payee than recorded!).

 

[equus]

Agree with all the perceptions and other issues, but even if that is all sorted out, would be wary of other risks when the transactions are correctly identified as reimbursements.

What happens if the business gets into trouble down the track and ends up in liquidation, and the tax payments become classed as voidable preferential payments? You may run the risk of having to pay the money back, and then be left to fight the tax office as well as a liquidator - with all the legal hassle.

It would be wise to understand all the potential risks, even if everything is disclosed, agreed and properly documented.

 

[casanovawa]

As always, how much do you get paid per year and how many points are you really like to get from this and what is their equivalent dollar value...

Is it really worth putting at risk your salary (which could be quite high) to get the amount points to go for a trip that would actually only cost a few hundred dollars to buy with cash...

Often the level of risk to reward on this and many other schemes is way out of proportion...

Best just to ask him first i would suggest and to do some of this other homework as well...

 

[robd]

Time to tell the boss what he/she is missing out on here. Worst case scenario, you still don't get the FF points, but I'm sure there must be brownie points in it for you at least

We have 6 employees with company credit cards here, and each is allowed to keep the FF points on their business spend.

 

[cove]

Get the ok from your boss/business owner.
if it does not cost the business anything it should be ok.

 

[Hvr]

Get written permission from your boss (assume they are the company owner) before doing anything. Renew the permission every year and do it in writing.

Get someone else to write and sign the cheque. Keep a copy of every receipt for the payments using your credit card.

Assume something will go wrong and be prepared to explain yourself to the auditors.