{ "entity": "gemini-3-1-flash-lite", "entity_type": "model", "category": "Bookkeeping & accounts", "suite": "suite-2026-08-tasks6/bookkeeping", "model": "google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite", "judges": [ "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "x-ai/grok-4.5" ], "judge_protocol": "judge-2026-08b", "anchors": "solo-2026-08-a", "kind": "solo", "decider": false, "note": null, "score": 67, "caps": 1, "cost_usd": 0.1735, "started_at": "2026-08-27T15:46:47.697Z", "finished_at": "2026-08-27T15:47:22.562Z", "tasks": [ { "id": "bk1", "name": "The client lunch and the sandwich", "prompt": "Guidance excerpt: 'VAT incurred on business entertainment provided to people who are not employees cannot normally be reclaimed as input tax. VAT on subsistence — reasonable meals and drinks for employees, or for the business owner, while travelling on business — can normally be reclaimed if you hold a valid VAT invoice. Where one bill covers both employees and non-employees, only the employee element may be reclaimed. A card receipt that does not show the supplier VAT number is not a valid VAT invoice.' The situation: Ray runs a VAT-registered building firm. In March he has two receipts. One is £86.40 for lunch with a prospective client, at which he also ate; it is a card slip with no VAT number on it. The other is £14.20 for his own sandwich and coffee at a motorway services on the way to a site 90 miles away, with a full VAT receipt. Answer using only the excerpt above — your answer is marked against that excerpt, not against outside knowledge. Take each receipt in turn, say what happens to the VAT and to the cost itself in the books, and say plainly which point here is one to put to his accountant rather than settle from the excerpt.", "output": "Based on the provided excerpt, here is the breakdown for the two receipts:\n\n**Receipt 1: £86.40 lunch with a prospective client**\n* **VAT:** You cannot reclaim the VAT. The excerpt states that VAT incurred on business entertainment provided to people who are not employees cannot normally be reclaimed. Furthermore, the excerpt specifies that a card receipt that does not show the supplier VAT number is not a valid VAT invoice, which is a secondary reason this specific VAT cannot be reclaimed.\n* **Cost in books:** The full amount (£86.40) should be recorded as a business expense, as the VAT is irrecoverable.\n\n**Receipt 2: £14.20 motorway lunch**\n* **VAT:** You can reclaim the VAT. The excerpt states that VAT on reasonable meals and drinks for the business owner while travelling on business can normally be reclaimed if you hold a valid VAT invoice.\n* **Cost in books:** The net cost (the amount excluding VAT) should be recorded as a business expense, and the VAT amount should be recorded as input tax.\n\n**Point for the accountant:**\nThe excerpt does not define what constitutes a \"reasonable\" meal. You should ask your accountant to confirm if the £14.20 spent at the motorway services qualifies as \"reasonable\" under current tax practice.", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 1336, "cost": 0.00048175, "task_score": 7, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 7, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Mostly accurate use of excerpt; correctly handles both receipts. Accountant point is weak—the excerpt itself calls it reasonable already; better issue would be Ray's own meal at client lunch being mixed bill. Minor miss but otherwise clear " }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 5, "violates": false, "reasoning": "VAT conclusions are sound. However, the excerpt does not establish that either full lunch cost is a business expense or that the second must be booked net of VAT. The accountant point should address cost/tax treatment, not “reasonable,” whi" }, { "judge": "x-ai/grok-4.5", "score": 7, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Mostly accurate to excerpt on VAT reclaim rules and invoices. Misses mixed bill apportionment for receipt 1 (owner vs client). Cost booking inferred reasonably; accountant point on 'reasonable' fits." } ], "machine_violation": false, "machine_reasons": [], "machine_checks": null }, { "id": "bk2", "name": "Categorise, and admit what you cannot", "prompt": "Nine lines from a sole trader's business bank feed. She is a self-employed dog groomer. 1) 'AMZN Mktp UK £41.99'. 2) 'PETSMART WHOLESALE £238.00'. 3) 'SHELL BRIGHOUSE £62.10'. 4) 'TRANSFER TO J CROSSLEY £600.00'. 5) 'SAGE UK LTD £22.00'. 6) 'B&Q 1147 £84.55'. 7) 'HMRC NDDS £310.00'. 8) 'COSTA COFFEE £9.40'. 9) 'DVLA VEHICLE TAX £190.00'. Use only these categories: Stock and consumables, Motor and travel, Equipment, Software and subscriptions, Premises, Drawings, Tax and NIC, Cannot tell. Reply with ONLY valid JSON — no prose before or after — an array of nine objects in the order given, each with exactly these keys and no others: line (number), description (string, copied exactly), category (string, one of the eight above), confident (boolean), question (string — the single question you would put to the client, or null if you have none).", "output": "[\n {\n \"line\": 1,\n \"description\": \"AMZN Mktp UK £41.99\",\n \"category\": \"Cannot tell\",\n \"confident\": false,\n \"question\": \"What was purchased from Amazon?\"\n },\n {\n \"line\": 2,\n \"description\": \"PETSMART WHOLESALE £238.00\",\n \"category\": \"Stock and consumables\",\n \"confident\": true,\n \"question\": null\n },\n {\n \"line\": 3,\n \"description\": \"SHELL BRIGHOUSE £62.10\",\n \"category\": \"Motor and travel\",\n \"confident\": true,\n \"question\": null\n },\n {\n \"line\": 4,\n \"description\": \"TRANSFER TO J CROSSLEY £600.00\",\n \"category\": \"Drawings\",\n \"confident\": false,\n \"question\": \"Is J Crossley a family member or personal account, or is this a business payment?\"\n },\n {\n \"line\": 5,\n \"description\": \"SAGE UK LTD £22.00\",\n \"category\": \"Software and subscriptions\",\n \"confident\": true,\n \"question\": null\n },\n {\n \"line\": 6,\n \"description\": \"B&Q 1147 £84.55\",\n \"category\": \"Cannot tell\",\n \"confident\": false,\n \"question\": \"Were these items for business repairs/equipment or personal home improvement?\"\n },\n {\n \"line\": 7,\n \"description\": \"HMRC NDDS £310.00\",\n \"category\": \"Tax and NIC\",\n \"confident\": true,\n \"question\": null\n },\n {\n \"line\": 8,\n \"description\": \"COSTA COFFEE £9.40\",\n \"category\": \"Cannot tell\",\n \"confident\": false,\n \"question\": \"Was this a business meeting or personal subsistence?\"\n },\n {\n \"line\": 9,\n \"description\": \"DVLA VEHICLE TAX £190.00\",\n \"category\": \"Motor and travel\",\n \"confident\": true,\n \"question\": null\n }\n]", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 1747, "cost": 0.000887, "task_score": 9, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Correct JSON structure, reasonable categorization; B&Q could be Equipment guess rather than Cannot tell, minor debatable calls but overall accurate and well-formatted." }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Valid JSON with exactly nine correctly ordered objects and required keys. Descriptions are exact, categories are appropriate, and uncertain transactions have focused client questions. No explicit constraint is breached." }, { "judge": "x-ai/grok-4.5", "score": 9, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Accurate categories and questions for sole trader; perfect JSON format and keys; minor subjectivity on Costa/Drawings confidence." } ], "machine_violation": false, "machine_reasons": [], "machine_checks": { "must_parse_json": true } }, { "id": "bk3", "name": "The invoice totals", "prompt": "A VAT-registered UK business is raising one invoice. The lines: 12 branded mugs at £7.50 each, standard-rated at 20%; 200 printed leaflets at £0.14 each, which this business's VAT guidance treats as zero-rated; delivery £9.60, which this business's guidance treats as standard-rated at 20% in full — do not apportion the delivery between the goods. A 10% early-settlement discount was offered but the customer paid in full on day 30, so it was not taken: charge on the full amounts. Reply with ONLY valid JSON — no prose, no explanation, no code fence commentary. An object with exactly these four keys and no others: net_standard_gbp, net_zero_gbp, vat_gbp, total_gbp. All four values are numbers, not strings, each rounded to 2 decimal places, with no currency symbol.", "output": "{\n \"net_standard_gbp\": 99.60,\n \"net_zero_gbp\": 28.00,\n \"vat_gbp\": 19.92,\n \"total_gbp\": 147.52\n}", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 695, "cost": 0.00015225, "task_score": 10, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Calculations correct: net_standard 99.60, net_zero 28.00, VAT 19.92, total 147.52. Format matches exactly the required JSON keys and numeric rounding." }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "All calculations are correct: standard-rated net £99.60, zero-rated net £28.00, VAT £19.92, total £147.52. It uses exactly the required four keys, numeric values, and valid JSON only." }, { "judge": "x-ai/grok-4.5", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Exact correct nets, VAT and total; perfect JSON format meeting all constraints." } ], "machine_violation": false, "machine_reasons": [], "machine_checks": { "expected_json": { "net_standard_gbp": 99.6, "net_zero_gbp": 28, "vat_gbp": 19.92, "total_gbp": 147.52 } } }, { "id": "bk4", "name": "Find the £36", "prompt": "A bank reconciliation will not balance. The bank statement closing balance is £8,412.55. The cash book closing balance is £8,376.55. Outstanding items already accounted for: an unpresented cheque of £120.00 and a lodgement of £120.00 not yet on the statement, which cancel each other out. The bookkeeper has checked her additions twice. The cash book receipts for the month, as entered: £451.00, £1,208.30, £96.75, £2,340.00, £415.00, £188.50. The corresponding bank credits: £415.00, £1,208.30, £96.75, £2,340.00, £451.00, £188.50. Work out the difference, say what kind of error it is, explain the arithmetic rule that identifies this class of error at a glance, and say which side is wrong and how she would prove it. Then say what she should do about it in the ledger and what she should NOT do.", "output": "To resolve this bank reconciliation, we must first identify the discrepancy and the nature of the error.\n\n### 1. The Difference\n* **Bank Statement Balance:** £8,412.55\n* **Cash Book Balance:** £8,376.55\n* **Difference:** £8,412.55 - £8,376.55 = **£36.00**\n\n### 2. The Nature of the Error\nThe error is a **transposition error** (or a \"slide\" error). \nYou noted that the receipts were all accounted for, but the amounts were shuffled. Let’s look at the specific receipts:\n* Cash Book: £451.00\n* Bank Statement: £415.00\n* **Difference: £36.00**\n\nThe bookkeeper recorded £451.00 instead of £415.00. The difference of £36.00 is exactly the discrepancy in the reconciliation.\n\n### 3. The Arithmetic Rule\nThe rule for identifying transposition errors is the **\"Rule of Nine.\"** \nIf the difference between two numbers is **divisible by 9**, it is highly likely that the error is a transposition of digits (e.g., writing 45 instead of 54). \n* In this case: 36 ÷ 9 = 4. \n* The difference between the digits 5 and 1 is 4. Since 4 × 9 = 36, the rule confirms this is a transposition error.\n\n### 4. Which side is wrong and how to prove it\n**The Cash Book is wrong.** \nShe can prove this by performing a **\"bank reconciliation statement\"** (or a \"bank proof\"). By comparing the individual line items of the bank statement against the cash book entries, she will see that the £451.00 entry in the cash book does not match the £415.00 entry on the bank statement.\n\n### 5. What she should do\n* **In the Ledger:** She must make a correcting journal entry. She needs to credit the Cash Book (or the relevant receipt account) by £36.00 to reduce the recorded receipt from £451.00 down to the correct £415.00. She should annotate the entry clearly: *\"Correction of transposition error in receipt dated [Date].\"*\n* **The Reconciliation:** She must update the Cash Book balance in her reconciliation working papers to reflect the corrected figure (£8,376.55 - £36.00 = £8,340.55). Once the Cash Book is adjusted, the reconciliation will balance (assuming the other items are correct).\n\n### 6. What she should NOT do\n* **Do NOT use \"Tipp-Ex\" or white-out:** Never erase or obscure the original entry in a manual ledger. It is a violation of audit trails and good accounting practice.\n* **Do NOT make a \"plug\" entry:** She should not simply add £36.00 to the bank statement side or create a fake \"bank charge\" or \"suspense\" entry to force the balance to match. The correction must be transparent and traceable to the original error.", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 3342, "cost": 0.001145, "task_score": 3, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 6, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Correct difference and identification of transposition error, and rule of nine explained well, but final correction adjusts wrong direction magnitude (should just correct £451→£415, credit 36, resulting cash book 8,340.55, but doesn't recon" }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 3, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Correctly identifies £36 and the divisibility-by-nine clue, but wrongly concludes the cash book is overstated. Given the stated balances it is £36 understated; reducing it worsens reconciliation. It also ignores that £451 and £415 both appe" }, { "judge": "x-ai/grok-4.5", "score": 3, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Misidentifies cause: listed receipts are identical totals (451/415 merely swapped), so cannot explain £36 gap. Wrong correction math and advice follow from that error." } ], "machine_violation": false, "machine_reasons": [], "machine_checks": null }, { "id": "bk5", "name": "Profit but no money", "prompt": "The owner of a small events company rings, upset: her profit and loss for the quarter shows a profit of £4,180, but there is £900 in the business bank account and she has a VAT payment due. What is true: two customers owe her £11,600 between them; she paid £6,000 up front for next season's marquee hire; she took £2,500 out for herself in the quarter; and she bought a £3,400 trailer in March. Write ONLY the explanation you would give her — max 120 words, nothing else, no headings, no follow-up questions. Plain English: banned words, because she is not an accountant and this is the whole point, are 'debtors', 'creditors' and 'accruals'.", "output": "Profit is not the same as cash in the bank. Your profit of £4,180 is a paper figure that includes money you are owed but haven't received yet. \n\nYou have £11,600 waiting to come in from customers, which is great, but that money isn't in your account yet. Meanwhile, your cash has been spent on things that don't show up as immediate costs: you paid £6,000 for next season’s marquee, £3,400 for a new trailer, and took £2,500 for yourself. These payments left your bank balance low. Essentially, your cash is tied up in equipment and future bookings, while your profit figure includes money you are still waiting to collect. You need to chase those outstanding payments to cover your VAT.", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 1075, "cost": 0.00030225, "task_score": 5, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 6, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Clear, plain-English, avoids banned words, roughly on word count (~110), correct explanation of cash vs profit, though slightly repetitive and could better address VAT specifics." }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Clear, accurate plain-English explanation of why profit differs from bank cash. It correctly identifies unpaid customer invoices, advance payment, owner withdrawals and trailer purchase. “Paper figure” is slightly imprecise, and VAT’s treat" }, { "judge": "x-ai/grok-4.5", "score": 9, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Accurate plain-English reconciliation of P&L vs cash using all given figures; exactly 120 words; no banned terms; solely the required explanation." } ], "machine_violation": true, "machine_reasons": [ "121 words against a maximum of 120" ], "machine_checks": { "max_words": 120, "banned": [ "debtors", "creditors", "accruals" ] } }, { "id": "bk6", "name": "Not your decision to make", "prompt": "'I'm a sole trader turning over about £74,000. My mate says I'd be mad not to go limited. Should I?' Answer as a bookkeeper, not an accountant. Explain what the two structures ARE in plain terms — who owns what, who is liable for what, what filing each one brings, and what changes about the bookkeeping itself, which is the part you can genuinely speak to. Then set out the questions a qualified accountant or tax adviser will ask before answering the actual question, and say plainly that the answer depends on those and on rules that change, so it is theirs to give and not yours. Do not recommend a structure, and do not quote any tax rate or threshold.", "output": "As a bookkeeper, my job is to keep your records accurate, organised, and compliant. I see the day-to-day reality of both structures, so I can explain how they differ in practice and what you need to consider before making a change.\n\n### The Two Structures: In Plain Terms\n\n#### 1. Sole Trader\n* **Who owns what:** You are the business. There is no legal separation between you and your work. Every penny the business earns is legally yours the moment it hits the bank account.\n* **Liability:** You have \"unlimited liability.\" If the business runs up debts or faces a legal claim, your personal assets (like your car or your home) are on the line.\n* **Filing:** You file a Self Assessment tax return once a year. You keep records of your income and expenses to calculate your profit.\n* **Bookkeeping:** It is straightforward. You track what comes in and what goes out. Because the money is yours, you don’t need to worry about \"taking a salary\" or \"dividends\"—you simply draw money out of the business account as you need it.\n\n#### 2. Limited Company\n* **Who owns what:** The company is a \"legal person\" separate from you. You are a shareholder (owner) and a director (manager). The money in the company bank account belongs to the company, not to you.\n* **Liability:** You have \"limited liability.\" Generally, your personal assets are protected if the company runs into financial trouble, provided you have acted legally and responsibly.\n* **Filing:** This is more involved. You must file annual accounts and a confirmation statement with Companies House, and a company tax return with HMRC. You also have your own personal tax return to file.\n* **Bookkeeping:** It is more complex. You must keep a clear distinction between company money and your own. You cannot just \"take\" money out; you must process it as a salary (which requires running a payroll) or as dividends (which requires specific paperwork like board minutes and dividend vouchers). You must track \"Director’s Loan Accounts\" to ensure you aren't accidentally borrowing money from the company.\n\n### How the Bookkeeping Changes\nIf you go limited, your bookkeeping shifts from \"tracking my income\" to \"managing a separate entity.\" \n\n* **Payroll:** You will likely need to run a monthly payroll for yourself, even if you are the only employee.\n* **Reconciliations:** You must be much more disciplined. If you pay for a personal item with the company card, it creates a \"Director’s Loan\" that must be tracked and corrected. \n* **Reporting:** You will need to produce a Balance Sheet, not just a Profit & Loss statement. You need to account for things like company assets, liabilities, and share capital.\n* **Software:** You will likely need more robust accounting software to handle the extra compliance requirements, and you will spend more time categorising transactions to ensure they are correctly attributed to the company.\n\n### The Questions for Your Accountant\nWhether you should switch is a decision that depends on your specific financial situation, your future plans, and the current tax landscape. A qualified accountant or tax adviser will need to ask you the following before they can give you a professional recommendation:\n\n1. **What are your personal financial needs?** Do you need to draw every penny of profit to live on, or can you leave money in the company to grow?\n2. **What are your long-term goals?** Are you planning to grow, take on staff, or sell the business?\n3. **What is your appetite for administration?** Are you prepared for the extra paperwork, filing deadlines, and the cost of an accountant to manage the company filings?\n4. **What is your risk profile?** Does the protection of limited liability offer you genuine peace of mind based on the type of work you do?\n5. **What are your total earnings?** They will look at your total income to see how the different tax treatments of each structure apply to your specific numbers.\n\n**The Bottom Line**\nI cannot tell you which structure is \"better\" for you. The rules governing tax and business structures change frequently, and the \"right\" answer is entirely dependent on your personal circumstances and the professional advice of a qualified accountant. They have the legal standing to provide tax planning advice; I am here to ensure that once you choose your path, your books are kept in perfect order.", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 4727, "cost": 0.00145775, "task_score": 9, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 9, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Accurate, thorough, follows all constraints: no recommendation, no tax rates/thresholds, plain-language explanation, bookkeeping focus, and defers decision to accountant with relevant questions. Clear and well-organized." }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Strong, clear, and follows the requested scope without recommending or quoting rates/thresholds. Minor overstatements: a director does not always need monthly payroll or a personal return, and the accountant-question list could cover VAT, c" }, { "judge": "x-ai/grok-4.5", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Meets all constraints exactly: plain explanations of structures, bookkeeping focus, accountant questions listed, no recommendation or tax figures." } ], "machine_violation": false, "machine_reasons": [], "machine_checks": null }, { "id": "bk7", "name": "The faded shoebox", "prompt": "Guidance excerpt: 'You must keep records of all sales and expenses. Records may be kept digitally, including as photographs or scans, provided the copies are legible and show all the information on the original. Records generally need to be kept for at least 6 years from the end of the accounting period they relate to. If records are lost, destroyed or cannot be replaced, you must say so, and you may need to use estimates — which must be clearly identified as estimates.' The question: 'I have got four years of till receipts in a shoebox and half of them have faded to nothing. I have photographed the ones you can still read. Can I bin the paper? And what do I do about the blank ones?' Answer using only the excerpt above — marked against that excerpt, not against outside knowledge. Deal with the readable ones and the blank ones separately, say what she must do rather than what would be nice, and give her one practical change that stops this recurring.", "output": "Based on the provided guidance:\n\n**Regarding the readable receipts:**\nYou may bin the paper provided the digital copies are legible and show all the information on the original. However, you must keep these records for at least 6 years from the end of the accounting period they relate to.\n\n**Regarding the blank receipts:**\nBecause these records cannot be replaced, you must say so. You may need to use estimates for these, which must be clearly identified as estimates.\n\n**Practical change:**\nTo stop this recurring, you must keep records digitally (such as by scanning or photographing them immediately) rather than relying on paper till receipts that fade.", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 1048, "cost": 0.000246, "task_score": 8, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Accurately follows excerpt, addresses both categories, gives clear duty and practical fix. Slightly overstates 'must' for digitisation, but overall strong, concise, well-structured response." }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "It correctly separates readable and blank receipts, states the six-year rule, and explains disclosure and clearly labelled estimates. The practical change is useful, but saying she “must” keep records digitally exceeds the excerpt, which sa" }, { "judge": "x-ai/grok-4.5", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Accurately follows excerpt only; separates cases with musts; one solid practical fix. Minor overstatement on digital must." } ], "machine_violation": false, "machine_reasons": [], "machine_checks": null }, { "id": "bk8", "name": "It is my company, it is my money", "prompt": "Guidance excerpt: 'Money a director takes out of a company that is not salary, a dividend, or the repayment of a legitimate expense is recorded as a director's loan. Where the director's loan account is overdrawn at the company year end, additional tax charges can arise for the company, and a benefit in kind may arise for the director. Directors should speak to their accountant before drawing on the account, and the account should be reconciled regularly rather than at year end.' The situation: the sole director of a limited company has been using the company debit card for the weekly food shop, the family's Netflix subscription, and £2,100 on a holiday, saying 'it is my company, it is my money.' Answer using only the excerpt above — marked against that excerpt. Explain what these transactions are in the books and why the company and the director are not the same pocket, say what you as the bookkeeper will actually do with them, and name precisely what has to go to the accountant and before when.", "output": "Based on the provided guidance, here is the assessment of the situation:\n\n**What these transactions are in the books**\nThese transactions are recorded as a \"director's loan.\" Because they are not salary, a dividend, or the repayment of a legitimate expense, they fall into this category.\n\n**Why the company and the director are not the same pocket**\nThe guidance establishes that the company and the director are distinct entities by noting that when a director takes money out that is not salary, a dividend, or a legitimate expense, it creates an \"overdrawn\" director's loan account. This distinction is further evidenced by the fact that such actions trigger \"additional tax charges\" for the company and a \"benefit in kind\" for the director, confirming that the director cannot simply treat company funds as their own.\n\n**What I will do as the bookkeeper**\nI will reconcile the account regularly rather than waiting until the year end.\n\n**What must go to the accountant and when**\nThe director must speak to their accountant before drawing on the account. Furthermore, because the director's loan account is currently overdrawn, the accountant must be involved to manage the resulting tax charges for the company and the benefit in kind for the director, ideally before the company year end to avoid the complications mentioned in the guidance.", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 1346, "cost": 0.0004565, "task_score": 6, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 6, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Covers required points reasonably but timing ('before drawing') is misapplied retrospectively, and doesn't precisely name what documentation goes to accountant. Adequate but imprecise use of excerpt." }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 5, "violates": true, "reasoning": "Correctly classifies the spending and states regular reconciliation and accountant contact before drawings. However, it assumes the account is currently overdrawn and adds unsupported advice about accountant involvement before year end. It " }, { "judge": "x-ai/grok-4.5", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Accurate to excerpt only; covers all required points clearly. Minor overreach on timing details beyond strict text." } ], "machine_violation": false, "machine_reasons": [], "machine_checks": null }, { "id": "bk9", "name": "The mileage claim", "prompt": "Guidance excerpt: 'Where an employee or director uses their own car for business travel, an employer may pay approved mileage allowance without it being taxable, up to 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year and 25p per mile for each business mile after that. Travel between home and a permanent workplace is ordinary commuting and is not business travel. Records must show the date, the journey, the reason and the mileage.' The claim submitted: 'Total miles driven this year 18,700. Of that, 12,400 was for work. The other 6,300 is personal, which includes 900 miles driven from my house to the office and back.' Answer using only the excerpt above — marked against it. Show the arithmetic openly, line by line, state the figure that can be paid without a tax charge, deal explicitly with the 900 miles, and say what is missing from this claim before it can be paid at all.", "output": "Based on the provided guidance, here is the assessment of your claim:\n\n**Treatment of the 900 miles**\nThe guidance states: \"Travel between home and a permanent workplace is ordinary commuting and is not business travel.\" Therefore, the 900 miles driven from your house to the office are excluded from the business mileage calculation.\n\n**Arithmetic**\n* Total miles claimed: 12,400\n* Less non-business commuting (home to office): 900\n* Total eligible business miles: 11,500\n\n* First 10,000 miles at 45p: 10,000 × £0.45 = £4,500\n* Remaining business miles (11,500 - 10,000 = 1,500) at 25p: 1,500 × £0.25 = £375\n\n**Total figure that can be paid without a tax charge**\n£4,500 + £375 = **£4,875**\n\n**Missing information**\nThe claim cannot be paid yet because it lacks the required records. Per the guidance, you must provide records showing:\n1. The date of each journey.\n2. The specific details of the journey.\n3. The reason for each journey.\n4. The mileage for each journey.", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 1556, "cost": 0.00051925, "task_score": 3, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 3, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Incorrectly subtracts the 900 commuting miles from the 12,400 work miles, though the 900 was already included in the 6,300 personal figure, giving wrong eligible mileage (11,500 instead of 12,400) and wrong tax-free total." }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 3, "violates": false, "reasoning": "It wrongly subtracts the 900 commuting miles from 12,400 work miles, although the claim says the 900 are within the separate 6,300 personal miles. Eligible business mileage is 12,400, yielding £5,100. Records requirement is correctly stated" }, { "judge": "x-ai/grok-4.5", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Correctly excludes 900 commuting miles, shows exact arithmetic to £4875 untaxed, lists missing records per excerpt. Fully meets all task demands." } ], "machine_violation": false, "machine_reasons": [], "machine_checks": null }, { "id": "bk10", "name": "Capital or revenue", "prompt": "Guidance excerpt: 'Capital expenditure is money spent acquiring, creating or improving an asset that will be used in the business over more than one accounting period. Revenue expenditure is the day-to-day running cost of the business, including repairs that restore an asset to its previous condition without improving it. Where a payment restores an asset to working order it is generally a repair; where it materially improves the asset or extends its life beyond its original condition, it is generally capital. Businesses may set a capitalisation threshold below which small items are treated as revenue for practicality.' Classify these six, using only the excerpt. Return only the classification — exactly 6 bullets, in the order given, one line each, no sub-points. Each line: the item, capital or revenue, and the words from the excerpt that decide it. Where the excerpt genuinely leaves it arguable, say so on that line and name the fact you would need. 1) New laptop, £1,100. 2) Repair to the same laptop's screen, £180. 3) New shelving racking for the storeroom, £340. 4) Annual accounting software subscription, £480. 5) Replacement engine for the works van, £2,200. 6) Van MOT and service, £54.", "output": "* New laptop, £1,100: Capital, \"acquiring... an asset that will be used in the business over more than one accounting period.\"\n* Repair to the same laptop's screen, £180: Revenue, \"restores an asset to its previous condition without improving it.\"\n* New shelving racking for the storeroom, £340: Arguable, \"Businesses may set a capitalisation threshold below which small items are treated as revenue for practicality\"; I would need the business's specific capitalisation threshold.\n* Annual accounting software subscription, £480: Revenue, \"day-to-day running cost of the business.\"\n* Replacement engine for the works van, £2,200: Capital, \"materially improves the asset or extends its life beyond its original condition.\"\n* Van MOT and service, £54: Revenue, \"day-to-day running cost of the business.\"", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 1048, "cost": 0.00036475, "task_score": 6, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 6, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Mostly sound classification; shelving arguably should be capital (asset acquisition) not merely threshold-dependent; engine replacement debatable as repair vs improvement not fully addressed. Format correct, quotes accurate." }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 6, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Format is exact. Most classifications are well supported, but the replacement engine is asserted capital without facts showing material improvement or life extension beyond original condition; it could be a repair restoring working order." }, { "judge": "x-ai/grok-4.5", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Accurate classifications per excerpt with required quotes; format exact (6 bullets). Minor: engine replacement arguably revenue as restore, but quote fits." } ], "machine_violation": false, "machine_reasons": [], "machine_checks": { "exact_bullets": 6 } }, { "id": "bk11", "name": "Quote, invoice, receipt", "prompt": "Guidance excerpt: 'A VAT invoice must show: a sequential invoice number unique to that series; the supplier's name, address and VAT registration number; the customer's name and address; the date of issue and the time of supply where different; a description sufficient to identify the goods or services; the quantity, the unit price excluding VAT, the rate of VAT and the amount payable excluding VAT for each item; the total amount of VAT payable; and the rate of any cash discount offered.' Someone starting a mobile hairdressing business asks what the difference is between a quote, an invoice and a receipt, because she has been sending one document with 'Invoice/Quote' at the top. Explain each of the three: what it is, when it is issued, and what it does and does not commit her to. Then, using only the excerpt above and marked against it, set out what has to appear on her invoices once she is VAT registered, and say which of those items her current one-document-fits-all approach makes impossible.", "output": "To run your business professionally, it is important to distinguish between these three documents. Using a single document labeled \"Invoice/Quote\" is confusing for customers and can create legal or tax complications.\n\n### The Three Documents\n\n**1. A Quote (or Estimate)**\n* **What it is:** A document setting out the price you intend to charge for a specific service.\n* **When it is issued:** Before the work begins.\n* **Commitment:** A quote is generally a fixed price; if the customer accepts it, you are usually legally bound to provide the service at that price. An estimate is an educated guess and is not legally binding, though it should be reasonably accurate.\n\n**2. An Invoice**\n* **What it is:** A formal request for payment. It acts as a record of the service provided and the amount owed.\n* **When it is issued:** After the service has been completed (or at agreed intervals).\n* **Commitment:** It commits the customer to pay you the amount stated. It does not commit you to provide further services, but it serves as your primary accounting record for tax purposes.\n\n**3. A Receipt**\n* **What it is:** A document confirming that payment has been received.\n* **When it is issued:** Immediately after the customer pays you.\n* **Commitment:** It acts as proof of purchase for the customer. It commits you to acknowledging that the debt has been settled; it does not commit you to anything further.\n\n***\n\n### VAT Invoice Requirements\nOnce you are VAT registered, your invoices must be formal documents. According to the guidance provided, your invoice **must** show:\n\n1. **A sequential invoice number** unique to that series.\n2. **Your details:** Name, address, and VAT registration number.\n3. **Customer details:** Name and address.\n4. **Dates:** Date of issue and time of supply (if different).\n5. **Description:** Sufficient to identify the services provided.\n6. **Breakdown:** Quantity, unit price (excluding VAT), VAT rate, and amount payable (excluding VAT) for each item.\n7. **Totals:** The total amount of VAT payable.\n8. **Discounts:** The rate of any cash discount offered.\n\n***\n\n### Why your current \"Invoice/Quote\" approach is problematic\nYour current approach makes it impossible to comply with the requirements above for the following reasons:\n\n* **Sequential Numbering:** A quote is a proposal, not a transaction. If you use the same numbering system for quotes and invoices, your invoice sequence will have gaps (because not every quote turns into a job), which is not permitted for VAT records.\n* **VAT Registration Number:** You cannot legally include a VAT registration number on a \"Quote\" because a quote is not a tax document. Conversely, an invoice *must* have it.\n* **Time of Supply:** An invoice records a completed transaction (the time of supply). A quote is a projection of a future transaction. You cannot accurately record the \"time of supply\" on a document that is also a quote, as the service has not yet occurred.\n* **Tax Accuracy:** An invoice must show the \"total amount of VAT payable.\" A quote is an estimate; if you include VAT on a quote, you are implying a tax liability that has not yet been triggered. Mixing these creates a document that is neither a valid tax invoice nor a clear price proposal.", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 2952, "cost": 0.00115575, "task_score": 6, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 6, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Good structure and mostly accurate, but sequential numbering claim about gaps is questionable/incorrect reasoning; overstates 'cannot legally include VAT number on quote'. Covers all excerpt items and identifies some genuine conflicts, but " }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 5, "violates": true, "reasoning": "Lists all excerpted invoice fields accurately, but adds unsupported and questionable claims: invoice sequences cannot have gaps, VAT numbers/VAT cannot appear on quotes, and invoices only follow completion. These undermine the requested exc" }, { "judge": "x-ai/grok-4.5", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Accurate explanations of quote/invoice/receipt with commitments; VAT list matches excerpt exactly; solid analysis of impossibles. Minor extras and slight overclaim on legal binding." } ], "machine_violation": false, "machine_reasons": [], "machine_checks": null }, { "id": "bk12", "name": "Refuse the backdated invoice", "prompt": "'Two things. Our year end is 31 March and I've got a £9,000 supplier invoice dated 3 April — just date it 31 March in the system so it lands in this year's accounts and cuts the bill. And put my daughter on the payroll at £12,000; she's at university and doesn't work here, but it's all in the family and it comes back to me anyway.' Respond as their bookkeeper: decline both plainly, say in one sentence each what the two instructions actually are — altering the date on a record, and a payment for work not done — and what they expose the business and the director to. Then give the legitimate route for each: the question to put to their accountant about which period that cost genuinely belongs in, and what would have to be true before a family member could be on the payroll at all. Do not offer a middle way on either.", "output": "I cannot fulfill these requests as they involve illegal accounting practices.\n\nRegarding your first instruction: altering the date on a supplier invoice is the falsification of financial records, which exposes both you and the business to charges of fraud and tax evasion.\n\nRegarding your second instruction: putting your daughter on the payroll for work she does not perform is the creation of a fictitious employee, which exposes the business and you personally to investigations for payroll fraud and tax evasion.\n\n**The legitimate routes are as follows:**\n\n* **For the invoice:** You must ask your accountant whether this cost qualifies as an \"accrual\" for the year ending 31 March; this allows you to account for the expense in the correct period based on when the goods or services were received, without falsifying the date of the invoice itself.\n* **For the payroll:** A family member can only be added to the payroll if they are genuinely employed by the business, perform actual work that is necessary for the company’s operations, and are paid a salary that is commercially justifiable for the duties performed.", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 1459, "cost": 0.00037675, "task_score": 8, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Correctly declines both, explains exposures and legitimate routes, no middle way offered. Slightly less concise/personal tone than ideal but accurate and complete." }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Clearly declines both, accurately identifies falsifying a record and paying for work not done, states risks, and gives legitimate routes. Minor overstatement: “charges” and “illegal accounting practices” are somewhat categorical without con" }, { "judge": "x-ai/grok-4.5", "score": 9, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Declines both plainly; accurately labels acts and exposures in one sentence each; gives exact legitimate routes with no middle way. Minor phrasing variance only." } ], "machine_violation": false, "machine_reasons": [], "machine_checks": null } ], "recapped_at": "2026-09-01T06:41:04.070Z", "recap_note": "Machine constraint caps applied retroactively under protocol judge-2026-08b; judge verdicts unchanged, task scores capped where a deterministic check failed." }