{ "entity": "grok-4-5", "entity_type": "model", "category": "Bookkeeping & accounts", "suite": "suite-2026-08-tasks6/bookkeeping", "model": "x-ai/grok-4.5", "judges": [ "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview", "openai/gpt-5.6-terra" ], "judge_protocol": "judge-2026-08b", "anchors": "solo-2026-08-a", "kind": "solo", "decider": false, "note": null, "score": 87, "caps": 0, "cost_usd": 0.2947, "started_at": "2026-08-18T11:18:10.019Z", "finished_at": "2026-08-18T11:20:08.398Z", "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": "**Receipt 1 (£86.40 lunch with prospective client, at which Ray also ate; card slip, no VAT number)** \n- VAT: cannot be reclaimed as input tax. The excerpt states that VAT on business entertainment provided to people who are not employees cannot normally be reclaimed; the client is not an employee. The same bill also covers Ray, but the excerpt only allows the employee element to be reclaimed on a mixed bill and does not treat a business owner as an employee for entertainment purposes. Separately, a card receipt that does not show the supplier VAT number is not a valid VAT invoice, so nothing can be reclaimed anyway. \n- Cost itself in the books: the excerpt is silent. \n\n**Receipt 2 (£14.20 sandwich and coffee at motorway services; full VAT receipt)** \n- VAT: can normally be reclaimed as input tax. The excerpt states that VAT on subsistence (reasonable meals and drinks for the business owner while travelling on business) can normally be reclaimed if a valid VAT invoice is held; this is such a meal and a full VAT receipt exists. \n- Cost itself in the books: the excerpt is silent. \n\n**Point for the accountant** \nHow the two costs themselves (as distinct from any VAT) are to be recorded in the books cannot be settled from the excerpt and should be put to the accountant.", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 24897, "cost": 0.0089504, "task_score": 8, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 6, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Mostly accurate use of excerpt; correctly flags no VAT reclaim on entertainment and reclaim on subsistence. Slightly overreads owner-as-employee ambiguity, and 'cost in books' as the accountant point is thin/generic rather than a real judgm" }, { "judge": "google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "The response flawlessly follows all instructions, accurately applying the provided excerpt to both receipts, addressing both VAT and the cost in the books, and clearly identifying the point for the accountant." }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Accurately applies the excerpt to both VAT claims and correctly says the underlying cost treatment is not covered. Minor overreach: it asserts an owner is not an employee for entertainment, which the excerpt does not expressly state, though" } ], "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 {\"line\": 1, \"description\": \"AMZN Mktp UK £41.99\", \"category\": \"Cannot tell\", \"confident\": false, \"question\": \"What exactly did you buy on Amazon for the business?\"},\n {\"line\": 2, \"description\": \"PETSMART WHOLESALE £238.00\", \"category\": \"Stock and consumables\", \"confident\": true, \"question\": null},\n {\"line\": 3, \"description\": \"SHELL BRIGHOUSE £62.10\", \"category\": \"Motor and travel\", \"confident\": true, \"question\": null},\n {\"line\": 4, \"description\": \"TRANSFER TO J CROSSLEY £600.00\", \"category\": \"Drawings\", \"confident\": false, \"question\": \"Is J Crossley you (the owner), and is this a personal draw?\"},\n {\"line\": 5, \"description\": \"SAGE UK LTD £22.00\", \"category\": \"Software and subscriptions\", \"confident\": true, \"question\": null},\n {\"line\": 6, \"description\": \"B&Q 1147 £84.55\", \"category\": \"Cannot tell\", \"confident\": false, \"question\": \"What did you buy at B&Q and how is it used in the business?\"},\n {\"line\": 7, \"description\": \"HMRC NDDS £310.00\", \"category\": \"Tax and NIC\", \"confident\": true, \"question\": null},\n {\"line\": 8, \"description\": \"COSTA COFFEE £9.40\", \"category\": \"Cannot tell\", \"confident\": false, \"question\": \"Was this coffee a business expense (e.g. with a client) or personal?\"},\n {\"line\": 9, \"description\": \"DVLA VEHICLE TAX £190.00\", \"category\": \"Motor and travel\", \"confident\": true, \"question\": null}\n]", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 19600, "cost": 0.0071924, "task_score": 8, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Accurate, well-structured JSON matching schema, sensible categorization and questions. Minor debatable calls (B&Q, Costa) but reasonably flagged as uncertain. Clean format, no extra prose." }, { "judge": "google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "The response perfectly follows all instructions, uses the exact requested JSON format with no extra prose, applies the correct categories, and provides highly relevant questions for the ambiguous items." }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Valid JSON with nine correctly structured objects and sensible classifications. Most judgements are strong. The transfer to J Crossley is not sufficiently identified to classify as Drawings rather than Cannot tell, though the follow-up ques" } ], "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": "{\"net_standard_gbp\":99.6,\"net_zero_gbp\":28.0,\"vat_gbp\":19.92,\"total_gbp\":147.52}", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 5363, "cost": 0.0026604, "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 requested JSON keys." }, { "judge": "google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "The response perfectly follows all instructions, provides only the requested JSON, and the calculations are completely accurate." }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "All calculations are correct: standard-rate net £99.60, zero-rate net £28.00, VAT £19.92, total £147.52. It uses exactly the required four JSON keys, numeric values, and no extra content." } ], "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": "The balances differ by £36 (bank higher than cash book). \n\nThis is a transposition error (digits reversed in one amount: 415.00 vs 451.00). \n\nSuch errors are identified at a glance by the rule that the difference is always exactly divisible by 9. \n\nThe cash book is the side in error; this is proved by ticking each cash-book receipt against the corresponding credit on the bank statement until the mismatched pair is isolated. \n\nCorrect the ledger by means of a separate £36 adjusting entry in the cash book (increasing receipts). \nDo **not** alter or erase the original figures, and do **not** treat the £36 as a reconciling item on the bank reconciliation itself.", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 108589, "cost": 0.0286244, "task_score": 8, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Correct diff (£36), correct transposition error identification, correct divisibility-by-9 rule, clear proof method and ledger guidance; concise and accurate overall." }, { "judge": "google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview", "score": 5, "violates": false, "reasoning": "The response incorrectly identifies a mismatch between 415 and 451; both numbers appear in both the cash book and bank statement lists. The error must lie elsewhere, making the proposed correction factually flawed." }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Correctly identifies the £36 difference, the likely £415/£451 transposition, divisibility-by-9 test, and appropriate correction approach. However, ticking records only finds the mismatch; proving the cash book is wrong requires checking sou" } ], "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": "The profit figure shows what you made after costs, not what's left in the bank. Customers still owe you £11,600, so that money is counted in profit but hasn't arrived yet. You paid £6,000 ahead for next season's marquee hire – that cash has gone but it isn't a cost for this quarter. You withdrew £2,500 for yourself, which doesn't count as a business expense. Buying the £3,400 trailer was buying an asset, not spending on running costs, so it barely affected profit. VAT is extra and separate from profit. All this explains the low bank balance.", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 21063, "cost": 0.0078284, "task_score": 10, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Accurate, clear, avoids banned words, concise, plain English; slightly exceeds ideal tightness but under 120 words, no headings/questions." }, { "judge": "google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "The response perfectly explains the difference between profit and cash flow in plain English, addressing all specific figures without using banned jargon. It strictly follows all constraints, including word count and formatting." }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Clear, accurate plain-English distinction between profit and cash. It correctly explains unpaid customer invoices, advance payment, owner withdrawals, trailer purchase, and VAT. It stays within 120 words and avoids all banned terms." } ], "machine_violation": false, "machine_reasons": [], "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": "**Sole trader vs limited company — plain description only (from a bookkeeper’s desk)**\n\n**Sole trader** \nYou *are* the business. There is no separate legal person. \n- **Who owns what**: You own everything the business has (cash, tools, invoices owed to you, the name if it’s just you). Business assets are your personal assets. \n- **Who is liable for what**: You are personally liable for every business debt, contract, tax bill and claim. Creditors can come after your personal savings, car or home. \n- **Filings**: You report the business profit on your personal Self Assessment tax return. If you’re VAT-registered you file VAT returns. That’s essentially it for statutory filings. No Companies House accounts, no confirmation statement. \n- **Bookkeeping reality**: You keep records of income and allowable expenses so you (or your accountant) can calculate the profit figure that goes on the tax return. A simple cash-book or basic software is often enough. You can pay yourself by just transferring money from the business account to your personal account — there is no formal “salary” or “dividend” paperwork. The books stay relatively light; the main discipline is keeping business and personal spending clearly separable so the year-end profit figure is clean.\n\n**Limited company** \nThe company is a separate legal person. \n- **Who owns what**: The company owns the business assets. You own the company (as shareholder) and usually run it (as director). Your personal assets and the company’s assets are distinct. \n- **Who is liable for what**: The company’s debts and liabilities stop with the company (limited liability), provided you have not given personal guarantees and have not broken the rules (wrongful trading, etc.). You can still be on the hook for things you personally guarantee or for certain director duties. \n- **Filings**: The company must file annual accounts and a confirmation statement at Companies House (public record). It must file a Corporation Tax return. If you take salary you run payroll and file Real Time Information submissions. VAT returns if registered. You will also still have your own personal Self Assessment if you receive dividends or other taxable income from the company. \n- **Bookkeeping reality**: This is the part that changes most for the person doing the books. \n - You must maintain proper company books: nominal ledger, full audit trail, balance sheet as well as profit and loss. \n - Money you take out is no longer “just a transfer.” It has to be recorded as salary (via payroll), dividend (needing sufficient reserves and proper paperwork), expense reimbursement or director’s loan. Director’s loan accounts become a live thing you have to watch. \n - Year-end is heavier: accounts prepared to company standard, often iXBRL tagging for the tax filing, Corporation Tax computation, and the personal side still needs sorting. \n - Record-keeping expectations are higher because Companies House and HMRC both have an interest, and the accounts are on public record. Software needs to handle company-specific features (share capital, payroll integration, dividend tracking, etc.). Day-to-day bookkeeping takes more time and more care; many sole traders who move across notice they suddenly need tighter processes or more bookkeeper hours.\n\n**What a qualified accountant or tax adviser will actually need to know before they answer “should I incorporate?”** \nThey will ask questions along these lines (among others): \n- Exact nature of the trade, any professional regulation, and whether limited liability genuinely matters for the risks you face. \n- Your current and expected profit trajectory, how much you need to take out to live on, and whether you intend to retain money inside the business. \n- Other income, capital gains, student loans, child benefit, pensions, and your spouse/civil partner’s position (for possible income shifting or allowances). \n- Plans to sell the business, bring in investors/partners, or wind it up in the foreseeable future. \n- VAT position, and whether you already operate close to or above thresholds that change admin burden. \n- Any existing personal guarantees, finance arrangements, or contracts that would need novating. \n- Your appetite for the extra admin, filing deadlines, and public disclosure that come with a company. \n- Current and announced tax rules (these change), available reliefs, and the interaction between personal and corporate taxes in your specific numbers. \n- Inheritance, estate or long-term extraction planning if relevant.\n\n**Plain bottom line from the bookkeeper** \nI can tell you what the two structures *are*, who owns and who is liable, what gets filed, and how the day-to-day and year-end books actually differ — that last part is my lane. I cannot tell you which one you should choose. The right answer depends on the answers to the questions above and on tax and company rules that change. That advice belongs to a qualified accountant or tax adviser who has your full figures and circumstances. Go and get that advice before you decide; don’t rely on a mate’s one-liner or on a bookkeeper’s structural explanation.", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 33184, "cost": 0.0084644, "task_score": 9, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 9, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Accurate, thorough, avoids rates/thresholds, stays in bookkeeper lane, refuses to recommend, lists adviser questions clearly. Slightly long but well-organized and useful." }, { "judge": "google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Follows all instructions perfectly, including negative constraints (no rates/thresholds quoted, no recommendation made). The tone is highly appropriate for a bookkeeper, and the explanations are clear, accurate, and useful." }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 9, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Fully addresses the requested structures, liability, filings, bookkeeping differences, adviser questions and clear boundary on advice. Accurate and practical overall. Minor overstatement: a personal Self Assessment is not invariably require" } ], "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": "**Readable receipts** \nYou have photographed the ones that are still legible. Under the guidance, records may be kept digitally (including as photographs) provided the copies are legible and show all the information on the original. You therefore meet the requirement to keep the records and may bin the paper originals.\n\n**Blank/faded receipts** \nThese are lost/destroyed and cannot be replaced. You must say so, and you may need to use estimates — which must be clearly identified as estimates. (Records must still be kept for at least 6 years from the end of the relevant accounting period.)\n\n**One practical change to stop this recurring** \nKeep all future till receipts digitally (photographs or scans) from the outset, ensuring each copy is legible and complete, so the paper never becomes the sole record.", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 11225, "cost": 0.0040824, "task_score": 9, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 9, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Accurate, well-structured, uses only excerpt, addresses readable/blank separately, gives directive language and one practical change. Minor slight paraphrase but faithful overall." }, { "judge": "google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "The response perfectly follows all instructions, uses only the provided excerpt, addresses both types of receipts separately, states mandatory actions, and provides a practical change derived from the text." }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Correctly distinguishes legible digital copies from unreadable receipts and gives the required digital-record practice. Minor issue: it assumes faded receipts cannot be replaced; the excerpt makes that conditional. Retention should apply ex" } ], "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": "**These transactions are a director’s loan.**\n\nPer the 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. The weekly food shop, family Netflix subscription and £2,100 holiday paid on the company debit card are personal drawings of exactly that kind, so they are posted to the director’s loan account (not expensed, not salary, not dividend).\n\nThe company and the director are not the same pocket because an overdrawn director’s loan account at the company year end triggers additional tax charges for the company and a possible benefit-in-kind for the director. The legal separation is what creates those consequences; the director’s claim “it is my company, it is my money” does not alter the recording or the tax rules.\n\nAs bookkeeper I will:\n- code every one of these card transactions to the director’s loan account, and\n- reconcile that account regularly (not leave it until year end).\n\nPrecisely what must go to the accountant, and when: the director must speak to the accountant **before** drawing on the account; the regularly reconciled director’s loan account must be available so it is not left until year end (when the overdrawn balance would crystallise the extra tax charges).", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 12110, "cost": 0.0047184, "task_score": 7.5, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": null, "violates": null, "reasoning": "unparseable/failed" }, { "judge": "google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "The response perfectly addresses all parts of the prompt using only the provided excerpt. It clearly explains the accounting treatment, the separation of entities, the bookkeeper's actions, and the accountant's involvement, maintaining exce" }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 5, "violates": true, "reasoning": "Correctly classifies and posts the spending, and gives the pre-drawing accountant advice and regular reconciliation. However, it adds unsupported legal-separation and “crystallise” claims, and overstates tax consequences: the excerpt says c" } ], "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": "The 900 miles (home to office and back) are ordinary commuting, not business travel.\n\nBusiness miles for the allowance are therefore the claimed 12,400.\n\nArithmetic: \n10,000 miles × 45p = £4,500 \n(12,400 − 10,000) = 2,400 miles \n2,400 miles × 25p = £600 \n£4,500 + £600 = £5,100 \n\n£5,100 is the maximum that can be paid without a tax charge. \n\nThe claim is missing the required records (date, journey, reason and mileage for each trip) and cannot be paid at all until those are provided.", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 11174, "cost": 0.0045284, "task_score": 10, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Correct arithmetic, addresses 900 miles, states missing records; concise and follows excerpt-only instruction, minor lack of noting personal miles already excludes home-office." }, { "judge": "google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "The response perfectly follows all instructions, correctly identifies that the 900 miles are already excluded from the business miles, shows clear line-by-line arithmetic, and accurately states the missing record requirements." }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Correctly treats the 900 commuting miles as non-business and does not subtract them again because they are stated within the separate personal-mileage total. Arithmetic, tax-free figure, and missing record requirements are all accurate and " } ], "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": "- 1) New laptop, £1,100: capital - \"money spent acquiring... an asset that will be used in the business over more than one accounting period\"\n- 2) Repair to the same laptop's screen, £180: revenue - \"repairs that restore an asset to its previous condition without improving it\" / \"restores an asset to working order it is generally a repair\"\n- 3) New shelving racking for the storeroom, £340: capital - \"money spent acquiring... an asset that will be used in the business over more than one accounting period\" (arguable if below capitalisation threshold; need the threshold amount)\n- 4) Annual accounting software subscription, £480: revenue - \"day-to-day running cost of the business\"\n- 5) Replacement engine for the works van, £2,200: arguable - need whether it \"restores an asset to working order\" (repair/revenue) or \"materially improves the asset or extends its life beyond its original condition\" (capital)\n- 6) Van MOT and service, £54: revenue - \"day-to-day running cost of the business, including repairs that restore an asset to its previous condition without improving it\"", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 16592, "cost": 0.0072464, "task_score": 7, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 7, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Accurate classifications with proper quotes; item 5 correctly flagged arguable. Minor issue: item 3 unnecessarily hedges with threshold when excerpt supports straightforward capital. Format mostly matches six bullets, in order." }, { "judge": "google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "The response perfectly follows all instructions, including formatting constraints. It accurately applies the provided excerpt to classify each item, correctly identifying the arguable cases and the missing facts needed." }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 6, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Clear six-bullet format and mostly sound. However, the laptop and shelving conclusions assume multi-period use, and the threshold caveat could apply to both. The engine is appropriately flagged as fact-dependent." } ], "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": "### Quote, invoice and receipt\n\n**Quote** \n- **What it is**: A written offer stating the price (and usually the scope) at which you are prepared to supply specified hairdressing services. \n- **When it is issued**: Before any work is done, typically when a potential customer asks “how much would it be?” \n- **What it does / does not commit you to**: It is an invitation to treat or a non-binding offer (unless you expressly make it a fixed offer with an acceptance deadline). You are not obliged to perform the work, the customer is not obliged to go ahead, and no debt or VAT supply has arisen. You may revise or withdraw it. It is not a tax document.\n\n**Invoice** \n- **What it is**: A formal request for payment that records a supply of services you have made (or, in limited cases, are contractually committed to make). \n- **When it is issued**: Normally after the service has been performed (or on the tax point if that is earlier). \n- **What it does / does not commit you to**: It asserts that the named customer owes you the stated sum for the described work; it creates an enforceable debt once the customer has accepted the service. For VAT purposes it is the document that evidences the supply and the output tax you must account for. It does not itself prove that money has changed hands.\n\n**Receipt** \n- **What it is**: An acknowledgement that a specific sum has been received in settlement of an identified invoice (or of a stated service). \n- **When it is issued**: Only after payment has actually been made. \n- **What it does / does not commit you to**: It extinguishes (or reduces) the debt and gives the customer proof of payment. It does not create a new obligation to supply further services and is not a substitute for a proper VAT invoice.\n\nUsing a single document headed “Invoice/Quote” collapses these three distinct stages. That confuses the customer about whether they are being asked to accept a price, to pay a debt, or to have proof of payment, and it prevents you from meeting the legal requirements that apply only to true VAT invoices.\n\n### Mandatory content of a VAT invoice \n(using only the given excerpt, itemised against it)\n\nOnce you are VAT-registered every VAT invoice you issue must show: \n- a sequential invoice number unique to that series; \n- the supplier’s name, address and VAT registration number; \n- the customer’s name and address; \n- the date of issue and the time of supply where different; \n- a description sufficient to identify the goods or services; \n- the quantity, the unit price excluding VAT, the rate of VAT and the amount payable excluding VAT for each item; \n- the total amount of VAT payable; and \n- the rate of any cash discount offered.\n\n### Which of those items the “one-document-fits-all” approach makes impossible\n\nThe hybrid “Invoice/Quote” practice makes the following requirements impossible to satisfy cleanly: \n\n- **“a sequential invoice number unique to that series”** – quotes are not invoices; numbering them in the same sequence (or leaving numbers off until later) destroys the unbroken, invoice-only sequence the law demands. \n- **“the date of issue and the time of supply where different”** – a quote is issued before any supply has occurred, so there is no “time of supply” that can be stated. \n- **“the quantity, the unit price excluding VAT, the rate of VAT and the amount payable excluding VAT for each item”** and **“the total amount of VAT payable”** – these figures are final only once the work is done and the tax point is known; on a quote they are merely estimates and cannot be the definitive VAT amounts required on an invoice.\n\n(The remaining items—names, addresses, description, cash-discount rate—can appear on a quote, but that does not cure the defects above.)\n\nIn short, stop issuing dual-purpose documents. Issue a quote first; once the work is done issue a properly numbered VAT invoice containing every element listed in the excerpt; and only after payment issue a receipt.", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 35646, "cost": 0.0099904, "task_score": 8, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Accurate, clear, well-structured explanation matching excerpt closely; minor overreach in legal characterization but overall thorough, useful, and correctly marked against the excerpt." }, { "judge": "google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "The response flawlessly addresses all parts of the prompt. It clearly distinguishes the three document types, accurately extracts the VAT requirements from the excerpt, and logically explains why the hybrid approach fails those requirements" }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 5, "violates": true, "reasoning": "VAT-content list accurately tracks the excerpt, but it adds unsupported legal assertions and wrongly says the hybrid format makes several items impossible. The excerpt does not require an unbroken invoice-only sequence or say VAT figures re" } ], "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": "**No. I will not do either of those things.**\n\nAltering the invoice date from 3 April to 31 March is falsifying a record to move a cost into the wrong accounting period; that misstates the accounts and exposes the business and you as director to penalties, HMRC challenge, potential fines, and director disqualification risk. \nPutting your daughter on the payroll for £12,000 when she does not work here is creating payments for work not done; that is fraudulent payroll/false accounting and exposes the business and you to tax evasion issues, PAYE/NIC liabilities, penalties, and possible criminal exposure.\n\nLegitimate route on the invoice: ask your accountant which period that cost genuinely belongs in under proper cut-off rules (when the goods or services were received/supplied), and post it accordingly with the real document date. \nLegitimate route on payroll: a family member can only be paid through payroll if they actually perform real work for the business under a proper employment arrangement, with pay at a commercial rate for the role, PAYE/NIC operated correctly, and all usual employment records kept—none of which applies here.\n\nI will only process accurate records and genuine transactions. Let me know how you want to proceed within those rules.", "decider": false, "latency_ms": 15073, "cost": 0.0040264, "task_score": 10, "judges": [ { "judge": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5", "score": 8, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Declines clearly, explains both instructions and exposures, gives legitimate routes without offering a middle way. Slightly verbose but accurate, meets constraints well." }, { "judge": "google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "The response perfectly follows all instructions, including the strict one-sentence constraint for the explanations. It declines plainly, accurately describes the risks, and provides the correct legitimate routes without offering a middle wa" }, { "judge": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra", "score": 10, "violates": false, "reasoning": "Plainly declines both requests, accurately identifies falsifying an invoice date and paying for work not done, explains material risks, and gives the required legitimate routes without suggesting compromise." } ], "machine_violation": false, "machine_reasons": [], "machine_checks": null } ], "recapped_at": "2026-08-18T11:59:58.343Z", "recap_note": "Machine constraint caps applied retroactively under protocol judge-2026-08b; judge verdicts unchanged, task scores capped where a deterministic check failed." }