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Bike to work scheme with Canyon bikes

Keimps

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone has successfully used the Irish bike to work scheme with Canyon bikes (online retailer in Germany).

After speaking with Canyon they ensured me they accept the government scheme on a daily basis without any issue.

However when I want to submit a new order on the website (biketowork.ie) there are only options to select resellers in Ireland. After contacting biketowork.ie they state this is correct and cannot do anything with non Irish bike resellers.

I saw there is also bike4work.ie but their website state the same; only Irish resellers.

So I was hoping to find someone who has done this successfully and can explain me how they managed to do so!

Thanks

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kenmc

They are middlemen, taking a cut of profits to deal with the shops. If your company only deal with this shower, you're out of luck. If, on the other hand your company are more reasonable, then you can use any bike shop you like, anywhere. Need to figure out your company policy.

Bike to work is a government initiative. Biketowork dot ie is a company profiteering on that.

Keimps

Cool, makes a lot more sense. Will check it this way via HR directly then, thanks!

ED E

My firm uses Travelhub too (same shower), nothing you can do unless you can convince your HR and Payroll to take it all in house which they wont want to do.

who_ru

Keimps wrote: »

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone has successfully used the Irish bike to work scheme with Canyon bikes (online retailer in Germany).

After speaking with Canyon they ensured me they accept the government scheme on a daily basis without any issue.

However when I want to submit a new order on the website (biketowork.ie) there are only options to select resellers in Ireland. After contacting biketowork.ie they state this is correct and cannot do anything with non Irish bike resellers.

I saw there is also bike4work.ie but their website state the same; only Irish resellers.

So I was hoping to find someone who has done this successfully and can explain me how they managed to do so!

Thanks

use the biketowork voucher to upgrade your wheels?

mcgratheoin

Keimps wrote: »

So I was hoping to find someone who has done this successfully and can explain me how they managed to do so!

As mentioned, it's up to your company - I did it a few years ago but I was working for an SME (10-30 employee size) so could talk directly with the HR/payroll people.

One potential piece of advice that made it a lot easier for them to process - I had the money myself to buy the bike so instead of asking them to spread my salary deductions over a year or two I just told them to take it all out of one month's salary and I used the money I had put aside for the bike instead of salary that month.

It might make it easier for the company if they buy you a bike and then take it out of your gross salary in one chunk. They take the first €1000 out of your gross salary and take the rest back from your net salary after tax etc..

magicbastarder

who_ru wrote: »

use the biketowork voucher to upgrade your wheels?

mod note - this is tax fraud, any further posts on it will be deleted.

who_ru

MOD VOICE: POST DELETED

CramCycle

ED E wrote: »

My firm uses Travelhub too (same shower), nothing you can do unless you can convince your HR and Payroll to take it all in house which they wont want to do.

We use Travel Hub but I know one girl in finance who got a bike from Canyon and so did the head of Finance. Keeping that in my back pocket to see can I push to get my next one not through travelhub.

Quick

Got a canyon years ago through bike to work. Was contracting under an umbrella company. Got the canyon guys to issue invoice to umbrella company and accounts transferred the money and I paid the balance.

ED E

CramCycle wrote: »

We use Travel Hub but I know one girl in finance who got a bike from Canyon and so did the head of Finance. Keeping that in my back pocket to see can I push to get my next one not through travelhub.

Nice bit of ammo that. My Bacon number with payroll is probably about 15 so no such luck.

Type 17

The issue in these cases is that your employer has to add Canyon or a range of your LBS's to their payments system as suppliers. This is often easier for a small business, whereas a larger organisation has procedures, forms to fill, possible approval from head office abroad, etc, so it makes more sense for them to only add Travelhub or B2W.ie who then can liase with a (limited) range of bike shops (and keep €100 of your hard-earned for every €1,000 spent :mad:).

harringtonp

Currently looking at a Canyon purchase so thought would revive this thread. Enquired from my employer and got:

"You will need to get the bike shop to issue an invoice to XXXX Ltd for a bicycle for up to the maximum amount allowable. XXXX will pay the bike shop directly. "

(XXXX is their name)

So sounds like they just need an invoice. Now in the Canyon checkout they have a prepayment option and you can enter a separate billing address to the shipping address. See attached image. What I'm thinking is I keep the shipping address at my own place and set the billing details to my employer.

You'll see from the comment that they will send an invoice by email with their bank details. I forward this on to my employer and ask them to pay. They then deduct the cost in one go from my salary minus the tax relief and the bike gets shipped to me sometime after that.

Before I suss this out with my employer has anyone done this ? Does it look like it ticks all the boxes ?

DaveyDave

I just used all my own details. Your employer will bank transfer the amount using the details on the invoice so your own billing address isn't needed, I'd say put your own so there's no delivery confusion.

Canyon will also take split payments so if the amount of the bike is above the bike to work then you send your part to them. Leave an order number reference in the transfer to make it easier.

harringtonp

DaveyDave wrote: »

I just used all my own details. Your employer will bank transfer the amount using the details on the invoice so your own billing address isn't needed, I'd say put your own so there's no delivery confusion.

Canyon will also take split payments so if the amount of the bike is above the bike to work then you send your part to them. Leave an order number reference in the transfer to make it easier.

Does the invoice not need to show your employers name and address ? Is that not what your employer requires ? That's why I would have it ship to home but billed to their details. If I use all my own details my name and address will be on the invoice.

fmlarnapairce

My issue here is that my employer will not pay the invoice until canyon ship the bike, and canyon will not ship the bike until employer pay the invoice, madness and seems no way out of it, i work in a uni

neilled

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121253993#Comment_121253993

Did you ever find a way around this?

Stuck in the same infuriating position, I'm also in the public sector. Accounts are freaking out over the demand for payment and saying

"That's not an invoice, it must say invoice and be a vat free price, it can't say prepayment"

Canyon on the other hand say

"1. We only provide ex vat prices to Businesses.

2. We only issue the invoice once payment is received."

Any public sector workers found a way around this one?

Macy0161

I couldn't get around it via NSSO anyway. NSSO would only pay based on an Invoice up to the BTW allowance. Canyon weren't able to split the invoice, even if I paid my contribution first.

fwiw the lbs alternatives to the one I wanted were more expensive than the canyon than the btw saving was worth (and still not the bike I really wanted).

neilled

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122834004#Comment_122834004

It's very frustrating. Mad that canyon is effectively cutting off the entire public sector.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122835238#Comment_122835238

The PS are cutting themselves out by rule lawyering, and it depends where in the PS you work, so many just use travel hub.

cletus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122835931#Comment_122835931

Yes. It's very much a public sector thing. Computer says no happening in real life

Macy0161

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122836426#Comment_122836426

In fairness, Canyon's computer also saying no in real life! The way around it with a LBS is that they are capable of splitting the invoice!

Friends in the private sector also have run into the same issue with Canyon/ how their company administers the scheme by the way, it's not just a public sector thing.

jasonb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122833360#Comment_122833360

This is ridiculous, saying they only issue an Invoice once payment is received. An Invoice is defined as a document to tell a customer that payment is due! An Invoice is basically a bill, they shouldn't be using it as a Receipt.

You could ask them if they could send you a Proforma Invoice. That's basically a preliminary bill sent before goods have been supplied. If Canyon will supply a Proforma Invoice, your company might accept that for payment?

cletus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122839245#Comment_122839245

Ah, that's just me being generally used to everything in the public sector being bass-ackwards

timbel

I got canyon on BTW last year and in 2018. In PS.
Canyon issued prepayment invoice to me by email for full amount but invoice had name and address of my employer. Canyon provided the account transfer details on the invoice. I transferred the amount I was due to pay to Canyon and employer paid the ~1250 to Canyon at end of month during usual outgoing payments cycle.

nialljf

Canyon responded to me with the following information on buying a bike with the scheme:

Thank you for contacting Canyon Bicycles regarding your case.
I am writing you this email as a follow-up to our conversation over on the chat. As promised, please find below all the details regarding the Irish Cycle to Work scheme:
In order to use the Cycle to Work scheme in Ireland, you need to purchase the bike as normal on www.canyon.com. Then, on the checkout, make sure that the company name is listed as the billing address.
The Irish Cycle to work scheme does not require a specific form or process, all you need to do is to simply order the bike, making sure that the customer name and address are filled in with the details of the company who is buying the bike.
Then select Pre-Payment as the payment method and an invoice will be generated and sent to you by email. Please then pass the invoice to the HR department of your company for payment. Please note: We are unable to split an invoice, any invoice must be for the entire order value.
Your HR will be able to reimburse the VAT, all they need are the registered details of Canyon in Ireland:
Member State: IE
VAT Number: IE 9685412C
Name: CANYON BICYCLES GMBH
Address: KARL - TESCHE -STR 12, D-56073 KOBLENZ, GERMANY
We thank you for choosing Canyon, and it goes without saying that should you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us via this here email.

MojoMaker

A lot of HR departments sadly will view that as "nope, too much hassle".

Hopefully yours is helpful.

fmlarnapairce

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122833360#Comment_122833360

nope, computer said no in the end, had to buy a different bike from a lbs who were used to dealing with my crowd and knew they'd get paid