Thames Computers Blog

ADIntelligence 001 – courtesy of Thames Computer Services‘  Advertising Agency Systems

The Asbof and Basbof levies are collected by advertising agencies at the point of sale of an advertisement and remitted to the following bodies on a quarterly basis:
ASBOF – The Advertising Standards Board of Finance.
BASBOF – The Broadcasting Standards Board of Finance.

Their purpose is to finance self-regulation of the industry through the ASA, Advertising Standards Authority which oversees standards and practise.  The levy is typically set at 0.1% of the ad’s cost.  It is a voluntary levy, the volunteer being the advertiser, but is often levied automatically so the advertiser needs to opt out if they don’t wish to participate.

For those agencies with advertising agency software, the need is to bill and account for the levy.  The levy is charged on each relevant media buy and the total amount collected is then remitted to Asbof/Basbof quarterly.  No VAT is chargeable on the sale or remittance.

For an advertising agency system the essentials to accommodate are:
1. An advertiser needs to be able to opt out both generally and in circumstances of their own choice.  This means that the client and campaign records must allow this flexible approach.
2. The billing process should calculate the levy on all applicable advertising ie – where the advertiser has permitted it and where the advertisement falls within the category of advertising that carries the levy.
3. The levy should exclude VAT in the invoice calculation.
4.  The levy collected needs to be accrued for quarterly remittance to the relevant body.

The following provides some guidance on the levy.

LEVY
- The levy is 0.1% of the advertising cost to the client for the relevant categories of advertising shown below.
- The levy is not liable to Value Added Tax.
- The levy must always be shown separately when an agency bills the client.- The levy is not liable to Value Added Tax.
- The wording for general use in Rate Cards and Standard Conditions of Acceptance of Orders is:
“All advertising charges (except classified lineage and semi-display) are subject to a 0.1% Advertising Standards Board of Finance (asbof) levy, payable by advertisers to help finance the self-regulatory system administered by the Advertising Standards Authority”.

INCLUDED ADVERTISING – where the levy applies
- Press – newspapers and magazines (including inserts) Outdoor Cinema Internet
- Television, radio and cable advertising by broadcasters licensed by Ofcom.

EXCLUDED ADVERTISING – where the levy does not apply
- Advertising outside the UK
- Advertising for certain prescription medicines.
- Advertising of a party political nature
- Classified lineage and semi-display advertising. These are subject to the Code of Advertising Practice. Their exclusion from the levy is simply due to the impracticability of levy collection on the very small units of expenditure involved.
- Internet searches, and payments on a pay per click basis for customers accessing websites.

For more information the place to go is:
THE ADVERTISING STANDARDS BOARD OF FINANCE LIMITED
5th Floor 21 Berners Street London W1T 3LP
Tel: 020 7580 7071 Fax: 020 7580 7057
and a more detailed guide can be found within this pdf:

http://www.asbof.co.uk/resources/guides/asbof_levy_guide_2007.pdf

Thames Computer Services provides Advertising Agency Systems.  Our ADvantage system is specialist software for agencies of any type or size including full service, creative, media independents, PR and any agency in the communications industry.  Our systems are used throughout the UK and in Europe.

ADvantage is an integrated suite of software including media buying, job management, workflow, time management (timesheets), orders, billing and a fully integrated sales, purchase and nominal ledger.  It can be installed on an agency’s own server or hosted over the Internet.  Our new Saas, Software as a Service (see our short video), over the Internet service is great for agencies wishing to cut the cost overheads of admin and provide a flexible working environment where staff can access the system from anywhere they have an Internet connection, home, office or travelling.  Its easy to deploy, great value and is charged for on a pay-as-you-go basis with no initial capital outlay.  We can even do your bookkeeping for you!