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 ATO ICAA NIA Corps Act OSR ASIC Business.gov.au SmartCompany Australian Anthill
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BAS statement |
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So your in business and you have to prepare your first BAS statement! Lucky you! Bare Figures exists because business owners like you find it easier to outsource this process for a small fee. Incorrect BAS returns pose a heavy financial penalty. So don’t prepare them yourself, and then worry about all year. Have you ever wanted to prepare your own BAS statement?
That would be lying. Preparing BAS returns can be an absolute nightmare without a bookkeeper compiling your records together first. But if you must, and here at Bare Figures we encourage our clients to understand business tax as much as possible, here are the easy steps for you. Please remember that submitting incorrect information to the tax office is an offence that carries penalties. Steps to completing your BAS statement 1. Are you registered for GST? Before you start completing your BAS statement make sure you are registered for GST. A quick check with your accountant, in your files or on ABN Lookup (just plug in your ABN) will help you work out whether you are registered or not. 2. Are you using cash or accruals for calculating GST? Cash accounting for GST - means that you pay GST when money changes hands. Either your sales invoices are paid into your account (So you charge $500 plus GST to your customer, they paid you). So you must send that GST portion back to the ATO. Or you purchased something and received an invoice, then you paid it. You get to keep that bit of GST. Accrual accounting for GST - means that you pay GST when you receive or raise invoices To use the example above - once you have raised an invoice for a sale, you are liable to pay that GST to the ATO whether your client has paid you or not. 3. What period are you preparing a BAS return for? BAS returns are either: Monthly, Quarterly or Annually. Make sure you are completing it for the right period. 4. Get your records together Your business records will be bank accounts that have business transactions, receipts and invoices relating to those transactions and any cash transactions (with receipts / invoices). That's it. Oh wait, here's the fun part. Record in MYOB, Xero, Saasu or Excel, all transactions above that you have valid receipts and invoices for. Remembering that you will need 4 columns: - Date of transaction -Amount in or out -Amount of GST -Description 5. Total up your records Reviewing your records means ensuring, you only claim GST when it is a valid business expense, and have appropriate supporting documents as highlighted in the substantiation provisions of the ITAA and GSTAA, and deductible under Section 8-1, and not specifically excluded from being deductible. See creditable acquisitions in the GSTAA for further details about deductibility. This will form your GST on purchases on your BAS. Make sure you separate capital from non-capital acquisitions You must also check you remit back to the ATO the appropriate amount of GST as indicated on your tax invoices. Please ensure you review your invoices and total up the amount of GST collected. Total sales including GST - add the GST on sales to the total sales. GST on sales (or GST payable) is the amount above you identified. These documents are taken very seriously by the ATO and ASIC as a sign of a professionally run business. These become tax records and form part of your corporate identity to the government. So if at all the above is confusing please give us a call to make it easier for you. 6. Prepare you BAS statement Once you have totals for your GST on sales, GST on purchases you must then ensure you calculate your PAYG. PAYG is the system the ATO uses to calculate the tax that your employees must pay on their incomes. You, the employer, hold onto that tax and then send it off the ATO on their behalf. Review your payroll records for staff (if you have no staff, just put in little zero's) and enter the amount of tax you have withheld. 7. Update your records Once you have completed your BAS, it is important to make sure it matches with your electronic records. Once you lodge the BAS statement the ATO will be expecting the payment you have calculated, or will send the amount they must pay to you once it is lodged. Take a copy for your records. 8. Lodge and pay Either mail to the ATO, set-up your Tax Portal access online through the ATO's website, or give it to your trsuty accountant or BAS service Providing bookkeeper to lodge. Make sure you pay when you lodge or give them a call to let them know when you will 9. File away your records Save your electronic files on a spare disk for backup. File away your hard copies with the name of the quarter on them and breathe a sigh of relief! your done.
When you contact Bare Figures Bookkeeping we’ll be able to find out which of our bookkeepers would be best suited to your business.
It's true most BAS returns pose an onerous task on the business owner. But not when you have a Bare Figures Bookkeeper. We have specialised software to correctly track your sales and purchases for you. Each quarter, we’ll sit down and prepare them for you. You can spend the time we’ve given back to you on growing your business instead. Preparing your BAS return takes specialised accounting training and knowledge that our qualified bookkeepers can prepare with ease. So why stay up late worrying about your BAS return when a Bare Figures Bookkeeper can save you the hassle. Call us now to find out how much time we can save you. Who are we? Bare Figures Bookkeeping is a leading provider of offsite bookkeepers and offsite bookkeeping services to the Sydney Metro, Inner West and Sydney CBD areas in New South Wales, Australia. Bare Figures Bookkeeping is based in Circular Quay, Sydney and services many satisfied bookkeeping clients in the Sydney Inner West, Eastern Suburbs and Sydney CBD area. Bare Figures Bookkeeping is a BAS Service Provider, MYOB Professional Partner, Xero Partner and Saasu Partner.
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