What good looks like
A good tax and record-keeping system, in plain English.
You don’t need fancy software or a finance team. Businesses that have tax time under control usually have the same few habits:
- One set of live books. Accounting software with bank feeds, reconciled at least monthly. Business and personal spending kept apart.
- Tax money that isn’t yours. GST collected, PAYG withheld from wages and an estimate of income tax go into a separate account as you earn it. When the BAS or the tax bill arrives, the money is already sitting there.
- A calendar you trust. BAS, super guarantee and tax return dates in the diary, lodged on time. Quarterly BAS is generally due on the 28th of the month after the quarter ends (the October to December quarter is due 28 February). Lodging online or through a registered tax or BAS agent can give extra time for some quarters. ATO BAS due dates.
- Records you could hand over tomorrow. Invoices, receipts and contracts kept (digital copies are fine), generally for five years. ATO record keeping for business.
- A monthly look at the numbers. Profit, cash and what’s owed, on one page. Ten minutes a month beats a surprise at year end.
- A plan for paying yourself. A set amount, worked out with your accountant for your structure, rather than taking money as you need it.
- A once-a-year check before 30 June. Asking what concessions you may qualify for (for example, if aggregated turnover is under $10M, the $20,000 instant asset write-off) while there’s still time to act.
Doing it yourself or with your accountant is completely fine. That’s the point of a good system: it works whoever runs it. If you’d like help putting it in place, that’s what PRM Rising is for. Your business return is prepared by Tereza’s team and lodged through our registered tax agent, and Shay oversees things as your corporate fractional CFO.
General information only. This doesn’t take your circumstances into account and isn’t tax, financial or legal advice. Talk to your accountant or registered tax agent before acting. PRM is not a registered tax agent; tax agent services are provided by Australian Tax & Super Pty Ltd (TPB 25291395).
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