Category — ATO

If you are late with your Q4 June 2011 BAS, then do not despair!

We’ve helped many business owners around Mandurah with getting the bookwork upto date, and even helped them avoid LATE FEES issued by the ATO, so if you are late with lodging your Business Activity Statements, then what options are available to you?

We’ve listed ten options for those small business owners around Mandurah that have failed to lodge your BAS for the reporting period 1 April 2011 – 30 June 2011:

1) Take the easy option and ignore it, hoping that the problem will go away

2) Have a panic attack and wonder what to do now you’ve missed the deadline

3) Do what most people do, and just accept that you’ll have to pay a penalty for late BAS lodgement

4) Have sleepless nights wondering how to complete the BAS even though it’s going to be a late lodgement

5) Call the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and tell them that the canary grabbed the BAS form and has shredded it to make a nest

6) Fossic through your paperwork in the glovebox of your car along with all your other unopened mail, and see if you can even find the Business Activity Statement whilst making a mental note that it should have been lodged by the end of July

7) Call your accountant and ask him / her what you should do next

8.) Do nothing, and just accept that fact that you’ll be fined for a late lodgment, and look forward to receiving fan mail from the ATO

9) Grab a cold one from the fridge, sit in your favorite chair and see what’s on the idiot box

10) Contact us (quickly) because we may be able to get an extension for you, as well as getting all your documentation sorted out to help you ensure that you’re not going to be paying ms Julia more than you need, since she’s shown us all how good she is at spending all that money

There’s a number of MYOB bookkeeping hazards that commonly occur when we come across new Mandurah bookkeeping clients.

Having an inaccurate set of bookkeeping records can create some challenges dow the track

As a result there’s some Mandurah small business owners that discovered their bookkeeping has become a nightmare for a number of reasons: [Read more →]

Business Activity Statements BAS are due on 2 march 2010 for businesses that report their GST obligations quarterly

With the Christmas holiday period over for many small businesses, it’s time to get all your paperwork together and get it to your bookkeeper or outsourced bookkeeping service- to report on the 2nd quarter (1 September to 31 December 2009) to get your BAS lodged on time.

Maybe the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) does have a heart, after all. Rather than asking for lodgements on 28 January, they automatically give everyone an extension to the BAS lodgements to 28 February. This is, of course, a Sunday. However, the next business day is not Monday, since it’s a public holiday in Western Australia. Thus the Q2 BAS is due on 2 March 2010

However, don’t be fooled by their grace, because there is NO WAY that they’ll consider granting an extension after that date. So you need to ensure that you have your Business Activity Statement lodged by 2 March 2010

If you are struggling with your bookkeeping and need help, if you do not have a bookkeeper, or are looking to outsource to a mobile bookkeeping service, then contact us now

You may use MYOB or Quickbooks accounting software – or even some other system for your bookwork. We can assist you with any challenges, or even just relieve you of the burden of the book-keeping

Our bookkeeping Service has clients in and around Mandurah, Dudley Park, Coodanup, Greenfields, Erskine, Pinjarra and Meadow Springs, Australia Contact us here for details

We received an email, apparently from the ATO, advising us that we had a Tax Refund due.

The amount was for AUD$210.75. Nothing strange about that, except for the spelling and the grammar.

They ask you to click a link that takes you to a website [ wv.us ] not anything to do with [ ato.gov.au ]

DON’T CLICK ON THE LINK – who knows what may happen – it could result in a little piece of software that invades your computer and extracts your usernames and pass words

It’s probably going to ask you for all your credit card details, so that the fraudsters in question can then go on a spending spree in London!

Not since Kevin Rudd organised for us to have a cheques sent out from the ATO have we had a tax refund.

And, thank you Mr Rudd, because the cheques arrived a couple of days after the ATO sent us a request for us to pay more tax – so much for the “Stimulus Package” – a waste of money, a publicity stunt – and a wonderful inheritance for the yournger generation of this fine nation.

One wonders if it makes good bookkeeping sense to chase up a five cent debt

Apparently the Australian Taxation Office thinks so – but that could be because it’s a government organisation that really does not have to worry about the bottom line

Where is the sense (cents) in making a five cent payment?

One of our bookkeeping clients received a communication from the ATO advising that they owe $0.05

Let’s just think about this simple transaction in terms of human and energy resources:
There’s the cost the ATO $0.55 for the postage. That’s before you take into account the cost of printing the letter, the cost of the paper and the envelope, and the cost of paying someone to handle the letter.

Our bookkeeping client was going to make a phone call, but that would cost 500% more than the value of the enquiry

Whilst they do not have a problem paying the 5 cents, it’s quite obvious why ordinary hard-working Australians are having to pay so much tax overall.

Apparently there is a great deal of wastage of resources at the ATO – typical of the Public Service that doesn’t have to worry about keeping costs down

So, our bookkeeping client was going to do internet banking and make a BPAY transfer, to find out that the ATO does not accept such small amount of payment for a BPAY transfer

So how does our bookkeeping client pay the 5 cents that the ATO is asking for?
Are they expected to go to the Post Office and make a payment over the counter?

Again, what is the cost of that simple exercise?
The Government is concerned about carbon pollution, yet the ATO wants our bookkeeping client to jump in their gas guzzling motor vehicle to drive to the shopping centre, find a car park, then walk to the Post Office, stand in a queue, take up the time of a Post Office Staff member, to process a 5 cent payment

Can anyone from the Australian Taxation Office or the Federal Treasury please tell us, where is the sense (no pun in tended) in making this five cent payment?

Could 80% of BAS forms really be completed incorrectly? Apparently this is the figure that the Australian Taxation Office estimate when reviewing Business Activity Statements.

Are You Paying More GST than You Should?

When you consider that many small business owners around Mandurah, Dudley Park, Coodanup, Greenfields, Erskine, Pinjarra and Meadow Springs believe that bookkeeping is an expense, rather than an investment, it is hardly surprising that so many people who have no idea what they are doing complete Business Activity Statements. Contact us today for more information.

Many clients approach our professional contract bookkeeping service because they realise that a mobile bookkeeper can save them heart-ache and stress in getting their paperwork upto date.

Speaking to a client in Greenfields last week, it transpired that he had absolutely no idea what was involved in running a business from the financial aspects. As long as there was money in his pocket at the end of each week to pay the bills, he was happy.

When the first BAS form arrived on his doorstep he just figured he’d guess what figures went where and hope that it would all sort it self out at the end of the financial year

The crazy thing is, that by having to report quarterly Business Activity Statements, small businesses are being encouraged to record their business activities every three months.

If you leave it all for your accountant at the end of the financial year, then guess what? It’s all too late.

If you’re now faced with a large tax liability after the end of the year, there’s nothing you can do about it. Whereas if you are aware of the situation beforehand, then there maybe avenues that you can follow to reduce your tax liability. We are not registered tax agents and cannot give guidance in such matters, so you need to speak to your accountant.

We’ll look at your bookkeeping and assess your requirements. It’s not uncommon for us to find some major savings for our clients. Contact us today for more information.

Every small business owner in and around Mandurah, Dudley Park, Coodanup, Greenfields, Erskine, Pinjarra and Meadow Springs, in Western Australia needs to keep records. Why? Because it’s a legal requirement. Many business owners choose to outsource their bookkeeping requirements using our mobile bookeeping services. Contact us for more information

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) requires you to keep business records:

• for five years after they are prepared, obtained or the transactions completed (whichever occurs later), and
• in English, or in a form that the ATO can access and understand in order to determine your tax liability.

You should keep records for a longer period if you use information from those records in a later tax return (for example, claiming a loss carried forward from a business activity in an earlier year). The records should be kept until the end of any period of review for that later return.

Records relating to assets for capital gains tax purposes may also need to be kept for a longer period. You can issue and store records in either paper or electronic form.

There are penalties for not maintaining the required records and for not [Read more →]

The importance of Book keeping: Here’s 10 Tips to help any small business in and around Mandurah, Dudley Park, Coodanup, Greenfields, Erskine, Pinjarra and Meadow Springs, Western Australia manage your cash flow

Bookeeping is an important part of any small business

Bookeeping is an important part of any small business – whilst it is historical, in recording past transactions of money coming into and going out of your business, book-keeping can also help with managing the cash flow of your business

Whilst world leaders have a money-tree policy to create cash, the average small business owner has limited opportunities when cash flow gets very tight, as in the present economy.

Contractors in the building industry can quickly run up large accounts with builders and developers, and forget that even large companies can fall over in a recession.

On Australia’s Gold Coast a large property developer has collapsed with millions of dollars debt, and often the sole tradesman or small business owner is at the bottom of the food chain, even though they are the ones that need the cash the most, not the Banks or Finance Companies

Our bookkeeping team of mobile freelance bookkeeprs have put together ten tips to help you manage your cash flow:

1. As bookkeepers, we’re amazed by businesses that issue invoices with no specific payment date or credit terms. There’s nothing wrong in specifying the date on which you expect payment – after all, don’t the utility companies do just that on the invoices they send you?

2. Why not issue the invoice the day that you provide the goods / services, rather than waiting until the end of the week, fortnight, or month? Some business owners choose to issue their invoices monthly, knowing their creditors only issue payments monthly

3. There’s been a recent trend, again with utility companies, to offer an incentive to pay early, such as giving a discount. Notice that in reality they are adding a penalty for late payment rather than a discount

4. Ask your customer for a deposit in advance, particularly if they are requesting a high ticket item that you have to purchase from your supplier before receiving payment from your customer
[Read more →]