“Isn’t the BAS due on the 28th?”, he asked.
- Yes, that’s right, but not the 28th January!

He forgot that the December quarter BAS is always due in February, so then came the quiet sigh of relief.

However, because the ATO have automatically granted a one month extension, if the bookkeeping for your Robina business isn’t in order, then you may find completing the BAS by the end of February to be a challenge.

Not a problem for our Robina Bookeeping business – that’s what we do: Fix up the mess.

We’ll hunt high and low for all the documentation to get your books correct and upto date and ready for the lodging of your business activity statement (BAS)

To avoid disappointment, contact us NOW, so that we can shuffle a few things around in the calendar and make some time to get your bookeeping upto date and prepared for the BAS that’s due 28 February 2012

It seems a common problem being that the BASLink isn’t showing the PAYG or the figures that are generated by MYOB don’t appear to be a true reflection of the business activity.

The ATO are aware that over 80% of BAS fomrs are incorrectly completed. What this means for you, the small business owner, is that you maybe paying the ATO more than you need to.

Contact our Robina Bookkeeping service today for help with MYOB and BASLink

There are some business owners (and also bookkeepers) that think that by owning MYOB accounting software they can suddenly become skilled bookkeepers.

If only that was the case!. Unfortunately, just like everything, it’s a case of “garbage i, Garbage out”

If you’re cooking a cake and use rotten fruit, old flour, and fermented butter, chances are the cake may look great after it’s baked, but will taste disgusting!

That’s often how we feel when we’re presented with data files from unsuspecting business owners wanting us to review their MYOB data files prior to the BAS lodgement.

Everything may look great on the oustide, or in a quick glance, but inside the figures stink – some of the entries are rotten!

He got an ABN (Australian Business Name) and registered for GST, and is now confused between GST and income tax.

To simplify the GST issue.

If you are registered for GST you now become a tax collector for the Government, so every time you invoice a client, you need to add 10% to the invoice.

This 10% extra money belongs to the ATO. It’s not yours to keep. SO put it in a separate bank account.

Every time that you buy a product/service for your business you will see on the suppliers invoice or cash receipt how much GST they have charged you

Rather than sending the 10% on each transaction to the ATO, you lodge a Business Activity Statement BAS (normally each quarter) and tell the ATO that you have COLLECTED $xxx in GST, and you tell them you have PAID out $yyyy in GST

So if you’ve collected more than you’ve paid out in that reporting period then you need to give the ATO their money back

If you’ve paid out more than you’ve collected at the end of the reporting period, the ATO needs to give YOU money back

i.e if you’ve collected $3000 in GST, and paid out (to your suppliers etc) $1000 in GST you owe the ATO $2000

if you’ve collected $1000 in GST and paid out $1500 in GST then the ATO will REFUND $500 in that reporting period

INCOME TAX
This is different. Quite simply you get taxed on all your TOTAL income less any BUSINESS expenses.

If you earn $70k as a carpenter, another $20k from rental properties, and $10k from shares/stockmarket investments, then that’s a total of $100k (the GST part was never yours and is not included here)

If it’s cost you $30k to run your carpentry business (suppliers, subbies, tools etc) and $10k to run your rental properties (loans, maintenance etc) then your expenses would be $40k – so your taxable income would be $60k (less other things like medicare, etc etc, )

This is why small business owners need bookkeepers – to track the GST and income / expenses for your business, or help you set up a bookkeeping system so that you can do the same.

We are not tax agents and cannot give specific advice. Before taking any direction please speak to a professional registered tax agent and do not rely on the example above.

We’ve had a couple of last minute panics from clients wanting some bookkeeping help for their Robina business.

With the Business Activity Statements due next week, we get a call this morning from a small business in Burleigh wanting to do an upgrade from MYOB premier v7 That’s about seven years old. They’ve had a copy of version 11 for about three years and decided that maybe now’s the time to do an upgrade

Now that’s all done, our Robina bookkeepers are taking a short break for the Easter period and wish all our readers a very happy and safe Easter. Should we turn the phone off over the holiday weekend, or try and field a few calls in the hope of gaining some new business opportunities?

Doubtless there’ll be a few Robina business owners tempted to sneaking some “family time” away in their home office trying to catch up on a backlog of bookeeping work.

In other words, your supplier has just increased the invoice by 10% – so do you go back and question the invoice amount and request that they issue the invoice without the GST component?

Whether you choose that course of action or not, your supplier must be registered for GST before you can claim a GST credit on a purchase. Ask the supplier whether they are registered for the GST or ring the Australian Tax Office for more details.

For small business owners in and around Robina, Varsity Lakes, Reedy Creek and Mudgeeraba , contact our Robina Bookkeepers and bookkeeping service for help with your bookkeeping.

It can be confusing for people who are just starting their small business in and around Robina, Varsity Lakes, Reedy Creek and Mudgeeraba.

Maybe you’ve been trading for some time, and now you find that you’re within reach of the $75,000 threshold, this means that now you’ll need to become GST registered

To claim a GST credit for purchases you must be registered for the GST and have a valid tax invoice for items over $75 (excluding GST). If you use an incorrect or incomplete tax invoice to claim a GST credit, the GST credit may not be allowed.

For purchases that cost $82.50 or less (including GST), you must keep documents such as cash register dockets, receipts or invoices to support your claims. You must also keep your tax invoices and other GST records for five years.

Rather than struggle with completing your BAS forms Contact Us TODAY for H E L P

WIth Easter and ANZAC day falling the weekend before, we encourage Robina business owners to have their BAS completed before Easter, so you can have a well deserved break

Need Help with Your BAS??
Whether you use MYOB or Quickbooks, completing a Business Activity Statement can be daunting, so if you need help lodging your BAS forms Contact Us TODAY

Did you Miss The BAS Deadline?

If you missed the deadline and need help, then rather than struggle with completing your BAS forms Contact Us TODAY for H E L P

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) recognise that people may be taking annual leave over the Christmas / New Year period , and so they automatically extend the (theoretical) lodgement date for the December quarter from January 28 to February 28

Consequently you’ve already had a month’s extension, so there’ll be a Buckley’s to none chance of a further extension

One wonders what happens to business owners that have lost all their documentation in the devasting floods of Queensland and NSW. You can show your support too the flood victims and donate Online to the SALVATION ARMY Disaster Relief Fund HERE

Need Help with Your BAS??
Completing a Business Activity Statement can be daunting, so if you need help lodging your BAS forms Contact Us TODAY

With good record keeping and upto date bookkeeping it’s so much easier to accurately assess the financial progress of your Robina business

Here’s three simple resolutions that you can make and KEEP for your business in 2011:

Get Organised And Keep Organised
A good place to start is by tidying up your desk
Having a clear desk creates a more relaxed environment,so you can begin to have clearer thoughts and ideas.

Many Robina business owners have a cluttered desk because you don’t have a filing system in place – we can help you with that

Good Record Keeping
Keeping your paperwork upto date with regular bookkeeping has many advantages in running a healthy business.

There’s also legal obligations in Australia to keep your business records upto date and in order – they need to then be archived for five years.

You’ll find there’s penalties for not maintaining the required records and for not keeping them for five years. Good record keeping will help you avoid these penalties.

Cash Flow Is the Life Blood!!
Tracking all monies coming in to your business and monies flowing out of your business is the primary reason for having an efficient bookkeeping system.

Cash flow in your business is like blood in your body – Just as a blockage in your arteries can cause a heart attack, so too will your business can die if the cashflow dries up.

Start TODAY with a simple four-step Cash Flow Budget. For help contact our Robina Bookkeeping service TODAY