Talking Cents

Steps to prepare your BAS by small business accountants

As the deadline for the quarterly business activity statement is quickly approaching, it is important for you as a small business owner to execute the whole process smoothly. Firstly, you must understand what exactly is a BAS, and how it is important for your business. Any business that is registered for GST is required to lodge a business activity statement- which will help you report and pay your goods and service tax, your PAYG instalments, PAYG withholding tax, and other taxes that you small business may require to pay. Although the Australian Taxation Office will automatically send you a BAS when its time to lodge, there are a few important steps that you should take to ensure everything is done correctly. Here at M.A.S Partners, the leading small business accounting firm in Zetland, we understand the importance of business activity statements, and work with hundreds of small businesses to prepare them. As such we have prepared some steps that you should take to prepare them yourself.

How will you process

The first step of preparing your BAS, is deciding how you are going to process it. Most businesses use online accounting software, as it makes it easier to organise all the necessary information- although there are still different actions that you should take to ensure that the information shown on the reports are accurate. The last thing you want is to receive late fees for not paying enough tax. The efficiency of writing up your BAS is hugely dependent on how accurate your reports are, so consider investing in a small business accountant or bookkeeper to ensure all your records are correct.

Prepare information

Once you have decided how you will process, you must collect all your records and accounts to ensure that all the information is accurate and up to date. Here, you must take a close look at your financial records, and bank statements- scrutinising them to ensure nothing is out of place. Reports such as your cash flow and profit loss statements must be looked at carefully.

Enter missing transactions

Often when preparing your BAS, there will be missing transactions. Use accounting software that streamlines the process by connecting directly to your bank account. You must record any missing transactions such as receipts and invoices- including a date, total dollar amount, GST, and a description.

Calculations

Once you are sure all your records are correct, you should run an activity statement- determining the amount of GST you owe, and your PAYG. It is important that you do this part yourself as well, in case there are inconsistencies with the amount the ATO sends.

Consider hiring a small business accountant

As a small business owner, you want to focus on developing your business, rather than doing tedious taxation tasks. Consider hiring a small business accountant to handle all your tax lodgments, as well as receiving expert advice on growing your business. Our small business accountants at MAS Partners aim to help your business grow through our business accounting services. For more information on our small business accounting services, click here.