Finance, Tax & Accounting
Find the job you need to finish: organise the books, prepare a BAS, work out a price or plan the next few months of cash. Each section puts the explanations and practical checks together.
Choose help and organise the records
Decide which work you'll handle and which needs a registered practitioner. Keep the documents and responsibilities clear before a deadline approaches.
Selected starting pointsHow to Do Your Own Bookkeeping: A Monthly Routine for Owners
You can do your own bookkeeping with a separate bank account, software with bank feeds, 20 minutes a week and a monthly close checklist. Here's the routine.
10 min readRecord Keeping for Small Business: What to Keep and for How Long
How long must you keep business records in Australia? The ATO's 5-year rule, the 7-year company rule, what to keep, and whether photos of receipts count.
9 min readWhat is a BAS agent? Services and registration explained
Learn what a registered BAS agent does, how the role differs from bookkeeping and income tax work, and what information to prepare before getting help.
4 min read
Work through GST and your BAS
Start with registration and the reporting basics, then move to transaction treatment, lodgement and dates. Use the official sources for your own circumstances.
Selected starting pointsHow to Register for GST in Australia (and Whether You Should)
Do I need to register for GST? The $75,000 rolling threshold, the 21-day rule, how to register for free, cash vs accruals, and when to register early.
10 min readGST and BAS Explained: Plain-English Guide for Small Business
GST and the BAS explained simply: the $75,000 threshold, how to register, what goes in each label, GST credits, due dates and the mistakes that cost money.
8 min readGST-Free vs BAS Excluded vs Input Taxed: The Tax Codes Explained
BAS excluded meaning, GST-free vs BAS excluded, input taxed and Simpler BAS explained in plain English, with a 27-transaction coding table for Xero and MYOB.
16 min read
Investigate a GST or BAS exception
Work from the reporting settings and evidence through reconciliation, then check the correction or adjustment route.
Selected starting pointsCash or accrual GST accounting: compare the timing
Compare cash and non-cash GST accounting with the same invoices across two quarters, then check eligibility and prepare a clean change of reporting basis.
3 min readWhy BAS sales do not match your profit and loss report
Reconcile BAS sales to profit and loss revenue using a worked bridge for GST, unpaid invoices and asset sales, with evidence for each difference you find.
3 min readReconcile your GST control account to lodged BAS amounts
Trace a GST control balance through sales, purchase credits, BAS transfers and payments. Use a roll-forward worksheet to explain old or unmatched amounts.
3 min read
Make the bank and payment records agree
Establish complete bank data first. Then follow transfers, repayments and customer or supplier credits through the records that already exist.
Selected starting pointsBank reconciliation difference: find what's causing it
Find a bank reconciliation difference with a worked statement and ledger, checks for opening balances and timing, and an exception log you can use.
4 min readDuplicate bank feed transactions: check before deleting
Tell duplicate bank feed lines from duplicate ledger entries and real repeated payments. Follow an evidence-first decision tree before correcting the books.
3 min readMissing bank feed transactions: fill the gap safely
Find the exact gap in a bank feed, check pending payments and import missing statement lines without duplicating transactions that are already present.
4 min read
Separate owner spending and protect the finished books
Keep private use and reimbursement evidence visible. Check account changes and opening balances before relying on a finished report.
Selected starting pointsPersonal spending from a business account: record it correctly
Record an accidental personal purchase from a business account, separate sole trader drawings from company transactions, and keep the correction evidence.
4 min readBusiness expense paid personally: an owner reimbursement record
Keep a clear record when an owner pays a business expense personally. Use a filled reimbursement register to link the receipt, approval and bank payment.
4 min readSplit a receipt with business and private purchases
Split a mixed receipt line by line, separate GST from private spending, and use a worked six-item example that reconciles back to the full bank payment.
3 min read
See the gap
Explain the bank balance, build a forecast and test the receipts you are relying on.
Selected starting pointsProfit Is Up but Cash Is Down: Build a Cash Bridge
Reconcile a profitable month to a falling bank balance. Follow an Australian small business example covering unpaid invoices, stock, assets and repayments.
3 min readCash Forecast vs Actual: Find What Went Wrong
Compare predicted and actual cash, separate timing differences from changed amounts, and roll late receipts forward once with this worked variance table.
3 min readPut Your Sales Pipeline into a Cash Forecast
Separate enquiries, accepted quotes and invoices in your cash forecast. Use a pipeline worksheet to place receipts after delivery and avoid double-counting.
3 min read
Finance, Tax & Accounting library
Showing 1 to 18 of 179. Newest articles first.
Personal spending from a business account: record it correctly
Record an accidental personal purchase from a business account, separate sole trader drawings from company transactions, and keep the correction evidence.
4 min readBook depreciation vs tax depreciation: reconcile the difference
Compare accounting and tax asset schedules in a worked reconciliation of opening values, annual charges and closing balances, with clearly stated assumptions.
2 min readAdjustment notes when a sale changes: the GST paper trail
Connect an original invoice, later price change, adjustment note and customer credit, with a worked example and checks for the GST reporting period.
3 min readAllocate GST credits across taxable and input-taxed sales
Work through a shared-cost GST allocation, document the evidence behind the split and identify financial-supply exceptions or changes that need review.
3 min readFound an old receipt? Check the unclaimed GST credit
Check an old purchase against prior entries and BAS claims, verify the GST-credit time limit and keep a register so recovered receipts are counted once.
4 min readBank reconciliation difference: find what's causing it
Find a bank reconciliation difference with a worked statement and ledger, checks for opening balances and timing, and an exception log you can use.
4 min readBarter Transactions: Record Both Sides of the Exchange
Document a business barter deal with separate supplies, supported values, invoices and any cash top-up, so the transaction does not disappear from the books.
2 min readBusiness expense paid personally: an owner reimbursement record
Keep a clear record when an owner pays a business expense personally. Use a filled reimbursement register to link the receipt, approval and bank payment.
4 min readCash or accrual GST accounting: compare the timing
Compare cash and non-cash GST accounting with the same invoices across two quarters, then check eligibility and prepare a clean change of reporting basis.
3 min readCash rounding at the till: check the total and receipt
Compare cash rounding with electronic totals using a five-row example. Check the final payment, receipt and GST questions separately before changing settings.
2 min readCheck opening balances after moving accounting systems
Verify migrated bank, invoice, supplier, tax and owner balances. Use a sign-off matrix to compare the old records, opening figures and supporting documents.
4 min readClean up your chart of accounts without losing history
Simplify an established chart of accounts with a mapping worksheet. Compare renaming, archiving and merging, while preserving historical reports and tax coding.
4 min readOwner owes the company money? Prepare a Division 7A review
Build a dated shareholder-loan schedule with advances, repayments and agreements, then prepare the specific Division 7A questions your tax agent needs to check.
2 min readCorrect a GST mistake: later BAS or original revision?
Work out which questions decide a GST correction route. Separate errors from later adjustments, check the limits and keep a clear record of what changed.
3 min readTraining Expenses: Document the Link to Your Business
Map a course to the work your business already does, separate new-venture subjects and keep fees, reimbursements and travel evidence ready for review.
2 min readCredit card repayments: avoid counting expenses twice
Separate card purchases, repayments, fees and refunds in your books. Follow a worked balance timeline and check that business expenses are recorded once.
3 min readCustomer overpayments: reconcile, refund or keep a credit
Resolve a customer overpayment without recording another sale. Trace a double payment, document a refund or agreed credit, and check the closing balance.
3 min readDuplicate bank feed transactions: check before deleting
Tell duplicate bank feed lines from duplicate ledger entries and real repeated payments. Follow an evidence-first decision tree before correcting the books.
3 min read
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