Tax records and business money
Start with the document or explanation you need to find. These guides help you connect a payment to the purchase, activity or asset behind it.
The evidence templates show how to organise records and include ATO sources beside the example. Take the facts to your registered agent for the tax decision.
Prove an expense
Recover the document and explain what the payment was for. Start with the circumstances that are missing from the bank entry.
Record 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 readSmall Business Tax Deductions: The Complete Australian List
Every tax deduction an Australian small business can claim, category by category, with 2026-27 ATO rates, what's not deductible and the records to keep.
15 min readLost a Business Receipt? Rebuild the Evidence File
Recover a missing business receipt, connect it to payment and job records, and keep an honest evidence register for your bookkeeper or tax agent.
3 min readSole Trader Meal Records: Lunch, Travel and Client Meals
Separate ordinary lunch, overnight travel meals and client entertainment in your records, with a practical worksheet for the facts your agent needs.
3 min readDonation or Sponsorship? Keep the Right Payment Records
Record a community payment as it happened: recipient details, promised benefits, invoices and proof of payment, with gift and sponsorship checks kept apart.
2 min read
Track an asset
Follow equipment through purchase, changes and disposal, keeping accounting values separate from tax records.
How to Read a Balance Sheet (Small Business Edition)
How to read a balance sheet for a small business: assets, liabilities and equity in plain English, working capital, the quick ratio and what to check monthly.
9 min readAsset Register Template: Track Business Equipment
Keep each asset’s purchase, location, business use, book value, tax record and disposal evidence together in a practical register that you can copy.
3 min readRepair or Improvement? Gather the Facts Before Coding It
Document an asset before and after work, separate invoice components and collect the evidence your adviser needs to assess repairs and improvements.
2 min readSelling or Scrapping Equipment: Close the Asset Records
Record the sale or scrapping of business equipment, reconcile proceeds and fees, and keep the documents needed to close its accounting and tax history.
3 min read
Explain mixed use
Keep business and private activity visible in the records you take to your adviser.
Business Vehicle Records: Build a Logbook and Expense File
Organise vehicle journeys, odometer readings, private detours, running costs and ownership documents in one file before reviewing the claim method.
2 min readBusiness Trip and Private Holiday: Organise the Costs
Build a mixed-purpose travel file with the itinerary, actual activities, accommodation and transport costs, keeping uncertain allocations for review.
3 min read
Review tax questions
Gather the evidence behind an unusual receipt, a corrected return or a change of accountant.
Platform income statements: match sales, fees and payouts
Reconcile a marketplace or gig-platform statement to sales, refunds, fees and bank payouts, with a worked bridge between calendar and financial-year totals.
3 min readBusiness insurance payout: organise the accounting evidence
Break an insurance settlement into components, match the bank receipt and replacement costs, and prepare the questions your accountant needs answered.
3 min readReceived a business grant? Track conditions, cash and spending
Link a grant agreement, money received, eligible spending and reporting evidence in a practical ledger, with open tax questions recorded for your adviser.
3 min readTax return mistake? Prepare the amendment evidence first
Organise the original return, changed figures and supporting records, then confirm the entity, income year and amendment pathway with your registered tax agent.
3 min readChanging accountants: hand over tax records and open questions
Transfer lodged returns, asset schedules, loss records and unfinished tax work with a practical handover matrix that confirms who owns each next obligation.
3 min read
Reconcile the ATO account
Match the account movements, check the tax reserve and prepare a forecast if a debt needs attention.
How to reconcile an ATO account statement with your books
Match ATO account entries to lodged liabilities, bank payments and transfers, then use a discrepancy log to explain balances that do not agree with your books.
3 min readIs your tax reserve enough? Check savings against the bills
Compare your tax savings with estimated GST and income tax, check credits already allowed for, and find a shortfall before the payment date arrives.
3 min readPrepare for an ATO payment plan: records and cash capacity
Gather your ATO account details, outstanding lodgements and cash forecast, then test a proposed payment against new bills before asking for a payment plan.
3 min read
Track owner money
Document money put into a company and connect it to the agreement and balance sheet.
Lending money to your company: keep a clear funding record
Record personal money paid into your company, distinguish an agreed loan from capital or reimbursement, and keep repayments matched to the right balance.
3 min readSetting Up a Company in Australia: Costs, Tax, Pros and Cons
What a Pty Ltd really costs to set up and run, how the 25% company tax rate works, director duties and liability, and when a company beats a sole trader.
9 min read
Document expense allocations and timing
Keep the activity, use and service period behind a proposed expense allocation.
Home Business Running Costs: Keep a Useful Work Diary
Record home business hours, shared household use and supporting bills with a practical diary, then check which records your expense method needs.
3 min readPhone and Internet Business Use: Support the Percentage
Build a phone and internet usage sample, link it to the actual bill, separate private use and revisit the allocation when your working pattern changes.
2 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 readMixed Business and Private Loans: Trace the Money
Trace each loan drawdown to its actual use, keep repayments and redraws visible, and prepare the documents your tax agent needs for interest allocation.
2 min readStocktake Valuation: Explain the Closing Inventory Figure
Turn a completed stock count into a traceable valuation schedule, with unit-cost evidence, damaged-stock notes and unresolved differences for your agent.
2 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 readPrepaid Business Expenses: Track the Service Period
Build a prepaid expense schedule for insurance or software, separating the payment, service coverage, monthly accounts and tax-timing questions.
2 min read
Prepare the business tax review
Use the worksheets to assemble the facts for losses, personal services income, owner accounts, turnover and depreciation.
Sole trader business losses: prepare the non-commercial loss checks
Separate accounting and deferred tax losses, then gather the income, activity and asset records needed for a non-commercial loss review with your tax agent.
3 min readPersonal services income: assemble a PSI evidence pack
Gather contracts, income by worker, equipment obligations and rectification terms for a PSI review, with a practical matrix that keeps missing facts visible.
2 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 readPartnership drawings and profit: reconcile each partner account
Compare partners’ capital, profit allocations and drawings using separate account schedules, with the agreement and tax questions kept visible for review.
2 min readTrack GST turnover with a rolling monthly worksheet
Keep current and projected GST turnover in separate rolling schedules, flag unusual transactions, and record the facts needed for a timely registration review.
2 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 read