Archived July 2018 post. Kept for reference – some references (such as the 20-employee Single Touch Payroll threshold and the super guarantee amnesty window) are specific to 2018 and have since changed.
The 2018 tax year had just finished and regulatory reporting was beginning – tax returns, financial statements, payroll tax and more. This post was dedicated to getting individuals and businesses organised.
Completing your records
Every claim, transaction and assumption must be recorded so each item is proved, accurate and relevant to your financial and taxation reporting. What you remember today may not be remembered tomorrow, so it pays to start early.
Individuals
Gather your PAYG summaries, health insurance statements, dividend information and receipts by category. Access your bank records online for total interest and charges. Provide dividend statements, contract notes and trust distribution notices. For rental properties, supply rental summaries, expense records and repair invoices.
For motor vehicles, keep a logbook less than five years old, estimate your annual work-related distance, and record the odometer reading at 30 June – or claim on a cents-per-kilometre basis where appropriate. If you work from home, provide an estimate of weekly hours and the equipment you use. For equipment purchases (computers, printers, tools, vehicles), supply the invoice plus detail on why you bought it and how you paid.
Business
Close the year on a good footing. If you have bank reporting obligations, let us know straight away – lenders assess how effectively you meet them. Know the combined turnover of all your businesses, as the rules can change once revenues are large enough.
Bill it and collect it: close the tills, review completed and progress-billed work, get it billed, process credit notes, recognise profit correctly, assess collectability conservatively, write off genuine bad debts and reconcile the ledger to the trial balance.
Take stock: stocktaking measures what’s been spent but not yet sold and should be done now if stock exceeds $5,000. Don’t forget work in progress. Write slow-moving or scrapped items down to their recoverable amount and make sure production costs are included.
Process creditors and accruals, reconcile PAYG summary data, identify FBT reportable benefits, prepare PAYG statements and the contractor payment schedule, complete payroll tax reports if required, roll the payroll year, and reconcile the bank. Supply invoices for new and sold assets and any new or completed finance arrangements.
Audit insurance
With more information shared between businesses and government agencies, reviews and audits are increasingly common. We make audit insurance available to clients as a non-profit service, to help protect against the cost of dealing with and defending state and federal regulator actions. Ask us for details.
Single Touch Payroll
At the time, employers with 20 or more employees began reporting payroll and superannuation information to the ATO in real time via Xero, MYOB and other providers, with smaller employers to follow. It remained prudent to actively manage payroll – particularly director and related-party amounts – so unusual variations didn’t occur without good reason.
The super guarantee amnesty
The Government had announced an amnesty for employers to catch up on unpaid super guarantee obligations, running from 24 May 2018 to 23 May 2019, with no penalties applied during that period. For employers with cash-flow issues it was an important opportunity – and a reminder to avoid late-payment issues in future, as Single Touch Payroll would make them visible.