If you want to run your business smoothly, you need to maintain your records daily and make a report of those records to ensure that you can meet your superannuation, tax, and employer obligations. To avoid common mistakes, you need to:
- maintain records of how you work out your claims if funds or assets of the company are for personal use
- make complete and accurate record-keeping practices, including regular reconciliations, and it should be your daily business activity.
You need to consider looking at those tasks, which need to be done at a specified time to avoid penalties for being late.
When Should Record-Keeping and Reporting Tasks Be Performed?
Some of the record-keeping tasks mentioned below may not apply to all businesses because every business is different.
| Frequency | Common Tasks (not exhaustive) |
| Yearly | Make a summary of income and expenses for the year and create an income statement. Do a stocktake (if you have a considerable amount or value of stock). Summary of records of creditors and debtors. Make sure you have records to work out capital gain or loss for CGT – if applicable. Complete records of depreciating assets. Ensure to reconcile and finalise the STP information of your employee through your STP-enabled solution by making a final declaration by 14 July each year or when it’s ready. You must provide payment summaries to your employees and file your yearly PAYG withholding report if you are not reporting through STP due to a postponement or exemption from STP. Being a private company, you need to have records of all dividends, drawings, and loans. |
| Quarterly | Details of super paid to your employees. Your BAS may be due if you are registered for GST. If you are filing your BAS quarterly, ensure fuel tax credit records are complete and accurate (don’t forget to apportion fuel use accurately). For your BAS, complete PAYG withholding. Complete PAYG instalments for your BAS (if you are registered for GST) or your instalment activity statement if not registered for GST. Your PRRT instalment statement may be due. |
| Monthly | Reconcile your bank accounts. Cross-reference payments with invoice numbers. If registered for GST, your BAS may be due. Your BAS may be due if registered for PAYG instalments monthly or PAYG withholding monthly. If filing your BAS monthly, ensure fuel tax credits records are complete and accurate (don’t forget to apportion fuel use accurately). If not registered for GST, check your turnover in case you are required to register for GST. |
| Weekly, fortnightly or monthly | Keep track of all paid payments to employees. Calculate super and PAYG withholding payments. Keep a record of your employee’s wages and salaries, PAYG withholding and super via an STP-enabled software solution. |
| Daily, if suits your business | You need to record: · your income · your expenses · any cash payments or drawings. Reconcile daily sales and record the amount into your business accounting software system – if you do this on a daily basis, it will ensure that records are accurate. Include your: · Z-totals · point of sale systems · cash register tapes. Always keep in mind that if you account for GST using the cash method, you must account for the GST due on the purchases you make in the reporting period in which you receive payment for them. To ensure correct record keeping and GST filing, bank all of your cash income into your business account. |
Conclusion
The blog shares when you can maintain records and reports. However, it all depends on your business because every business has different recording criteria. For more information, you can contact Reliable Melbourne Accountants.
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