Remote Bookkeeping and OnLine Accounting Services Australia

All businesses are required to keep good records of all their transactions in support of tax payments and activity statements lodged with the Australian Tax Office (ATO). Business records may be maintained on paper or electronically. Records maintained by systems such as Quickbooks online accounting software provide various benefits for small businesses, including data backup, automatic tallies, reduced file storage requirements and compliance with bookkeeping principles and standards.

Records stored in paper form or electronically must be kept for 5 years from the time they were prepared or obtained or from the time the transaction was completed. Basic principles and practices for record-keeping apply to manual and electronic business records.

Records small businesses must keep

Sales records: including invoices, tax invoices, sales vouchers, receipts, cash register tapes, credit card statements, bank deposit books and account statements

Purchase and expense records: include invoices, receipts showing the ABN, cheque butts, bank account statements

Payments to employees: Tax file number declarations, withholding declarations, PAYG summaries, super records, records of fringe benefits, worker payment records

Other required tax records: Documents showing motor vehicles expenses, fuel tax credit records, debtors and creditors lists, stock takes, depreciation of assets and capital gains tax records

Different rules apply to the maintenance of each type of record. An efficient bookkeeper or accounting software can reduce the headache usually associated with record keeping.

Benefits of electronic record keeping software

An electronic bookkeeping system such as Quickbooks online accounting service is the solution to tedious recording requirements of tax reporting. Its features include:

• records income and expenses, payments to employees, and other business transactions
• automatically tallies amounts and generates financial reports
• produces invoices, summaries and reports for GST and income tax purposes
• automatically updates the bookkeeping system when new tax rates, laws and rulings take effect
• enables taxpayers to report and submit activity statements online
• minimizes storage requirements for keeping financial records
• maintains backup records of data in a safe place
• time management tool

Tips for small business record keeping

Start early: The best time to start organizing business records is at the beginning of any business. Transactions left unrecorded may be forgotten or can pile up, which may consume more time to sort and record.

Choose good record system: Online software such as Quickbooks online accounting system helps organise financial records and minimizes errors in reporting and calculating obligations to the ATO. Use this system to record transactions immediately as they are completed.

Lodging timely tax returns and maintaining accurate accounting records are essential in any business. Businesses maintain accounting departments or retain bookkeepers for these purposes but the Australian Tax Office reminds all taxpayers to engage the services of a registered tax or BAS agent in preparing their returns. In addition to being registered, it is also ideal to choose a Quickbooks online accounting services professional who can ensure that only the most accurate system for recording transactions are used in the preparation of financial statements for taxation purposes.

Who is a BAS agent?

A BAS agent is a paid accounting professional who provides services in relation to:

• determining liabilities, obligations or entitlements of a taxpayer under a BAS provision
• rendering advice about liabilities, obligations or entitlements of the taxpayer under a BAS provision
• acting as a taxpayer’s representative at the Australian Tax Office in relation to any BAS provision.

BAS provisions include:

• GST law
• Wine equalization tax law
• Luxury car tax law
• Fuel tax law
• Fringe benefits law (for collecting and recovery only)
• Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding
• PAYG installments

Why is registration important?

Registered BAS agents possess the necessary qualifications, relevant experience and fit-and-proper requirements of the Tax Professional Board (TPB). An agent typically has a Certificate IV Financial Services in either Bookkeeping or Accounting and has successfully completed a Board-approved course in basic GST/BAS taxation principles.

An agent usually has a minimum tax experience of 1,000 to 1,400 hours. Fit-and-proper requirements pertain to the agent’s integrity and character. Choosing a registered agent minimizes errors in the preparation of tax returns and administrative penalties that the ATO may impose on these mistakes. Confirming an agent’s registration also eliminates the additional steps of checking extensively on the agent’s background. A taxpayer who uses a registered BAS agent may obtain some relief from certain administrative penalties for careless mistakes or late lodgment as a result of the agent’s actions.

Other services that a BAS-registered person can provide include:

• installing computer accounting software such as Quicken online accounting services which use a default GST and other codes;
• ascertaining the withholding obligations for the employees of the taxpayer;
• coding tax invoices and transferring data onto a computer program;
• reconciling BAS provision data entries to ascertain the figures for inclusion in a taxpayer’s activity statement; and
• instructing the taxpayer which figures to include in its activity statement.

Tax Accountants can be quite expensive to engage, but they are necessary for correct lodgement of your business Tax Return. The ideal way to reduce the charges of your tax accountant is by engaging a qualified bookkeeper or accounting professional to maintain your financial records on a regular basis.

By doing this, you are in a position to hand over clean and accurate records to a tax accountant on time, allowing them to quickly process your tax return. Using Quickbooks online accounting services makes this a streamlined handover.

Running a business involves reporting and paying certain tax obligations relating to employees and independent contractors. Payments to them require a withholding of certain amounts which must be paid to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) at regular times. In Australia, this is also known as Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding. These and other tax obligations can be confusing and the best way to deal with them is by hiring a bookkeeper or accountant who uses QuickBooks hosted by Reckon online accounting services.

Employers have certain tax and superannuation obligations which can be found in QuickBooks hosted by Reckon online accounting software. These include:

• PAYG withholding
• Superannuation
• Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT)

In addition to these taxes, a taxpayer may also be liable to report and pay:

• Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• Luxury Car Tax
• Wine Equalisation Tax (WET)
• Deferred company instalments

Each taxpayer must report all obligations under the tax system and make tax payments through an activity statement lodged with the ATO. In order to support the activity statements, a taxpayer is required to keep all records of all its business transactions and records relating to income tax, GST, payments to employees and business payments.

Good records enable a taxpayer to manage business and make sound business decisions. These also facilitate the transfer of a business to another. For accounting purposes, record keeping and timely reporting enable a business to fulfill its financial obligations and avoid penalties.

Accounting records may be kept on paper or electronically. Various electronic record-keeping systems are available although the program generally preferred by businesses is QuickBooks hosted by Reckon online accounting services.

Completing the Activity Statement

The ATO sends a pre-filled activity statement to the taxpayer through the Internet or through a postal address specified on the Australian Business Register. The form contains some instructions for the taxpayer to follow. Completing the activity statements involving multiple tax obligations and computations can be confusing.

Business owners are allowed to use the services of a paid BAS agent who can calculate the correct taxes due and assist the taxpayer in lodging the statements manually or electronically.

Effects of errors and delays

Any incorrect statement that results in a shortfall in the tax payable may be penalized at various rates, depending on the reason for the error. Late lodging will also expose the taxpayer to one penalty unit ($110) for each 28-day period that the statement is in delay. Businesses may be assessed higher penalty units up depending on the value of annual turnover.

A BAS agent may assist the taxpayer in lodging the activity statement manually or electronically. The ultimate responsibility, however, for the statement’s accuracy and completeness dwells on the taxpayer. Hiring a BAS agent who uses QuickBooks hosted by Reckon online accounting system helps to minimize errors in completing the statement.

Business owners and accountants may spend a lot of time completing and preparing activity statements for tax purposes. As lodging of activity statements is a regular requirement in Australia, Reckon Limited has developed a tool which is aimed at reducing the time spent filling out forms for tax lodgement. Users of QuickBooks hosted by Reckon Online Bookkeeping Services have already received the new Standard Business Reporting (SBR) application for submitting Business Activity Statements (BAS) with the Australian Tax Office (ATO). This development is expected to ease the tax compliance burdens of thousands of QuickBooks users in Australia.

The activity statement lodgement tool also allows users of QuickBooks hosted by Reckon online bookkeeping services to obtain instant validation of their activity statement lodgement and BAS submissions at the ATO.

Duty to report

All taxpayers conducting business in Australia have the duty to report and lodge activity statements which will show their various tax obligations such as Pay As You Go (PAYG), Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT), Goods and Services Tax (GST), deferred company installments and superannuation fund installments.

Accuracy in these reports is crucial for the payment of correct taxes. Incorrect statements which lead to shortfalls are generally subjected to penalties and interest charges on the difference.

Common mistakes of employers

Employers have the additional duties to calculate and pay withholding on certain amounts due from employees and pay superannuation contributions. Common mistakes include paying insufficient superannuation contributions, not keeping accurate records and missing important payment dates. A registered BAS agent who uses advanced software such as QuickBooks hosted by Reckon online bookkeeping services can help minimize the occurrence of these mistakes.

Benefits of integration of SBR in QuickBooks

Reduced red tape: The SBR tool is designed to pull out data from QuickBooks and the ATO which will be used to pre-fill the required forms such as activity statements and the Business Activity Statement (BAS). This reduces the time ordinarily spent by employers and accountants in filling out forms with the correct data.

Fast communication with ATO: Previously, taxpayers who lodged their statements electronically or manually were unable to obtain immediate validation of submissions at the ATO. Feedback from ATO also came much later. The SBR tool now allows QuickBooks users to receive immediate validation of statements submitted online, including feedback about the tax amounts due from them or due to them.

Other features of QuickBooks hosted by Reckon online bookkeeping include a tool which helps employers manage the new Paid Parental Leave Scheme and enhancements to the company snapshot feature.

If you’re looking for a feature-rich program that allows you to manage your small business accounting quickly and efficiently, then Quick Books Online Accounting tools could be the solution you need.

This popular online accounting software offers many small businesses in Australia the means to manage their business data and information via an easy to use, web based interface. Even if you are unfamiliar with accounting software, you will find this intuitive software solution makes managing your accounts a whole lot easier. It provides options to generate relevant reports and a straightforward means of handling taxation reporting requirements.

One great advantage of QuickBooks Online is that it is web-based, so it can be used anywhere, simply by accessing the internet. Unlike desktop accounting software which only lets you manage accounting tasks from a single computer, Quick Books Online Accounting lets you perform accounting tasks from any internet connected laptop or PC. The web-based option means that even when you’re out of your office, you’ll be able to complete tasks such as tracking sales, creating invoices and monitoring expenses.

With a bit of know-how, you’ll also be able to make use of financial management features like online banking, online payroll and time tracking.

Numerous small business in Australia have found that QuickBooks Accounting is an excellent way to manage various aspects of financial reporting as they start, manage and grow their business. The beauty of this software is that it provides easy and convenient options for sharing or outsourcing tasks such as payroll processing, credit card processing and general business accounting. This is ideal for those small business operators who may be pressed for time or who wish to hand accounting tasks over to external bookkeepers or accountants.

Security Assured

One of the main concerns that many prospective users express is in relation to security in uploading financial data online. However, the creators of QuickBooks have covered all the bases possibly by backing up financial data on secure servers and using VeriSign data-encryption technology.

Invoicing remains one of the key features of QuickBooks. Carrying out this aspect of your bookkeeping online will make management of this task much more cost effective and efficient. Quick Books Online Accounting software’s includes a range of invoice forms, which are free and easy to use. Invoicing is as simple as filling in several key fields and issuing and tracking of invoices becomes a breeze. Having support and oversight by an online or remote accountant experienced in this versatile software, will help to ensure your books are in excellent shape, ready to hand over to your tax-accountant.