Whether you’re a business owner doing your own books or a bookkeeper, from time to time it’s necessary to check an entity’s Australian Business Number (ABN) for authenticity. Sometimes you just aren’t sure if the ABN is correct or you may wish to check if a supplier is registered for GST (and other legal details). So how do you check the status of an entity’s ABN? Currently there are 4 options available to you.
With all of the web content being thrown at us daily via email and social media, it’s hard to know what’s worth reading and what’s just rubbish! If you’re a busy business owner like me, you can’t read everything, there’s just not enough time in the day. However, as a business owner, you also know that there is information out there that you should be across, particularly in relation to taxation, GST and employing. Most of this information can be found on the Australian Taxation Office website, but again, there is a mountain of data to read there, so where do you start? To save you time, I have compiled a list of ATO links I believe will be the most useful for business owners. Take a read through and bookmark the links of interest to you.
There are 2 newsletters to which you can subscribe that regularly provide information about employment issues, GST, Superannation, lodging and paying tax, fringe benefits tax and other general tax advice. The “Small Business Newsroom” is specifically for small business owners while the “Business Bulletins” is directed at medium to large businesses.
Need to discuss a taxation issue with the ATO but you’re just too busy during the day? No matter, you can now book an after hours call via the above link. Once booked, a consultant will call you back at the time you specified – a great service! For those who prefer not to talk via telephone, there is also a web chat service. I have also provided the link to telephone numbers you can call during the day if the other 2 options don’t suit you.
From time to time, you may need quick access to taxation booklets, forms or other information. One of the best ways to obtain this information is by ordering it online from the ATO. The information will be sent you either via post or email depending on the product.
The ATO has provided the ability for business owners to connect with the ATO electronically for several years now. Business owners can log into their business portal and lodge their own BAS and other forms and can correspond securely with the ATO as required. I highly recommend that all business owners review their options in this space as the ATO is moving further and further towards online platforms and those who ignore this will get left behind. The link above provides more information about this topic.
Need to find some taxation information quickly? These 2 links may help. “Search” is an alphabetical listing of various topics while “Small business assist” is a service where by you type in your question and a range of websites and pages will be provided related to the information you require.
Not sure when your BAS is due or when you need to pay your employees’ superannuation? This link will help – it’s a list of current key tax lodgement due dates for this financial year.
Here is a group of links for those of you who are employers or who are about to employ staff. They include information on employing for the first time, PAYG withholding (what it is and how it works), a tax withholding calculator, the log-on page to the super clearing house and the super guarantee charge statement and calculator tool (for those who have missed the quarterly super payment due date).
This group of links relate to general taxation information about topics and issues that business owners may find useful, especially the business deductions link.
Having trouble paying tax debt? This link provides information about how to handle this situation.
I hope this list of useful ATO links will prove helpful to you as a business owner. You could bookmark them all or simply bookmark this blog so you can access all links with one click!
As a business owner, do you find yourself using particular ATO web pages all the time? If they aren’t already listed here, please share your links below – they may just help someone else 🙂
One of the most useful online apps I include in my “bookkeeper’s toolbox” is Dropbox. Dropbox allows users to upload and share files with others regardless of location. This is a wonderful tool considering most of my clients are interstate. What I find however, is that some clients use it successfully with me and others, well, not so much! Those who use it successfully follow a specific procedure and today I am going to share that procedure with you so that you too can use Dropbox with your bookkeeper more effectively.
Does your bookkeeper charge you an arm and a leg for his/her services? Are you sick of receiving bookkeeping bills that make your stomach turn and steam come out of your ears? Never fear, there is a way to pay your bookkeeper much less but still ensure your accounts are kept in tip top shape! The answer lies in the concept of TIME. In short, the more time your bookkeeper has to spend on your books, the more you will pay. Obvious right? So how can you help your bookkeeper save time and in turn save you money? Here are 6 tips to get you started:
Recently the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) (governing body for BAS & Tax Agents) released a special symbol or logo to all BAS and Tax Agents to use on websites and stationery etc. The logo is an official mark that indicates to the public that their BAS or Tax Agent is registered with the TPB and can therefore legally provide BAS and/or Tax services for a fee.
Last week’s blog was all about Chattel Mortgages, what they are and how to account for them in your general ledger. This week I am going to cover Hire Purchase agreements and especially how GST relates to them. A Hire Purchase agreement is a financial contract that allows the buyer to pay for goods over a certain period of time rather than paying the full amount upfront. Hire purchase agreements allow the buyer to:
Pay for the goods via instalments over an agreed amount of time
Use the goods while still paying for them
Take ownership of the goods once the final payment is received by the lender
Regarding GST and Hire purchase agreements, there are differences in the way in which it is accounted for depending on the date the Hire Purchase was established.
Before 1 July 2012
Hire Purchase agreements are composed of both principal and interest components. Before 1 July 2012, if the lender did not disclose the interest component amount to the buyer, then GST was applied to the total cost of the agreement. If, however, the lender did disclose the interest figure, then GST was only applied to the principle component. In terms of accounting for GST, how much and when you can claim is dependent on if you account for GST on a cash or accrual basis. If you account via the accrual basis, then you may claim the full amount of GST charged on the agreement when you either make the first payment or receive a tax invoice. Those who account via the cash method may only claim the GST paid on the principal component of each instalment in the period in which it is paid.
After 1 July 2012
After this date, all components of a new Hire Purchase agreement, including the principal, interest and any other fees and charges are taxable i.e. include GST, whether or not the lender discloses the interest component. All buyers, regardless of whether they account for GST via the accrual or cash method, can claim the full amount of the GST charged either when the first payment is made or a tax invoice is received.
Here are some examples provided by the ATO regarding how to account for GST for a Hire Purchase agreement:
Hire Purchase agreement entered into BEFORE 1 July 2012
Hire Purchase agreement entered into AFTER 1 July 2012
It is very common for businesses to purchase major assets such as motor vehicles via a loan. They can use a commercial bank loan but often finance is “purchased” by way of either Hire Purchase or a Chattel Mortgage. In this week’s blog we will look at a purchase via Chattel Mortgage agreement and how to post it to the accounts.
A Chattel Mortgage is a type of loan typically used to purchase motor vehicles or other major business equipment. It is called a “mortgage” because the financier retains the title of the item purchased until the final payment is received. There are several financial benefits of a Chattel Mortgage including:
Last week I reviewed the workings of a balance sheet and showed you how you can use it to make better decisions for your business. This week, I would like to do a similar post about profit and loss statements. This will bring this series on charts of accounts and associated reports to a close.
In our last 2 blogs, we explored the chart of accounts. We looked at the accounts within the chart in detail and explained that each account has a special part to play within the profit and loss report and the balance sheet. This week we thought it would be a good idea to review balance sheets, what they are, what they look like and how you can use them to better understand what is happening behind the scenes in your business. Next week, we do the same thing with the profit and loss report.
This is part 2 of a two-part blog which will give you an in-depth explanation about the working parts of a chart of accounts. Revisiting, from part 1 of this blog, the chart of accounts is simply a list of all of the account types you might use when recording your business income and expenditure activities. The “account types” include assets, liabilities, equity, income, expenses, other income and other expenses. In part 1 we covered off assets, liabilities and equity which are accounts used to formulate the balance sheet report. In part 2 we will look at the remainder of the account types within the chart of accounts.
