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Getting your house in order ahead of time will take a weighty slice of stress out of your accounting compliance work and obligations. Start by implementing some of these handy, practical tips and you’ll be well on your way ...
Between the increase in the superannuation guarantee charge, and the decrease in company tax rates, the new financial year has brought a lot of changes for both taxpayers and business-owners alike. Changes like this fall to the background when you lean on one of the many cloud accounting software platforms available. They really do much of the leg work for you, especially when you put the time in to set them up correctly at the start of the fin year.
So, here are three key structural pieces to your cloud accounting setup to get you the best outcome for the new financial year ...
The ATO have expanded its Single Touch Payroll (STP) obligations from 1 July 2021. This means more businesses, including those with closely held employees, such as family members of a family business, or directors and shareholders of a company or trust, will be required to report its payroll information.
Businesses must use an STP-enabled software (All cloud Accounting options are now STP-enabled) and they must report the details of every pay run lodged with the ATO.
Our key takeaway for STP and your business?
Make sure you have connected your Cloud-based accounting platform with the ATO – reporting your payroll details really will be as easy as a click of a button.
Did you know many of the Cloud-based accounting platforms can automatically calculate and send your employees’ superannuation contributions electronically to their nominated super funds? Take the leg work out of your super compliance this new financial year by automating your super payments. You’ll save a tonne of time and remove costly mistakes that can happen in even the smallest of organisations.
Depending on the platform you use, the setup will differ, but a good starting point is to take a look at the payroll area of your software or trust the ‘help’ functions that come as part of it.
Who said paying bills can’t be fun! Most of the major Cloud-based platforms produce payment files – known as ABA files – which you can simply download into your internet banking to quickly and efficiently execute a large number of transactions, such as a batch of bills or a weekly payroll run.
The fun part really does kick in when you see how the process works and just how quickly you can get through that payment process without having to do everything manually.
If you haven’t already, get your head out of the clouds and start using your cloud accounting software to its full potential. If you’re looking for advice on software that suits your business needs, get in touch with one of our team today – we’ll talk strategy and outcomes to get you all set up in no time.
Were you amongst the thousands of Australians who took advantage of the ATO’s generous instant tax write off incentive extension and bought yourself a new set of wheels this EOFY?
For your tax write off to be ATO compliant you’ll be required to determine the business-use percentage of your asset, and we suggest using the logbook method of calculating your deductions. If you use your car predominately for business purposes, or generally drive over 5,000kms in any financial year this method generally provides a more favourable outcome come tax time.
It doesn’t matter if this is your first time logging kilometres or you’re an old hand, you’ll still need to calculate your business-use percentage every five years as a minimum. Perhaps you’re in a position where you need to increase your business-use claim for 2022 (now that the days of working from home and having Zoom meetings in your pyjamas are numbered!), put down your pen and download one of these handy apps to help you manage your logbook data:
– ATO myDeductions App (manual log book inputs for FREE): https://www.ato.gov.au/general/online-services/ato-app/mydeductions/
– Driversnote (automated trip logging based on destinations you input): https://www.driversnote.com.au/
– GOFAR – paid, automatic logging that comes with a dongle to plug into your car: https://www.gofar.co/
Whichever app or setup you decide to use, by going electronic you will save hours of manual data entry time and never miss a trip (or kilometre to claim) again.
Be strategic as you move into the new financial year and you’ll be smiling at the end of it.
For more advice on how you can prepare your business for whatever lies ahead, get in touch with one of our Attune Advisory team. Phone 1300 866 113 or click here.
