15th June, 2023
Getting your business’s end of financial year work done smoothly is no small task. This handy EOFY checklist for businesses offers a quick overview of the key processes and major to-do items.
End Of Financial Year (EOFY) isn’t just a marketing opportunity for businesses looking to entice business customers to make the most of available tax deductions.
It’s also the most important time of the year for business owners to maintain compliance and set their business up for success.
There’s no wonder, then, that tax time induces a certain level of anxiety among many business owners — but it doesn’t have to be that way.
In fact, some business owners outsource and automate their EOFY processes to the point that tax time never bothers them again.
If you’re not one of those hyper-organised types and you’d like to be, here’s a seven-point checklist to EOFY for the small-and-medium business owner.
A non-negotiable aspect of EOFY means checking all reports and records are compliant with the Australian Tax Office (ATO).
The ATO requires businesses to keep records for at least five years, while at the same time more businesses are choosing to go paperless.
This is something to consider when changing solutions providers or acquiring new technology solutions.
Tip: If you struggle with managing your expenses and keeping track of pesky receipts or invoices, you can use MYOB Capture App to snap a photo of invoices or receipts and have them automatically uploaded to your accounting software via the In Tray. This also makes it much easier to work with your accountant to maximise any relevant deductions.
Have your accountant review your automatic bank rules and the GST codes assigned to the Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet items to ensure you are lodging accurate Business Activity Statements (BAS).
You’ll also want to make sure you’re on top of Taxable Payments Annual Reports (TPAR), Single Touch Payroll (STP) and more, as detailed further on.
BAS are designed to help you stay on top of your business taxes on a regular basis and, as such, this is the first key area to tick off on your EOFY checklist.
Make sure your BAS lodgements are accurate and up-to-date. If not, attend to your lodgements and arrange an ATO payment plan to help get you back up to speed.
Taxable Payments Annual Report (TPAR) is a key ATO reporting requirement for many organisations that make payments to contractors or subcontractors.
In recent times, the Government has expanded the list of industry sectors that are required to lodge a TPAR via the Taxable Payments Reporting System (TPRS). Currently, that list includes:
Tip: A TPAR must be lodged by 28 August each year and you can find out more about them via the ATO website.
Next on the EOFY checklist is payroll and superannuation.
When it comes to reporting payroll tax and super, employers must use Single Touch Payroll (STP) to automatically deliver this information to the ATO.
A recent expansion of STP, known as STP Phase 2, sees employers delivering even more information to government agencies in this way.
Given the mandatory start date for Phase 2 reporting is 1 January 2022, be sure to triple check your STP reporting is up to scratch.
Reconcile your payroll and get ready to provide 2022 Income Statements to your employees, making sure that salary sacrifice superannuation contributions (RESC) and reportable fringe benefits are handled correctly.
Your super guarantee (SG) contributions also need to be up-to-date. If you have prior quarterly payments outstanding, contact your accountant or bookkeeper for guidance as soon as possible.
You will have up until 14 July to ‘finalise’ your employees’ EOFY payroll information through your STP-enabled payroll software — but this can be finalised as soon as you have reconciled the information.
Tip: Doing all of this correctly means employees will be able to access their income statement online via myGov under the employment tab. If your employees don’t have a myGov account and cannot create one, or do not have a registered agent, they can call the ATO on 13 28 61 and they will provide it.
If your business carries stock, 30 June 2023 should complete the stocktake of inventory, so decide on a suitable date and get that marked in your diary.
Additionally, if you have adjusted stock quantities and spoilage in your inventory, this should be adjusted as at 30 June 2023 to ensure it is reflected in your 2022/23 accounts.
If your business has substantial plant and equipment and you maintain an asset register, review and record any adjustments including description, location, quantity and damage/obsolescence.
READ: Assets and liabilities: getting to know the basics
Tip: Other liabilities worth taking stock of include customer deposits, gift vouchers and laybys as all of these can have a significant impact on the value of a business’s holdings and may impact your ability to borrow or sell your business in the future.
Part of your EOFY checklist is making sure you’ve got everything ready for reconciliation.
Reconciliation is a process whereby a business owner, manager or bookkeeper compares actual transactions against supporting documentation in order to identify discrepancies, errors or any potentially nefarious activities.
This is an important step in a business’s EOFY processes as it allows management to identify any particular problems before reporting to the ATO, and so giving enough time to adjust or rectify as required.
Review your Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Statement to show you have completed the following tasks:
The last part of your EOFY checklist is making sure you’re also ready to hit the ground running for the next financial year.
With new tax legislation and an ever-changing economic environment in play, business and tax planning is more important than ever.
We’ve collated the following shortlist of items for you to plan for as you head towards Financial Year 2023/24.
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