7 tips to help get your business in shape for EOFY

June 30 always seems like such a long way away, until it’s not! With EOFY fast approaching, we’ve put together a quick checklist to get you thinking about the key milestones to meet, and some ideas to incorporate into the 2024 financial year.

1. Get your house in order

Make sure all your financial records are up to date and accurately recorded in line with what the ATO needs. Records include things like income and expenses, invoices, receipts and bank statements. You may need to generate a profit and loss statement, record any assets purchased or expenditures you’ve made to improve your business.

This is a great opportunity to have your accountant review any automatic bank rules you’ve set up, and the GST codes assigned to ensure you are lodging accurate Business Activity Statements (BAS).

2. Check your Business Activity Statements

Make sure your BAS lodgements are accurate and up to date. If they’re not, speak to one of our accountants, or get in touch with the ATO to work out a payment plan to ensure you’re  quick to get back on track.

3. Finalise payroll and superannuation obligations

When reporting payroll, tax and superannuation, employers must use Single Touch Payroll (STP) to deliver relevant information to the ATO.

If you report payroll through STP, you need to make a finalisation declaration by the 14th of July 2024 to ensure your employees can access their finalised information to complete their tax return.

Check whether your super guarantee (SG) contributions are up to date, and if not, contact your accountant as soon as possible.

4. Take stock of inventory, assets and liabilities.

If your business has stock, you should complete your stocktake of inventory by 30 June. If your business has plant and equipment on hand that you maintain in an asset register, ensure you also review and make any adjustments by this date.

5. Work out your deductions

Speak to your accountant or head to the ATO website to see what deductions you can claim.. You might be able to claim deductions if your business has a website, has travel expenses, motor vehicle expenses, operates at home or uses computers, machinery or tools.

6. Reconciliation

Ensure you have everything ready for reconciliation. Reconciliation is a process where a business owner or accountant compares all the actual transactions of this business against supporting documentation to identify any discrepancies or errors. This forms an important step for EOFY preparations, as it allows the business to identify and rectify any potential problems before reporting to the ATO.

Things to account for on the Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Statement include:

• Ensure petty cash, bank accounts, credit cards, loans and repayments to fleet vehicles are reconciled.
• Ensure GST and PAYG are reconciled in the June BAS
• Ensure wages and super in the Profit and Loss report are reconciled to the PAYG Payment Summaries.
• Ensure personal expenses have not been claimed as business expenses
• Ensure any material differences to the previous year can be explained

7. Look ahead to next financial year

Now is the time to think about and make decisions regarding the new financial year, and where you want your business to go. Sit down with your accountant and assess whether you met your financial goals, and set some new goals for the year.

Business and tax planning is important in the ever-changing tax landscape. July 1 is a popular date for new regulatory changes to take effect, so it’s important you are prepared.  Things to think about include:

• Keep an ear out for any updates to national wage increases or super contributions in the coming year
• Update your budgets and reports for the year taking into account any increases coming down the pipeline, and any discrepancies between budgeted and actual spends in the current year
• Based on this planning, see whether you need to adjust your pricing for the coming year to remain profitable
• Speak to your accountant about tax planning early on in the new financial year, to make sure you’re in a good position come this time next year

Tax time can be a stressful period for some businesses, however with good planning and diligent processes, along with the help of a registered and qualified tax agent, it doesn’t need to be. If we can help make this process smoother for you, please get in touch.