Fremantle Bookkeeping Services

Business Activity Statements BAS are due on 2 march 2010 for businesses that report their GST obligations quarterly

With the Christmas holiday period over for many small businesses, it’s time to get all your paperwork together and get it to your bookkeeper or outsourced bookkeeping service- to report on the 2nd quarter (1 September to 31 December 2009) to get your BAS lodged on time.

Maybe the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) does have a heart, after all. Rather than asking for lodgements on 28 January, they automatically give everyone an extension to the BAS lodgements to 28 February. This is, of course, a Sunday. However, the next business day is not Monday, since it’s a public holiday in Western Australia. Thus the Q2 BAS is due on 2 Mrach 2010

However, don’t be fooled by their grace, because there is NO WAY that they’ll consider granting an extension after that date. So you need to ensure that you have your Business Activity Statement lodged by 2 Mrach 2010

If you are struggling with your bookkeeping and need help, if you do not have a bookkeeper, or are looking to outsource to a mobile bookkeeping service, then contact us now

You may use MYOB or Quickbooks accounting software – or even some other syatem for your bookwork. We can assist you with any challenges, or even just releave you of the burden of the book-keeping

Our bookkeeping Service has clients in and around Cockburn, Melville, Fremantle, Canning Vale, and South Perth, Western Australia. Contact us here for details

Business Activity Statements were due on 28 October 2009, so if you are late with your BAS then what options are available to you?

Here are ten options to consider if you have failed to lodge your BAS for the reporting period 1 July 2009 – 30 September 2009:

Contact us (quickly) because we may be able to get an extension for your BAS

1) Bury your head in the sand and hope that the whole thing will go away

2) Have a panic attack and wonder what to do now you’ve missed the deadline

3) Shrug your shoulders and just accept the fact that you’ll be making a late lodgement of the BAS

4) Stay up all night sweating away trying to complete the BAS even though it’s going to be a late lodgement

5) Call the tax office (ATO) and tell them that your dog grabbed the BAS form and has buried it in the garden

6) Look through your pile of paperwork, because you remember seeing the Business Activity Statement somewhere, sometime whilst making a mental note that it had to be lodged by the end of October

7) Call your accountant and ask him / her what you should do next

8.) Do nothing, and just accept that fact that you’ll be fined for a late lodgment, and look forward to receiving fan mail from the ATO

9) Go to the fridge and grab a coldie, sit down and relax in frnt of the widescreen TV that Kev’s just help you buy

10) Contact us (quickly) because we may be able to get an extension for you, as well as getting all your documentation sorted out to help you ensure that you’re not going to be paying Kev07 more than you need, since he’s shown us all how good he is at spending all that money

We received an email, apparently from the ATO, advising us that we had a Tax Refund due.

The amount was for AUD$210.75. Nothing strange about that, except for the spelling and the grammar.

They ask you to click a link that takes you to a website [ wv.us ] not anything to do with [ ato.gov.au ]

DON’T CLICK ON THE LINK – who knows what may happen – it could result in a little piece of software that invades your computer and extracts your usernames and pass words

It’s probably going to ask you for all your credit card details, so that the fraudsters in question can then go on a spending spree in London!

Not since Kevin Rudd organised for us to have a cheques sent out from the ATO have we had a tax refund.

And, thank you Mr Rudd, because the cheques arrived a couple of days after the ATO sent us a request for us to pay more tax – so much for the “Stimulus Package” – a waste of money, a publicity stunt – and a wonderful inheritance for the yournger generation of this fine nation.

Desperate phone call from a bookkeeping client in Fremantle: What to do about unpaid accounts? Our professional bookkeeping can help small businesses chase up unpaid accounts. Contact us today for a free quote.

It’s the “good cop” / “bad cop” thing

You know the “good cop” / “bad cop” thing. Get the bookkeeper to get on the phone and chase up those unpaid accounts before it’s too late. As the recession that we had to have deepens, more small businesses will experience bad debts. It even happens at the big end of town.

If you don’t have a handle on your bookkeeping, then you can quickly find that those clients owing you money have nothing left to pay you with. Many operators get caught up in getting the job done, and forget to chase up payments of previous jobs.

Our bookkeeping service can help you keep a closer eye on your unpaid accounts. We can get on the phone for you. We can reconcile your accounts, track all your payments and receipts- and do so many other things to ensure that you have your financials in order.

Don’t get caught in the trap of skimping on your bookkeeping – it can be a false economy to look at saving money by spending so much time on your paperwork. Hand it over to the professionals and focus on what you do best: running your business. Contact us today for a free quote.

Are you struggling to complete your BAS form?

No sooner have we finished lodging BAS for the December Quarter, to find the January – March 2009 Quarter will soon be due. Contact us for HELP

Quarterly BAS
Most businesses submit quarterly, and the 1 January – 31 March 2009 (Quarter 3) BAS is due 28 April 09 for lodgment and payment with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

A new client contacted us out of desperation. Struggling to prepare all the documentation for the Business Activity Statement, she could not get the figures to balance.

We suggested she email us the MYOB data file, so that we could get a clearer understanding of where she was at with her bookwork. Contact us for HELP with your BAS

“I had trouble with my MYOB files and contacted Carol and her team and they were just excellent.
They listened and then explained what they could do to help.
Everything was done speedily, efficiently and most of all cost effectively.
They emailed me how to send my files and worked on them that day!
Most of all “they listen” and don’t treat you like a dummy!
It got me out of a potentially tricky situation and literally saved the day!
Thanks Carol.
Liz Bird, Perth WA”

Monthly BAS
If your business submits the (BAS) Business Activity Statement monthly, then 21 March 09 was the due date for lodgement and payment of the February 2009 monthly activity statements

Superannuation Guarantee Contributions
Also on that date are due the Quarter 3 Superannuation guarantee contributions (1 January -31 March) contributions to be made to the fund by this date.

If you are struggling to complete your BAS form, contact our team of Fremantle Bookkeepers for HELP

As bookkeepers servicing the Fremantle area, we are often asked: “What Bookkeeping Records Does the ATO Need?”.

When a business gets started, the first thing you should do is to make sure that you keep track of all the costs involved in setting up you business, so that you can set up a book-keeping system correctly from day one.

If you need some help in establishing your bookeeping, then contact us right now.

What’s become a nightmare for her, is a bookkeeper’s dream

A new Cockburn bookkeeping client has been running her graphic design business for over a year operating on one bank account for everything. What’s become a nightmare for her, is a bookkeeper’s dream, using the same bank account for both her personal and business expenses. That makes our job as mobile book keepers in the Fremantle area quite a challenge. We have to ask her which items on her bank account relate to business, and which are personal.

What Bookkeeping Records Do You Need?
The type of business you operate affects the type of records you need to keep for ATO purposes. You should have your bookkeeper set up your books using an accounting method that clearly shows your income for your selected tax year.

From a bookkeeping viewpoint there are a few basic bookkeeping matters that every small business owners should focus on to reduce the fees you will otherwise have to pay your bookkeeper or accountant

Depending on your business, whether you are located in Canning Vale or South Perth, you should get into a habit of keeping records daily

• Identify the source income that you’ve received
• Ensure you keep your dockets for expenses, and a note of any petty cash expenses
• Keep a record of all your assets

The Australian Taxation Office requires you have supporting documentation such as invoices and receipts for all transactions incurred in running your business such as purchases and sales. You might generate invoices electronically using an accounting software package such as MYOB or Quickbooks, or you may hand write your invoices using an invoice book Read more… »

Every small business owner in and around Cockburn, Melville, Fremantle, Canning Vale, and South Perth, Western Australia needs to keep bookkeeping records for the ATO.

Why? Because it’s a legal requirement. If you want help with setting up a book-keeping system, then contact us now

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) requires you to keep business records:

• for five years after they are prepared, obtained or the transactions completed (whichever occurs later), and
• in English, or in a form that the ATO can access and understand in order to determine your tax liability.

Whether your business is in Fremantle of Melville, you should keep records Read more… »

The importance of Book keeping: Here’s 10 Tips that businesses in and around Cockburn, Melville, Fremantle, Canning Vale, and South Perth, Australia can use to help manage cash flow

Bookeeping is an important part of any small business

Bookeeping is an important part of any small business – whilst it is historical, in recording past transactions of money coming into and going out of your business, book-keeping can also help with managing the cash flow of your business

For example, contractors in the building industry can quickly run up large accounts with builders and developers, and forget that even large companies can fall over in a recession.

It doesn’t take much for a property developer to collapse with millions of dollars debt, and often the sole tradesman or small business owner is at the bottom of the food chain, even though they are the ones that need the cash the most, not the Banks or Finance Companies

Our bookkeeping team of mobile freelance bookkeeprs have put together ten tips to help you manage your cash flow:

1. As bookkeepers, we’re amazed by businesses that issue invoices with no specific payment date or credit terms. There’s nothing wrong in specifying the date on which you expect payment – after all, don’t the utility companies do just that on the invoices they send you?

2. Why not issue the invoice the day that you provide the goods / services, rather than waiting until the end of the week, fortnight, or month? Some business owners choose to issue their invoices monthly, knowing their creditors only issue payments monthly

3. There’s been a recent trend, again with utility companies, to offer an incentive to pay early, such as giving a discount. Notice that in reality they are adding a penalty for late payment rather than a discount

4. Ask your customer for a deposit in advance, particularly if they are requesting a high ticket item that you have to purchase from your supplier before receiving payment from your customer
Read more… »

Bookkeeping records the flow of money in and money coming out of your business. A fundamental factor of any healthy small businesses in and around Cockburn, Melville, Fremantle, Canning Vale, and South Perth, Australia, is whether there is more money flowing in, than is flowing out.

Tracking the flow of money in and out of your business occurs through the recording of each transaction by the person responsible for your bookkeeping. Contact us NOW and we’ll help you determine whether there is more money flowing in, than is flowing out of your business.

In basic terms there are four sources of income, and four reasons why money flows out of your business.

Depending on your business, income is generated through the sale of goods and services, or the sale of business assets. Other sources of income can be through loans to the business, either from yourself, or money that you have borrowed from relatives, friends, or formal channels such as financial institutions.

There are very few businesses that incur no expenses to generate the income. Thus money flowing out of your business will be to pay bills for overheads, such as power, telecommunications, rent, wages etc.

Other expenses include buying or replacing assets to run the business. Then there’s your remuneration, as drawings etc, and also your business may lend money to others.

The recording of each transaction by your bookkeeper is critical to protect all parties concerned. Each transaction should be supported by the appropriate documents. When the Australian Taxation Office decides to audit your business, they will often need to see all your supporting documentation.

Your bookkeeper needs to ensure that all the documentation is filed in such a way that it can be easily traced. Each transaction recorded in the bookkeeping system should be supported by the relevant documentation also.

Consider the day that a piece of equipment fails, and you wonder if it’s still under warranty. Your bookkeeper should be able to tell you when you bought the equipment, how you paid for it, and also be able to located the documentation relevant to that equipment.

A logical and ordered filing system is just as important as the balance sheet or P & L reports for your business. For more information or a free appraisal of your bookkeeping system, contact one of our Cockburn, Melville, Fremantle bookkeepers NOW, and we’ll help you determine whether there is more money flowing in, than is flowing out of your business.

If you need help with your BAS, and don’t want to pay the ATO more than is absolutely necessary, then contact us right now so we can help you out

The December Quarter 2009 (Q2) Business Activity Statement is due on 3 MARCH 2009

If you’re hoping to get an extension, you’ve got buckleys as the Australian Taxation Office have already given you an extension from 28 January to 3 March.

Really, you’ve got an extension on the extension, since the ATO normally ask for the BAS lodgment to be submitted by 28 February, which this year falls on a Saturday,

If your chart of accounts is not set up correctly, or the allocations are incorrect, you could find yourself believing that you owe Wayne Swan far more than you need.

So the next business day would be 2 March 2009, except that we’ve got a public holiday here in Western Australia, so the ATO has moved the deadline to 3 March 2009

Do you need help with your BAS lodgment?
We get many frantic calls from clients who are struggling to complete their Business Activity Statements. The few weeks leading up to the BAS deadline can be very hectic for freelance bookkeepers

Our mobile bookkeepers can come to your premises, or even better, you can simply send us your data files and we can review your work, run a few reports and make sure that you’ve got all the figures in the correct allocations.

Business Activity Statements can appear daunting. What many small business owners do not realise is that the completion of the BAS form is not where the problems can be. Where the challenge may in fact be, is the fact that the data entry is not correct.

Maybe you’ve been down to your local computer supply store and bought your accounting software at a Hardly Normal Sale. You’ve rushed home and wacked the CD into your PC and then followed the prompts thinking that everything will fall rapidly into place

If your chart of accounts is not set up correctly, or the allocations are incorrect, you could find yourself believing that you owe Wayne Swan far more than you need. And rest assured, our illustrious Treasurer will soon find a way of spending other people’s money. He’s had many years of experience at that as a Trade Unionist

If you need help with your BAS, and don’t want to pay the ATO more than is absolutely necessary, then contact us right now so we can help you out