If you've engaged with Standard Ledger to prepare your quarterly Business Activity Statements (BAS') and / or monthly Instalment Activity Statements (IAS'), then in advance of the due dates, we will:
Remind of you of upcoming due dates if we need your help
- for "DIY" clients you need to have completed your reconciliations for the quarter
- for bookkeeping clients we need your answer to any open queries relating to transactions we have been unable to finish reconciling
We send you three (3) reminders
Our process is that we will send you 3 reminders in the weeks up to and including the due date, with the final reminder being sent on the Due Date itself. We will not send you further reminders past the due date.
Past the due date we will periodically re-review outstanding transactions but this cannot be relied on as it is outside of our normal BAS lodgement process. Therefore, if you subsequently obtain the details we had been requesting, please advise us so we can then complete your return.
Review the coding of GST on transactions for the quarter
- note that if you're a "DIY" client that we're also doing the BAS for, you have the responsibility for entering /reconciling transactions including the allocation of whether there is GST on transactions. While we do our best in reviewing transactions, as we're not involved in your business regularly we may not always be close enough to things to precisely pick up the correct GST allocation on all transactions.
Once we have prepared your BAS, in Xero we will:
- raise a Bill (with the ATO supplier) for net payments owing; or
- raise a "sales" invoice (for DIY client) and a "credit note" (for bookkeeping client) (with the ATO "customer") for net refunds owing.
- these will include line details for for the amount of GST (payable or refund) and/or employee PAYGW payable and/or any relevant PAYG income tax instalments payment, as well as any rounding to reflect the whole dollar amount payable to the ATO
- we will also attach a copy of the details IAS/BAS report for future reference
- to prevent any accidental / retrospective changes in prior period that may affect any submitted BAS' we will also "lock the period" as at the end of the previous relevant quarter.
- we will send you a request to electronically sign / approve us to lodge on your behalf - this is also your "trigger" / reminder to pay any amounts owing.
Note: It is your responsibility to monitor and pay the ATO any amounts that may be owing. You should regard the electronic signature request as a reminder to pay. To pay any amounts payable please refer to the ATO payment options (incl EFT Codes, BPAY) which are shown via your tax portal (https://portal.xero.com/) when we ask you to electronically sign your BAS to approve final lodgement.
More information
- How does GST work? [Standard Ledger article]
- How does PAYG withholding work? [Standard Ledger article]
- PAYG income tax instalments [Standard Ledger article]
- electronically signing your tax / BAS returns [Standard Ledger article]
- How do I pay my BAS return [Standard Ledger article]