BIZPRAC 12 GUIDE BUSINESS ACTIVITY STATEMENTS

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1 BIZPRAC 12 GUIDE BUSINESS ACTIVITY STATEMENTS

2 BAS EXPLAINED The business activity statement is submitted to the ATO by all businesses to report their tax obligations. They will include: Pay as you go withholding PAYG (employees) FBT Any other tax applicable to your industry Business activity statements are usually required quarterly but you may be obligated to report more frequently. Please note: Bizprac staff are not qualified tax agents. Any queries about lodgement or your tax obligations should be directed to your Accountant or the ATO.

3 CREATING A NEW BAS To insert a BAS click New Your ABN will automatically draw from your business details. Select the start date for your BAS period. The end date for the quarter will show automatically. If you pay your PAYG monthly, use the override settings for the selected month. Instalment Income Override Settings (refer to next page) Once you are happy with the settings click save.

4 INSTALLMENT OVERRIDE SETTINGS PAYG instalments may be used to pay toward your expected end of year income tax liability. The ATO will notify you if this is applicable to your situation. If you receive this notification you will need to add the required dates here. And fill in the areas marked T in the calculation sheet. Other wise leave these dates blank.

5 GETTING STARTED Using the notes column you can add any notes as required. The L column will show if the BAS has been locked. It is recommended locking the BAS once it has been completed and lodged. Once you have entered the dates for your BAS. Your BAS will be ready to go into and calculate. Select the BAS to work with, a quarterly BAS will show in the Q column. Click on the BAS Details button to open to the BAS calculation sheets. Any questions should be directed to the ATO

6 ACTIVITY STATEMENT On the Business Activity Statement page you will see all of the relevant fields being calculated. Use the calculate button to prepare your BAS. Once your BAS is complete and has been lodged, use the lock button to lock the BAS to prevent any changes being made.

7 TAX CODES By using the radio buttons you can check what GST codes are being drawn for the calculation. You will find the calculation sheet and the radio buttons on the calculations sheet tab. Each section has the relevant codes pre-set, however if you need to add any additional codes you can do so by clicking on the add button and selecting the relevant code.

8 WAGE & PAYG To allow for the calculation of wages and the PAYG; you will need to add your wages & payg ledgers into the W1 & W2 sections. Click on the radio button and click add to select each wage ledger for W1. Ensure you have ALL wage ledgers selected. You will need to repeat the process for the PAYG ledgers in the W2 section.

9 W3 & W4 If you have with-holding obligations for subcontractors etc. who have not provided a tax file number or have not provided an ABN; you will need to add the relevant ledger accounts. Don t forget your withholding forms are found in the creditor's reports. Using the same method that you used to add the W1 & W2 sections.

10 LET S CALCULATE Using the calculate button your BAS will automatically calculate and save the calculated results. The Audit trail will show you where everything that has been calculated is sitting in the BAS. By checking this prior to lodgement you will be able to make any adjustments necessary. Once you have completed your checks and printed the BAS form Lock your BAS to prevent any changes being made. Your BAS will be calculated as per your GST tax settings. You can check these under the setup menu.

11 THE T SECTION OPTION 1 The T section is found on the calculation sheet and will generally only be used if you are directed to do so by the ATO. Option 1 gives you the T7 box. This will be an amount worked out by the ATO; if the ATO has provided you with an amount click into the box and add the amount. The amount added in T7 will be included in the calculation on the Net amount to be paid. The T8, T9 will be used as directed to vary the amounts you are paying. Use the drop down box on T4 to use the relevant reason code for the variance.

12 THE T SECTION OPTION 2 T1 is used to calculate your instalment income; using the radio buttons add all of the relevant income accounts from the general ledger. You will then enter the rate as supplied by the ATO into the T2. OR If you are varying the rate add the relevant figures as provided into the T3 box. Again once complete all of the calculations will be updated on the front screen.

13 T4 VARIANCE REASONS The T4 will provide a drop down list of reasons for any variance. A sampling of the reasons are shown here. If you are unsure of which code you should be using please contact the ATO.

14 FBT Fringe Benefits tax (FBT) is paid by employers on certain benefits they provide their employees. There is extensive information on FBT obligations on the ATO website. Your accountant will also be able to advise on FBT obligations. This section should only be used if you have an FBT obligation. If you are unsure if you have an FBT obligation please consult your accountant or the ATO.

15 COPY YOUR BAS To create a new BAS for the next period. Click on insert and enter the required dates. Click OK & you will be asked if you would like to copy the previous settings. If you click YES, this will copy the settings you have previously set. If you click NO; it will default settings to the original settings. Don t forget if you go back to the default settings you will have to re-select all of the settings for the W,T & FBT sections.

16 PAY/RECEIPT GST Once your BAS is complete and you have lodged and paid your tax. You are able to create a receipt or cash payment from the BAS window. This will automatically set up the transaction for you. Allocating to the selected ledgers from the setup; if no additional information is required click on create transaction and it will create the relevant transaction; either payment or receipt; for the BAS.

17 LOCKING THE BAS Once you have calculated your BAS you can print an Audit Trail. This will allow you to check where all transactions are sitting within the BAS. It will allow you to check to that you have claimed the correct amount of GST etc. and make any needed adjustments prior to lodging the BAS. Print a copy of the BAS details for your records. Once complete you can lock the BAS to ensure no further changes are made. The period can also be locked in the data entry area.

18 DID YOU KNOW? You can add your document lodgement number to the completed BAS. When creating a Cash Payment or Cash Receipt you can tick this box. It will allow you to exclude that transaction from the BAS calculation. This is especially applicable for cash payments relating to the payment of your Tax or PAYG Instalments. The transactions will still be listed in the BAS Audit Trail under Entries with NO Tax Code. This is to allow checks to be made and any necessary adjustments.

19 TROUBLE SHOOTING When completing the BAS run the Audit Trail this will show you where all of the transactions included in the BAS are sitting. It will also allow you to make any required changes before submitting your BAS to the ATO. The following are common issues that may arise: The transaction is not showing in the BAS Have you calculated the BAS? Can you locate the transaction? Is it within the date range that the BAS is being calculated for? Does the transaction have the correct GST code? A transaction is showing in the BAS & it shouldn t be Does the transaction have an incorrect GST code attached? Has the box do not include in BAS calculation been ticked? My PAYG is showing higher than it should be If you pay PAYG monthly, ensure all of the dates for that period are correct Have you made a payment to the ATO & not checked the exclude from calculation box? My wages are not showing Check the wages ledger account is attached to W1 Are the wages within the date range for the BAS period?