Do you know what records you need to keep to satisfy your tax obligations?
Income and sales records, along with expense, purchase, year-end and banking records, must be kept by all businesses, according to the Australian Tax Office (ATO).
In addition, some businesses may need to keep other records relating to areas such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST), fuel tax, employees and contractors.
Also, your records need to:
- Be in writing, which can include electronic as well as paper
- Explain all transactions
- Be in English or be easily converted to English
- Be kept for five years (or longer for some records)
Keeping electronic records can make some tasks easier and your bookkeeper can advise you on a system that is easy to understand and operate.
To check if your record-keeping is up to scratch, use the ATO’s free, five-to-10-minute record-keeping evaluation tool to answer a series of questions that will produce a report on how well you are keeping business records.
Also, you can learn more by watching the ATO’s video titled Record keeping: Tax basics for small business or by registering for a free, small business webinar that provides an introduction to business records.
During the live online seminar, an experienced tax officer presents the information and participants can ask questions to help apply the knowledge to their particular situation.
The ATO website is a great resource for learning about a wide range of tax matters including contractors, employees, superannuation and GST.
Find out general business information, watch ATO TV or sign up for a free webinar.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out.