With a system assuming that the taxpayer provided information is accurate Australia's income tax reports are based on self-assessment. Businesses are faced with the complex task of meeting the ATO's (Australian Tax Office) requirement that accurate and complete forms regarding any financial activity be submitted on a regular and timely basis. Rather than hire a full time accountant small businesses now turn to QuickBooks Online Small Accounting Software to ensure that accurate information is lodged for immaculate bookkeeping and activity statement preparation.

Tax requirements

BAS

The ATO requires businesses to submit period activity statements. This type of statement contains information regarding business related taxes such as Goods and Service Tax (GST), Pay As You Go (PAYG) installments and Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT).

Mail, personal delivery and online submission are all options for delivering the Business Activity Statement (BAS). To circumvent any penalties and surcharges this statement should always be lodged before deadline. BAS due dates can be found at the top right corner of the printed statement.

Taxpayers need to hold on to their BAS records and each of the records used to fill it out for up to 5 years after BAS preparation, their retrieval or after the completion of the associated transactions according to whichever event takes place on the later date. Quickbooks online small business accounting system can help businesses to prepare and submit their BAS reports online.

Wages and withheld taxes

The amount of tax to withhold from employee payments needs to be calculated by employers. To assist employers in this task, the ATO has released withholding tax tables as a guide.

Superannuation payments

Eligible employees receive super contribution payments that employers are required to pay at least 4 times annually. If these payments are made on time, employers can claim the contributed amounts as tax deductible. Late super contributions however, aren't tax deductible and will be subject to an administration fee and an additional interest rate charge.

Accounting software is relied upon by small businesses to help them meet tax protocols and use business relevant formulas. Quickbooks online small business accounting software offers a complete set of features to record data for the preparation and lodging of activity statements, to determine the amount of super contributions to be paid out and to calculate withheld taxes from employee salaries. With Quickbooks, small businesses can save time while being able to accurately lodge activity statements and make their due payments on time