How to plan ahead with our small business EOFY checklist 2024

The end of financial year (EOFY) is fast approaching. For small businesses, we understand this time of year can be exhausting and stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. The key is preparing early. Taking a proactive approach and getting a headstart will save you the headache of leaving your EOFY plans to the last minute, ensure you meet all your obligations as a small business owner, and that you’re taking advantage of all the offers that may be up for grabs – helping you nail tax time. 

In the spirit of getting organised, we’ve compiled a list of key things to help you get EOFY-ready. These will not only help you fulfil this year’s financial duties but set you up for a strong start to the upcoming financial year. It’s a win-win. 

Prepare for your financial year checklist with these essential tasks: 

From dusting off your financial statements, including profit and loss statements, to working out what you claim, explore our top tips for preparing for the end of financial year. 

1. Round up your records

Pulling information from paperwork can be cumbersome when it comes to tax time, so getting your records in order now will ensure you have what you need later. Some of the supporting documentation you’ll want close by when it’s time to make your lodgement include: 

• receipts for income and expenses
• Business Activity Statements, otherwise known as BAS
• employee super contribution records
• tax return paper records

Under Australian tax law, you must keep financial records of all business transactions for five years, so it pays to put business record keeping tips in place. 

2. Check your invoices

Waiting for contractors or clients to send over an invoice? Now’s the time to chase them up. Wiping your outstanding invoices will ensure all your payments are up to date by the time you lodge your tax return, so you can successfully tie up this financial year. 

Similarly, if you’ve still got pending payments from the last financial year, now’s the time to write them off. Bad debts are tax deductible when written off and can be used to offset your taxable income. Try giving your clients a gentle reminder to send over the sum they owe you and, if that doesn’t work, you could offer them an incentive if they pay before 30 June.

3. Take a look at taxable income

As a small business owner, you obviously want to keep as much money as you can in your back pocket. So, it’s important to be across what tax deductions, offsets, and write-offs you can claim, to reduce how much tax you pay. 

4. Tax deductions and business expenses

When it comes to tax deductions, you can subtract the cost of carrying out business activities from your assessable income, including both cash expenses (such as business supplies and services) and non-cash expenses (such as depreciation of your business assets), to get your tax figure down. You can work out what business expenses you can and can’t claim here. 

Just remember, when doing tax deductions, to keep your personal bills and business expenses separate. While some at-home expenses can be charged against your business, you should double-check these items with your tax advisor or the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). 

5. Income tax offsets

Does your small business have an aggregated turnover of less than $5 million? Good news! You’re entitled to an income tax offset of up to $1000 (as long as you’re a sole trader or have a share of business income from a partnership or trust), and you don’t even have to apply for it. The ATO will work out the proportion of tax payable on your business income, for you. Once your tax return has been processed, your offset amount will be displayed on your notice of assessment, ready for you to enjoy. 

6. Asset write-offs

Assets can be expensive. Fortunately for most business expenses, thanks to the Temporary Full Expensing (TFE) depreciation incentive, you can write some of them off. 

Under TFE, which replaced the instant asset write-off from 8 October 2022, you can claim write-offs on both new and second-hand assets if your aggregated turnover is under $5 million. To claim second-hand assets, however, your aggregated turnover must be less than $50 million. For more on this small business tax minimisation scheme, and to check your eligibility, head here.

Read more about instant asset write-off and Temporary Full Expensing (TFE) in our blog. Want to fund new equipment for your small business that you can write off? The Tyro Business Loan can assist you in that endeavor.

7. Simplify accounts

Tax time will be a lot simpler if you separate your personal banking with your business banking, and investing in accounting software is a great way to keep the two worlds apart. Having all your bank statements and business accounting in one place will help you manage your cash flow and avoid the risk of accidentally claiming for a purchase that’s not connected with your business – creating a better payment experience. 

Xero™

Xero integrated with Tyro is an ideal solution for streamlining your business accounting.

• simplify your payroll payments
• schedule or batch pay your bills
• save time and boost business efficiency by eliminating the need to manually import your transactions every day
• reduce the risk of data entry errors (and time spent fixing them)
• securely share accounting information to third parties, without the security risk of sharing your credentials
• understand your cash flow with real-time transaction data, arming you with insight to make smarter business decisions

Discover more about how Xero integration can benefit your business.

8. EOFY payroll

At the end of the financial year, it’s essential that you’ve paid your employees up to June 30 and finalised your Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting to the ATO (mandatory since 1 July 2019). If you need to, you can record a pay in July before finalising your EOFY payroll year. Just remember to do it by July 14. 

Use Xero integration? Check out the Xero EOFY payroll checklist.

9. Small business financial support

Who doesn’t love a tax benefit? Depending on how much your small business turnover is, you may be eligible for a variety of tax benefits across areas including GST, income tax, capital gains tax, and fringe benefits tax. Be sure to do your research so you know what tax benefits your small business can claim, so you don’t miss out on a bonus. Check out the ATO website for more information. 

10. Staying on top of tax compliance

Lodging tax returns to the ATO at the end of every financial year is a compulsory part of running a business, that keeps you out of legal trouble. Here are some ways you can stay on top of your tax compliance, giving you peace of mind that you’ve got tax time covered:

Be solid on your business structure

Depending on your business structure, you’ll have different tax obligations that you need to meet. So, make sure you’re lodging under the right one, and reporting the right information. You can discover the key tax obligations for different business structures, including sole traders, partnership, company and trust, over on the ATO website.

Have your dates straight

As a small business owner, it’s your job to lodge your financial statements and reports to the ATO on time. If you don’t, you’ll be up for late penalties. So you know what’s due, when, be sure to pop all the important due dates in your calendar, including due dates by month.

Be across tax changes

It’s also just as important to stay up to date with any tax changes, as this may affect how your business operates and handles accounting. You can stay informed by doing a routine sweep of the ATO business website for news and announcements. Consulting with a financial adviser, bookkeeper, accountant or tax agent can also help you capitalise on any positive changes. 

Get expert advice

Consult with a professional

As much as you may want to manage every aspect of your small business yourself, including your finances, remember you don’t have to do it alone, and a little support can go a long way. Don’t be afraid to seek out professional assistance, especially during tax time as rushing the EOFY process could lead to costly mistakes or your business missing out on benefits. Enlisting a financial advisor, accountant or bookkeeper to support you during the end of financial year can lighten your load and make life a lot easier during tax time.

Read our top tips to help you get prepared for this EOFY.

Plus, discover our EFTPOS products and which one is right for you.

Disclaimers  

Tyro provides this article for general information and educational purposes and does not take into account the financial situation or needs of any reader. The information provided must not be relied upon as financial product advice. Taxation considerations are general and based on present taxation laws and may be subject to change. You should seek independent, professional tax advice before making any decision based on this information.

Tyro may from time to time provide links to other websites for information purposes. The inclusion of links does not imply endorsement or support by Tyro of any of the linked information, services, products, or providers. Tyro does not accept any responsibility for any errors, omissions or reliability of such content and any use thereof is solely at the user’s risk. Please undertake your own assessment before relying on it.

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