SML Bookkeeping and Tax

Nobody sends you a letter when you cross the GST threshold. 📬
That is the part that catches people out. The threshold is currently $75,000 for most businesses — but it is tested on a rolling 12 months, both backward and forward. Not your last tax return. Not the financial year. A good run of work can push you over before the money has even landed in your account.
Once you cross it, you generally have 21 days to register.
Here is the expensive version of this story: you quoted a bunch of jobs three months ago, none of those quotes mentioned GST, and registration takes effect while you are still delivering them. The GST on those jobs now comes out of your pocket, not the customer's.
Two habits that prevent it:
✅ Check your rolling 12-month turnover once a quarter — ten minutes, four times a year
✅ Add one line to your quotes: "GST may be added if registration becomes required"
And if you drive rideshare — Uber and similar — the threshold does not apply to you at all. You must register from the very first fare, no matter how little you earn. That one catches a lot of weekend drivers.
Not sure whether you have crossed the line already? It is always cheaper to find out before the next BAS than after.
General information only, not tax advice. Current thresholds as published by the ATO.
Contact us today for a free 15mins consultation!
🔗 https://calendly.com/smlconsulting18/15-mins-quick-intro-call?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ks001
SML Bookkeeping & Tax
Certified Practising Accountants | Public Practice Firm
🔹 Tax Compliance & Strategic Planning 🔹 Professional Bookkeeping Services
📞 (03) 9191 3731 | 📱 0433 408 886

There is always one printer that waits until BAS time to reveal its personality.

It prints the thing you do not need.👌👌👌

It refuses the thing you do need.

And somehow it finds last quarter's receipts at the exact moment everyone is already stressed.

Small business admin often becomes messy because the owner is doing everything at once:

- serving customers
- paying staff
- checking suppliers
- answering messages
- trying to remember what that $187.40 transaction was

By the time BAS, payroll, super or EOFY comes around, the pressure is not just about lodging. It is about whether the numbers can be trusted.

A clean file gives you more than compliance. It gives you calm.

If your business records feel a bit too exciting lately, message SML Bookkeeping & Tax and book a Free Business Health Check here:

https://www.smlbookkeeping.com.au/check

General information only. This is not tax, legal or financial advice.

Every small business owner has said some version of this:

"The sales are coming in, so we should be fine... right?"😶

Maybe.

But sales are only one part of the story.

A cafe can be busy and still feel short on cash. A trade business can have plenty of jobs and still be chasing invoices. A shop can have good turnover and still not know where the profit went.

That is why we always look beyond the top-line number.

The questions that matter are:🤔

- What is the real margin after wages, supplies, rent and platform fees?
- Are customers paying on time?
- Is GST being put aside or accidentally spent?
- Are reports good enough to support a loan, lease or growth decision?

Busy is not the same as healthy. And "no worries, mate" is not a bookkeeping system.

If you are not fully confident in your business numbers, message SML Bookkeeping & Tax and book a Free Business Health Check here:

https://www.smlbookkeeping.com.au/check

General information only. This is not tax, legal or financial advice.

BAS has a funny sense of timing.🤣

For three months, everything feels calm.

Then suddenly one quiet afternoon, the receipts appear from every possible place:

- glove box
- kitchen drawer
- email inbox
- that one bag you promised yourself you would sort out

And somehow, they all expect to become a clean BAS report by tomorrow morning.

The problem is not usually one missing receipt. It is when the business owner cannot see the real picture clearly:

- Is the GST coding right?
- Are expenses mixed with personal spending?
- Are bank reconciliations actually up to date?
- Does the profit report match what is happening in the business?

Before the next BAS rush, it is worth doing a quick check.

Want us to take a second look at your business numbers? Message SML Bookkeeping & Tax and book a Free Business Health Check here:

https://www.smlbookkeeping.com.au/check

General information only. This is not tax, legal or financial advice.

Software can make bookkeeping look tidy.

But tidy-looking books are not always correct books.

We often see Melbourne small business owners relying on Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks dashboards without realising the file has not been properly reviewed for months. The bank feed might still be connected. The profit report might still appear. The BAS might even be lodged on time.

But underneath, there can be problems such as:

- bank transactions sitting unreconciled
- old sales deposits not matched properly
- overseas subscriptions coded with the wrong GST treatment
- bank fees or interest coded incorrectly
- payroll and super settings not checked after rate changes
- BAS figures prepared from data that has not been cleaned first

The software is only a tool. It records what has been entered. It does not always know whether the numbers make sense for your business.

This matters even more around BAS and year-end clean-up.

Before lodging or relying on your reports, it is worth asking:

1. Are all bank, credit card and loan accounts reconciled to the quarter end?
2. Do the GST amounts make sense against actual sales and expenses?
3. Have any transactions been manually adjusted just to “make BAS work”?
4. Has super been paid early enough to reach the fund on time?
5. Would these reports support a loan, lease, grant or business decision?

A small bookkeeping issue is usually cheaper to fix early. Once it flows into BAS, tax planning, finance applications or year-end accounts, the clean-up can become much more painful.

If your books felt messy last financial year, July is the right time to reset them.

Want a second pair of eyes on your Xero file before the next BAS?

Message SML Bookkeeping & Tax and ask for a bookkeeping health check.

smlbookkeeping.com.au

General information only. This is not tax advice.

If you own an investment property in Australia…

Tonight’s Budget may matter more than your next interest rate rise.

Because proposed changes to:

❗ Negative gearing
❗ CGT
❗ Trust planning

could impact your tax strategy for years.

I’ve spent the night breaking it down into plain English.

Comment BUDGET if you want the summary.