Spend less time on the books and more time running your business. Practical bookkeeping, BAS, GST and payroll support for sole traders and small businesses across Oxley and Brisbane's south-west.
Running a small business is demanding enough without spending your evenings sorting receipts, reconciling bank transactions and wondering whether your bookkeeping is up to date.
At TaxAssist Accountants Oxley, we provide practical bookkeeping services for sole traders, companies and small businesses throughout Oxley and Brisbane's south-west.
Whether you need someone to take care of your bookkeeping completely, help clean up accounts that have fallen behind, or provide ongoing bookkeeping, BAS, GST and payroll support, we'll help you find a solution that suits the way your business operates.
And because your bookkeeping and accounting can be handled by the same local team, there's less duplication and fewer gaps between keeping the books and preparing your tax accounts.
Bookkeeping is the process of accurately recording and organising the financial transactions of your business.
That can include money coming into the business, expenses being paid, purchases from suppliers, customer invoices, bank transactions, wages, GST and other financial records.
But good bookkeeping is about much more than entering numbers into accounting software.
Accurate, current records help you understand:
Good bookkeeping gives your accountant better information too.
Instead of spending valuable accounting time trying to reconstruct what happened months ago, accurate records make it easier to prepare BAS, financial accounts and tax returns efficiently.
Australian businesses have record-keeping obligations for taxation purposes, and businesses registered for GST also need appropriate records to support their GST reporting and claims.
But compliance is only one reason to keep accurate books.
Your bookkeeping should also help you run your business.
Imagine trying to drive your car while looking only in the rear-view mirror.
That's effectively what happens when a business owner doesn't know their current financial position.
Your bank balance alone doesn't tell you whether your business is profitable.
There may be customer invoices still to collect, supplier bills waiting to be paid, GST liabilities accumulating or expenses that haven't yet appeared in the bank account.
Accurate bookkeeping gives you a clearer picture of what's really happening.
That makes it easier to make informed decisions rather than relying on guesswork.
A bookkeeper helps maintain the day-to-day financial records of your business.
Depending on the level of service you require, bookkeeping can include:
Your business may not require every one of these services.
That's why we prefer to understand how your business works first and then recommend an appropriate level of bookkeeping support.
There isn't one bookkeeping system that suits every Australian small business.
A sole trader with a relatively small number of transactions has very different requirements from a construction company employing staff, paying subcontractors and purchasing materials every week.
We'll look at factors such as:
Some business owners want us to take care of virtually everything.
Others enjoy doing part of their own bookkeeping but want professional assistance checking the records, preparing BAS or resolving more complicated transactions.
Both approaches are perfectly reasonable.
The right bookkeeping service is the one that works for your business.
Modern cloud accounting has made bookkeeping much easier for small businesses.
Instead of maintaining separate spreadsheets, boxes of paperwork and accounting files stored on one computer, online accounting systems can provide authorised users with access to current financial information.
That can make collaboration between you, your bookkeeper and your accountant considerably easier.
Depending on your business and chosen software, cloud bookkeeping can help with:
The important part isn't simply choosing accounting software.
It's setting it up correctly and using it properly.
A sophisticated accounting package filled with incorrectly coded transactions isn't necessarily better than a simple system containing accurate information.
We can help you establish bookkeeping processes appropriate for your business and make sure the information being produced is actually useful.
Yes, bookkeeping and BAS are closely connected.
Your Business Activity Statement relies on accurate underlying financial records.
If transactions have been incorrectly entered, duplicated, omitted or given the wrong GST treatment, those errors can flow through to your BAS.
Keeping the bookkeeping current throughout the reporting period can make BAS preparation much smoother.
Our team can assist with bookkeeping, GST records and BAS preparation so that your financial records and reporting work together.
Rather than facing a bookkeeping scramble every quarter, we can help establish an ongoing process.
Employing people introduces another layer of financial administration.
Payroll involves more than transferring wages into employees' bank accounts.
Depending on your circumstances, there may be requirements involving:
Single Touch Payroll enables employers to report employee salary and wage, PAYG withholding and superannuation information to the ATO through STP-enabled payroll software when payroll is processed.
Keeping payroll records accurate and current is therefore an important part of business bookkeeping.
If you employ staff, talk to us about incorporating payroll support into your bookkeeping and accounting arrangements.
Bookkeeping can become particularly time-consuming for trades and construction businesses.
You're already managing jobs, customers, quotes, materials, suppliers and subcontractors. Bookkeeping can easily become the job that gets pushed into evenings and weekends.
We understand the accounting and bookkeeping needs of trade-related businesses.
Depending on your circumstances, that can involve keeping track of:
Good bookkeeping can help you see beyond the amount of money currently sitting in your bank account.
It can help answer a much more important question:
Making a sale isn't the same as getting paid.
For businesses that invoice customers, overdue accounts can quickly place pressure on cash flow.
Good bookkeeping allows you to keep track of outstanding invoices and identify customers whose accounts are becoming overdue.
Instead of discovering months later that an invoice hasn't been paid, regular accounts-receivable reporting can help you identify the problem earlier.
That means you can follow up sooner and keep a closer eye on the cash coming into your business.
The same principle applies to suppliers.
A healthy-looking bank balance can create a false sense of security if substantial supplier bills, wages, GST or other liabilities are about to fall due.
Keeping your accounts payable records current helps you understand upcoming commitments.
That can make cash-flow planning easier and reduce unpleasant surprises.
Accurate bookkeeping provides the foundation for meaningful financial reporting.
Depending on your business, regular management reports can help you monitor areas such as:
These reports can help identify changes and potential problems earlier.
For example:
Those are business questions, not simply accounting questions.
Good bookkeeping provides the information needed to start answering them.
A profitable business can still experience cash-flow problems.
Because profit and cash aren't the same thing.
You may have made profitable sales but still be waiting for customers to pay. You may need to purchase materials before receiving payment. GST, wages, superannuation and supplier accounts may become payable at different times.
Accurate, up-to-date bookkeeping helps provide better visibility over those movements.
That can help you plan ahead rather than reacting when the bank balance suddenly becomes tight.
There is another major advantage to maintaining good books:
Your year-end accounting becomes much easier.
If records are incomplete, duplicated or inconsistent, your accountant may need to spend additional time investigating transactions and reconstructing information.
Clean bookkeeping gives your accountant a better starting point for:
In other words, bookkeeping isn't separate from accounting.
Australian businesses generally need to keep records that explain their transactions and support their taxation position.
Depending on your business, records can include:
Many business records generally need to be kept for five years, although different or longer retention periods can apply to particular records and circumstances.
Digital record keeping can make storing and retrieving this information considerably easier.
If you're unsure what records your business needs to retain, ask us.
Yes.
And you're certainly not the first business owner this has happened to.
Sometimes business gets busy. Sometimes the bookkeeping system doesn't work. Sometimes an employee leaves. And sometimes a pile of receipts simply becomes a much bigger pile of receipts.
The worst response is usually to keep putting it off.
We can review where your bookkeeping currently stands, identify what's missing and work out a practical approach for bringing the accounts up to date.
There's no need to feel embarrassed about messy books.
Absolutely.
Many small business owners manage some or all of their own day-to-day bookkeeping.
The better question is:
If you enjoy it, understand the system and keep everything current, doing it yourself may work perfectly well.
But if bookkeeping consumes several evenings each month, regularly falls behind or prevents you from spending time on work that generates revenue, outsourcing some or all of it may make good business sense.
We can also work alongside business owners who want to remain involved.
You don't necessarily need to hand over everything.
Keeping bookkeeping and accounting connected can reduce duplication and make it easier to resolve questions as they arise.
Our office is at 94b Cook Street, Oxley QLD 4075, so you have a local team available when you need help.
We work with independent businesses and understand the realities of running a small business.
We'll explain what your numbers mean without burying the answer in accounting terminology.
We can discuss the level of bookkeeping assistance appropriate for your business rather than forcing every client into the same package.
We'll discuss your requirements and provide a fixed quote based on the services you need.
Bookkeeping generally focuses on maintaining the day-to-day financial records of a business, while accounting uses those records for activities such as financial reporting, tax returns, tax planning and broader financial analysis. Having your bookkeeping and accounting working together can make the entire process more efficient.
Not every small business needs to outsource its bookkeeping. However, every business needs appropriate financial records. If your bookkeeping is taking too much time, falling behind or producing information you don't trust, professional bookkeeping assistance may be worthwhile.
That depends on the size and activity of the business. A business processing many transactions may require bookkeeping weekly or even more frequently, while a smaller business may require less frequent processing. The important point is to keep records sufficiently current for your business and reporting requirements.
Many Australian business and taxation records generally need to be retained for at least five years, although some records need to be kept for longer depending on their nature and circumstances.
Yes. TaxAssist Accountants Oxley can assist businesses with bookkeeping, GST and Business Activity Statements, allowing the underlying records and BAS preparation to work together.
Yes. Payroll support can form part of your overall accounting and bookkeeping arrangements, including assistance with payroll records and Single Touch Payroll processes.
Yes. We can review your existing records, determine what needs to be brought up to date and discuss a practical approach to cleaning up the accounts.
Yes. Bookkeeping doesn't have to be all-or-nothing. We can discuss which tasks you would like to manage yourself and where professional assistance would be most useful.
Yes. Our Oxley practice works with small businesses, including businesses in construction and trade-related industries. We can assist with bookkeeping, GST, BAS, payroll and broader accounting requirements.
TaxAssist Accountants is located at 94b Cook Street, Oxley QLD 4075 and provides bookkeeping and accounting services to businesses in Oxley and surrounding Brisbane suburbs.
TaxAssist Accountants Oxley provides bookkeeping and small business accounting services from our office at 94b Cook Street, Oxley.
We assist businesses in Oxley and surrounding areas including Corinda, Graceville, Rocklea, Seventeen Mile Rocks, Sinnamon Park, Salisbury, Moorooka, Coopers Plains, Yeronga and other Brisbane suburbs.
Whether you're a sole trader just getting started or an established business looking to improve its financial systems, we'll help you determine the level of bookkeeping support you need.
You started your business to serve customers, build something valuable and earn an income — probably not because you wanted to spend Sunday afternoon reconciling bank transactions.
Let us help make the numbers easier.
We'll talk about how your business currently manages its books, what's working, what's causing frustration and what you'd like us to take care of.
Then we'll recommend a bookkeeping approach appropriate for your business.
TaxAssist Accountants Oxley 94b Cook Street Oxley QLD 4075
Spend less time chasing paperwork and more time building your business. Talk to TaxAssist Accountants Oxley about your bookkeeping today.
Information provided on this page is general in nature and does not take into account your individual circumstances. Record-keeping, taxation, GST, payroll and reporting requirements can vary according to the circumstances of your business. Obtain appropriate professional advice for your circumstances.
Bookkeeping generally focuses on maintaining the day-to-day financial records of a business, while accounting uses those records for activities such as financial reporting, tax returns, tax planning and broader financial analysis. Having your bookkeeping and accounting working together can make the entire process more efficient.
Not every small business needs to outsource its bookkeeping. However, every business needs appropriate financial records. If your bookkeeping is taking too much time, falling behind or producing information you don't trust, professional bookkeeping assistance may be worthwhile.
That depends on the size and activity of the business. A business processing many transactions may require bookkeeping weekly or even more frequently, while a smaller business may require less frequent processing. The important point is to keep records sufficiently current for your business and reporting requirements.
Many Australian business and taxation records generally need to be retained for at least five years, although some records need to be kept for longer depending on their nature and circumstances.
Yes. TaxAssist Accountants Oxley can assist businesses with bookkeeping, GST and Business Activity Statements, allowing the underlying records and BAS preparation to work together.
Yes. Payroll support can form part of your overall accounting and bookkeeping arrangements, including assistance with payroll records and Single Touch Payroll processes.
Yes. We can review your existing records, determine what needs to be brought up to date and discuss a practical approach to cleaning up the accounts.
Yes. Bookkeeping doesn't have to be all-or-nothing. We can discuss which tasks you would like to manage yourself and where professional assistance would be most useful.
Yes. Our Oxley practice works with small businesses including construction and trade-related industries. We can assist with bookkeeping, GST, BAS, payroll and broader accounting requirements.
TaxAssist Accountants is located at 94b Cook Street, Oxley QLD 4075 and provides bookkeeping and accounting services to businesses in Oxley and surrounding Brisbane suburbs including Corinda, Graceville, Rocklea, Seventeen Mile Rocks, Sinnamon Park, Salisbury, Moorooka, Coopers Plains and Yeronga.