Author’s Note: Most of the examples given in this article are widely applicable to taxation systems throughout the world. Some, however, are specific to the Australian Taxation System and are noted as such.
Speed up your reporting process
As we noted in our EOFY Ultimate Survivors Guide (still a great read and we’ve just updated it for 2023), all businesses will no doubt experience some measure of stress in preparing their documentation and reports for the ATO.
By now, you’re probably also looking for ways to speed up your reporting process. When weighing your options for expediting that reporting, you may want to consider how a job management software such as AroFlo can help alleviate the need to dig up old files and track down lost paperwork.
It’s easier than you’d expect, as all the features that make AroFlo a tradie’s best friend (including our integration with a wide range of industry-acclaimed accounting software such as Xero) can be used to store invaluable information that’s relevant to tax reporting.
AroFlo’s core design has always been built around automatic cloud storage and the efficient digital filing of your business data.
Because of this, you’ll find that a decent amount of the info you’re required to compile is both simple to access within our software, and, most importantly, always up to date.
In this article, we’ll cover four tax time concerns and discuss how AroFlo’s features can help you get a leg up on your EOFY reporting requirements.
Along the way, we’ll also offer tips on how you can get the most out of these features in preparation for next year’s tax season.
Did you know that the Australian Taxation Office has recently completed a big overhaul of their website?
They’ve now made it much easier to find out more about your tax obligations as a trade business, so be sure to check it out!
Let’s get started.
Concern 1: Profit Reporting:
During tax time there’s often a rush to track down invoices and ensure that they’re prepared in time for end of financial year reporting.
Luckily for you, AroFlo makes document retrieval nice and simple. With a wide range of filtering options available, you can locate files based on criteria such as:
- Invoice Number
- Date Received/Sent
- Invoice Expense
- Profit/Loss
This can be helpful for tracking down that one outstanding invoice for the EOFY or simply ordering a large amount of information in an easy to understand way.
It’s important to remember also that AroFlo’s reporting software, like its other features, gets better the longer you use it. The peace of mind that comes with having all your business data in one place throughout subsequent years is something we can’t recommend enough.
Concern 2: Stocktakes:
If you buy or sell stock (pretty much every trade business does), you’re required by law to do a stocktake as close as possible to the end of each financial year. Under Australian law specifically, you must keep records showing:
- Stock on hand and its current value
- When the stocktake was performed
- How it was performed
- Who valued the stock and the basis of the valuation
The first of these criteria is perhaps the most time consuming to perform, but AroFlo’s inventory management software can help make your yearly stocktake that much easier.
With our inventory management functionality, you can:
- Organise materials and stock using categories for quick recording
- Track stock by physical location for easy reference
- Scan inventory barcodes to add any unrecorded stock into the system
If you’re an Australian trade business that manufactures or produces stock for sale or professional use, you’ll be flagged by the ATO as a ‘Primary Producer’.
This means that your stocktake records must be kept for up to 5 years after they were recorded, so be sure to hold onto them once you’re done.
Concern 3: Asset depreciation and write-offs:
Asset depreciation is a fact of life for many trade businesses. If you dream of no longer having to shuffle through purchase receipts to determine the age of your assets, chances are that AroFlo can help.
Our asset management system is primarily used to streamline when your assets are being used and who is using them. However, this feature can also be a fantastic tool for getting a good overview of where your assets stand in terms of depreciation.
How, you ask?
When you add your assets and enter general information about them into AroFlo, you can also add your own custom fields including ones relevant to tax reporting.
These could be:
- Asset Purchase date
- Average lifespan of asset
- Asset value at time of purchase (book value or custom value)
- Flat yearly depreciation values (if applicable)
This is crucial information for calculating accurate depreciation and it’s made even easier when used in combination with AroFlo’s powerful reporting feature. You can even catalogue multiple assets of the same type using uploaded images.
Just imagine all the time you’ll save by not having to walk around the workshop trying to figure out which company truck is which again.
Concern 4: Employee Payroll and PAYG/STP:
It’s no secret that payroll and timesheets are one of the most time-consuming parts of running a trade business, not just during tax time.
No matter how your business manages payroll tax and employee tax obligations, one thing remains the same. The last thing you want to be doing during the end of the financial year rush is chasing up your team for unrecorded hours and overtime.
Using AroFlo however, every job is recorded as it happens, using GPS tracking and real–time job clocking. This means no disputes over hours and no chance of missing any crucial timesheet information that you may need when the tax man comes calling.
For subsequent financial years, our timesheeting software is also a convenient way of filing hours as you go. You can even view labour entries in real–time, which lets you check and amend any details such as overheads and file them digitally for when June 30th rolls around again.
We hope that these tax time scenarios have given you a good idea of just how helpful AroFlo can be when it comes time for your end of financial year reporting.
Whether it’s finally leaving behind the paper trail or just expediating your overall tax reporting, we believe there’s a lot to be gained from digging into what AroFlo has to offer in the runup to June 30th.
If you’d like to know more about AroFlo’s powerful capabilities or want further clarification on any of the features we’ve discussed today, be sure to get in touch! We love helping our clients old and new get the most out of their AroFlo experience and we’re always ready to answer any questions you may have.
Disclaimer: This article is in no way intended to act as financial advice. For information on your individual circumstances and how they may affect the cover you need, we recommend speaking to an accredited accountant or finance professional.
