I've seen firsthand the challenges people face with GST auditing. That's why I ensured that someone could audit their GST when we designed our POS system.

The GST Auditing Dilemma

We've all been there—trying to reconcile figures, often scratching our heads over what our accounting software tells us. It's a headache we could all do without.

Our Built-in GST Compliance Tools: Your New Best Friend

Our POS software has a powerful GST auditing tool. This makes your life easier. Here's why it's a game-changer:

1. Integrated Solution: No more jumping between programs.
2. Speed and Accuracy: Powered by Microsoft SQL for lightning-fast results.
3. User-Friendly Interface: Designed with retailers in mind, not tech gurus.

GST reconciliation method

What you are trying to do is find a mistake.

Let me walk you through how simple it is to use:

1. Go to Register Reports > Sales > GST Summary
2. Select your desired period
3. Review the detailed report, including a comprehensive GST breakdown.

This will give you a detailed report that includes this.

It's that straightforward. There are no complex procedures, just precise, actionable data at your fingertips.

When Numbers Don't Add Up: Your Problem-Solving Ally

Even with the best systems, discrepancies can occur. Here's how our POS software helps you track them down. What you are trying to do is find a wrong transaction. Then, study it.

1. Narrow the time frame: In your accounting program, do the first half of the period and then compare the same period with your POS System.
2. Compare Systems: Easily check your POS report against your accounting software for this period.
3. If it is okay, go to the next period. If it's in error, half again go to 1

Keep going until you have a day; if both periods are wrong, pick the period with the most significant error and return to 1.

If both are okay, you are in the wrong period.

Dive Deep: Once you've identified the day, scrutinise individual transactions.

A Real-World Example: The $2000 Mystery

I couldn't determine why $2000 was missing from our GST. Using this software's auditing process, I discovered it was an insurance claim wrongly recorded as a sale in the accounting software.

Embrace the Future of GST Auditing

Don't let GST auditing be the bane of your existence.

It's not only compliance; it's about running your business more efficiently and profitably.

Common Questions about GST Reconciliation

Q: How can I reconcile GST at the end of the year?

A:  Do the following steps

• Gather all financial records for the full year.
• Check the GST report in your accounting software from the start to end of the financial year.
• Compare filed GST to collected and paid GST.
• Research any differences in reported and actual GST amounts.
• Make adjustments to ensure accuracy.

Q: How do I match GST to my balance sheet?

A: Do the follwing steps.

• Generate both a Balance Sheet and a GST Summary report.
• Compare the GST liability on the Balance Sheet to the liability on the GST Summary.
• Investigate any discrepancies.
• Check for unpaid invoices or unclaimed GST credits.
• Make changes as required so the liability amounts match on both reports.

Q: What does GST reconciliation involve in Xero?

A:  For some reason, I get a lot of questions about GST in Xero. It is easy in Xero to do GST reconciliation:

• Compares filed returns to actual collected and paid GST

• Make a report showing the differences

• Review of potentially missed or miscoded transactions

• Helps ensure accurate, compliant GST reporting

Q: How can I reconcile GST in Excel?

A: To reconcile GST in Excel:

• Export GST data from your POS system

• Create separate sheets for each return type

• Set up columns (Invoice Number, Date, Taxable Value, GST Amounts)

• Use formulas to calculate reported vs actual GST differences

• Highlight discrepancies with conditional formatting

• Review and research highlighted differences

Q: What are some best practices?

A: Some best practices:

• Reconcile regularly - monthly or quarterly

• Document process and findings

• Use accounting software features to automate and streamline

• Review reporting trends and investigate variances

• Have manager oversight for large deviations

• Keep a clear audit trail of adjustments

Follow these FAQs and best practices for accurate GST reporting and compliance.

Please consult a tax accountant for business-specific advice, as I am not an accountant.

The time has come again, and if you are feeling a bit nervous about the impending end of the financial year. Take a deep breath; if it makes you feel better, we are all doing this now. 

To get started, here's a checklist of the essential financial statements your accountant will need to produce your business accounting and tax preparation: profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and, if you use them, a cash flow statement. Please check with them what more they need and what dates they require these reports.

I suggest printing them all in detail, as you may need them to support your figures. Do not worry if it seems too much; I have never heard an accountant complain if they are given too much.

For the tax-savvy, review these reports and look for opportunities to write off any lousy stock or bad debts.  I suggest highlighting them so you can discuss with your accountant what they want to do with as these write-offs can potentially translate into tax deductions. 

Although many people do, our system does not need a unique backup for EOFY.

End-of-Financial-Year reporting

Sales Reports

These will give you the totals of your revenue streams. 

Stock Valuation

You will need to do this after you conduct your stocktake. This report will provide a comprehensive picture of your current inventory levels and values and will clearly show your inventory management.

Accounts receivable (debtors)

This report will give a total of your customers' debts and also highlight any unpaid invoices or outstanding balances. 

Accounts payable (creditors)

If your POS software tracks creditors, this report will give you the total amount of any outstanding payments you owe to suppliers or vendors.

The Webinar

Our team has prepared a video from a webinar that dives deep into the intricacies of end-of-financial-year reporting using our POS software. From dissecting each report to answering your burning questions, this webinar is a must-watch.

Remember, knowledge is power; these reports are vital to unlocking insights and opportunities. So, grab that coffee, roll up your sleeves, and let's conquer this financial year together!

Reporting and some helpful system functions for the End of the Financial Year.

Of course, if you need more help, give us a call.

EOFY, or the End of the Financial Year, is when you close the books. This year, the EOFY falls on a Sunday (June 30th, 2024), which can make things messy regarding your financial records.

The Perils of a Weekend EOFY

Here's the potential snag: some businesses close their accounting books on the Friday before the EOF, while others wait until Monday morning. This means invoices and credit notes sent Thursday or Friday might not reach your accounting system until next week. With Australia Post delays, you may find that your crucial invoices and credit notes aren't reflected in your records for quite a while. As a result, some companies' financial books will have figures different from your books for the EOFY. This mismatch can cause problems later during tax audits. 

The ATO inspector will check your figures, cross-check them with your suppliers, and ask why they differ. Since the audit is generally done years after the event, it can be hard to justify your figures. You will be scrambling to explain the discrepancy. You do not need these headaches.

This is precisely the situation that happened to us. One company sent us a credit note on Friday, which we did not get until a few days after the EOFY. Another company reviewed our debts to them long after and then backdated them to the EOFY.  Both of these cost us. 

Taking Control

You must ensure you have something in writing from your suppliers justifying your EOFY figures. If you cannot get that, you must ensure that your POS and financial systems can provide the information to explain your figures.

• Try setting a deadline for receiving invoices and credit notes before EOFY. 
• Chasing outstanding invoices/credit notes from suppliers.
• Make sure you get something in writing.
• Close your books a few days later if possible to get verified figures.

One big plus with our POS system compared to others is that you do not have to close the books at the EOFY, so you can keep processing and correcting them as information comes in.

Invoicing is a crucial process for any small business. Manual invoicing can be highly time-consuming. Your invoice business software provides your businesses an easy way to quickly create, manage, and track invoices to get paid faster.

Benefits of Using Invoice Software 

Invoicing software provides many advantages over creating invoices manually:

> Legal information automatically generated - Invoices must specify some details like ABN, which are automatically produced for you.

> Save time - Invoice software drastically reduces the time it takes to create and send professional invoices.  It has templates that make it easy to fill out.

> Track payments - Once in your software, you can easily track the status of invoices and know when clients view and pay them.

> Go paperless - Save some trees. If you want, you can send it by email to reduce postage.

> Automate reminders - Our software can automatically send payment reminder emails to clients.

> Generate reports - Track income, expenses, and profit with our software reporting. 

> Access anywhere - The cloud allows you to create and send invoices from any device.

> Look professional - Professional invoices make your business look more legitimate and build credibility.  This, in practice, is one of the most critical factors.

> Receipts and statements automatically produced - This is all done automatically.

Out will come an A4 receipt:

Key Features

> Customizable templates - Our pre-made templates make invoice creation fast and easy. 

> Recurring invoices - It is easy to schedule invoices. 

> Miss less - As a rule, people forget to enter, much less if entered into a computer. Our clients have picked up a lot of money from this factor alone. With manual much was missed on the billing.

> Invoice automation - Set terms, reminders, and follow-ups to automate your workflow. 

>Integration - Integrate with many accounting software like QuickBooks or Xero.

Take Your Invoicing to the Next Level

Our Invoice software provides an affordable solution to save time, get paid faster, and streamline financial workflows. Take your invoicing to the next level with a professional touch. Try it out on our top-rated software.

The end of the financial year is fast approaching, and for many businesses, it's time to start thinking about tax planning. One important consideration is the timing of your invoices. The date on your invoice can affect when the income is deemed to be earned. If you use accrual accounting, which most of my clients use, then invoicing a customer before June 30, 2023, will mean that the payment will be taxed in the 2022-2023 financial year, even if the customer doesn't pay the invoice until July 2023. This increases your tax liability for this financial year.

However, here are some other reasons why you should consider sending their invoices before the end of the financial year:

-To improve your cash flow. Getting paid sooner can help you cover expenses and avoid late payments.

-Give your customers a chance to take advantage of tax deductions or credits. If your customers are cash basis taxpayers, which most of them are, they may be able to deduct the cost of your services in the current financial year if they pay the invoice before June 30.

Of course, there is a potential downside to sending invoices before the end of the financial year, as if you invoice a customer before they've received the goods or services, they may not be happy to see it immediately. To get over this, add a note to the invoice to say we send this early account to help you get a head start on your bookkeeping and tax returns and to make it easier to prepare your books and taxes.

This is why many of you are getting your invoices early now, and ultimately, whether or not to send your invoices before the end of the financial year is your call. You only have a little time if you do it, so get to it.

It would also be good to talk to your accountant for professional advice. They can help you understand the tax implications of your decision and ensure you comply with the law.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Introduction

Streamlining Business Operations by integrating your accounting and POS systems with a direct connection is commonly done now.

Here are some pros and cons based on our experience with our clients that do this.

Pros of Integrating your accounting system and POS Systems

Some of the significant benefits would include:

Improved accuracy

It enables you to store all financial data in one central location. This makes tracking transactions, reconciling accounts, and generating financial statements more straightforward.

Automated data entry

Manual entering information is both tiring and often frustrating.

As the information between accounting and POS systems comes seamlessly, it removes the need for manually inputting the data. This saves time and money if you are paying someone else to do it. Doing this as well reduces the chances of errors occurring during the process.

Better decision-making

Having your financial data in one platform allows you a deeper insight into your business. These insights can help you to make smarter choices for your business.

Improved cash flow management

It makes managing your cash flow much more straightforward. You can immediately get the information in the books.

It also helps if you do budgeting.

Reduced fraud risk

It is more difficult for fraud to occur. This is because all transactions are recorded. This makes identifying and investigating suspicious activity easier.

Cons of Integrating Accounting and POS Systems

Some of the most notable drawbacks include

Cost

Some integrations do cost extra. It is low, though, for what you get.

Complexity

It can be challenging to set up so that it produces the information that you and your accountant need. In our experience, your accountant generally knows what they need. Yet, in our experience, often they could be more helpful in what you need. Our support staff can usually help you and put you in touch with people doing it now with your POS Software and accounting system.

Conclusion

Like everything, integrating your accounting and POS systems has pros and cons, and you need to consider whether it is right for you. It's not a decision set in stone; you can return to the manual if it does not work.

Executive summary

-Integrating accounting and POS systems can enhance efficiency by automating processes like data entry.

-It can aid in making informed decisions based on current information͏.

-It helps manage cash flows and minimizes risks associated with fraudulent activities.

-It often but not always comes with a cost.

-It can be complex to setup

-You can return to the manual if it does not work.

You can save time and reduce errors with our accounting intergration

Direct integration between our point-of-sale system and accounting software like MYOB, Quickbooks, or Xero—the three options which are by far the most popular with our clients—can improve your company's overall productivity by reducing the time spent on tedious activities and decreases the errors that arise with manual accounting. If these are not your needs, press here for many Accounting software packages.

This can speed up processing your BAS,  allow you to monitor your cash flow and give you a continuous general idea of how you are going.

As a result, you may devote more time to your main business while saving important working time for repetitive, time-consuming duties. 

Catching and Stopping Duplicate Invoice Payments

One of the most common blunders in business today is paying a supplier twice because you entered their invoice twice.

This is what happened to one of my customers. He got an invoice and paid it, then got a receipt a few days later, so he paid that. He then got a credit notice, so he paid that. Then on the statement, it showed, and only then was the error noticed. He is good at accounting, but this slipped through and caused this idiotic error.

Most suppliers will inform you of the error, as this one did but not always. So it would be best if you were careful.

There are many causes why this happens.
-Bad keying of invoices into their systems, if 99% correct in your keying, that is a few errors a year.
-Misreadings of invoices as in the above example.
-Changes in the invoices.
-Many invoices come more than once, commonly by email and then with the goods.
etc

Here are some tips to help you prevent these sorts of errors.

1) Enter the supplier reference number, do not use your number. Our POS system often warns you if a reference number is entered twice in data entry.

Also, in your POS Software, see the green arrow above; you can quickly see a duplicate. If you have any doubts, look at the amounts. Generally but not always, duplicate invoices have identical amounts. See the red arrow above.

2) Make a budget for a supplier. Something is unusual if a figure is a way off for that supplier and should be investigated.

3) Make one person responsible for entering the invoices in a systematic method. This will give a manual check.

4) This will involve more work, but I am a purist in my accounting and like it a lot. Have one system where people work daily and another to which only my accountant and you have access. Everything is checked before going into the accounting system.

Duplicate or erroneous payments can add to substantial monetary losses. At the very least, cash flow problems. Probably also a lot of time trying to get it sorted out too.

Many of my clients use financial advisors every year. So we have worked with a few financial planners on behalf of our clients. So the information they need is in your POS system for your shop.

Generally, the cost is between $1,500 and $3,500 a year; yet it can be more. For example, here. Look at the case study below and see the green arrow pointing to the first year fee.

​That is $13,660 initially and an ongoing fee per year of $8,000. That is a lot of money on a personal $400,000 investment fund.

There are several reasons why the cost is so high. Part of the reason is that it takes almost as much effort to do a plan of $400,000 as it takes to do one of $4,000,000. The items, decisions and complexity are similar, and all that changes is the amounts. This is a typical problem in accounting.

But the other reason is the time taken by the financial planner to put together the plan. You go to them and say you need this. They then request a heap of information. You then hunt for the information, put it together, and they then examine this information. They interrogate you for clarification, then, as sure as day follows night, they ask for more information, so you have to hunt around for some more documentation, supply it, and only then can they start. Most of the time is spent collecting the information, not doing the actual work.

The result is that you pay much more than you should.

I will give you a personal example of how the price can spiral. I paid $1,500 for a financial plan, which I did not want, but I had to get one for taxation reasons. Then, after paying that, I received another bill of $500 to pay the accountant fees used in the plan. Then, after paying the accountant fees, I found that there were two entities involved, so the other had to be done too. Then it was announced that this was a yearly fee. So a one-time fee went from $1,500 to $4,000 yearly, which was stated as a very cheap fee. I felt that there had to be a better way.

I knew that I could save a lot by being organised and doing much of the job myself.

So I looked at a few online tools. I generally found them of limited use, more for amusement than helpful.

Then I found one I liked "projection lab."

It a professional online tool. You enter in the information. Since its only me, only I have access to the information. Then I could then experiment with it and so model my financial future. I know what I put in will not precisely match real life. But it's better than a vague concept in my head. Plus I can ask it questions and decide what I like about the consequences.

It had enough functions for me but I suppose as I learn more, I will use more. for now its fine.

Best of all, my accountant told me that it should be acceptable for the ATO for my purposes. Of course, if I had to go to a financial planner, I would be better organised as most of the information would be on hand for them.

It is free, so give it a go. At least if it does not work for you, you will have a better idea of what you need.

Let me know how it goes for you.

It would be best to consider this coming season into your billing cycle. If what happened last year happened in the next sales season, you can expect to take longer than usual to get paid. It's all too easy for people to say now that it's problems with COVID.

It can pay now to view your financial information to see which of your customers are delaying their payments.

Tip: If you want to pay earlier, run your invoices in advance.

We all have Trading Terms on which our businesses supply our products and services.

The problem is that many clients have their trading cycles. Often they place on us, these trading terms as a condition to trade. So we are confronted with a choice to accept this or decline their business. A typical example is a tradesman who does his books monthly, a large organisation that seems to pay whenever they want, or a government department that pays on its cycle. Nothing you can do. I have been in a government department, demanding overdue funds. I had two people look at me with much sympathy in their eyes but making it clear that they are unable to do anything.

Often we reluctantly accept it. We want the business, and there is no point in making a fuss about it.

The immediate dilemma is that your computer system is set up to put everyone in your business cycle.

Well, do not worry, as you have the right POS software.

> What you do is go to the customer maintenance screen and call them up.

> Now click on the "Other details" tab.

Now at the top here, you will see the above image. There you can put the appropriate trading terms for that account.

Now your POS Software will treat this account with their trading term.

Now trade!

Maintaining your business depends on your ability to manage financial resources efficiently. To do this, you need to know the financial state of your business. This is why we supply an automatic function that allows you to directly talk from your POS System to many accounting software, e.g. MYOB, Xero, etc.

For example, the above MYOB integration software belongs to our market's most popular accounting system.

You have free access to the integration, and you can use it now. Check out the Automatic Data Transfer in the MYOB section of your POS software. Once set up, select the dates and run.

This integration allows MYOB users to save time by removing manual data entry. This reduces errors and speeding up the information transfer.

Using a POS system linked to a financial system, you can get detailed financial reports about your company. You can use this information to manage your finances better. What you will like is being able to perform instant cash flow analysis.

It also saves money because you don't have to pay an accountant to enter numbers.

It's time to see how your shop went this year and it is easy and quick to do with a bird's-eye view of your sales performance. 

Go to Reporting Documents > Dissection Family Class Period Sales Comparison.

Now put in the financial year dates, put down a report for all products. 

As there are many options here, I suggest keeping it simple now but I do suggest that you experiment later.

Now even on this basic version, you get a detailed comparison by department and class.  I suggest you look in particular at the Qty which are the number of sales for each department and the $ Profit made by each department. 

Because of COVID many of you may find as a comparison with the year 2018/2019 more useful.

After you do a stocktake, it's time to do something with it. You will need the following numbers for your financial figures.

1) The value of your stock (Perpetual stock value) that your computer thinks that it had before you did the stocktake. Print out a report of your stock valuation before starting the stocktake. 

If you do not trust the figure in your point of sale software, then you can, or your accountant can give you an estimate. This is NOT recommended.

2) The value of the stock (Physically Counted Inventory Value) you have at the end of this financial year that you. 

Now do the following calculation.

Shrinkage% = (1- (Physically Counted Inventory Value))/(Perpetual stock value)) x 100% 

A familiar figure here is about 1.4%, but it does vary a lot. I have seen figures between 0.1% and 6%. What COVID will do to your figures is anyone guess.

3) Value of the damaged goods you counted. (Damaged stock value)

It would be best if you looked at is your damaged goods too. These have a different story, and it can be an exciting story to tell.

Damaged% = (Damaged stock value)/(Sales of stock product) x 100%

Once you get these figures, please let me know as I am interested in this stuff.

Is this question you should be discussing with some of your clients? 

The converse may be of importance too. What if you delay sending invoices until after 30th June. This may mean you will have an obligation to pay the tax owing on these invoices in the next financial year.

It would help if you talked to your accountant now.

What tends to happen here is that a person rings us up and announces that somehow their figures do not add up. As a rule here, our system will say something that does not add up with the accountant.

Okay, this invariably is what has happened. Note the steps that cause the error. Like many problematic errors, every step along the way is correct. It's the overall result that is wrong. That is what makes it so hard to find so stumping the accountant.

Say you have a credit with your supplier of $200. The supplier sends you $1,000 worth of goods on invoice A100. You claim the $200 credit and pay the supplier the difference on invoice A100. What can happen is that you enter that these goods on invoice A100 cost $800. As such, the profit owing is now incorrectly calculated.

You need to differentiate the credit which is easy to do in our POS system. Otherwise, you will cause an error in calculating the cost of goods sold which mucks up your profits figures. This also will produce an error in the analysis of your gross profit and net income, which is why the accountant picks it up.

I am not an accountant. So please review with an accountant but here are some immediate ideas for you to discuss before the End of the Year.

1) If possible, hold off depositing monies till July. This often pushes the tax owing on these to next year. 

2) Review the coming expenses some if paid now will give you a deduction now. Commonly done here is to pay a big supplier now. 

3) Review your BAD Debts - no point in paying taxes on these debts if you do not have them anymore. Doing this you can claim back on GST credits too. To do this they need to be outstanding for over 12 months or have evidence that they are bad debt, e.g. the debtor is bankrupt. As a written record must be kept, I suggest that you make a dissection called bad debt and issue a credit note to these debtors for the debt. This will adjust your GST and sales ledges in our system. You can also as such adjust it back if by some miracle you do get paid.

4) If you have been working from home due to COVID-19, you may have more expenses you can claim a tax deduction. Better check here as there have been cases here of people overclaiming, e.g. claiming 100% of internet charges for business and none for personal use.

Every year we survey our clients to see what they think of our performance. While we do this, we ask a few questions about what software our clients are using. Then what they want to do with this software.  So we asked them about what accounting systems they use? 

It is a good time to look at it as a new year beginning.

As Australian accounting software standards have not changed much in 35 years, all major accounting programs do the same job. The significant difference was that few offer cloud. Now, most do. They all have their devotees. The difference tends to be a user preference. 

This is what we got.

We were quite stunned by this result. 

Running through them in turn.

MYOB has always been the most popular accounting system in our marketplace. It is easy to use. I find it too rigid in use for my taste, but many consider this a positive advantage. 

Xero is expensive.  It does have a bit of a learning curve. It is rapidly growing in popularity.

Quickbooks/Reckon used to be my personal favorite. I find it clumsy to use. I am not keen on their support. It is good, they always seem to answer my questions, but they often leave me unsatisfied. What I do like is its flexibility in reporting.  It does seem to need more training than other software packages.   

The last column, *NONE* is what caused us the most discussion. Today more people are no longer using any accounting system. What is happening is that online bank software has been getting better. Many SMB retailers now find that they can service their accounting needs with our software, and these bank links free. As such, they are dropping the accounting software. I am sure this trend with continue.

Like always let me know your thoughts.