ATO announces simpler BAS reporting for Small Business
One of the biggest complaints from small businesses has been that there are a lot of forms for them to fill out and reports for them to complete in order to remain compliant.
The ATO has decided to make things simpler for small business by committing to reducing to reducing GST compliance costs.
This action will save both time and money for small business owners by making account setup, bookkeeping, BAS preparation and lodgement much simpler.
From 1 July 2017, small businesses will be able to easily classify transactions and prepare and lodge their BAS. The big change coming is that BAS reporting will reduce reporting labels from seven to three.
Businesses will only need to report the following GST information on their BAS:
- GST on sales (1A)
- GST on purchases (1B)
- Total sales (G1)
The ATO has been working with small business owners, tax professionals and accounting software providers such as Cashflow Manager in order to make these changes. A trial is set to start on 1 July of this year, with a full rollout beginning in July 2017.
The hope is that small business owners will have more time to focus on growing their business rather than compliance.
Find out more about simper BAS reporting at ato.gov.au/SimplerBAS.
Comments (7)
I like that you mentioned that the ATO has decided to make things simpler by reducing GST compliance costs. Being prepared for these things can be very beneficial for businesses to get a head start. Maybe I’ll have to look into BAS and GST prep for small business and see how that could help me.
Hi Rebecca,
I have just tried to lodge my BAS statement for the Jan-Mar 2017 (I know it’s late) but the portal won’t recognize/allow cashflow manager 9 to submit and states this type of lodging is no longer available.
Hi Pete,
There have been some changes made with the SBR system since Version 9 was released. Due to these changes there have been updates to our program so it will sync up to the new SBR system. In order to lodge your statement you will need to be on the latest version of Cashflow Manager which is 10.5. If you need some help upgrading your software please call our Customer Service team on 1300 88 78 68 and they will happily walk you through it!
Kind Regards,
Rebecca
Hi Annette,
Cashflow Manager will be supporting the Simpler BAS.
Cashflow Manager’s existing BAS Report has the G1, 1A and 1B items so you can continue to use this if necessary.
The first BAS for most businesses, using Simpler BAS, is due on 28th October 2017. Prior to this date Cashflow Manager will have an update available with modifications to the BAS Report to remove any possible confusion. We will notify all customers when this becomes available.
Kind Regards,
Rebecca
Hi Rebecca,
The taxation department just sent me a letter today about the simpler BAS this is what it says basically its saying the software needs to support the simpler BAS
“We’ve simplified GST reporting for small business by reducing the amount of GST information required in business activity statements (BAS).
From 1 July 2017, you’ll be automatically transferred to Simpler BAS. There are no changes to your reporting frequency or how other taxes are reported on your BAS.
With Simpler BAS, you only need to report the following GST information:
• G1 Total sales
• 1A GST on sales
• 1B GST on purchases.
Remember to continue keeping records (i.e. invoices) for BAS and income tax return lodgments.
Maximising Simpler BAS benefits
• To access the full bookkeeping benefits your accounting software will need to support Simpler BAS. Your software provider may contact you or check online to learn more.
• Talk to your bookkeeper, Tax or BAS agent to determine how the changes impact your bookkeeping.”
Hi Annette,
Thank you for your comment. We have had very limited communications from the ATO regarding the simpler BAS in the last 12 months so we have not implemented any changes to the program at this stage.
Here is the information we have so far:
If you are lodging your BAS electronically via SBR you will not notice a difference as Cashflow Manager fills in the required figures for you.
If you lodge using a paper form, there will be an option for you to use a BAS report with less fields in Version 11 of Cashflow Manager (to be released later this year), but for now you are able to use the same report you are currently using.
The first time you will be required to report using ‘simpler BAS’ will be in October from what we understand.
Hope this helps,
Rebecca
Wow I just rang your office and the tech girl said she knew nothing of it and here i find you talking about it on your blog. So I am assuming Cashflow will put out an update for this new simpler BAS???