Our bookkeepers in Melbourne share 4 tips for a stress-free tax season

June 7, 2019

Our bookkeepers in Melbourne know that tax time is easily one of the most stressful times to be a small business owner – it’s also coincidentally one of our busiest, with dozens of frantic calls from small businesses on a daily basis.

“Did I claim everything I needed to?”

“Where did the receipt for the computer go?”

“Are my maths correct?”

The sheer volume of “what if’s” and “where is it’s” that swim around during tax time is enough to give anyone a headache. It’s no wonder that Melbourne bookkeepers like Maximum Business Solutions often find ourselves working extra hard!

Ideally however, it should never reach the stage where you have to bring in outside help (read: us) – ideally, you’ll want to eliminate the stress that is bookkeeping and make the entire process as simple and painless as possible.

How exactly do you go about that?

Bookkeeper Melboourne for stress-free business taxation

4 tips from your Melbourne bookkeepers that will make tax time easier

Operating since 2001, our team of small business bookkeepers in Melbourne have helped countless businesses just like yours.

We’ve seen several small business bookkeeping errors pop up time and time again – luckily, they’re also relatively easy to prevent!

In particular, by…

1) Don’t leave it until the last minute

Honestly, we can’t stress this enough!

We see this happen a lot – people wait until the very last second to get their taxes done and it leaves them in all sorts of panic. In their rush to get everything in order, they make mistakes, get sloppy or commit other avoidable errors.

It’s understandable really – with all the stress on your shoulders, cut corners and overlooked expenses are almost inevitable.

The best way to avoid this is by organising your taxes as early as possible.

You will save yourself a headache – more importantly, it will also give you the time to fix any problems that may arise!

2) Record things as they occur

We get it, really – business owners are busy people. According to some studies, the typical Aussie business owner works longer hours than doctors, with a quarter clocking in at over 50 hours a week.

With so much work on your plate, it’s no wonder that certain things can slip through the cracks!

Business transactions are the perfect example of this.

Let’s look at your GST refund, for example. As a small business, you’re entitled to a tax credit for any business-related purchase you make.

Of course, you’ll need to hang on to receipts and tax invoices if you want to enjoy these deductions. Needless to say, it’s easy to lose track of these, or to have them slip through the cracks with everything on your plate!

That’s why we suggest recording or digitising all of this information at the earliest opportunity.

By doing so, you ensure that even the smallest transactions aren’t overlooked, and that you enjoy every deduction or credit that you’re entitled to!

Expensify is a great option, in our opinion. In addition to recording receipts, Expensify can also generate accurate reports – a lifesaver when tax time rolls round.

3) Do yourself (and your bookkeeper) a favour – keep organised

One of our favourite things to see as Melbourne bookkeepers is an organised client. We love it when a business owner comes in to do their taxes with us and all of their receipts, expenses and documents sorted out.

Trust us, it’s like Christmas for bookkeepers!

Keeping accurate records of your expenses and income throughout the year makes things considerably easier, not just for us, but for you too.

Rather than shoving all your receipts in a shoe box under the bed and waiting until June to bring them out, we suggest organising them. One idea is to use different folders or envelopes divided by the nature of the receipt or invoice.

For example, one envelope for travel expenses, one for small office purchases, one for major investments… you get the idea.

You’ll forget which shoe box they are in and put receipts in the wrong one when you are in a rush.

Come up with a simple filing system. For example, you might set aside one folder for bills, another for receipts, one for income, one for travel expenses… you get the idea!

And if you have multiple income sources or jobs, consider separating your filing system into sections for each job.

That way, when it’s tax time, you’ll know exactly where to find all the information that you need and your Melbourne bookkeepers will thank you for it!

4) Hire a Melbourne bookkeepers to look after it all for you

We get it: maths isn’t your strong suit. Don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong with that.

However, there is a problem when you allow this to negatively affect your bookkeeping!

That’s why it’s imperative that you have a small business bookkeeper on your side.

When you decide to hire our bookkeepers in Melbourne, you be confident in the knowledge that you’re getting help from a team that you can trust.

Thanks to their extensive expertise, you can be confident knowing that your small business tax is 100% compliant and in-order – you won’t miss any expenses, overlook any deductions or miss out on any credits.

bookkeeper Melbourne can help you with individual tax return

Looking for a bookkeeper in Melbourne?

Maximum Business Solutions takes the stress out of tax season

The team at Maximum Business Solutions is proud to have been helping Melbourne businesses with their taxes since 2001.

Our team of Melbourne bookkeepers are dedicated to helping Melbourne businesses grow and thrive.

Our mission is simple: to make small business bookkeeping easy!

To help achieve that goal, we provide a range of bookkeeping services. In addition to looking after your small business tax, we can also set you up with innovative, easy-to-use online bookkeeping solutions.

Our Melbourne bookkeepers are familiar with a range of bookkeeping software and are able to help implement a range of bookkeeping services to help you maximise your time:

  • MYOB
  • Xero
  • Tax, BAS and Superannuation
  • Software training
  • Payroll solutions and invoicing

Don’t wait for the deadline before reaching out to us – get in touch with us today by following this link to book an appointment. Alternatively, you can call us on (03) 9589 0128 to experience an easier, simpler EOFY.