If you are not sure what something means, or if it is relevant to you, or how to complete the task, you can read up on it here

INITIAL SET UP TASKS

Create a Google Drive folder

This is going to be important in keeping all your records and receipts safe, and in sharing documents with me and my team. Instructions here for setting up Google Drive, creating folders and sub-folders, and sharing the folder with me and The Real Thiel team. We ask you to name the folder as ‘your name’ so that when we go and look at ‘folders shared with me’ we don’t have 500+ folders called ‘tax’.

Make sure you have your sub-folders set up

Again, refer to the instructions here. Basically, we want you to have a ‘parent’ folder, which is ‘your name’ and then subfolders under that. If you share the main parent one with us, then we automatically see everything inside that. It is helpful to organise the data and the documents by financial year. Some documents though might be relevant for all years (like a log book or house floor plan), so those can just sit loose under the main folder (rather than going into the sub-folders for a specific financial year). 

Make a copy of our spreadsheet template

If you use accounting software, ignore this. You should have your financial data in your Xero file (or Rounded or whatever). That said, you might need a spreadsheet to record any transactions not captured in the software, or to record KMs (if using cents per KM method) or hours worked from home. There is no need to duplicate data though - if it is already in the software, don’t also add it to the spreadsheet.

We have three key spreadsheets:

1. Business Income and Expenses Spreadsheet
   This is good for business owners. If you use accounting software, you might still need this one to record home office hours or car KMs. 
2. Work Expenses Spreadsheet for employees. 
3. Rental Spreadsheet for people with investment properties

To make a copy:

• Click the link/s above to open
• Click FILE > Make a copy (or Download).
  You cannot edit our template because then everyone will see your info
• Then save the file in your own Google Drive folder (ideally in the one you made and shared with us ‘your name’, inside the relevant financial year).
• Edit your copy

We edit the templates each year, to improve them over time, so we recommend you grab fresh links each year.

BOOKKEEPING + PREP FOR TAX TIME 

This is about doing things now ahead of next year’s tax.

Take photos of your receipts for this week

When out and about, take a photo of physical receipts when you receive them. That way, they will be in your camera roll and maybe auto backed up to Google Photos or cloud camera roll ideally. Save PDFs received via email too!

Upload photos of receipts to Google Drive folder 

Ideally, you save a copy of your receipts to the relevant financial year folder inside your main google drive folder too. This helps you know, in case of an audit, that you have all the supporting documents for all expenses claimed, stored neatly according to the financial year. IF you use Gmail, you can usually save the files directly to drive from the email itself (rather than downloading then uploading them).

Save a copy of any other important documents this week to the Drive folder

If you receive an important document, like a mortgage agreement or insurance policy, or you complete a form like the superannuation intent to claim form, or receive a payslip, then save a copy of that document into the Google Drive folder too. It is much easier to do it at the time, than trying to find everything at year end or if audited.

Send invoices out for work this week

You could decide to do this daily, or weekly, or monthly… but consider this your reminder to look at work done, and remember to chase it up, send it out, or whatever is relevant to your business. 

Follow up any unpaid invoices (monthly)

We suggest making it a monthly tasks to send reminders out to your clients/customers who haven’t paid you for invoices owed. You could also consider setting up automatic reminders through your accounting software if you have them.

Reconcile Xero (or Rounded) if applicable 

This is relevant if you have accounting software.

The big thing here is ‘tagging’ the money in the bank feed, to tell the accounting system what it is. Match incoming money to invoices ideally, or categorise it to the appropriate account category. For expenses, match them to receipts/bills (if you pre-entered them), otherwise code them to the appropriate category and upload supporting documents. If you have payroll, then complete your pay runs and pay staff (and their super). 

Add income and expenses for the week been to the Business Income and Expenses spreadsheet (that you saved in your drive folder)

If you are using a spreadsheet, be sure to add the income and expense items to that for the week. It is important to note the date, amount, customer/supplier, a description and category.

If you are registered for GST also note the GST charged.

Add any employment related expenses for the week to the Work Expenses spreadsheet (that you saved in your drive folder)

If you are an employee and paid for stuff related to that work that has not been reimbursed, then add it to the Expenses tab of this spreadsheet. 

Record how many hours you worked from home this week for your business (if applicable)

If you work from home and you are using the home office hours method, then record in the ‘hours’ tab of the business income and expenses spreadsheet, the hours worked from home this week. You can read about home office hours here, and learn about which method is appropriate for you here.

Record how many hours you worked from home this week for employment job (if applicable)

If you work from home and you are using the home office hours method, then record in the ‘hours’ tab of the work expenses spreadsheet, the hours worked from home this week. You can read about home office hours here, and learn about which method is appropriate for you here.

Record how many KMs you drove this week for business (if applicable)

If you drive your car for business then consider if you should be using the cents per KM method or the log-book method. Complete this form to help figure it out or read this blog. You can record the cents per KM data in the KMs tab of our template spreadsheet for this week.

Hot tip: If you are using the log-book method, then you should be using an app or you could buy and download our printable log-book and fill that one out - but you should be doing that every trip, rather than once a week, because for the log-book you need to record odometer readings and both personal and business trips.

Record how many KMs you drove this week for employment (if applicable)

If you drive your car for work then consider if you should be using the cents per KM method or the log-book method. Complete this form to help figure it out or read this blog. You can record the cents per KM data in the KMs tab of our template spreadsheet for this week.

Hot tip: If you are using the log-book method, then you should be using an app or you could buy and download our printable log-book and fill that one out - but you should be doing that every trip, rather than once a week, because for the log-book you need to record odometer readings and both personal and work trips.

Update rental/investment property spreadsheet (if applicable)

If you own an investment property that you rent out, record the income earned this week and any expenses you incurred in relation to that property. You might also like to note whether the property was being rented out or was available to be rented out this week - the total number of ‘weeks available for rent’ is something we will ask you about at tax time.

Update shares/crypto spreadsheet or records of any buys and sells this week (if applicable)

Record if you have bought or sold any crypto or share (or similar) assets this week. Save copies of supporting documents like share purchase or sale confirmation documents, or screenshots of your platform. We will need information like this later when calculating any capital gains tax implications.

BAS & IAS 

This part of the weekly checklist may or may not be relevant to your needs. Keep in mind:

• Some people are registered for GST, some are not
• Some are registered for PAYG-W (tax withheld from employees wages), others are not
• Some are registered for PAYG-I (pre-paying tax in instalments), others are not

If you are registered for any of these, then depending on your business, the ATO may get you to report, lodge and pay these at different frequencies i.e. some are monthly others quarterly etc. 

BAS = business activity statement
This contains GST and PAYG-W and PAYG-I (whichever is applicable for you).

IAS = Installment Activity Statement

This contains just the PAYG-I line and is just about paying instalments to the ATO for your income tax bill. i.e. you are paying next year’s tax bill in advance. Usually you prep and lodge this one yourself through MyGov.

For now, this checklist includes everything… and assumes a quarterly basis for reporting. This is just because we’re testing out this weekly EDM idea to see if it works well and is helpful. If it is, we can further customise and make it more tailored to you and your personal needs and business registrations.

Important:

• If you are not registered for any of the above, ignore this whole section.

• If you are registered, and are lodging these yourself, then obviously ignore the parts about us sending you forms or us lodging for you - if you are not sure what you have engaged us for, then email us: [email protected]
  

• If you are not sure what you are registered for, then either email us, or log into MyGov > ATO > Profile > tax registrations
• If you think you should be registered for GST fill in this form.
• If you think you should be registered for PAYG-W fill in this form.

Export a copy of your bank statement/s to PDF and Excel for the last quarter*

Log into your business bank account.

Account transaction history.

Filter dates to be for the relevant quarter.

Export to both excel/CSV and PDF.

Or download the pre-prepared PDFs.

Save those bank statements to the Google Drive (FY20XX folder)

Navigate to your Google Drive folder (the one shared with me), and the into the sub-folder for this financial year. Top left, click the + button and add a file. Select the recently downloaded bank statements and upload for safe keeping.

Reconcile Xero or Rounded (if applicable) or review and update your Business Income and Expenses spreadsheet, making sure everything looks good up to [end of quarter* date].

Before you (or we) start preparing for your BAS (in particular GST and PAYG-W reporting), make sure your financial records are up to date. Ensure all pay runs are processed, all bank transactions reconciled in the software (and that bank in software agrees to the actual bank statements), or make sure the spreadsheets include all income and expenses for the period. This is about giving everything a triple check.

Follow up any unpaid invoices

Just another reminder to chase payments!

Check emails - if we’re engaged to help - Lauren should have emailed you a Karbon checklist for this quarter’s BAS

If we are engaged to help you lodge your BAS, we will send you a checklist to complete, around a week after the period ends i.e. for the June BAS we email it to you in the first week of July. The email will land in your inbox. It has a Karbon checklist embedded in it. Click to ‘manage checklist’ which opens up the list and allows you to read more detail. Now you can follow prompts to complete the checklist and forms within it.

Complete Karbon checklist (including Tally form) and tick it off in Karbon

Follow the prompts in the Karbon checklist, including the Tally Form. This form is what steps you through exactly what we’re looking for. Once you have completed the form and addressed anything else, mark the checklist complete (i.e. tick the Karbon checklist - the one embedded in the email).

Check MyGov - especially if you are lodging IAS yourself

It is wise to log into MyGov (or business portal for Companies) on a quarterly basis and check on the ATO dashboard yourself. Make sure you are comfortable and on top of any lodgements and debts sitting there. IF you have questions, email us. If you are lodging PAYG-I IAS yourself (which is usually the case if you are not registered for GST) then log into MyGov > ATO > follow the prompts to lodge. 

Some resources that might help:

• Blog on PAYG-I
• Video on how to read your BAS. If you are confused about PAYG-I still, watch from 6:40min mark).

Lodge and pay your PAYG-I activity statement if you are lodging this yourself

If you are lodging PAYG-I IAS yourself (which is usually the case if you are not registered for GST) then log into MyGov > ATO > follow the prompts to lodge. 

Some resources that might help:

• Blog on PAYG-I
• Video on how to read your BAS. If you are confused about PAYG-I still, watch from 6:40min mark).

Check your inbox - the team may have emailed through some questions regarding your BAS - Only applicable if we’re engaged to lodge your BAS.

Please read your emails haha. If we are helping with your BAS, and you ticked off the first Karbon checklist, then we will have started drafting the BAS for you. But, sometimes we have questions. We will send them through ASAP and they will come as another Karbon checklist item. Respond to us (comment on the Karbon checklist item) and tick it off once addressed in full. This automatically triggers the work to progress to the next steps on our side - we will then update the BAS and send it to you to review.

Review your draft BAS (when they send it through) - Only applicable if we’re engaged to lodge your BAS.

Please actually review the BAS we send - read it, make sure it makes sense. You know your business better than anyone after all! If it isn’t making sense, please FIRST watch this helpful video on how to read your BAS.

Sign your tax return (online)

Only applicable if we’re engaged to lodge your BAS.

It will come through from a team member, and you sign through Xero Tax. If you get stuck with signing, read more here. Do not sign if you think something needs to be fixed. Please email us so we can tweak it and resend it.

Pay your BAS (Bpay is easiest - the info is in MyGov / business portal)

To make payment, log into MyGov > ATO > see the balance on the dashboard > click ‘Payment Options’. We generally think the Bpay option is easiest. If you can’t find how to pay, email us and we can check for you. If the debt is unbearable or you can’t pay by the due date, here are some resources for you:

• Form to complete if you want us to help set up a payment plan for you
• ATO conditions of payment plans in place
• Blog on debt repayments

*quarter… if you are registered quarterly! If monthly then you need to do this more frequently.

INCOME TAX PREP

This section of the weekly checklist is about actually finalising everything for the tax period just ended. We recommend that you work on the tax return in July to September, aiming to have everything to us and then lodged by the end of October… or by December latest. If you are lodging later than that, then STAR the weekly checklists we sent and come back to those later (because future ones will say ‘nothing to do this week’... assuming you did the things when we flagged them originally.

Export a copy of your bank statement/s to PDF and Excel for the last financial year (1 July to 30 June)

Banks don’t usually allow you to access bank statements super far back in time, so we recommend grabbing them now and saving a copy to the Drive in case you ever need to refer back to them for some reason. Ideally the actual data relevant to your return is already in our spreadsheets or accounting software, assuming you have been updating these throughout the year. 

Double check invoices and receipts are for the last financial year are saved in the Drive

Make sure you have engaged Lauren (The Real Thiel) to do you tax return

You can always email us to make sure! [email protected]

Book time in your diary to do your tax return - ideally July to Sept

Don’t let time slip away. Book a time in your own calendar to sit down and do all the prep work, answer forms, enter data etc. Make a personal commitment to do this. It is your responsibility to get your tax done on time, and we are all far too busy with a million other things we’d rather be doing, we know. But, that doesn’t mean the deadline is just going to go away. So, block the time out and prioritise the work at that time.

Note: we will send our checklists each week with tasks to complete, but if you planning to work on things later, then STAR the weekly checklists we sent and come back to those later (because future ones will say ‘nothing to do this week’... assuming you did the things when we flagged them originally.

Communicate with Lauren/the team re when you plan to do your tax (so they can plan their workflow)

If you are planning to do it in August or September or whenever, let us know. We can make note of that in our system, and resend our Karbon checklists and follow ups at that time. This means we hassle you less now (and more then!).

Create your new sub-folder in Google Drive for the new financial year (if you haven’t already)

Refer to the instructions above re making sub-folders.

Save a clean copy of our template spreadsheets ready for this financial year (if you haven’t already)

Refer to instructions above re making copies of our template spreadsheets.

Check your inbox for a proposal from Lauren for the current financial year and accept. 

In early July each year we send out proposals for engaging us for the year ahead. This is so you have the option of paying for the tax service using a monthly direct debit. We generally need full payment upfront if you are engaging us for a return we can work on now, but we’re happy to arrange a payment plan (monthly between 1 July and 30 June) if you are paying in advance.
It is a wise idea to accept this now if you want to set up a payment plan. Accepting now will secure your spot, help you manage cash-flow better (as a small amount can be direct debited from your account each month), and also you’ll have representation all year.

Read the info pack (if you haven’t already)

Inside the Karbon email we send you for the income tax return work, is a link to the Info Pack for this year. If you can’t find it, email the team: [email protected] The Info Pack is a summary or introduction of what to expect, what is due when, and it has links to key documents as well.

Make note of the deadlines in your diary

Getting your tax return lodged on time is YOUR responsibility. We are simply here to help. We suggest you make note of these deadlines now, and set them to recur annually in your calendar:

• 28 October - tax return due if lodging it yourself
• 15 May - tax return due if lodging it with us*

Please keep in mind that we have more than just you as a client, so don’t leave stuff to the last minute. We cannot receive 500 people’s stuff on 10 May and get it all done by 15 May. We want to lodge as many as we can before end of October, then have the next chunk done by Christmas (so we can have a break!). We keep some space in the workflow for January to May, but this is really designed for clients with tragic or extreme circumstances that have impacted their ability to get stuff to us earlier (like escaping DV, massive trauma, having a baby, moving overseas etc.). Be respectful of that and of us, and try to get your stuff to us ASAP.

*There are some exceptions to this - if you haven’t lodged prior ones on time, the ATO may not grant this extension, sorry! 

Quarterly BAS deadlines (and super deadlines if you are an employer):

• Q1 (1 July to 30 Sept) due 28 October
• Q2 (1 Oct to 31 Dec) due 28 February
• Q3 (1 Jan to 31 March) due 28 April
• Q4 (1 Apr to 30 June) due 28 July

(if you lodge monthly, then they are due 28 days after the end of the month)

Fill in the big ol tax form (find the email from The Real Thiel sent early July > inside there is the Karbon checklist > and one of the tasks is to complete the Tally form). 

It’s big and it’s beautiful. This form is designed to prompt your memory, to educate, and to ask questions that then tell us what may or may not be relevant to you, so we know what to go and look for when drafting your return. It is not a test! If you don’t know what something means, try reading it one more time, slowly, and then either ignore because it probably doesn’t apply to you, or in the many comment boxes in the form, flag with us your question.

Note: the link to the tax form is found inside the Karbon checklist we emailed you early July.

Review home office hours (if applicable) for last financial year

Make sure you have completed the home office hours tab of the spreadsheets (if applicable). If you have been adding things weekly throughout the year then this should be a quick job!

Review car KMs (if applicable) for last financial year

Make sure you have completed the KM tab of the spreadsheets (if applicable) or uploaded a copy of your log-book, and added all car expenses to the expenses tab of the spreadsheet (if applicable). If you have been adding things weekly throughout the year then this should be a quick job!

Make sure everything is in the Google Drive folder for last financial year

Go through your Google Drive folder and just make sure you have everything in there. If you have been adding things weekly throughout the year then this should be a quick job!

Make sure Xero or Rounded is all reconciled (if applicable) OR make sure spreadsheets are looking good

Review your software (if applicable). If you use Xero, you can use this form as a guide of what to look through to make sure the file is tidy and ready for us!

Make sure the Tally form has been submitted

When the form is done, hit submit!

Find the email > Karbon checklist embedded in there > tick it off
Even if you have done the form and uploaded everything we don’t know it is done until you tick off the Karbon checklist. Once ticked off it automatically triggers the work on our end. We can then start drafting the tax return. If you can’t find your checklist, search for ‘manage checklist’ in your email inbox, or access our Karbon client portal - info here.

Review and sign your tax return > then The Real Thiel can lodge it for you

It will come through from a team member, and you sign through Xero Tax. If you get stuck with signing, read more here. Do not sign if you think something needs to be fixed. Please email us so we can tweak it and resend it.

Consider re-calculating how much you put aside for tax each week

We have a useful video resource here ($) or free blog here to help you calculate how to save for tax. Estimating the tax bill accurately is tricky (hence the 90min video) but is an awesome skill so we recommend giving it a go! But, if that all gets too hard, remember that putting something aside is better than nothing. We also recommend putting your ‘tax savings’ into a separate bank account and nicknaming it ‘not my money’ so you are not tempted to spend it.

Keep an eye out for your Notice of Assessment in MyGov (usually 1-2 weeks after your tax return is lodged)

If we have lodged your tax return, we will upload a copy of the Notice of Assessment to the Google Drive folder (that you shared with us). You can also find it in MyGov > Inbox.

Pay any tax bill (if applicable) - if you need a payment plan, you can fill in this form and we will chat to the ATO for you

To make payment, log into MyGov > ATO > see the balance on the dashboard > click ‘Payment Options’. We generally think the Bpay option is easiest. If you can’t find how to pay, email us and we can check for you. If the debt is unbearable or you can’t pay by the due date, here are some resources for you:

• Form to complete if you want us to help set up a payment plan for you
• ATO conditions of payment plans in place
• Blog on debt repayments

BUSINESS STRATEGY | BEST PRACTICE 

Set or review your business strategy, focused on the year ahead.

I don’t mean you need to write a 50 page document on your business, but having some key plans, intentions, visions and values is going to be important. Actively writing this stuff down has proven results and greatly increases the chances of success. We think you should note down the 12-month plan in detail (what are the targets and what action will be taken every month). Then also note down a high-level picture for the next 3-years. 

If you ever want more information or to work with us on developing this, email us for a consult quote: [email protected]

Time to review last month's end results. If you use Xero or Rounded accounting software:

• Review your Profit & Loss report (for last month year) - get our helpful guide here
• Review your Balance Sheet report
• Review your Cash-Flow Statement or Cash Summary report
• Review your Aged Receivables and Aged Payables reports
• Review your Budget Variance report

If you have been using accounting software to record your business income and expenses, then you should be able to quickly and easily open and review key financial statements. Doing all this work is about more than just tax! It is about knowing your numbers, and using up to date, accurate data, to inform better business decision making. How to read them is a bit more involved so we recommend getting a copy of our e-book and working through that. Review the numbers every month to stay on top of things and to notice trends. 

We do include a ‘summary’ tab in our template business income and expenses spreadsheet so that you can at least see a Profit and Loss statement there. 

Set or review your business budget, focused on the year ahead.
If you need help with budgeting, check out our budget package here.

Set some KPIs for yourself and some rewards for yourself if you achieve them.

For KPIs (key performance indicators) think about what you really care about, what you are in control of, and what you want to be encouraging. I recommend making the KPIs something quantifiable - make it a number or a dollar figure. For example, we track things like volume of new leads, lead conversion, newsletter subscribers and then also the financial KPIs like gross profit, profit, tax compliance services revenue.

Add to your own diary or work-flow management system some of your key activities and deadlines. i.e. Each month we schedule a bunch of social media posts and make a note of that in our diary so we don’t forget.

This checklist is obviously focused on the money stuff, but in running a healthy business there are plenty of other things you need to do regularly, that you could diarise or make note of. Block the time out so they are prioritised and nothing gets missed. Examples here:

• Schedule social media posts
• Send EDMS
• Send client work (like photographers sending off edited pics)
• Meet with business coach
• Performance review meetings with staff

Check how you went against last month’s KPIs + give yourself a reward if you hit them

There is very little point in setting a budget or KPIs unless you then measure actual results and compare them to those KPIs. These are ‘key performance indicators’ for a reason - they are the canary in the coal mine if you like - keep an eye on these and you will be able to detect upward trends, risks, and squeezes before you would otherwise. We recommend rewarding the wins too. In small business you are constantly growing and changing and chasing the next goal but it is important to reflect and reward yourself when you achieve the things you previously were aiming for.

Write a little reflection of this last month:

what went well, 

what you learned, 

what you need to start, stop and keep doing

Just take out a notebook or word doc or spreadsheet and make some notes about what has happened this past month. This is active reflection and learning. You might also add to this any actionable changes you intend to make for the month ahead.