A'o'K Bookkeeping
Behind on your bookkeeping? Start here, not next quarter
Falling behind is common and fixable. What catch up work involves, what it costs, and what happens with the ATO when you come forward.
Falling behind is common, it is fixable, and nobody here is going to make you feel stupid about it.
How it happens
The work got busy. Then the quarter closed and it felt like too much to start. Then it felt embarrassing, and embarrassment is a very effective way of turning three months into three years. We have seen shoeboxes, we have seen six years of unlodged statements, and we have seen files that somebody else made a genuine mess of. It is a job, not a judgement.
What catch up work actually involves
- We find out the real scale. Bank statements, what has been lodged, what has not, what software exists and what state it is in. This costs you a conversation.
- We reconstruct. Statements sourced, transactions coded, GST corrected, payroll fixed, the file brought back to agreeing with the bank.
- We lodge what is outstanding. Overdue BAS and IAS prepared and lodged, in order.
- We talk to the ATO if needed. As registered BAS agents we can approach them on your behalf about remission and a payment arrangement.
- Then it stays sorted. The clean up is a one off. An ongoing package is what stops it happening again.
Will the ATO come after us
Coming forward voluntarily is treated very differently to being chased. The ATO deals with a great many businesses that have fallen behind and it has established processes for exactly this. Where there is a genuine reason, penalties can be remitted, and payment arrangements exist precisely because they would rather be paid over time than not at all. The worst option is another quarter of silence.
What it costs
Catch up work is quoted separately from any ongoing package, because the scale genuinely varies. Rates start at $95 per hour and we give you an estimate before we start, not after. Businesses that leave it another year always pay more, because there is more of it and because interest and penalties do not pause out of politeness.
General information only. If you are behind, the useful next step is a conversation, not more reading.
Want this handled rather than explained?
We are registered BAS agents in Ferntree Gully. A free chat costs you nothing.
