As we enter the end of the financial year, most people are getting their accounts and finances ready for tax time.

For many Indigenous businesses, keeping our finances in order is something that’s needed to be done daily, weekly or monthly to stay on top of our administration duties.

We thought we’d put together a number of checklists that can be used to help you stay on track!

The following checklists can help you tackle tasks with the help of an accountant, or with your accounting software to track transactions, balance books and send invoices.

Daily – 15 to 30 mins

Best done at the start and end of each day

– Check your cash balance

– Open your mail and file any new bills ready for recording and payment.

– Organise receipts ready for filing and recording.

Weekly – 1-3 hrs

Best done at the same time on the same day each week.

– Pay employees (if applicable) – Single Touch Payroll (STP)

– Bank any cash on hand

– File copies of bills, receipts and invoices (paper or digital)

– Reconcile incoming and outgoing transactions – attach receipts to payments

– Record new bills and pay outstanding bills

– Record new sales and send invoices

– Review current and future cashflow

Monthly – 2 – 4 hrs

Best done at the end of the last day of each month

– Reconcile cash book balance and bank statement to ensure all payments and receipts are accounted for.

– Review employee timesheets and entitlements.

– Set aside monthly contribution for GST, tax and superannuation obligations.

– Review accounts payable and send statements to outstanding debtors.

– Review accounts payable and deal with any outstanding creditor accounts.

– Review financial reports for the month, compare to same month as last year and analyse any changes:

o profit and loss

o cashflow

o balance sheet

Quarterly – 2 – 4 hrs

Best done 14 days after the end of each financial quarter

– Inventory stocktake and analysis (for product industries)

– Review payroll reports and payments and make any necessary adjustments.

– Prepare and submit Business Activity Statement (BAS)

– Prepare and submit STP reports (if eligible for quarterly reporting)

– Make quarterly BAS payments and Superannuation contributions

– Review financial reports and compare actuals to forecasts

– Compare and analyse financial reports with same period last year.

Annually – 1-2 days

Best done after you have completed your monthly and quarterly accounting tasks. Generally, 4-6 weeks after the end of financial year

Gather and prepare financial information

– Collate records of asset purchases or sales

– Calculate depreciation and interest expenses.

– Complete end of year accounting adjustments

Complete any amendments ready for completion and lodgement of:

– Income tax return

– PAYG withholding

– Final quarter BAS – include any amendments

– Superannuation

Prepare end of year financial statements

– Complete closing journal entries – close out temporary accounts (profit and loss, cash flow) and transfer balances to permanent accounts (balance sheet)

Analyse your financial position and make decisions about what can be done to make next year better!

– How much profit did you make? Did you do as well as expected.

– How does this years financial positions compare to the last 3 years? Has there been steady growth?

– Income analysis – What products and services sold better or worse than expected?

– Expenses analysis – Where did you incur most of your expenses? Is there room to cut back and improve efficiency?

Download your Small Business Accounting Checklist here.