The Lodgement Dilema

Forgetting the deadline on key taxation, superannuation or company registration lodgement can cost thousands of dollars. Small business owners don’t have the time or the cash flow to make such an error in oversight.

Managers and finance controllers can overlook a missed lodgement when it is assigned to another team member. This most notably occurs when the accountant and bookkeeper aren’t closely linked to the actions of the payroll team. With dozens of individual tasks necessary to ensure all aspects of staff entitlements are correctly assessed, reviewed, paid and recorded, minor calculation errors multiply across groups of employees, or on a weekly/monthly basis. These errors may not be rectified prior to lodgement if the ‘due date’ is suddenly upon you and the figures are not checked correctly.

Many large corporations have been caught underpaying staff, often in error. Auditors often find errors in formulas, or a failure to apply wage increases, tax rate reductions or changes to the superannuation guarantee levy. If it occurs in large corporations with large teams of payroll, bookkeeping and accounting personnel, it will also occur in small businesses where payroll may be a few hours per week or month.

The Lodgement Checklist

As Australia’s only Emergency Accountants one thing we see a lot is last-minute desperation to help small businesses meet their ATO deadlines. We try really, really hard to ensure that every client is proactive and prepared for all the dates listed on the attached checklist.

Sadly, sometimes we can’t seem to convey the urgency necessary for clients to take swift decisive action.

The outcome may be anything from fines, warning letters, interest and or late payment penalties, or even the issuing of a Director’s Penalty Notice. At this point, we receive urgent requests for help, often at 02:30 AM, when business owners are stressed, unable to sleep, and have no idea whom to reach out to for help.

It does not have to be that way! Download the checklist and enter the dates into your work schedule or calendar. If it concerns the ATO it is more important than any other task except paying your staff entitlements.

This free tool can make your business administration flow more seamlessly. Let us help you be more proactive in meeting important deadlines. It is so much better than trying to resolve stressful, costly oversights.