Winter Sales Needn’t Signal Winter Tax Woes: Xero’s EOFY Tax-time Tips

At this time of year, retailers release another round of sales: the 30 June sale, mid-year sale, end-of-financial-year sale, happy EOFYs, stocktake sale... you name it.

But what about your own business? Here are a few simple tips to consider for your retail business for the 2018 financial year end.

Hire a Tax Pro

Everybody needs a helping hand, especially retailers, who are notorious for wearing many hats at once. That doesn't mean you need to employ a full-time accountant; sometimes just a couple of hours of their time will be enough. Like many small business owners who are looking to save money, you may think you can’t afford an accountant. But if you get an accountant to take care of time-consuming tasks like tax, it’s quite likely it’ll cost less per hour than you would pay yourself.

More importantly, your accountant can give you plenty of great advice about running your business, not just meeting your compliance needs.

Inventory Stocktake

This year, take some time to plan the year-end stocktake. It can be a long, tedious job. However as a retailer its imperative your stocktake is accurate. There are plenty of tips about how to complete a stocktake: to summarise, the process should be organised, systematic and keep clear records – don’t estimate.

Keep a lookout for stock that is slow moving, damaged, obsolete or out of date. If the value of the stock is lower than the cost, it can affect your taxable income. There are a few options for how you value stock, so have a chat to your accountant about what’s right for your business.

|Related Reading: How to Make Your End of Financial Year Stocktake THAT Much Easier

Small Business Write-Offs

Have you been putting off the purchase of an asset up to $20,000? As a small business (less than $10m turnover), the ATO allows an immediate deduction for assets costing less than $20,000 if the asset was purchased before 30 June 2018, and it is used or installed for use before 30 June 2018.

The deduction is only allowed for the business portion of use. These are generous deductions, but keep in mind that you still need to find the cash to pay for the asset, and it will take a number of months before seeing a tax benefit from the deduction.

Get Your Staff and Payroll Admin Under Control

Retail owners regularly complain about the time and cost of managing staff rosters and payroll. Before starting the new financial year, do yourself a favour and have a look at apps like Tanda or Deputy. These are powerful cost-effective tools that can easily manage employee rostering, time-clock attendance, leave management, award interpretation, and payroll integration.

Additionally, employers with more than 20 staff will need to comply with the ATO’s new Single Touch Payroll reporting requirements from 1 July 2018. Employers with fewer than 20 staff can choose to opt in from 1 July 2018, and will need to comply from 1 July 2019. The ATO has plenty of information for business owners about Single Touch Payroll. Alternatively Xero Payroll can sort it out in a few clicks.

To speak to an expert who understands Xero and Neto check out Neto Partner Consolid8.