Key takeaways:  

  • EOFY is your business checkup. It’s an opportunity to review your business performance. 
  • Get organised early with your financial records to simplify the EOFY filing process. 
  • Embrace digital solutions for record-keeping and data analysis to streamline your EOFY preparation.

The End of Financial Year (EOFY) can feel extremely hectic for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), often bringing a sudden rush of tasks and looming deadlines. It’s not easy to organise your financial records and get them ready by the end of the financial year.  

 But knowing how to prepare for the end of the financial year isn’t just about avoiding penalties. It’s important to strategise and review your business’ performance for the past 12 months to set up a successful future. 

 So, how do we prepare for the end of the financial year? Well, let’s simplify the process into six easy steps. 

Prepare Your Small Business for EOFY in 6 Easy Steps 

Getting ready for EOFY doesn’t have to be a headache. Breaking the process into manageable steps can help you gear up for the financial year-end with confidence and clarity.  

Here are 6 easy steps in preparing for EOFY: 

1. Organise your financial records

Thorough and accurate financial records are your absolute bedrock for EOFY preparation. Without them, navigating tax time can be a mountain of stress, which increases the risk of errors.  

Gather a complete record of all financial transactions from 1 July of the previous year up to 30 June of next year. This includes all issued invoices, receipts for expenses, bank statements, and payroll for your employees.  

Here are some documents you need to prepare before the financial year ends: 

  • Profit and loss statement summary 
  • Stocktake records 
  • Summary record of debtors and creditors 
  • Record of assets 
  • Yearly reports or returns for pay-as-you-go (PAYG) withholding, fringe benefits tax (FBT), and goods and services tax (GST) 
  • Superannuation requirements 

Pro-tip: To make your record tracking easier, embrace digital record-keeping tools and cloud storage. Digital tools for EOFY can significantly simplify your bookkeeping process. This makes tracking faster and easier to recover.

2. Pin down key EOFY dates

Missing deadlines can lead to unnecessary penalties from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Take note of the important dates of all the financial year activities and put them on your calendar so you don’t miss anything. 

Actionable tip: Set immediate calendar reminders for all lodgment due dates, PAYG instalments, GST reporting, and especially superannuation contributions. Doing this wouldn’t let you miss a beat.  

Check out this year’s important financial dates here. 

3. Maximise your tax deduction claims

Understanding tax deduction claims is important to reduce taxable income. In general, you can claim deductions from your operating expenses in the same fiscal year or from the depreciation of your capital assets over time.  

Here are ATO’s golden rules when claiming business tax deductions: 

  • The expense must have been for your business, not for private use. 
  • If the expense is for a mix of business and private use, you can only claim the portion related to business use.  
  • You must have records to back up receipts, invoices, or other documentation to prove your claim.  

4. Understand the instant asset write-off

To help your businesses reduce tax compliance and invest in growth, ATO has maintained the instant asset write-off threshold at $20,000. This tax incentive is applicable to small businesses with an annual turnover of less than $10 million. 

You can immediately deduct assets costing less than $20,000. This threshold is on a per-asset basis, so you can write off multiple assets if the cost of each individual asset is below the limit. 

This opportunity is available for assets that are first used or installed ready for use for a taxable purpose from 1 July 2024, through 30 June 2025. This period is the best time to invest in new assets to scale your business while benefiting from an immediate tax deduction. 

5. Consider a tax consultant

While this guide already offers a good and strategic starting point, Australian tax rules can eat up a lot of your time. It would be effective to get help from a qualified tax consultant or registered tax agent.  

A tax consultant can help you sort out a long list of to-dos, remind you of crucial deadlines, and inform you about the latest tax law amendments that may affect your business. Additionally, they’ll go over your documents to help you analyse your cash flow, tax offsets, and other crucial matters.  

Important note: Make sure you’re dealing with an agent registered with the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB). You can check their registration and credentials on the TPB Public Register.  

6. Strategise for the upcoming year

The EOFY is much more than just a box-ticking exercise for compliance. It’s also a great opportunity to strategise for the next fiscal year and supercharge your business’ growth. The numbers in your financial statements are a powerful story about your business’ health and how it’s performing.  

Review your business by asking the following questions: 

  • How did your business perform? 
  • What does your cash flow look like? 
  • Where did you really shine? 
  • What areas could use some improvement? 
  • Did you reach your sales targets? 
  • Were you managing expenses efficiently? 

Don’t forget to review your online assets as well! Examine your website analytics for business planning and get important insights like customer  behaviour and where your traffic comes from. 

Use the data you gathered to strategise and make better decisions for the next financial year. Set new sales targets, establish marketing goals, implement financial adjustments, and plan ways to manage your cash flow more efficiently. 

Ready to Embrace a Smarter EOFY? 

The End of Financial Year might seem like a lot, but it gives you a big opportunity to shape your business for a better future. You’re not just taking care of taxes; you’re also gaining clear insights into your business’ health.  

Prepare your business for EOFY with confidence and invest in your tax write-offs to build a solid online presence. Â