A report titled ‘The rise and rise of tax compliance costs for the small business sector in Australia’, by Philip Lignier of the University of Tasmania and Chris Evans of the University of NSW, revealed the time spent on tax compliance has increased fourfold in 17 years, while the cost has more than doubled. The average gross cost of complying with all taxes was estimated at $32,389. Majority of this cost is the internal time spent on maintaining and correcting records to ensure they are compliant with tax regulations. Compliance tasks that need to done within a business include:
- Set up accounting systems and software
- Enter transactions
- Perform checks, reconciliations and end of year processes
- Undertake payroll duties and compliance
It therefore makes very good commercial sense for a business to engage the services of qualified BAS agent/bookkeeper who has the skills and knowledge needed to ensure financial records are kept up to date, accurate and comply with ATO requirements.
An experienced bookkeeper would on average spend 8 – 10 hours a month doing the books for a typical small business. (Source – AB Tips) This would translate into monthly compliance costs of about $500 – $1000 depending on the size and complexity of business. This means engaging a BAS Agent/Bookkeeper could save a business over $20000 per year. Along with the costs savings, a business would also benefit from the business advice that is often part of the service provided. It is therefore without doubt that a BAS Agent/Bookkeeper is the best friend of small business.
Please contact us if you would like further information about how to become bookkeeping and BAS agent.