How to lodge your BAS with Thriday

A BAS is a form required by businesses in Australia to report their GST and pay-as-you-go (PAYG) tax obligations to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). A BAS report calculates the total GST a business has collected from its customers and the GST it has paid on purchases made. The BAS report allows small businesses to claim back any GST credits they are entitled to and to report and pay their PAYG instalments. The purpose of the BAS is to help small enterprises comply with their tax obligations and to ensure that the ATO has accurate and up-to-date information on the tax affairs of companies in Australia.

The frequency of when a small business needs to lodge their BAS depends on the type of tax a business is registered for and the size of the business. Most small businesses must lodge a BAS every quarter, but some may be required to lodge monthly or annually, depending on their circumstances.

If a business is registered for the goods and services tax (GST) and has a turnover of $20 million or more, it must lodge its BAS monthly. If the business is registered for GST and has a turnover of less than $20 million, it must lodge its BAS quarterly. If you have registered for GST voluntarily and have an annual turnover under $75,000 you must lodge your BAS annually. It is essential for businesses to be aware of their BAS lodgment frequency and to lodge their BAS on time, as failure to do so can result in penalties and interest charges.

BAS lodgment is due on the 21st day of the month following the end of the tax period. For example, if you are submitting a monthly BAS, your July monthly BAS would be due on 21 August. There is however one exception to this rule. The ATO kindly has an extra month grace period over Christmas. So your end-of-December BAS can be lodged by 21 February.

Because it's a mandatory requirement to lodge your BAS if you are registered for GST, Thriday has developed a simple way to do it directly online. To lodge your BAS, follow these steps:

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‍Step 1: Create a free account  

Creating an account with Thriday is simple and free. All you need to do is provide your business details, such as ABN, personal details and contact information. Once you've registered, you'll be able to access all the features that Thriday has to offer. If your ABN is registered for GST, Thriday will automatically make the BAS feature available under the Tax section.

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‍Step 2: Earn and spend money

This step is crucial for lodging your BAS with accuracy and ease. With Thriday, you will be issued a business bank account* and Visa Debit card*. Any money you earn or spend on these accounts will allow Thriday to easily access transaction data for the period you wish to lodge. Thriday will then use this transaction data and any receipts you collect to generate accurate GST activity reports required when lodging a BAS.

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‍Step 3: Verify your data

Once the taxable reporting period has ended, Thriday will notify you that a BAS is due and generate a report based on your transactions so that you can verify the accuracy of the data before submitting it to the ATO. During this stage, it's essential to review each line of the report carefully and double-check any figures or calculations which may need to be corrected or out of place before submitting it officially.

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‍Step 4: Confirm your submission preference

You can now decide how you want to lodge your BAS. Thriday provides two options for lodging your BAS. The first option is a self-service or do-it-yourself (DIY) approach. This is great for small businesses that know their numbers and have checked everything is correct. If you would like some extra peace of mind, you can also pay a bit more and get a professional tax agent to review it. A tax agent will be assigned to your case, and they’ll go through your BAS, check the details and contact you to run through any questions they have before lodgment to the ATO.

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‍Step 5: Lodge your BAS  

Once you've verified all information and payments are up to date, you can select the lodge button on Thriday. This will officially lodge your statement with ATO via an e-lodgement system. A confirmation email will be sent once the ATO has accepted the lodgment. Once your BAS has been reviewed, the ATO will make a final determination, and you'll be notified of your tax bill or tax refund for the period. You can quickly pay directly from Thriday if you owe money to the ATO. You'll get paid directly into your Thriday bank account* if you get a refund.

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As a final benefit, Thriday makes it super easy to keep accurate records as per ATO regulations. With all your transactions, receipts and statements stored securely on the cloud, you'll be able to store everything you need for at least five years in case of an audit or further enquiries from ATO officers in future years.

By following these simple steps, you can rest assured that lodging a BAS through Thriday is easy, accurate and hassle-free. With software like Thriday, submitting a BAS doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming. With just five easy steps, small business owners can file their BAS with Thriday without any stress and whilst maintaining accurate records for future reference. So, why not give filing with Thriday a try today?