The end of another financial year is nearly here, so now is the time to put a few important things in place to make your annual accounts process easier and quicker.
- Bad debts: review your debtors and determine any bad debts. Physically write off these bad debts in your accounting software prior to close of business on 31st March in order to get the tax deduction. It is also useful to have any evidence of attempts to collect the debt to support the write-off.
- As your annual accounts will include your fixed assets, now is a good time to review your fixed assets register to ensure it is up to date. Get together the details of any assets purchased during the year costing over $500 so these can be added to the register, and also list any fixed assets you no longer have so these can be written off in the year end accounts.
- Stock takes or livestock counts should be undertaken as close as possible to 31st March. Depending on your business this can be a big job so plan ahead and organise additional staff to assist as necessary.
- School donations: you can claim a tax rebate for voluntary school donations, so if you make a payment before 31st March you will be able to claim the rebate against your 2019 income.
- Reconcile your accounts, including loan accounts and petty cash accounts. Ideally, all accounts should be reconciled regularly but this is particularly important at year end to ensure your annual accounts are accurate and therefore any financial decisions you make are based on the correct information.
Our previous article “Financial Year End: What To Do By 31 March” details the tasks that should be completed on 31st March as preparation for your annual accounts.
Please contact us if you have any questions regarding preparing for your end of year accounts.