This page contains information relating to GST / Business Activity Statement and Tax reporting changes that are released in StrataMax version v5.6.113.
These enhancements will provide tools to assist with accurate reconciliation and reporting for lodgement to the Australian Taxation Office, either directly using the SBR or via the ATO Portal by a registered BAS / Tax Agent or Accountant. Tax Year End reporting will also be updated, removing the existing Tax Year Setup and Tax Year Financial Statements. Employee payments for wages will also be managed more easily.
Please note that changes to the below may still occur. Online sessions and articles will be provided before release.
Reporting will be enhanced to show onscreen what section of the Business Activity Statement each transaction will report to and allow for changes to be made.
- Registration can be completed separately for GST / PAYG Instalment / PAYG Withholding Tax in Building Information.
- Account Group Setup can be used for owner's corporations with separate registration requirements or remain consolidated.
- New tax code selections will be added to Account Maintenance (see below) for more accurate reporting.
- BAS Info Editor fields will be available in Building Information at registration or in the Business Activity Statement settings.
- New status options will include if a BAS is prepared, overdue, or has issues.
- BAS Reconciliation Report will provide a summary to assist with lodgement.
- Non-Mutual Income report will be updated to Non-Mutual Income Search to be used for a local building.
BAS and GST Video
Pre-Update tasks that can be completed now
What should be reviewed prior to the update:
- Ensure that the balance sheet clearing account balances for all taxes are the correct balance for the current period:
- GST Clearing account - should be the same balance of the period that you are reporting.
- PAYG Clearing account - should be just the transactions for the current lodgement period.
- Withholding Tax Clearing account - generally this account should be zero as all suppliers should be providing an ABN.
- Ensure that Account Maintenance is correctly setup:
- Review the master chart for tax codes / non-mutual income accounts - also review where existing accounts are setup with wrong tax codes.
- Check the clearing accounts have the correct system flag and no tax code in the balance sheet accounts.
- If using BAS Info Editor for PAYG Instalments check amounts are correctly setup. If used previously, ensure that no Standing Journals are still being processed if tax is no longer required to be paid.
- Prior lodged BAS and Tax reports (likely copies are already saved for completed period's), check as only a summary for the BAS report will be available after update, no prior BAS Details / Clearing Report or Tax report will be retained. The General Ledger can be used if required.
- Lost buildings to be set as Lost. Buildings / Plans that are no longer managed must be set to Lost, not just have the building name amended and / or locked from use. Updates to this version may not be able to be completed if old data is still in an active state.
Areas / Reports that will be removed
The below areas will be removed and replaced where applicable:
- Edit Tax Rate List (Tax rates will be setup automatically).
- BAS Info Editor (Building Information).
- GST Setup (Building Information and Account Maintenance).
- GST Balance Adjustments (BAS).
- Utilities / Global BAS (Business Activity Statement) including BAS Details Report / GST Reconciliation Report
- Tax Year Report.
- Tax Year Financial Statements.
- Zero Balance Accounts (GLMax)
- Global / Custom Reports
- GST Setup Report
- Non-Mutual Income
- Last BAS/ATO Report
- Developers Report
- Withholding Tax - Non quoting of an ABN and tax withheld for payment to ATO. All creditors must be set to correct ABN and GST Status or selected as exempt, so no records applicable for withholding tax to be deducted. (Journals can be completed if ever necessary).
- FBT Instalments - No longer reported on the BAS
Post-Update Tasks
Once this update is received, please review the areas below to ensure all existing setup is correct and also to apply changes to new areas for use of the enhancements as detailed below.
Variance - Current BAS period vs GST Clearing Account
There will now be validation between the current BAS that is being prepared, to the total of the GST Clearing Account for the same closing date. You will not be able to finalise the BAS if there is a variance larger than the configured tolerance set.
Recommendation: If there is a variance on the GST after update, this will need to be investigated and resolved prior to finalising the current / next reporting period.
As an interim solution, the amount of the variance can be journaled (Journal Preparation) to a different balance sheet account code so it can be reviewed and resolved at a later date.
You may need to create this balance sheet code first in Account Maintenance, making sure to name it appropriately, for example "GST Adjustment", or "GST Variance" or anything similar that makes sense to you. Also make sure to date the journal in the reporting period).
- New Building - check, review and save defaults
- Building Information - check ABN GST Status and all Tax section fields. Setup for Instalment / Withholding Tax options if relevant. Ensure Tax File numbers are recorded.
- Review the above settings in Account Group Setup if it is a Multiple Owner's Corporation and check for each OC.
- Account Maintenance - review, check and save for newly added fields - see below.
- Security permissions - Administrator can allow users access to the new areas / reports as required.
If manual standing journals were setup for Instalment Tax, but not also in BAS Info Editor, please set up PAYG Instalment Tax in Building Information manually.
New Building
New fields have been added to New Building to assist with identifying the correct GST Reporting Style and ATO Creditor account (previously in GST Setup) so this is checked and accurate at the time the Building / Plan is setup.
Building Information - Registration
Registration for each Tax type will now be required so that the applicable section will then report on the Business Activity Statement. Entering the Australian Business Number (ABN) will show the appropriate GST status to ensure the Tax section setup is completed with the setup of a New Building / Plan. If the Building is a Multiple Owner's Corporation review in Account Group Setup to amend Tax settings.
Tax Codes
GST Tax codes have been expanded from just 'GST 'and 'Tax Free' to allow for better assignment of income/expense and capital account reporting:
- GST on Sales.
- GST Free Sales.
- GST on Expenses.
- GST Free Expenses.
- GST on Capital Purchases.
Other Tax Codes
- PAYG Instalment Tax - (fixed or percentage for income tax instalments).
- PAYG Withholding (wages tax) - employee income tax payable.
- Wages (Gross) - Wages expense account
- Tax on Wages - Set automatically on Tax transactions from Pay Employees
- Non Claimable Items
- Not Included in BAS
- Export Sales
As updates to Creditor accounts now have GST validation or exempt options, ABN Withholding Tax for non-quoting an ABN has been removed. Journals may be manually completed in the unlikely instance that a creditor is being paid and not quoting an ABN and payment is still being made, less Withholding and Tax being registered and submitted to the ATO.
Business Activity Statement
The Business Activity Statement will be enhanced to provide a new interface for checking the portfolio and allow:
- Review of all registered buildings, including period and next-end (reporting) date.
- Display options for the account manager/management office / current or all buildings.
- Display only BAS's with issues, overdue or all.
- Amend the configuration for acceptable tolerance for reconciliation and set due dates.
- Selection of an individual BAS:
- View last BAS.
- Review current BAS.
- Prepare the current BAS after the end of the period.
- Finalise current BAS when no issues remain and create ATO Creditor invoices automatically.
- Re-Open last BAS.
- Report BAS amounts.
- Amend Tax Setup.
Review of an individual BAS will:
- Show the reporting period, BAS item totals and variances
- Allow selection of a BAS section to:
- Display the related accounts, totals and tax (GST) amounts, plus tax code.
- Select a specific account to see individual transaction totals and tax code.
- Edit an individual account or transaction to update the Tax (GST) Code and amend transactions.
- Review DocMax linked document if applicable.
- Allow the BAS to be prepared and saved, then to be amended if adjustments have been completed, prior to finalising and creating ATO Creditor transactions for payment or refund.
Search BAS
The Search BAS will provide access to past completed BAS's, allowing for viewing and reporting. Direct access to the BAS Reconciliation report can also be completed from the search.
Tax Year End
Income Tax lodgement reporting will be enhanced to provide more accurate information in line with the details required by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). This information will be able to be used to complete annual July - June tax requirements for a Building. This information can be transposed online or to a manual ATO form for lodgement, either by a registered Tax Agent or authorised public officer.
Accurate reporting will rely on the setup of the Accounts which is maintained in Account Maintenance.
The Income Tax status will allow the review of information that is to be provided to assist with lodgement of the income tax return. Amendments can be completed to the Account Maintenance setup and / or to exclude individual transactions. The prepare stage will allow for marking all transactions as finalised for the year to complete the Tax reporting.
Reporting will be provided for:
- Total Income (all income accounts excluding those set as Non-Claimable Income)
- Non-Mutual Income
- Fully Claimable Expenses
- Partially Claimable Expenses
- PAYG Instalments as reported on the BAS for the reporting period
Enhancements have added into Account Maintenance for further tax definition:
- Non Claimable Income - to be excluded from Income
- Income Tax expense category - fully or partially claimable
Search Income Tax will allow review of prior saved tax year data (from this version on only) and access to produce the report. The Income Tax Report can also be distributed using report distribution.
Pay Employees
Where the Building / Plan employees staff, wages can now be setup to accurately create transactions for wages, tax and superannuation, using Pay Employees. This will allow re-occurring entries to be generated and Creditor Invoices created for payment. Tax will be allocated as part of the BAS reporting for Wages withholding tax. There is also a Search Pay Employees available to review current employees setup.
Contact Bank Account Approval
Optional workflow for managing Creditor / Contact Bank Accounts entered into StrataMax will be available. This feature is designed to help manage the workflow where users enter or make changes to bank details, call or contact the creditor/contact to verify the changes and sometimes request additional information and approve the changes once sufficient information has been received.
Some of the features include:
- Ability to enter or update bank account details while the old BSB and account also displays in the contact card
- Payments will not be processed for a creditor/contact that has pending bank account changes
- Desktop Dashboard to identify pending bank account changes & whether the changes have been confirmed with the creditor/contact
- Ability to attach documents that team members can refer to
- Ability to record time stamped notes that cannot be edited or deleted
- Separate security permissions to allow changes to be marked as 'Confirmed with creditor/contact' and to mark the changes as 'Approved'. Only once marked as approved will payments process to the creditor/contact.
