How to Reduce your Accounting Fees

Only give your accountant documents that relate to the current tax year.

• do not provide documents that relate to previous or future income years
• accountants charge on a time basis and will review all documentation provided
• irrelevant information increases the time charged to your bill
• if you are unsure if a document is relevant, always ask

Use your business account for business transactions only.

• have separate bank accounts for your business and personal transactions
• transfer a weekly or fortnightly drawing for wages into your personal account
• bank all business receipts into your business account
• pay all business expenses from your business account
• legibly record on cheque butts:
  (a) name of supplier
  (b) goods or service purchased
  (c) amount of cheque
  (d) amount of GST if less than 10%
• obtain an additional card for business purchases if you wish to use a credit card
• processing personal transactions increases the time charged to your bill

Use a petty cash account.

• set up a petty cash account for say $100
• monthly reconcile the petty cash float & reimburse float back to $100
• monthly summarise petty cash dockets

Only pay for bookkeeping once.

• Do not prepare your own accounts unless you are a trained bookkeeper
• It is generally quicker for the accountant to create your accounts from source documents than it is to rework inaccurate data entry

If completing the data entry of your own accounts, make sure you get your money’s worth.

• Have your accountant set up your chart of accounts and only use those accounts
• Use the accounting software recommended by your accountant
• Ask for feedback regarding adjustments accountants make to your data entry
• print reports monthly and analyse KPIs (key performance indicators)

» What to bring to your Tax Interview