Australia BAS Report

The Australia BAS Report helps businesses prepare their Business Activity Statement (BAS) for the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The report automatically calculates GST collected on sales and GST credits on purchases within a specified period, with amounts converted to Australian Dollars (AUD).

Overview

The BAS Report automatically:

• Aggregates all submitted sales and purchase invoices for the selected period

• Classifies transactions based on their Australian tax codes (GST, EXP, FRE, INP)

• Separates purchases into Capital (G10) and Non-Capital (G11) categories based on fixed asset status

• Converts all amounts to AUD using the specified exchange rate

• Calculates GST collected from sales and GST credits from purchases (from each invoice's tax rows)

• Determines the net GST payable or refundable for the period

• Provides detailed breakdowns of all transactions in separate tabs

Prerequisites

Before running the BAS Report, ensure your tax templates and accounts are properly configured with the Australian tax codes.

1. Setting Up Sales Taxes and Charges Templates

Each Sales Taxes and Charges Template must have the AU Tax Code field configured to classify the tax treatment.

1. Navigate to Accounting > Taxes > Sales Taxes and Charges Template

2. Open or create a template

3. In the AU Tax Code field, select the appropriate code:

4. Save the template

2. Setting Up Purchase Taxes and Charges Templates

Similarly, configure Purchase Taxes and Charges Templates with the appropriate AU Tax Code.

1. Navigate to Accounting > Taxes > Purchase Taxes and Charges Template

2. Open or create a template

3. In the AU Tax Code field, select the appropriate code:

4. Save the template

3. Setting Up Item Tax Templates (Optional)

For businesses that need line-item level tax classification (e.g., mixed invoices with different tax treatments), configure Item Tax Templates.

1. Navigate to Accounting > Taxes > Item Tax Template

2. Create templates for each tax classification needed

3. Set the AU Sales Tax Code field for sales-related templates

4. Set the AU Purchase Tax Code field for purchase-related templates

Note: Item Tax Templates allow you to apply different tax codes to individual line items within an invoice, overriding the invoice-level tax template.

4. Fixed Asset Items Setup

The BAS Report distinguishes between Capital Purchases (G10) and Non-Capital Purchases (G11) based on whether purchased items are marked as fixed assets.

To mark an item as a fixed asset:

1. Navigate to Stock > Item

2. Open or create an item

3. Check the Is Fixed Asset checkbox

4. Save the item

Classification Logic:

• Capital Purchases (G10): Purchase invoice line items where the item has Is Fixed Asset = Yes and the invoice/item has GST tax code

• Non-Capital Purchases (G11): Purchase invoice line items where the item has Is Fixed Asset = No (or no item specified) and the invoice/item has GST tax code

5. Verifying GST Accounts

Ensure your Sales and Purchase Taxes and Charges Templates have the correct GST account heads configured:

• Sales GST Account: Typically a liability account (e.g., "GST Payable")

• Purchase GST Account: Typically an asset account (e.g., "GST Receivable" or "Input GST")

The report calculates GST amounts from the General Ledger entries posted to these accounts.

Running the BAS Report

Creating a New Report

1. Navigate to Accounting > Australia BAS Report

2. Click + Add Australia BAS Report

3. Fill in the required fields:

   • Company: Select your Australian company

   • Period Start Date: First day of the BAS period (typically quarterly)

   • Period End Date: Last day of the BAS period

   • AUD Exchange Rate: Automatically set to 1.0 for AUD companies, or fetched from exchange rates for non-AUD companies

4. Click Save

The system will automatically calculate all BAS values based on submitted invoices within the period.

AUD Exchange Rate

The AUD Exchange Rate field controls how amounts are converted to Australian Dollars:

• Company currency is AUD: Rate is automatically set to 1.0

• Company currency is not AUD: Rate is fetched from the Currency Exchange table based on the period end date

• Manual override: You can manually enter a rate if needed

Conversion Logic:

1. If the invoice currency is AUD → use the invoice amount directly

2. If the invoice currency is not AUD but the company currency is AUD → use the base amount (already in AUD)

3. If neither invoice nor company currency is AUD → multiply base amount by the AUD exchange rate

Recalculating the Report

If you need to refresh the calculations (e.g., after posting additional invoices):

1. Open the saved BAS Report

2. Click the Recalculate Report button

3. The system will recalculate all values

Submitting the Report

Once you have verified all values:

1. Review the calculated figures

2. Enter any manual adjustments if required

3. Click Submit to finalise the report

Note: Submitted reports cannot be modified. Use the Amend function if corrections are needed.

Understanding the Report Sections

The BAS Report is organised into sections that align with the ATO BAS form.

GST on Sales Section

This section summarises all sales-related GST information.

GST on Purchases Section

This section summarises all purchase-related GST information.

Summary Section

• Positive value: GST payable to ATO

• Negative value: GST refund due from ATO

Detail Tabs

The report includes three tabs with detailed transaction breakdowns.

Sales Records Tab

Contains tables showing:

• GST Sales Records: Sales invoices/line items with GST tax code (G1)

• Export Sales: Invoices/line items with EXP tax code (G2)

• GST-Free Sales: Invoices/line items with FRE tax code (G3)

Each record shows:

• Document type and reference

• Customer name

• Tax code applied

• Currency

• Base amount (company currency)

• Amount (AUD)

• Consideration type (Full Invoice or Line Item)

Purchase Records Tab

Contains tables showing:

• Capital Purchases (G10): Fixed asset purchases with GST tax code

• Non-Capital Purchases (G11): Regular purchases with GST tax code

• GST-Free Purchases: Purchases with FRE tax code

• Input Taxed Purchases: Purchases with INP tax code

Unclassified Tab

Shows GST entries from non-invoice transactions:

• Unclassified GST Collected: Journal entries or other vouchers affecting Sales GST accounts

• Unclassified GST Credit: Journal entries or other vouchers affecting Purchase GST accounts

These entries help identify GST adjustments made outside the standard invoice workflow.

Tax Code Reference

Understanding Input Taxed Purchases (INP)

Input Taxed purchases are those where GST is included in the price but you cannot claim a GST credit. Common examples include:

• Financial services fees

• Residential rent

• Some insurance premiums

These purchases are tracked separately to ensure they are not included in the GST credit calculation.

Capital vs Non-Capital Purchases

The distinction between Capital (G10) and Non-Capital (G11) purchases is important for BAS reporting:

How classification works:

1. The system checks each purchase invoice line item

2. If the item code refers to an item with Is Fixed Asset = Yes, it's classified as Capital (G10)

3. All other GST purchases are classified as Non-Capital (G11)

Validation Rules

The system enforces the following rules:

1. Company Required: Must select a company

2. Valid Date Range: Period end date must be after start date

3. No Overlapping Periods: Cannot create reports with overlapping date ranges for the same company

4. AUD Exchange Rate Required: Must have a valid exchange rate (defaults to 1.0)

Permissions

Related Documentation

• Generate and Reconcile the Australia BAS Report - Walkthrough for running, reconciling, and lodging the BAS each period

• Accounting - Financial management overview

• New Zealand GST Report - GST reporting for New Zealand companies

• Accounts Payable - Managing supplier payments

• Accounts Receivable - Managing customer receivables