Dealing with the Australian Tax Office (ATO) can seem daunting.
Navigating their website and portals when you’re not trained in bookkeeping or the processes that go along with it is yet another task to add to your list of things to do while running a growing business. And making mistakes when dealing with the tax office can prove costly if you’re not careful.
Communicating with the ATO is done through two main portals:
- Online Services, for the business owner
- Online Services, for your tax agent.
(Online Services was formerly known as the ATO business portal, but the name and some functionality changed in 2021. There is also an Online Services portal specifically for sole traders.)
If you’re a business owner, you’ll obviously be working primarily through the business owner’s Online Services.
To gain access, you need to have a myGov ID, which you can register for at my.govid.au. Once you’ve signed in with your myGov account, you can manage your business reporting and transactions online, including:
- viewing, preparing, lodging and revising activity statements
- viewing, preparing, lodging and revising your taxable payments annual report
- creating payment plans
- viewing statements of account and finding your payment reference number (PRN)
- managing your accounts and updating your tax registration details (for example, adding or cancelling a role)
- viewing your Single Touch Payroll reports
- registering for GST and PAYG
- accessing secure mail subjects
- accessing the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House
- viewing and printing tax returns and income tax history
But if you’d like to know the easiest way to deal with the ATO, it’s this: don’t.
Even for a small business, outsourced bookkeeping services can do all of this for you.
If you’d rather not have to deal with it yourself, or if you’re concerned about making a mistake while you’re navigating your way through your tasks in Online Services, these tasks can also be managed through your agent portal.
We have a lot of clients who decide that dealing with the ATO is too hard or time-consuming, and we’re happy to take over those tasks. We’re experienced in offering bookkeeping services for small businesses – we do it every day, so it’s much quicker and easier for us!
Between Dollars + Sense and your accountant, you can have almost all of your ATO dealings taken care of, so you can focus on what’s important: growing your business.
Want to know how Dollars + Sense can lighten your load when it comes to dealing with the ATO, as well as so much more? Request a quote.
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