End of Financial Year Bookkeeping Queensland

The end of the financial year catches a lot of business owners off guard. Not because they did not know it was coming. But because the books are not ready when it arrives.

The accountant sends the request for records. You open Xero and realise the last few months have not been reconciled. There are transactions coded to the wrong accounts. The super has not been paid for Q4. The payroll summaries have not been finalised. And now everything is urgent at once.

This is one of the most common situations we deal with. We help businesses across Queensland get their books ready for end of financial year, quickly and correctly, so the handover to your accountant goes smoothly and nothing gets missed.

What End of Financial Year Actually Involves

EOFY is not just about sending files to your accountant. It involves a series of specific tasks that need to be done in the right order.

Here is what we work through with our clients every year.

Bank reconciliation

Every account needs to be fully reconciled to 30 June. That means every transaction matched, every outstanding item investigated, and the closing balance in Xero matching the bank statement to the cent.

Accounts receivable and payable review

Outstanding invoices need to be reviewed. Old debts that are genuinely unrecoverable may need to be written off. Supplier invoices that are outstanding need to be accounted for correctly.

Payroll finalisation via Single Touch Payroll

Under STP, the year-end payment summary process has been replaced by finalisation through your payroll software. Every employee needs to be finalised in Xero by 14 July. This tells the ATO that your payroll figures for the year are complete and allows employees to lodge their tax returns. Missing this deadline creates problems for your employees and questions from the ATO.

Superannuation

Super for Q4 (April to June) must reach the fund by 28 July to avoid the superannuation guarantee charge. However if you want Q4 super to be a tax deduction in this financial year, it needs to reach the fund by 30 June. If you pay after 30 June but by 28 July, you avoid the SGC charge but the deduction shifts to the next financial year. We make sure super is calculated correctly, paid on time, and reconciled in your books.

GST and BAS

The June quarter BAS is due 28 July for most businesses. We prepare the final quarter BAS, reconcile it against your books, and lodge it on time.

Depreciation and asset registers

If your business has fixed assets, depreciation needs to be processed for the year. We work with your accountant on this or prepare the asset register so they can make the required entries.

Loan accounts, director accounts and intercompany balances

If you have a company, loan accounts and director loan accounts need to be reviewed and reconciled. These are common areas where EOFY adjustments are needed.

If you operate multiple entities, intercompany loan balances need to reconcile and balance across every entity. This is one of the most complex areas of bookkeeping for business groups and one that most bookkeepers cannot manage at scale. We currently manage a group of 19 entities and ensure every intercompany balance reconciles every single month, not just at year end. If you run a group structure, we have the experience to handle it.

Final trial balance

Once everything above is done, we produce a clean trial balance for your accountant. They get a reconciled, accurate set of records and can focus on the tax work rather than cleaning up the books first.

Why EOFY Bookkeeping Matters for Your Tax Return

Your accountant can only work with what you give them. If the books are a mess, they either spend time cleaning it up at their rates, or they miss things.

Clean, reconciled books mean your accountant can prepare your tax return faster. They can identify all legitimate deductions because the records are complete. They can review your financial position accurately and give you meaningful advice.

Messy books at EOFY lead to missed deductions, incorrect figures, and sometimes amended returns down the track. Clean books avoid all of that.

The STP Finalisation Deadline

This is the one that trips up a lot of employers every year.

Under Single Touch Payroll, you do not issue payment summaries anymore. Instead you finalise each employee’s payroll data in Xero by 14 July. The ATO then makes that information available to employees in their myGov account so they can lodge their tax return.

If you miss the 14 July deadline, your employees cannot lodge their returns. The ATO will follow up. And you will need to submit an amended finalisation with a late lodgement reason.

We manage STP finalisation for all our payroll clients as part of the EOFY process. It is on our checklist every year. You do not have to remember it.

Super Before 30 June

If you want your Q4 super contributions to be a tax deduction in this financial year, the money needs to reach the superannuation fund before 30 June.

This is not the same as processing it before 30 June. The clearing house needs time to process and forward the payment to each fund. If you use the ATO’s Small Business Superannuation Clearing House, you need to allow extra time because SBSCH payments can take several days to reach funds. Lodging on 29 or 30 June may not be enough.

If the payment reaches the fund after 30 June but by 28 July, you avoid the superannuation guarantee charge but the deduction moves to the next financial year. Timing matters.

We manage super timing as part of our EOFY work so you get the deduction you are entitled to.

We Work With Your Accountant

We are bookkeepers, not tax agents. Our job is to give your accountant a clean, reconciled set of records so they can do their job efficiently.

We work alongside accountants across Queensland. If you already have an accountant you are happy with, we fit in alongside them. We prepare the books. They do the tax. Between us, your compliance is covered.

If you do not have an accountant and need a referral, we can point you in the right direction.

At Accounts Advantage, our Managing Director is CPA qualified and all our team members hold a Certificate IV in Bookkeeping. Many of our team members are registered BAS Agents in their own right, in addition to the firm itself being a registered BAS Agent. That means you get qualified, accountable professionals handling your books. Not just someone who learned on the job.

Common Questions

When should I start preparing for EOFY?

Ideally May. By May your books should be largely caught up to April and you have time to identify any issues before 30 June hits. If you are starting in late June, it is not too late but there will be more urgency. If you are starting after 30 June, we can still help you get everything in order for the lodgement deadlines.

What is the STP finalisation deadline?

14 July. Every employee needs to be finalised in your payroll software by this date. We handle this for all our payroll clients as part of the EOFY process.

When is Q4 super due?

Super for April to June must reach the fund by 28 July to avoid the superannuation guarantee charge. However if you want it as a tax deduction in this financial year, it needs to reach the fund by 30 June. If you use the ATO’s Small Business Superannuation Clearing House, allow several days for processing. Lodging on 29 or 30 June may not be enough time for the payment to reach the fund before the deadline.

What does my accountant actually need from me?

They need a fully reconciled set of accounts to 30 June. That means bank reconciliation complete, payroll finalised via STP, super paid and reconciled, and all transactions coded correctly. We produce a clean trial balance and provide this to your accountant directly if you want us to.

What if my books are behind going into EOFY?

That is what we are here for. We do catch-up bookkeeping as part of our EOFY service. We get your books current, reconciled, and ready. The sooner you engage us the more time we have before the deadlines hit.

Do you handle the BAS as well?

Yes. The June quarter BAS is part of the EOFY process. We prepare it, reconcile it against your books, and lodge it on time.

Do you work with businesses that have multiple entities?

Yes. We currently manage a group of 19 entities and reconcile every intercompany loan balance every single month. If you operate a group structure, we have the experience and systems to handle it properly.

Are you a registered BAS Agent?

Yes. Accounts Advantage is a registered BAS Agent as a firm. On top of that, many of our individual team members hold their own BAS Agent registration too. That means the person handling your books is qualified and accountable in their own right, not just covered under someone else’s licence. You get two layers of professional protection.

What does it cost?

It depends on your business. For childcare centres we offer a fixed monthly fee from day one. For all other businesses, we work on an hourly rate for the first three months. This gives us time to review your file, understand the scope of work, and catch up anything that is behind. By month three we know exactly how long your books take each month, and we move you to a fixed monthly price from there.

Where are you based?

We are based in Loganholme and work with businesses across the Gold Coast, Logan, Brisbane south side, and all of Queensland. We work remotely with clients across the state.

Ready to get your books EOFY ready?

Call our Loganholme office on 07 3209 8266 or 1300 400 105