Business owners work overtime on tax reporting

Australian small business owners are working overtime to fulfil their tax reporting obligations, spending almost 60 hours a year going over their books, research shows.

The American Express Tax Time — Time is Money study conducted by Galaxy Research found more than 40 per cent of small business owners spend evenings fulfilling financial reporting obligations and more than one-third undertake tax reporting on weekends.

Only 17 per cent of small business owners believe the Henry Tax Review will save time and money through simplified financial reporting, and 83 per cent of business owners believe there is still too much red tape and regulation attached to small business financial reporting, according to the findings.

“The survey revealed the average small business processes more than 100 transactions every quarter, which means keeping track of over 400 receipts a year,” said taxation expert Adrian Raftery.

Small business owners can’t reduce the level of reporting that is required, but they can streamline their processes, for example by using accounting package software rather than a written ledger, Raftery said.

Jason Fryer, head of small business services Australia at American Express, said there are smarter ways for small business owners to pay for and report business expenses.

“A dedicated business card increases cash flow and reduces the amount of time required collecting and compiling receipts, working out the GST and pulling it all together for tax reporting,” he said.

“By using one card for all transactions business owners can quickly reconcile their expenses on a monthly basis and avoid the hassle of inputting a shoe-box full of invoices and receipts when preparing their BAS statement,” he said.