Why some businesses breeze through tax time (and others don’t)
It’s June. The end of the financial year (EOFY) is approaching fast.
For some business owners, it means a quick conversation with their accountant, a handful of signatures, and done.
For others, it means the next few weeks will be a frantic frenzy of hunting down receipts, untangling months of unreconciled transactions, and trying to explain to their accountant why the income figures don’t quite match the bank statements.
So why is tax time easier for some businesses and not others?
Well, let’s just say it’s not about luck — or the size of the business. It all comes down to the habits and systems you put in place and stick to, throughout the year.
Businesses that breeze through EOFY have a few things in common.
They have books that never play catch up
Their transactions are reconciled regularly. Receipts are captured as they happen — not stuffed in a drawer or buried in an email thread from last November. So, by the time their accountant needs the numbers, most of the heavy lifting is already done.
It’s when bookkeeping gets pushed aside to the “I’ll deal with it later” basket that those small tasks start to pile up quickly.
And before you know it, it’s tax time and what should have been a routine review, turns into a major clean-up exercise.
They implement good systems that can do the remembering for them
Running a business involves a constant stream of financial information — invoices, supplier bills, receipts, payroll records and bank transactions.
Trying to keep track of all of that manually or relying on memory makes bookkeeping far harder than it needs to be.
Businesses that stay organised usually have simple systems in place — like cloud accounting software, and receipt capture tools. Their financial records feed into one place making it easier for them to review things as needed.
Good systems also mean their business can keep operating smoothly even when they are not personally handling every financial detail on a daily basis. We wrote more about those systems and processes in “What a 9-week trip taught me about bookkeeping, letting go, and trusting systems.”
They don’t do ‘book reveals’ in June
Their financial records are reviewed earlier. And often multiple times throughout the year — whether that’s through regular reconciliations, financial reporting or working with a bookkeeper who keeps things up to date.
This means any issues can be spotted and corrected well before tax time rings the due date bell.
And because the books are already updated and in good shape, their accountant can step straight in and focus on preparing the tax return efficiently.
They pay attention to what their numbers are saying
Business owners who move through tax time confidently usually have a basic understanding of their numbers and what they mean.
They regularly review reports like the Profit & Loss, balance sheet, cash flow statement (or have a professional review them) to see how their business is performing and identify trends early.
These reports can highlight things like rising expenses, seasonal revenue changes or potential cash flow pressure — all of which are easier to address sooner rather than discovering them at the end of the financial year.
For new business owners especially, building this habit early on can be a game changer. Our blog “Starting a new business? Here’s what you need to know” walks through some of the financial foundations that help businesses stay organised from the start.
Final words
It can feel like a lot to stay on top of throughout the year — especially when you’re juggling everything else that comes with running a business (we get it… we run one too).
But after working with businesses big and small over the years, we’ve seen how much of a difference these habits and systems make when the EOFY rolls around.
So, if your books could use a tidy up before June — or you’d rather not be in this position again next year — reach out to the Cameo team. We’re here to help.