Keeping accurate and up-to-date records is vital to the success of your business. Good records help you to minimise losses, manage cash, meet any legal, regulatory and tax authority requirements and improve financial analytics.
There are legal requirements for how long you keep some records. These include:
- Income tax and other financial records – at least 5 years
- Personnel records – at least 7 years
- Formal company documents (e.g. resolutions) – indefinitely
Basic Records
Cash Movement:
- Cash receipts and cash payments
Sales:
- Software records
- Invoice books
- Receipt books
- Cash register tapes
- Credit notes for goods returned
- Record of goods used by the business owner personally
Purchases:
- Receipts
- Invoices
- Bills
- Any other documents relating to purchases, including copies of agreements or leases
Tax Invoice
Tax invoices for taxable sales must include enough information to clearly determine the following 8 details:
- Document is intended to be a tax invoice
- Seller’s identity
- Seller’s ABN
- Date the invoice was issued
- A brief description of the items sold, including the quantity and price
- GST amount payable – this can be shown separately or, if the GST amount is exactly one-eleventh of the total price, it needs to state ‘Total price includes GST’
- Extent to which each sale in the invoice is a taxable sale
- Buyer’s identity or ABN
