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The BAS activity in ContactsLaw assists you in the preparation of a Business Activity Statement for GST purposes.
 
BAS activity
 
The activity resembles the BAS lodgement form provided by the Australian Tax Office and follows the same convention in naming each significant value. After selecting the relevant tax period, you can review/adjust each figure (drilling down into each component transaction if you so wish) before saving a draft or finalising the BAS. Where possible, figures are calculated automatically by drawing upon data from the general ledger.
 
The figures are calculated as follows:
  • Total sales (inc GST)
    • Transactions occuring within the period which credit a GST-reportable account, and:
      • Include an amount which is posted to the GST liability controlled account, or:
      • Debit a cash account (bank or credit card) and are GST-free
  • Other GST-free sales
    • Amounts on debtor receipt or trust transfer transactions posted within the period which allocate to items on a bill that are not subject to GST
  • GST on sales
    • The sum of all credits to the GST liability controlled account posted within the period
  • Gross salaries
    • The resultant sum of debits and credits on transactions posted within the final month of the period to the salaries controlled account, excluding superannuation payments.
  • PAYG tax withheld
    • The resultant sum of debits and credits on transactions posted within the final month of the period, between the salaries controlled account and the ATO running balance controlled account
  • Capital purchases (inc GST)
    • Transactions occuring within the period which debit a GST-reportable asset or liability account (excluding debtors, creditors, disbursements and interest), and:
      • Include an amount which is posted to the GST liability controlled account
    • ...as well as amounts on creditor payment transactions posted within the period which allocate to items on an invoice, where the invoice item is posted to a GST-reportable asset or liability account (excluding disbursements)
  • Non-capital purchases (inc GST)
    • Transactions occuring within the period which debit either:
      • A GST-reportable, deductible income, expense or equity account (excluding salaries and superannuation), or:
      • The disbursements or debtors controlled accounts
    • ...and which:
      • Include an amount which is posted to the GST liability controlled account, or:
      • Credit a cash account (bank or credit card) and are GST-free
    • ...as well as amounts on creditor payment transactions posted within the period which allocate to items on an invoice, where the invoice item is posted to a GST-reportable, deductible income, expense or equity account (or to the disbursements controlled account)
  • GST on purchases
    • The sum of all debits to the GST liability controlled account posted within the period
Finalising a BAS has the effect of locking down all of the transactions that fall within the relevant tax period. This ensures that the calculated figures never change after you have lodged the BAS. Only the system administrator member can alter such transactions, all other members would be required to delete the BAS in order to do so.
 
Finalising a BAS also posts a transaction which, depending on whether the BAS represents a payment or a refund, journals the payment/refund amount from the GST liability controlled account to the ATO running balance controlled account.