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5 Common BAS Review Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

Even if you’re confident with your quarterly BAS, it’s surprisingly easy to overlook details that trigger ATO reviews—or worse, misreporting.

Here are 5 common BAS review mistakes and how to avoid them:

  1. Misclassified transactions – Watch for personal expenses, fixed asset purchases, or bank fees incorrectly coded to GST.
  2. Unreconciled bank accounts – Missed bank recs can lead to incomplete or overstated BAS figures.
  3. GST on wages or BAS payments – Neither should ever have GST applied—yet they sneak through in rushed files.
  4. GST-free vs Input Taxed – Know the difference. Health, education, and financial services may fall into these tricky zones.
  5. Backdated bills and late invoices – Watch for transactions dated in the wrong quarter or back-entered after the cut-off.

✅ Action: Run a pre-BAS review using your software’s Activity Summary and check your GST audit trail.
📋 Or, book a quick BAS health check for peace of mind → [Insert link]

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STP Finalisation: Avoid These Last-Minute Mistakes

As the end of the financial year approaches, it’s time to finalise your payroll and lodge your STP data with the ATO. While it might feel like just another box to tick, getting your STP finalisation right is essential—especially now that the ATO is actively cross-checking these reports against income statements and BAS lodgements.

Here’s a simple STP finalisation checklist to help you avoid common mistakes and wrap things up smoothly.

✅ 1. Finalise all pay runs up to 30 June

Make sure you’ve completed and lodged all payroll entries for the year. Double-check:

  • No draft or unposted pay runs are sitting in your system.
  • All relevant super and tax amounts have been calculated correctly.

✅ 2. Reconcile gross wages and PAYG

Before finalising, compare your STP year-to-date figures with your payroll reports and BAS lodgements.

In Xero:
→ Use the Payroll Activity Summary and Payroll Register Summary to compare against your STP totals.

In MYOB:
→ Check the Payroll Activity vs Payroll Register and reconcile to your general ledger.

✅ 3. Check for terminated employees

Don’t forget to include employees who left during the financial year. If they weren’t finalised at the time of termination, you’ll need to include them now.

→ Also ensure their termination reason is correctly coded in line with STP Phase 2 requirements.

✅ 4. Review pay items and disaggregated earnings

Under STP Phase 2, you must disaggregate earnings like:

  • Bonuses and commissions
  • Paid leave types
  • Overtime
  • Allowances

Make sure your pay items are mapped correctly in your software before hitting “finalise.”

✅ 5. Lodge by the due date (14 July)

The ATO requires STP finalisation to be lodged by 14 July, though closely held payees may have a small grace period.

Finalised employees will then see their income statements marked as “Tax Ready” in their MyGov accounts.

Need help?

If you’re unsure whether your payroll setup is accurate or you just want a second set of eyes before lodging, I offer one-off STP finalisation reviews for Xero and MYOB users.

📩 Book a review → [Insert link]
💼 Fixed-fee | Fast turnaround | ATO-compliant