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After all, their work is pretty much the same, isn’t it?

It is true that in the line of duty their job descriptions and responsibilities tend to blur. 

In Australia, we have BAS Agent Bookkeepers - that is, persons who are legally able to charge a fee for providing bookkeeping services as a business. 

These people are qualified and experienced and authorised with the tax office to provide a range of transactional based activities. 

Plain English? 

Bookkeepers ensure that every financial transaction is accounted for.

This includes recording the flow of money, daily transactions, production expenses, payroll, and every financial decision your business needs accounted for.

Yes, this even includes the $5 you spent on pencils.

From that information they prepare and lodge things like Business Activity Statements (BAS). This calculates and remits the transactional taxes that you have in a business - like GST and PAYGW (the common ones) and then … FTC, LCT, WET … it's a long list.

Bookkeepers often do alot of work in helping businesses keep their cashflow steady, organise their expenses and keep an eye on the business costs. Some bookkeepers are registered accountants and also work in management accounting, cashflow and advisory (like us!)

So you think - what is a Tax Agent?

Tax agents ensure that the accounting rules and regulations are adhered to in the classification and reporting of your business data and that your tax returns and official financial statements adhere to the requirements of the Australian Tax law and the Australian Accounting Standards. 

They advise and help with ensuring that you have effective tax strategies, that you distribute income to yourself in the most efficient way. 

They help when you buy and sell assets and properties and businesses.

They also help and advise on a myriad of other accounting issues. 

You’re thinking - isn’t that a bit too complicated? 

And for obvious reasons. Their roles involve money, accounting and keeping track of transactions while also analysing the financial data.

If you’re wondering which you need right now - look at:

(you can also ask us…)

1. if your business is new and you want help to learn how to create invoices, record bills, use Xero - BOOKKEEPER

2. if your business is up and running but you are out of time and trying to do everything yourself - BOOKKEEPER

3. if you are looking at buying a property and behind in your tax returns - ACCOUNTANT

4. if you are thinking of selling your business and worried about capital gains tax - ACCOUNTANT

5. if you are ready to hire your first employee and have no idea how to make sure they are paid on time and compliant - BOOKKEEPER

6. if you have multiple companies and need cashflow strategy and advice - BOOKKEEPER OR ACCOUNTANT - just check if they offer this type of advisory

7. behind in old GST and old income tax - ACCOUNTANT OR BOOKKEEPER - get a quote from both

It’s situation specific. Ask us. That’s the quickest way. 

If you still have any questions, what you should do is drop us a message and we’ll get back to you. We’re always happy to help out.

If you feel like you have no time anymore to ‘keep the books’ (keep Xero up to date) or you aren’t getting enough information from your data (Xero) leave it to us at Talo Financial to make things easier for you.  

To good financial health,