For many, tax season starts at the end of the financial year when every taxpayer in Australia lodges their statements. But for the accountants of Osborne & Osborne, it’s tax season every day.
Osborne & Osborne’s Fiona Paine said the business was busy all year round taking care of its clients’ books.
“We’ve got payroll tax, WorkCover, BAS, superannuation, Centrelink and people applying for loans,” she said
“They need financials for that. They want updated financials all the time for business clients to make sure they can still fund their loans.”
To make sure their clients’ book-keeping is always up to date, the company uses the cloud-based accounting program Xero.
“Our clients use it to maintain their books, so we can prepare their BAS and Single Touch Payroll obligations, and then for us to be able to produce reports at the end of the year so that we can do the tax returns,” Mrs Paine said.
“Being cloud-based allows us to have access at all times, so we can help the clients whenever they need it.
“Having all these cloud-based software means we don't have to be in the office either.”
Mrs Paine said the new program makes it easier for her to have a work-life balance.
“I’ve been doing stuff while I’m on holidays interstate,” she said.
“I can work on the file anywhere.”
She said Xero had been a big benefit for their clients because it was very user-friendly.
“Everyone we’ve put on it can use it,” Mrs Paine said.
“I know we can see what they’re doing, so they know if they need help, they can just ask for it.”
Mrs Paine said it was important to have accountants take care of tax obligations because the tax world was ever changing and it was difficult to keep up.
“We’ve got to keep up-to-date all the time so that we can help our clients the best way so that we are providing the best service,” she said.
Mrs Paine said a big issue was that people missed out on deductions when they prepared their own tax return.
On the other hand, they can get into trouble by either over-claiming or claiming non-deductible expenses.
“You engage with professionals if you want the best outcome for your tax return while still maintaining your compliance and tax obligations with the Australian Taxation Office,” Mrs Paine said.
“People probably are missing out on deductions because they don’t know what they can claim.
“All those doing it themselves over-claim and get themselves in trouble.”