--- title: "Business Activity Statements (BAS)" slug: "business-activity-statements" description: "Learn about Business Activity Statements (BAS) in Marlin Tyre and Mechanical Workshop Software by Megabus." updated: 2024-04-15T05:24:51Z published: 2024-04-15T05:24:51Z canonical: "help.megabus.com.au/business-activity-statements" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.megabus.com.au/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Business Activity Statements (BAS) **Marlin Tyre and Mechanical Workshop Software** includes a flexible module for generating Business Activity Statements. In Australia, registered businesses are required to report their tax obligations to the **Australian Taxation Office (ATO)** by submitting a [Business Activity Statement (BAS)](https://www.ato.gov.au/business/business-activity-statements-(bas)) and making appropriate tax payments (or receiving refunds) on a regular basis (usually quarterly or monthly). Businesses can lodge their BAS online using [the ATO's online services](https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Online-services/In-detail/Lodging-your-activity-statement-online/) or through [a registered tax agent](https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/Your-tax-return/How-to-lodge-your-tax-return/Lodge-your-tax-return-with-a-registered-tax-agent/). Tip Consult with a registered accountant or tax agent to ensure that you are completing your BAS accurately and in compliance with tax laws and regulations. To access the Business Activity Statement module, select **Reports > Business Activity Statement** from the menu bar. The Business Activity Statement window will open on the **Search** page, showing a list of current BAS reports. When the Marlin system is set up, the **Tax Accounting Method** will be set to either **Accrual** or **Cash**, and can only be changed by the Megabus Support Team. The BAS reporting frequency is determined by the **TaxPeriod.DefaultValue.Duration setting** (which can be accessed by selecting System > Company > Settings from the menu bar, clicking on the Company Settings tab at the top and then on the Default Value category on the left). ## Adding Business Activity Statements (BAS) #### Reports > Business Activity Statement To the top-right of the BAS Search list, click on the **Add** action button. A report for the new BAS period will be added to the bottom of the Search list. ## Checking Business Activity Statements (BAS) #### Reports > Business Activity Statement > [Business Activity Statement] Further information about GST collections can be viewed and checked against the company's accounts by clicking on the tabs at the top of the open BAS window. To view a BAS Report, **Open** it from the Search list. The BAS report will open on the **Summary** tab, showing a breakdown of the GST collected for the period. All sales and purchase amounts on the Marlin BAS report include tax, but the amounts reported to the ATO can be either inclusive or exclusive. Note Clicking the **Print** button in the BAS module will only export the current tab, meaning each tab needs to be exported individually in order to export them all. ### Checking Sales #### Reports > Business Activity Statement > [Business Activity Statement] To check the GST collected on sales transactions for the BAS period, click on the **Sales Items** tab. **Are there any items in the "GST Free Items" column?** If so, check each invoice where an amount shows and check the [tax code settings](https://help.megabus.com.au/docs/item-master-files#item-options) for the relevant items. **Are there any amounts in the "GST Exempt Sales" column?** Check that the relevant invoices are Export Sales, Sales to TPI Veterans or Transfers between branches of the same entity. ### Checking Purchases #### Reports > Business Activity Statement > [Business Activity Statement] To check the GST collected on purchase transactions for the BAS period, click on the **Purchases Items** tab. **Are there any entries in the "GST Free Items" column?** Check that all GST free transactions are correct. ### Checking Adjustments #### Reports > Business Activity Statement > [Business Activity Statement] To check GST collected on transactions such as Merchant Fees, Discounts Given and Received, click on the **Adjustment Items** tab. BAS Adjustments Each of the adjustment transactions listed should be checked to ensure they have been entered correctly. ### Checking Exceptions #### Reports > Business Activity Statement > [Business Activity Statement] Any transactions recording a collection of more or less than 10% GST can be viewed by clicking on the Exception Items tab. > GST threshold? These transactions are highlighted in red, suggesting that their GST has been incorrectly entered. All of the relevant transactions should be checked to ensure they have been recorded correctly. Note The transactions listed in the **Exception Items** list will also appear as part of the relevant Sales Items, Purchases Items or Adjustment Items lists. ### Checking GST Payable #### Reports > Business Activity Statement > [Business Activity Statement] The sum of the GST Collected, GST Collected Adjustments, GST Paid, GST Paid Adjustments and GST Paid Capital Acquisitions accounts represent the total GST liability for the company and should be the same as the GST Payable amount shown on the relevant BAS report's **Summary** tab. If the total GST liability is a credit, it represents the amount that needs to be paid to the ATO. If the total GST liability is a debit, it represents a refund the ATO owes to the company. Any differences should be investigated and corrected. Tip If the company's tax accounts have been renamed, they can be identified by selecting System > Company > Tax Codes from the menu bar and opening the GST tax code from the Search list. ## Resolving Business Activity Statements (BAS) Discrepancies #### Reports > Business Activity Statement > [Business Activity Statement] Below are some common reasons for discrepancies between the BAS and GL balances. **The BAS period and relevant Accounting Period were not closed at the same time.** If relevant accounting periods are left open after a BAS period is finalised, any subsequent postings will appear in the next BAS period. It is strongly suggested that associated BAS and Accounting periods are closed at the same time to ensure all postings are recorded correctly. **There is an amount that should have been cleared leftover in one of the GST accounts from the previous tax period.** Any uncleared balances will carry forward into subsequent tax periods. If any uncleared balances are brought forward, they will need to be corrected by adjusting the amounts in the Marlin GL and any relevant returns to the ATO. **The Exclude From Business Activity Statement toggle was left selected for a journal tax posting that should have been included in the BAS.** The excluded posting can be balanced by posting a [reversed journal entry](https://marlin-inform.document360.io/docs/journal-entries#reversing-journal-entries) that is also excluded from the BAS. The original journal entry can then be reposted without the Exclude From Business Activity Statement toggle selected. **The Exclude From Business Activity Statement toggle was not selected for a previous ATO payment or other tax posting that should not have been included in the BAS.** The excluded posting can be balanced by posting a [reversed journal entry](https://marlin-inform.document360.io/docs/journal-entries#reversing-journal-entries) that is also excluded from the BAS. The original journal entry can then be reposted with the Exclude From Business Activity Statement toggle selected. Tip In any of these instances, it is best to seek advice from an accountant about which adjustments need to be made. Note If the Tax Accounting method is set to Cash, instead of Accrual, the BAS and GL Accounting periods will not line up exactly. In this case, the GL should not be relied upon for tax reporting and the BAS should be used as the authoritative record. ## Recording Business Activity Statement (BAS) Payments Once a BAS payment has been submitted to the ATO, as per [their instructions](https://www.ato.gov.au/business/business-activity-statements-(bas)/how-to-lodge-your-bas/), it needs to be recorded as a journal entry in Marlin. The journal will consist of multiple lines representing the removal of the GST amounts from their relevant accounts and a single line representing the payment to the ATO. The ATO payment should be the same as the sum total of the GST amounts, so that they cancel each other out and the final balance of the Journal entry is zero. To record the BAS payment, open the **Journal Entry** module (accessed by selecting Daily Activity > Journal Entry from the menu bar) and [add a new journal entry](https://marlin-inform.document360.io/docs/journal-entries#adding-journal-entries) as usual. Enter the **Accounting Date** as the final day of the period covered by the BAS report. In the **Notes** textbox, enter a description for the BAS period (e.g. "December BAS" or "BAS Period Ending 31/12/2022") To the journal **Details** list, first [add account postings](https://marlin-inform.document360.io/docs/journal-entries#adding-account-postings-to-journal-entries) to balance the GST and other tax accounts: **GST Collected Account** The GST Collected amount can be calculated as 1/11 of the G6 value shown on the BAS Summary tab, or taken as the total GST Collected value shown in the Sales Items tab. The GST Collected amount is recorded as a credit, so the account can be balanced by adding a balancing debit to the journal entry. **GST Collected Adjustments Account** The GST Collected Adjustments amount can be calculated as 1/11 of the G7 value shown on the BAS Summary tab, or taken as the total GST Sales Adjustment shown in the Adjustment Items tab. If the GST Collected Adjustments amount is negative, add a balancing credit posting to the journal entry. If the GST Collected Adjustments amount is positive, add a balancing debit posting to the journal entry. **GST Paid Account** The GST Paid amount can be calculated as 1/11 of the G17 value shown on the BAS Summary tab, or taken as the total GST Collected value shown in the Purchases Items tab. The GST Paid amount is recorded as a debit, so the account can be balanced by adding a balancing credit to the journal entry. **GST Paid Adjustments Account** The GST Paid amount can be calculated as 1/11 of the G18 value shown on the BAS Summary tab, or taken as the total GST Purchases Adjustment shown in the Adjustment Items tab If the GST Paid Adjustments amount is positive, add a balancing debit posting to the journal entry. If the GST Paid Adjustments amount is negative, add a balancing credit posting to the journal entry. Note The **Summary** tab amounts and the totals taken from the different tabs will be slightly different due to different rounding processes. Note If necessary, the **GST Paid Capital Acquisitions** account can also be cleared by entering an appropriate journal entry as a balancing credit. Capital Acquisition GST amounts are not recorded on the BAS report and will need to be checked by consulting the chart of accounts. When adding GST account postings to a journal, the **Edit Detail** pop-up window will automatically open. Make sure the **Exclude from Business Activity Statement** toggle is selected for each BAS payment posting. Note If necessary, the **Tax Activity Type** toggle can be changed by double clicking in its Description cell. Once all tax account postings have been added, add a single posting representing the payment to the ATO (usually as an account posting to the Marlin bank account). The ATO payment should be opposite to the total of all the tax account postings (e.g. if the GST postings add up to a total of $3,000 credit, then the ATO payment posting should be a $3,000 debit). Check that the total balance of the journal entry is zero. If the balance is zero then the journal entry can be [committed](https://marlin-inform.document360.io/docs/journal-entries#adding-account-postings-to-journal-entries) as usual. Note Periodic payments to the ATO usually contain other tax amounts than those recorded in the BAS report, such as **Withholding Tax** deducted from salaries (PAYG), **Fringe Benefits Taxes** and **Income Tax** instalments. Records of these payments and appropriate account clearings can be added to the same journal entry, or recorded separately. Tip Rather than recording BAS payments as they are made, the ATO can be set up as a **Supplier** to record the tax payments owed. The total tax amount owed can then be posted to the ATO supplier account when clearing the GST and other tax accounts and then processed as a Supplier Payment when paid. ## Finalising Business Activity Statements (BAS) #### Reports > Business Activity Statement Once a BAS report has been checked and submitted, **Open** it from the Search list. To finalise the statement, click on the **Finalise** action button to the top-right of the module window. The **Finalise Tax Period** pop-up window will open warning that transactions will no longer be able to be posted to the BAS period, once it is finalised. To finalise the BAS period and return to the Search window, click on the **Yes** button to the bottom right of the pop-up window. The BAS period will be marked **Closed** and cannot be edited. ### Reopening Business Activity Statement (BAS) Periods Closed BAS periods can be viewed by changing the filter at the top-right of the Search list to **Closed**. To reopen a closed BAS period, first **Open** it from the Business Activity Statement Search list. To the top-right of the Business Activity Statement window, click on the **Open** action button. The BAS period will now be opened, allowing additional transactions to be posted to it. Once the period has been adjusted as necessary, it can then be finalised again as usual.