Terms and Conditions
This document is a guide to establish and agree upon a working relationship. Our full range of services is outlined in Our Responsibilities below.
Our responsibilities
Our services will primarily be performed by us at our office. Meetings with you can take place at your office as required.
Following is a list of the services available through us:
Following is a list of the services available through us:
General Bookkeeping Services
- Raising purchase orders and/or entering supplier invoices into accounting software.
- Raising customer invoices.
- Communicating any queries related to the accounts for the period.
- Assisting with choosing add-on solutions to Xero as may be required.
- Reconciliation and/or verification of the of all bank, loan and credit card accounts.
- Providing reports such as Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss, others as required.
- Reporting outstanding debtors and creditors (if applicable).
- Chasing accounts receivable.
- Paying accounts payable. This will require a dedicated bank access authorisation for us.
Payroll Processing
- Set up employees in payroll system.
- Prepare payroll weekly / fortnightly / monthly.
- Lodge Tax File Number declarations.
- Process and lodge PAYG Withholding and Superannuation.
- Reconcile End of Year wages.
- Report, lodge and send employee payment summaries.
Payroll Intermediary Services
- Provide access to adequate information for you to make informed decisions in relation to complying with the relevant Act, modern award or agreement and other employer obligations. Please read our Terms of Service for this
BAS Services
- Review and report on monthly/quarterly BAS.
- Email reports and declarations to you.
- Lodgement of BAS upon receipt of authority from you.
- Payment of BAS upon authority from you.
- Yearly GST reconciliation and relevant BAS adjustments.
End of financial year
- Review end of year reports.
- Provide accountant with information as required for year end.
- Liaise with the accountant as to any End of Year journals or adjustments.
- Ensure essential and required business records are maintained and stored for the financial year.
Other services
- Analysis and advice on Industry Award.
- Consulting/Training of staff in accounting software
- Registration and yearly lodgement with Long Service Leave Corporation for the building and construction industry
- Preparation and lodgement of Taxable Payments Annual Review for the building and construction industry
- Assistance with setup of your workers insurance
Your responsibilities
Provision of information
You will provide us with access to your current software and systems to enable us to process the work.
You will provide access to the relevant business records as discussed. This may include ongoing access to the Business Software, bank statements, credit card statements, cheque books, receipts/invoices, bank deposit book or relevant bank transfer information and answers to queries as required.
You will provide access to the relevant business records as discussed. This may include ongoing access to the Business Software, bank statements, credit card statements, cheque books, receipts/invoices, bank deposit book or relevant bank transfer information and answers to queries as required.
Responsibility for bookkeeping records
We use Xero software which is a cloud-based program that has solid backup protocols in place. This means that documents are backed up offsite and security is extremely reliable. You will have access to Xero so that you have full visibility of your accounts and information at all times.
This means that your responsibility for the maintenance of business records (which does rest with you), including security of those records and prevention against fraud, is taken care of to the best of our ability.
It is important to remember that you are personally responsible for the information contained in any statutory return and that you must retain all necessary supporting documentation to substantiate the transactions. Supporting documentation that is scanned by you or us and kept in the cloud will not require hard-copy retention, however should you wish to maintain hard copy primary source documents, these will need to be retained by you.
We have discussed the need for you to scan source documents such as receipts and invoices, and make them available to us for data entry purposes into Xero. That facility will be set up soon, and we can walk you through that process. By your sending us electronic files of documentation, we are assuming that such records are accurate and correct.
It is also important to state that as a BAS Agent/Bookkeeper, if we are advised in writing by yourself that you have copies of the invoices and the GST is applicable, we will process on the basis that you have the correct records.
This means that your responsibility for the maintenance of business records (which does rest with you), including security of those records and prevention against fraud, is taken care of to the best of our ability.
It is important to remember that you are personally responsible for the information contained in any statutory return and that you must retain all necessary supporting documentation to substantiate the transactions. Supporting documentation that is scanned by you or us and kept in the cloud will not require hard-copy retention, however should you wish to maintain hard copy primary source documents, these will need to be retained by you.
We have discussed the need for you to scan source documents such as receipts and invoices, and make them available to us for data entry purposes into Xero. That facility will be set up soon, and we can walk you through that process. By your sending us electronic files of documentation, we are assuming that such records are accurate and correct.
It is also important to state that as a BAS Agent/Bookkeeper, if we are advised in writing by yourself that you have copies of the invoices and the GST is applicable, we will process on the basis that you have the correct records.
Review of documentation
The responsibility for reviewing final reports and/or work rests with you. You will not be charged to correct errors which are clearly our fault.
Communication
Please let us know of any change to your business details or change in personnel.
By law
- You are responsible for the maintenance and accuracy of business records, compliance to relevant awards and availability of records either for our processing or for verification and provision to authorities if required.
- We may request source documents for some items and process transactions based on the information provided by you, which does not necessarily include all source documents.
- It is a requirement that you must hold copies of all relevant documentation in compliance with the ATO standards.
- It is a requirement by the ATO that ABNs of suppliers be checked at least once a year to ensure that they are valid.
- All relevant documentation and information required to allow us to prepare and produce financial reporting to comply with legislative requirements must be received 14 days prior to due lodgement dates. We will not be liable for any penalties if documentation and information has not been provided.
- A separate signed authority must be provided to us if we are engaged in making payments on your behalf. This will be in the form of separate third party internet banking access to your accounts.
- A separate specific authority form must be provided to us for each lodgement of documentation with the ATO; we will provide this form to you before each lodgement.
- You authorise me to contact your tax agent via email and phone as required.
Terms of engagement
Service Fees
- Our Bookkeeping and Payroll fees are $95 per hour excluding GST, plus a BAS Lodgement Fee of $120 per lodgement. Our HR Intermediary Services are $140 per hour.
- An invoice will be sent upon completion of work per calendar month.
- Payment of that invoice is due upon receipt.
- If payment is not made without prior arrangement by the due date, we may charge a 2% compound interest charge on balance of bill.
- Telephone calls and travel time to and from meetings is charged at our hourly rate.
- Any urgent work requiring overtime or weekends will be charged at double time. The need to undertake such work will always be discussed with you and your authorisation gained before commencement.
- We reserve the right to stop work if you fail to make payment when and as it falls due.
- Any debts beyond 30 days (unless a prior payment arrangement has been entered into) will be referred to a debt collection agency and any costs associated in recovering such debts will be passed onto you.
- We reserve the right to review fees for services rendered on a regular basis; any change in price will be notified in writing.
- We shall discuss with you any intention to change the fee arrangement due to changes in the work required.
Payroll
Employing staff (including contractors) is a complex matter. The employment laws in Australia are the most complex in the world. If you employ staff, you have the option of engaging us to:
1. Process your Payroll as per 'Our Responsibilities'If you choose to engage us to perform your payroll processing without our intermediary services, the onus is upon you to determine your employee's award, pay rates and conditions. We will comply with the instructions provided by you in relation to your payroll and accurately process payroll accordingly.
If at any time we have reason to question the information provided by you as being non-compliant with the law, we will notify you in writing. We will provide the opportunity for you to engage independent advice to demonstrate the accuracy of the information provided. If the independent advice does not support the current information we will work with you to correct it. If you decline to make the modifications, we will have no alternative than to remove our services to your business. 2. Act as HR Intermediary for your businessWe are engaged to assist the business with all aspects of managing and administering the payments to all employees. We will endeavour to ensure payments are in accordance with the Fair Work Act 2009 and Modern Awards requirements.
Although our advice cannot detract from your responsibilities as an employer, we can offer peace of mind by advising the business of any concerns or changes that may impact the business. As part of the HR Intermediary role, we will engage an HR expert to provide legal advice where necessary for all aspects of your payroll requirements. This is an additional cost to your business. If we have reason to believe the business is in breach of Fair Work provisions, we will immediately notify you and discuss this. Please be aware that we will not continue our engagement with you if the business continues to be in breach of the Fair Work Act after receiving our information and advice. Conditions of the HR Intermediary role include: The business owner must inform the HR Intermediary of any current or prior:
During the term of the contract, the business must comply, and take all reasonable steps to ensure they comply, with all applicable obligations under the Fair Work Act 2009 . During the term of the contract, the HR Intermediary will undertake audits quarterly to determine that the correct wages, loadings, allowances and penalties have been paid to its employees, and the HR Intermediary will rectify any underpayments within a reasonable time-frame of identifying the underpayment. During the term of the contract, the business must actively and cooperatively participate in all compliance activities associated with its obligations under the Fair Work Act 2009 , including but not limited to participating in investigations of workplace complaints and audits undertaken by the Fair Work Ombudsman or other regulatory agencies. The business must commit all necessary resources, financial or otherwise, and meet all necessary expenses associated with the effective implementation of the requirements payroll. The HR Intermediary reserves the right to terminate the contract in the event that the business fails to comply with any of the above within a reasonable time frame. |
Confidentiality
EXCEPT for the following two instances, any information and all matters connected with and relating to your business and its performance are confidential and we shall not disclose them to any other person/entity unless authorised to do so in writing. This includes the ATO and your accountant.
Exceptions to this may be as follows:
Exceptions to this may be as follows:
- There may be times when our IT professional, Steve Decia of PC Tailor Narraweena may have limited visibility into client information during PC maintenance.
- If Xero customer support is required for a technical issue, they may be invited to view your file to assist with remedy.
Ownership of the accounting software subscription
If your business subscription is a partner-only Xero plan, your subscription will be held by us. For all other Xero plans, we require you to take out the subscription directly with Xero. We do not act in an intermediary capacity and do not make commissions from your Xero subscription.
Lodgement of information with the ATO
We will always request authorisation to lodge your information with the ATO. This is done through Adobe e-sign. Failure to lodge on time can incur a fine and this will be your responsibility to pay if the authorisation has not been received by us.
Indemnity
You agree to us indemnify us for any loss that may result from third party claims arising from the provisions of the services. If there is a claim against us for loss, the loss will be proportionately reduced by the extent of your contribution to the loss.
Standards
We aim to provide the highest standard of professional service. If for any reason you feel you have not received the level of service expected or have an issue to raise, please contact myself to discuss how the problem may be resolved.
Furthermore, as a Member of the Institute for Certified Bookkeepers (ICB), I am subject to the ethical requirements of ICB and its investigations and disciplinary processes. These requirements cover issues such as Code of Conduct and ethics, adherence to bookkeeping standards and requirements to undertake continued professional education. Should there be an issue regarding the ethical or business practices of myself or my company, you may refer such matters to ICB.
Furthermore, as a Member of the Institute for Certified Bookkeepers (ICB), I am subject to the ethical requirements of ICB and its investigations and disciplinary processes. These requirements cover issues such as Code of Conduct and ethics, adherence to bookkeeping standards and requirements to undertake continued professional education. Should there be an issue regarding the ethical or business practices of myself or my company, you may refer such matters to ICB.
Utilisation of other workers
Employees or contractors may be utilised to help complete the agreed work as required. The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers Code of Conduct binds all representatives of We’ll Get You Sorted, which is inclusive of confidentiality agreements as per the Terms of Engagement in this document. We will never employ offshore workers.