5 ways tax agents can ease the stress of BAS lodgement deadlines

With the current pressure on small business and their financial advisors, wading through the available government support payments and grants– it’s not surprising this quarter’s BAS lodgement deadline has been pushed to its limit. With no real sign of the pressure easing anytime soon, it’s easy to feel like every day is Groundhog Day. At XBert, it’s our mission to make work life easier for BAS agents, bookkeepers and accountants, even in the most challenging times. Here are the top ways we help you smooth out the rollercoaster of BAS lodgement, TPAR and EOFY deadlines:

1. Squeaky clean data and confidence in the numbers.

The last thing you need on a lodgement deadline is to find a sneaky error, like an incorrect ABN or GST status. Our comprehensive audit risk alerts have been designed to take that chance away. We have more than 60 risk alerts trawling your Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks data multiple times a day, looking for errors, behavioural patterns and inconsistencies that need attention. Superannuation liability payments; duplicate invoices and bills; changes in payment behaviour; GST and ABN checks, employee birthday and leave details, payroll – these are just a fraction of what XBert will audit for you multiple times a day. We call it working by exception. You remove the need for many manual tasks and instead only work on the items that need addressing, as the alerts fire (not at the final hour, after you’ve found something incorrect during your review). This is especially helpful if you’re a manager and need to review your team’s work. No nasty surprises the day before BAS or TPAR deadline, and less time wasted on rework.

2. Putting the flow back in workflow

If everyone knows what they’re doing, life runs a whole lot smoother. This is truer for BAS agents, bookkeepers and accountants than most. Clarity on your practice processes not only saves you time, it saves money (and your sanity). It makes onboarding new clients simple and ensures your whole team can work efficiently and on task, at any time.Using a tech tool to document and automate your practice processes is another level of productivity. XBert’s workflow tools, including task and process automation, has been developed specifically for the way accounting professionals work. Pre-loaded processes help with set-up (but are also fully customisable if required). Templates and Client scheduling allow you to automate task creation and customise for each of your client types. Tasks appear on your or your teams Work board as you define, with everything they need to know to complete the work. There’s no grey area – only total clarity on what needs to be done, when.

3. We make client collaboration easy

Let’s face it: part of the stress of lodging BAS is making sure your clients get you the right information, on time. Emails, text and phone calls – yes, all valid ways to communicate. But are they the most efficient? Probably not. Using a task tool with integrated client collaboration tools helps cut away the need for lengthy email chains and time-consuming phone calls. It also gives you a neat trail of correspondence, should the compliance officer come knocking.

4. Manage working from home with ease

If you knew exactly where you team was at, who had done what, who was falling behind and if there were overdue tasks – would that help you manage your workflow better? That’s exactly what XBert’s Work board gives you visibility on. In one simple dashboard, you can see your whole practice workflow, Priority tasks, what needs to be done across your processes and filter through relevant reporting periods. Our Browser Extension also allows you to create Tasks while working on any website – and you’ll find them back in your work board. This is especially helpful while you’re working in your accounting software. No need to click in and out of screens – simply create the tasks while you work for review later on.

A leading technology solution for bookkeepers and BAS agents

XBert has set out to be the most comprehensive audit and productivity tool available for bookkeepers.Now at 60 XBert AI-Audit risk alerts live, and more being developed all the time, you will rest easy with less manual tasks, reduced rework, knowing your data is accurate and the books are the cleanest they've ever been.Our integrated workflow management tools will help you reduce your manual tasks, manage your team more efficiently and never miss a beat.If you're looking to scale your business, find efficiencies, grow your advisory, manage more clients and have full visibility across your team - then you need XBert in your life.Discover what XBert can do for your business by starting a free trial now.

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