"Make Tax Time Easy" Article by Tina Zawila

Well July has almost been and gone – how is your tax preparation going?  For most of us (even us accountants!) gathering our paperwork and information for the preparation of our annual income tax return is about as exciting as watching paint dry.

Add a few complexities such as investments or a rental property or two, and you will need to set aside a few hours for this task, and that’s before you even show up for your appointment with your accountant or tax agent.

However, these days there are tools out there to make our lives easier. 

Over the last year or two at Sothertons Gladstone we have been promoting Xero – cloud based accounting software to help businesses manage their record-keeping.  What we have found is that this tool can be very useful for investors and rental property owners too!

Xero captures transactions directly from your bank accounts, so it makes it easy to record and categorise income and expenditure, ensuring you don’t miss a thing.  It will also act as your electronic filing cabinet allowing your to save scanned or photographed copies of your receipts/documents - no more faded/illegible or lost receipts!  And yes, once the documents are saved into Xero you can throw them away!  The ATO will accept an electronic copy (provided it can be reproduced legibly).

The added bonus of using Xero for your taxation and investment record-keeping is that you can also use it to monitor and manage your own personal budget.  Helping you stay on track and achieve your financial goals.

At Sothertons Gladstone, our goal is to help make tax time easy for you - call us now on 4972 1300 to make an appointment for your 2014 Income Tax Return and to discuss how Xero can make your 2015 tax preparation a breeze.  We offer a discount for the early birds who have their returns prepared in July or August.  So get in early!