Calculating Sales Tax Returns with no Actionstep Module

Overview

Guidance on Obtaining GST information required for a sales tax return unsupported by Actionstep. There are two ways of doing this - one is more technical than the other.

Option 1 

This is the Simple Option when using an Accrual Based System where your GST is Returned on a Payments (cash) basis only.

Go to the lists of open Invoices.
Open invoices will include the following (these may have an alias in your system and be named differently):

Sales Invoices
Sales Credits
Purchase Invoices
Purchase Credit
Select all

Convert to Draft

This will remove these invoices from the General Ledger reporting and you can continue as per step 1.

This will remove all unpaid invoices from any General Ledger Reports

Option 2

Prior to starting this process we recommend that you set the Accounting lockout date to the day after the period in order to prevent changes.

In order to find the GST values which have been posted into your system use the Account Entries Report (in Reports > Accounting). This report will show all transactions posted tp the GST accounts within a specified period. What is posted there will depend on the set up of your system and your reporting basis.

If your system setting is set as "Accrual" every entry posted will be reported and adjustments to the figures will need to be made if your GST reporting is required on a payments basis. - see steps 1 -xxx below for help with this. It will be required that you keep an ongoing reconciliation of the returns.

If your system is set as "Cash" only entries where an actual payment has been made are posted - so the figures on the report are a true reflection of the GST for the period - use step 1 to obtain these figures.

Step 1: Run the Account Entries Report

Go to Reports>Accounting Reports, then on the next screen select Account Entries Report from the list of reports. The Account Entries Report lists all entries in each account by period with a running balance. 

Select the date range you are reporting on.
If your GST accounts are siting under a header account for GST, place that account in the box at the bottom of the Account section and check to include detail. If they are not in a group under a header, enter each of the accounts in the selection.

Use this report if you are running either of the following methods:

Running a Cash system and reporting GST on a Payments (cash)  basis

Running an Accrual System and reporting Sales Tax on an Accrual basis.

Where you are running your system on an Accrual Basis and report your GST on Payments (cash) Basis you need to follow the rest of the process below.

Step 2 : Remove the unpaid portion of the calculation 

If using an accrual accounting system then you will need to use the list of open invoices and deduct the GST value of these invoices from the figure given to you in the Account Entries Report.

Open invoices will include the following (these may have an alias in your system and be named differently):

Sales Invoices
Sales Credits
Purchase Invoices
Purchase Credits 
Set the date filter on the report to exclude any entries after the period you are reporting on.

Export this report to a Spreadsheet.

Total the GST value of the Unpaid Items

Note:

Calculate the figures to return
Keep a reconciliation
Because you've made adjustments, you will need to ensure that these adjustments are picked up in a future return. 

There are two ways of doing this:

1) Add the figures you have deducted from the last Return to the Account Entries Figures before Step 2.

2) Use the total figures on the Account Entries Report and remove payments already made.