ANSWER ID:9298

If making the transition from reporting your GST figures on an accruals basis to a cash basis, care needs to be taken that some figures are not reported twice in the transition BAS period. This is because when reporting in the previous BAS period to when the change is made, all recorded sales and purchase invoices would have been reported on the BAS statement regardless of whether or not they had been paid. The danger is that the invoices that were not paid in the prior BAS period may be double counted on a future BAS when they are paid after the transition date.

If you're changing your GST reporting from cash to accrual basis, see this .

Note: AccountRight and AccountEdge are designed as accrual based software and this cannot be changed. However, the instructions below allow you to report your GST obligations on a cash basis.

How do I complete my BAS correctly after converting to a cash basis?

In order to avoid this double counting, the BAS will need to be filled out and checked manually for a period of time. BASlink will not be able to be used during this period. To assist in this process, complete the following:

1. Print a GST [Detail - Cash] report for the first BAS period after converting to the cash method.
   1. Go to the Reports menu and choose Index to Reports.
   2. Click the GST/Sales Tax tab.
   3. Click the GST [Detail - Cash] report (under the GST Reports sub-heading).
   4. (AccountRight v19.6 and earlier) Click Customise.
   5. Make sure that the correct date range is chosen in the report filters. For example, if you are converting from accrual to cash reporting on 1^st July 2011, and you report GST quarterly, you would filter the report for the September 2011 quarter. This report will show all of the amounts paid against sales and purchases invoices as well as the GST collected and paid during the BAS period.
   6. Click Display.
2. Print the Receivables Reconciliation [Detail] and Payables Reconciliation [Detail] reports filtered for the last day of the month that was the last month that you reported your BAS on an accruals basis. In the example above, you would filter the reports for 30^th June 2011. These reports will show all outstanding sales and purchases as at that date, in other words sales and purchases that had not been paid at that point in time.
3. Compare the GST [Detail-Cash] report with the Receivables Reconciliation [Detail] and Payables Reconciliation [Detail] reports. Identify any sales or purchases that were outstanding as at the transition date against which payments have been made in the first BAS period after the transition to cash reporting. These payments will show in the GST [Detail-Cash] report. Cross off these payments and the associated GST collected and Paid on the GST [Detail-Cash] report, because they have already been reported in a previous period. Any amounts that are left on this report will then need to be transferred to the BAS being reported on a cash basis.

This process will need to be repeated in future periods until all outstanding invoices as at the transition date have been paid or otherwise written off. BASlink can then be used as per normal to prepare the BAS from that point on.