XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks Online
Country Restriction: Australia only
Risk Type: Tax Risk
Business Function: Purchases
Overview
This XBert flags Spend Money payments coded to expense accounts that are over $75 (excluding GST), have GST claimed, and have no supporting document attached. Keeping a tax invoice or receipt against each payment helps you meet ATO record-keeping rules and backs up the GST credits you claim.
What it does
XBert checks the Spend Money payments in your accounting file and groups, by month, those that meet all of the following:
The payment is coded to an expense account.
The amount is over $75 (excluding GST).
GST has been claimed on the payment.
No document, such as a tax invoice or receipt, is attached.
How it works
For each month, XBert counts the qualifying Spend Money payments and shows the total value involved. A payment qualifies when it is coded to an expense account, is over $75 excluding GST, has GST claimed, and has nothing attached. XBert deliberately ignores:
Payments of $75 or less (excluding GST), where the ATO does not require a tax invoice.
Payments with no GST claimed, such as GST-free or no-GST purchases.
Payments that are not coded to an expense account.
Payments that already have a document attached.
XBert keeps watching and clears the alert on its own once you attach the missing documents and your file next syncs.
Example/Use Case
Sarah from Brightline Cafe pays $132 (including $12 GST) to ACME Suppliers for kitchen stock and claims the GST credit, but does not attach the tax invoice. Months later, her accountant reviews the quarter's GST and asks for proof of that purchase. Sarah cannot find the invoice, which puts the $12 GST credit at risk and holds up the BAS. Had the invoice been attached at the time, it would have been right there against the payment and this XBert would not have flagged it.
Accounting software
Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks Online.
Which countries it supports
Australia only.
Processes
This XBert sits under the Purchases business area and supports GST and ATO record-keeping. To resolve it:
Review each flagged Spend Money payment for the month.
Find the tax invoice or receipt for each payment, then attach it to the transaction in your accounting software.
If a payment over $75 (excluding GST) is missing GST or is coded to the wrong account, correct the coding so the GST treatment is right.
If your business genuinely does not need documents attached to these payments, you can file the alert instead.
Once the documents are attached, mark the XBert as resolved. It will also clear automatically when the attachment is detected at the next sync.
Note: the ATO does not require a tax invoice for purchases of $75 or less (excluding GST), but you still need records to support every GST credit you claim.