XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks Online
Country Restriction: Australia only
Risk Type: Tax Risk
Business Function: Contacts
Overview
The "Large GST activity for contact without ABN" XBert finds suppliers that have a high volume of GST-related activity but no ABN recorded in your accounting software. Claiming GST on payments to a supplier without a recorded ABN is a tax risk and can cause problems with your BAS and the ATO.
What it does
This XBert looks at your supplier contacts that have no ABN saved against them, then adds up the GST on their cash transactions over the past financial year.
It reviews GST on both cash expenses and cash income for each supplier without an ABN.
It focuses on your largest GST contributors, highlighting the top 20% by total GST activity.
It only raises a supplier whose total GST activity is more than $100, so small amounts are ignored.
How it works
XBert reviews cash-based GST transactions for the trailing twelve months (from the first of the current month one year ago, up to the end of last month). For each supplier contact that has no ABN recorded, it sums the GST on their cash expense and cash income transactions.
It then ranks every supplier by GST activity and keeps the top 20%. A supplier is raised only when its total GST comes to more than $100. The XBert deliberately ignores transactions that are voided, in draft or deleted, so cancelled activity does not inflate the total. It also ignores employees set up as reimbursement contacts, because they do not need an ABN, and it skips contacts that were matched manually.
Example/Use Case
Maxine runs a surf shop and buys wetsuits from a supplier called Coastline Wholesale for resale. The supplier is a genuine registered business, but Maxine forgot to enter their ABN in her accounting software. Over the past year she has paid them often, and the GST on those purchases adds up to $1,840, which she has been claiming on her BAS even though there is no ABN on file to support the claim.
If the ATO reviews Maxine's BAS, she may have to repay the GST she claimed, or be required to withhold 47% from future payments to that supplier. By recording Coastline Wholesale's ABN, Maxine keeps a clean audit trail and protects her GST claims.
Accounting software
Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks Online.
Which countries it supports
Australia only.
Processes
This XBert is part of the Contacts business area. To resolve it:
Contact the supplier and request their ABN.
Confirm the ABN is valid on the ABN Lookup website.
Add the ABN to the supplier's contact record in your accounting software.
Review whether GST should have been claimed on past transactions, and correct your BAS if needed.
Going forward, make sure suppliers have a valid ABN on file before claiming GST on their payments.
Once the contact is corrected, mark the XBert as resolved.
Keeping ABN details up to date supports clean audit trails, accurate BAS reporting and a lower risk of ATO penalties.