Bookkeeping Checklist for New Small Businesses

The first months of a new business are busy in every direction, and bookkeeping is usually what gets postponed. That is understandable. It is also where a great deal of avoidable cost comes from.

Set the basics up properly at the start and bookkeeping stays a small, manageable job. Skip them and you spend the first year untangling things — usually at the least convenient moment, with a BAS deadline attached.

Here is a practical checklist for a new small business in Queensland.

Before you start trading

Open a separate business bank account

Non-negotiable, even as a sole trader where it is not strictly required.

Mixing personal and business money is the single biggest cause of messy books, and separating them afterwards is genuinely painful — someone has to go through months of statements deciding what was what. Doing it from day one costs nothing.

Sort your structure and ABN

Sole trader, partnership, company or trust. The choice affects your obligations, your reporting and your personal liability.

This is a conversation for your accountant rather than your bookkeeper, and it is much better had before you start than restructured afterwards.

Work out whether you need to register for GST

Registration is required once your turnover reaches the GST threshold, and you can register voluntarily below it.

Voluntary registration lets you claim GST credits on purchases but commits you to lodging a BAS. Which way round suits you depends on whether you are spending heavily on inputs early — a business investing in equipment may be better off registered; a low-cost service business often is not. Worth a conversation rather than a guess.

In the first month

Choose your software and set it up properly

For most new businesses that means Xero or MYOB. Whichever you choose, spend real time on the initial setup: connect the bank feeds, and adjust the default chart of accounts so the categories reflect what your business actually spends money on.

An hour here saves many hours later. If you are not confident, this is a sensible thing to get help with once, rather than paying to fix repeatedly.

Decide how you will capture receipts

Paper receipts fade and get lost. Most accounting software has a phone app that photographs a receipt and attaches it to the transaction.

Pick a method in week one and use it consistently. The habit matters far more than which method you choose.

Set up your invoice template

Your invoices need your business name, ABN, the date, a clear description and payment terms. If you are registered for GST they must be tax invoices showing the GST amount.

Set the template up once and every invoice after that is correct. Add your payment details prominently — it sounds obvious, and missing bank details is a genuinely common reason invoices sit unpaid.

Decide your payment terms and put them in writing

Seven days, fourteen, thirty. Whatever you choose, state it on the invoice and in your quotes. Terms you have not communicated are terms you cannot enforce, and new businesses are the most likely to be paid late.

If you are hiring

Get payroll right from the first employee

Taking on staff brings real obligations: correct rates under the relevant award, superannuation, leave entitlements, and Single Touch Payroll reporting to the ATO with every pay run.

This is where new businesses most often get into trouble, because the rules are detailed and the consequences fall on the employer. Superannuation paid even slightly late stops being deductible and triggers separate reporting — one of the few deadlines genuinely worth a calendar reminder.

Our payroll processing exists largely because so many owners find this the least forgiving part of running a business.

The habits worth building early

• Reconcile weekly. Fifteen minutes. It never becomes a big job if you never let it become one.
• Invoice immediately. The day the work is done, not the end of the month.
• Put GST aside. The GST you collect is not your money. A separate savings account for it removes the quarterly shock entirely.
• Read your numbers monthly. Fifteen minutes with a profit and loss tells you more than a week of worrying.
• Keep records for five years. The ATO requires it. Digital copies are fine.

The GST habit is the one new businesses thank themselves for most. Spending money that belongs to the ATO is easy to do accidentally and unpleasant to unwind.

Before your first BAS

If you are registered for GST, your first BAS will arrive sooner than you expect. Before it does, make sure the bank is reconciled to date, the GST coding has been reviewed, and you know your lodgement deadline.

Our BAS preparation and review is provided under the supervision of a Registered BAS Agent, and a first BAS is a sensible one to have checked — mostly because habits set early tend to repeat, correct or otherwise.

Frequently asked questions

Can I do my own bookkeeping when starting out?

Many people do, and for a simple business with low volume and no staff it is entirely realistic. Get the setup right, build the weekly habit, and get help at the points that carry risk — payroll, BAS and year end.

When should I get a bookkeeper involved?

Commonly at one of three moments: registering for GST, taking on a first employee, or noticing you are avoiding the books. The last is the most reliable signal of the three.

What records do I actually need to keep?

Sales and income records, expense receipts, bank statements, and — if you have staff — payroll and superannuation records. Five years, digital acceptable.

Is it too late if I am six months in and behind?

Not at all. That is exactly what catch-up bookkeeping is for, and it is one of the most common starting points for new clients.

Do I need an accountant as well?

For structure decisions and income tax matters, yes. We are a bookkeeping practice and work alongside your accountant or registered tax agent rather than replacing them.

Starting a business?

We help new small businesses across Ipswich, Springfield and greater Brisbane get set up properly from day one — which is considerably cheaper than fixing it later. Get in touch for a free, no-obligation chat about what your business needs.