Farm Focus makes GST reporting easy; the bulk of the work has already been done as you enter and code information in the Actuals screen.
Before you prepare your GST return it is important to check:
All transactions for the GST period are coded and the Actuals screen has no invoices or bank transactions displayed for the GST period, and
You are balanced.
If you have bank feeds set up, you should always be balanced provided you have not deleted bank transactions or added a manual bank transaction. To check you are balanced go to the Balancing screen. The green line shows where you are balanced.
1. Create your GST report
Click on Reports.
Select the GST report that relates to the period you're filing.
Each report includes a list of the items that make up the GST return.
The list is divided into three sections for GST: Business, Personal and Exempt.
2. Check the GST report
Go through the sections and make sure the items have been coded correctly and given the correct GST type.
For example, any electricity payments for the personal portion of your house are sitting in the personal section.
If anything needs to be corrected, locate the transaction in the Actuals screen and correct it.
3. Finalise the GST report
Once you're happy with the information in the GST report you can finalise it. By finalising the report all the items for the period are locked in it. Once finalised, any changes to the GST type should be done with caution as it will invalidate your return with IRD.
You must finalise your GST returns in sequence. Once you finalise the GST return you are working on, the next GST return will become available in Preview mode.
To finalise a GST report either click on:
Save Final, or
Save Final & File with IRD
Save Final
With this option, you will still need to file the return with IRD and make a payment or lodge a refund.
Save Final & File with IRD
With this option, your report will be filed directly with IRD. All that's left is to make a payment or lodge a refund.
To file the report, choose to Save Final & File with IR
Read the Terms and Conditions to ensure you understand the process once you file with IRD, then click File Now. You will now be directed to log into MyIR where your report will be filed.
An automated GST invoice will appear on your Needs Action page. You can opt out of receiving this. Read more.
Troubleshooting
Download and print the GST report
You can print a copy of your GST report.
Click on the Print button in the GST report to download the report to your computer's Downloads folder.
You'll have the option to print only the first page of the report or to include the coded lines as well.
Once you've downloaded it you can open it to print.
Warnings in your GST return
We recommend that you check your bank accounts in the Actuals > Balancing screen and adjust bank account balances, as necessary. However, you can close this message and continue to finalise your GST return.
We recommend that you locate invoices in the Actuals > Needs Action screen and correct the due date on them, so that they do not occur during the GST period. However, you can close this message and continue to finalise your GST return.
We recommend that you locate the uncoded transaction(s) in the Actuals > Needs Action screen and code them. As the message indicates, the GST return cannot be finalised until all transactions are coded.
More Information