The BAS is an Australian tax form used to report GST, PAYG withholding, PAYG instalments and other tax obligations to the ATO, typically lodged quarterly.
The Business Activity Statement is the primary tax reporting document for Australian businesses registered for GST. It is lodged with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) either monthly (for businesses with GST turnover over $20 million) or quarterly (for most small businesses). The BAS reports several tax obligations in one form: GST collected on sales, GST paid on purchases, PAYG withholding (tax withheld from employee wages), PAYG income tax instalments and fringe benefits tax instalments. The key calculation is your net GST position - if you collected more GST than you paid, you owe the difference to the ATO. If you paid more than you collected, you receive a refund. Accurate BAS lodgement depends on having every transaction correctly categorised with the right GST code throughout the period. Late lodgement attracts penalties, and incorrect lodgement can trigger an ATO audit. SortBooks helps you get ready for BAS by suggesting the right account and GST code for miscoded transactions and, on Growth and above, giving you a quarterly GST estimate to check before you lodge from Xero.
SortBooks helps with the bookkeeping behind bas (business activity statement) by connecting to your Xero account and using AI to suggest the right account for transactions sitting in catch-all accounts, learning from your own past coding. Instead of fixing bas (business activity statement) by hand, you review each suggestion, approve it, and SortBooks updates Xero, GST code included. Then ask the AI CFO about your numbers, using live Xero data.
GST is a broad-based consumption tax applied to most goods and services. Businesses collect GST on sales and claim credits for GST paid on purchases, remitting the net amount to the tax authority.
PAYG (Pay As You Go) withholding is an Australian system where employers withhold tax from employee wages and remit it to the ATO on their behalf.
The ATO is Australia's principal tax collection agency, responsible for administering income tax, GST, superannuation, excise and other federal tax obligations.
Tax compliance means meeting all your obligations to file tax returns, make payments and maintain records as required by your country's tax laws and tax authority.
Connect Xero, check the AI's suggestions and approve the changes. SortBooks updates Xero for you.