This User Guide provides a list of common issues related to unfiled GST Amounts flagged in the GST Reconciliation Report.

Understanding Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting is never a linear process. A User Guide will never provide the exact solution to a problem. Sometimes, a variance may relate to an individual discrepancy, others it could relate to the same issue across multiple transactions, and in some instances, it could be a combination of different problems.

A Troubleshooting User Guides can simply provide general guidance by quoting a series of examples of the common issues and their resolutions. Users should still apply their troubleshooting skills to audit the data, identify the issue (or issues) and apply the proper solution to fix each discrepancy. 

The key aspect of troubleshooting is untangling one issue at a time, never trying to fix all problems at once. Start by Identifying one issue and fixing it, then move to the next one. Never be alarmed if after resolving one discrepancy, the variance is even larger than before, if the solution applied to the issue is correct, then disregard the variance and move to the next problem. 

Dealing with Unfiled GST Amounts in previous periods

The GST Reconciliation report may show an unfiled amount in either the GST Collected or GST Paid Section of the report. An unfiled amount is caused when a transaction is either been added or removed in a previous period after the Activity Statement for such period has been reconciled and lodged.

Unfiled amounts are caused when a user adds or removes any of the following transaction types:

The correct approach to rectify Unfiled amounts in previous periods varies based on the following three scenarios:

1. The period of the Unfiled amount is in the same Financial Year as the Activity Statement you are reconciling;
2. The period of Unfiled amount is in a previous Financial Year from the Activity Statement you are reconciling and the Tax Return for that year has not yet been reconciled or lodged;
3. The period of Unfiled amount is in a previous Financial Year from the Activity Statement you are reconciling and the Tax Return for that year has already been reconciled or lodged.

Scenario 1 - The Unfiled Amount is in the same Financial Year as the Activity Statement

If an unfiled amount is flagged in the same Financial Year as the Activity Statement you are reconciling, the variance can be rectified by processing a GST adjustment in the Current Activity Statement.

è  The GST Reconciliation Report 

In the example above, the GST Unfiled amount relates to the period immediately prior to the current Activity Statement. The period of the Unfiled amount and the current Activity Statement period are in the same Financial Year. Therefore, a GST adjustment can be processed in the current period. 

The Unfiled amount is in the GST Paid section, the total unfiled amount is $339.51. The GST Paid Accrued from the Xero transactions is more than the GST filed (lodged). In this instance, it is likely that more transactions were added to the period after the BAS was lodged. The GST Adjustment is calculated as follows: $339.51*11 = $3,734.61

1. Go to Accounting > Reports
2. Select the report: Activity Statement
3. Select the [GST Calculation Worksheet] Tab
   
   è  The Activity Statement Report - GST Calculation Worksheet
   
   
   
   
4. Scroll down to the G18 field and enter the GST adjustment
   Note: if the unfiled GST had been flagged in the GST Collected section of the Report the adjustment would have been entered in the G7 field.
5. Continue to run and publish the Activity Statement
6. Exit out of the GST Reconciliation Report and run it again. The GST Adjustment entered in G18 will be shown in the Adjustments column in the current period 
   
   è  The GST Reconciliation Report 
   
   
   

Scenario 2 - The Unfiled Amount is in a previous Financial Year and the Tax Return of that year has not yet been lodged

If an unfiled amount is flagged in a previous Financial Year from the Activity Statement you are reconciling, and that Financial Year has not yet been reconciled and/or the Tax Return lodged, then the Activity Statement for the period of the Unfiled GST Amount needs to be revised.
Note: if Unfiled GST amounts are shown in multiple periods of the previous year, the total of all Unfiled amounts can be revised in the Apr-Jun Activity Statement of that year.  

è  The GST Reconciliation Report 

In this example, the Unfiled Amount is in the last period of the previous Financial Year. Therefore, the Activity Statement of that period will be revised. 

1. Go to Accounting > Reports
2. Select the report: Activity Statement
3. Enter the Activity Statements' dates of the period of the Unfiled amount
4. Run and Publish the Activity Statement
5. Go to Contacts > Suppliers
6. Find the Australian Taxation Office
   
   è  The Australian Taxation Office Contact 
   
   
   
   
7. Open the Activity Statement Purchase transaction for the period you have just revised
8. Click on the Payment transaction
   
   è  The Australian Taxation Office Contact 
   
   
   
   
9. Click on Remove & Redo
10. Return to the ATO Purchase transaction and click on [Bill Options] > Edit
11. Amend the value of the GST to reflect the Activity Statement Revision
12. Pay the amended Activity Statement Purchase to the ATO - ICA (805) account
13. Log in to Online Services for Business (or Agents) and revise the Activity Statement
14. Exit out of the GST Reconciliation Report and run it again. The Unfiled Amount for that period should now be 0.00. 

Scenario 3 - The Unfiled Amount is in a previous Financial Year and the Tax Return of that year has been lodged

If an unfiled amount is flagged in a previous Financial Year from the Activity Statement you are reconciling, and that Financial Year has been reconciled and/or the Tax Return lodged, then any transaction added or voided after the Activity Statement was originally lodged, must be identified and actioned. Any additional transactions found should have the date amended to the current Financial Year. Finally, any transaction voided must be tracked and re-instated. If the Business needs the transaction removed, a reversal transaction should be created in the current Financial Year.

(for example, a Sales Invoice was voided in the period after the Tax Return had been lodged. After finding the voided Sales Invoice, this should be re-created exactly the same. A Sales Credit Note dated in the current Financial Year should be raised to reverse the Sales Invoice and applied to the Invoice).

Track voided Transactions

In Xero, a user can track both Sales and Purchases voided transactions for a specific period

1. Go to Business > Sales Overview (or Purchase Overview to find voided Bills)
   
   è  The Sales Overview screen 
   
   
   
   
2. Click on See all
   
   è  The Invoices screen opens
   
   
   
   
3. Click on [Search]
   
   è  The Invoices search criteria display on the screen
   
   
   
   
4. In the Start Date and End Date enter the dates of the Activity Statement period
5. Select the option Include Deleted & Voided, then click on [Search]

Track Additional Transactions

Finding additional transactions is a fairly manual task, you will need to run the Activity Statement Report for the same period and compare the GST Audit Section of this report with the GST Audit Section from the Activity Statement Report originally published in Xero.

1. Go to Accounting > Reports
2. Select the report: Activity Statement
3. Set the Activity Statement's dates to the period where the transactions were added
4. Select the [GST Audit Report] Tab
   
   è  The GST Audit Section of the Activity Statement Report
   
   
   
5. Click on [Export] > Excel
6. From the Reports screen then select the [Published] Tab
   
   è  The Xero Published reports
   
   
   
   
7. Click on the ellipsis icon next to the Activity Statement Report published for the same period and click on Export to Excel
8. Compare the two GST Audit Reports