GST / VAT
Depending on your region you may see GST or VAT as the menu option and these will also be interchangeable in the questions.
In which months do you pay GST?
Select the periods that you pay your GST/VAT liabilities and these will be the periods I forecast payments in your Cashflow Forecast.
How do you report on GST?
When you register for GST/VAT you'll choose Cash or Accrual. This will effect the amounts I forecast for GST so let me know how you report GST.
Which accounts do you use to report GST?
Your accounting system will have some special accounts for tracking your GST Liabilities. Let me know what accounts they are so I can accurately forecast your GST payments.
Wages & PAYG / PAYE
Depending on your region you may see PAYG or PAYE as the menu option and these will also be interchangeable in the questions.
Which accounts do you use to record wage expenses?
Tell me all your wages or salaries accounts and I'll know to treat them a bit differently withholding the wage tax for later payment.
Estimate the wage tax withheld
This is the percentage amount that I will forecast to withhold from your wages expense and pay later.
Which account do you use to record the tax withheld?
I'll use this account to learn how much tax withheld is already outstanding and keep a running total to forecast future payments.
In which months do you pay it?
And lastly, these are the periods that I will forecast you pay the wages tax withheld.
Bank & Equity
Which bank accounts do you want to use for Cashflow?
Tell me what your main trading bank accounts are. I'll use this as the Opening Bank balance for your Cashflow Forecast.
What is your Retained Earnings Account?
Your accounting system has a special account for recording retained earnings or it is sometimes known as Prior Year Earnings or Prior Year Surplus/Deficit. If you choose the wrong account you'll probably notice a discrepancy between the balance sheet reports I send you and your accounting system reports.
What is your Current Year Earnings Account?
If you use Xero and QuickBooks I'll have selected Current Earnings for you already and you don't need to change that. If you use MYOB, please choose the special account MYOB uses for tracking the current years earnings or profit.
Superannuation / Kiwi Saver / Pension Plan
Depending on your region you may see Superannuation, Kiwi Saver or Pension Plan as the menu option and these will also be interchangeable in the questions.
Which account do you use for Superannuation expenses?
If you're paying into a superannuation or pension plan for you employees, please tell me what account you use to record the expense. Often you'll record this expense as you pay your wages but actually pay the amount at a later date.
Which accounts do you use for Superannuation payables?
I'll use this account to learn how much superannuation payable is already outstanding and keep a running total to forecast future payments.
In which months do you pay Superannuation?
And lastly, these are the periods that I will forecast you pay the superannuation payable.
Depreciation
Which accounts do you use for Accumulated Depreciation?
I'll use these accounts to keep everything in balance when you budget for depreciation expense.
Which accounts do you use for Depreciation Expenses?
Depreciation is a non-cash expense so I need to know this to exclude it from your Cashflow Forecast and then create the balancing entry on the accumulated depreciation accounts nominated above.
Company Tax
Do you make provisional payments for company tax?
Choose Yes, as a percentage of my income in Australia if you pay PAYG Instalments using the "instalment rate" option. This will calculate your payment amount as a percentage of your Total Income from the periods you are making the provisional payment for.
Choose Yes, as a percentage of my profit n New Zealand if you use the Accounting Income Method (AIM) in calculation of provisional tax. This will calculate your payment amount as a percentage of your Net Profit from the periods you are making the provisional payment for.
Choose I will budget manually if you do not want me to calculate PAYG instalments.
What percentage of income/profit?
Set a percentage you would like me to use when calculating the provisional tax value as a percentage or Income or Profit.
What account do you use to record provisional tax payments?
I'll use this account to forecast future provisional payments.
In which months do you pay provisional tax?
These are the periods that I will forecast you pay provisional tax instalments.
Do you want to record a monthly expense for the provision?
Choose Yes, if you would like me to record a monthly expense as well as the provisional payments. If you choose no, I'll just forecast the payments and your Accountant can record the expense at the end of the year.
Cashflow Forecast
Which accounts do you use for Trade Debtors or Receivables?
Your accounting system will have a special account for tracking Accounts Receivable or Trade Debtors. I'll use this account to understand how much you're customers owe you and make assumptions about how quickly you'll collect your income in the future.
Note: 💬 use the Override debtor day count property to set your own average payment terms and I will use that to forecast your debtor receipts.
Which accounts do you use for Trade Creditors or Payables?
Your accounting system will have a special account for tracking Accounts Payable or Trade Creditors. I'll use this account to understand how much you still need to pay to your suppliers and make assumptions about how quickly you'll pay your expenses in the future.
Note: 💬 use the Override creditor day count property to set your own average payment terms and I will use that to forecast your creditor payments.