Handing over BAS prep
without losing control
Every quarter the same scramble: coding cleaned up in a rush, GST accounts reconciled at the last minute, an agent chasing a shoebox. Almost none of that needs to be done by the person who signs the lodgement.
BAS work splits cleanly in two, and the split is defined by law rather than preference. Preparation — the coding, the reconciling, the assembling — can be done by anyone competent. Lodgement and advice must come from someone registered with the Tax Practitioners Board.
The problem is that most small practices and businesses treat it as one job, so the registered person ends up doing four hours of data work to get to twenty minutes of judgement. That's the arbitrage, and it's why BAS prep is one of the highest-value things to hand over — provided the split is built into the process rather than assumed.
This guide sets out where the line sits, what a prepared pack should contain, and how to structure the quarter so the agent's review is genuinely a review.
Who this is for
✓Worth your time if
- You're a BAS or tax agent doing your own data cleanup before every lodgement
- You run a business with quarterly BAS and the prep always lands on you
- Your agent charges you for time that is really data entry
- Your GST control accounts get reconciled once a quarter, under pressure
✕Probably not if
- You want someone to lodge on your behalf — that requires TPB registration
- You need advice on GST treatment of unusual transactions
- Your books are more than two quarters behind (do a catch-up engagement first)
What can be done before the agent looks at it
Everything here is preparation. None of it constitutes a BAS service under the TASA definition once the agent reviews and lodges.
A pass across every transaction in the period checking GST treatment — GST-free food, input-taxed rent, purchases from non-registered suppliers, international transactions with no GST. Anything ambiguous goes on the query list rather than being decided.
Chasing down every transaction sitting in suspense or an "ask my accountant" account, with source documents attached, so the agent isn't making decisions from a bank narration.
Reconciling the GST collected and GST paid control accounts back to the transaction listing for the period, and explaining any variance in writing. This is the single most useful thing a preparer can hand an agent.
Reconciling the PAYGW figure against the payroll reports for the period, so the W2 field matches the payroll ledger rather than being taken on faith.
Assembling the underlying records — litres, vehicle logs, rate tables — into a working paper the agent can check in a minute rather than rebuild.
A single folder or workpaper set per quarter: draft figures, reconciliations, the query list with answers, and a short written note of anything unusual. The agent reviews the pack, not the ledger.
What only a registered agent can do
The Tax Agent Services Act defines a "BAS service" broadly — it covers ascertaining or advising on liabilities and obligations, and dealing with the Commissioner. Preparation under review is fine; the moment it becomes advice or lodgement, registration is required.
- Lodging the BASLodgement for a fee or reward is a BAS service. Your registered agent lodges — not the preparer, not you on their behalf.
- Advising on GST treatment"Should this be GST-free?" is advice. The preparer flags it; the agent answers it.
- Dealing with the ATOPhone calls, portal correspondence and payment arrangements go through the agent or the business, never the preparer.
- Signing the declarationThe declaration is a legal statement by the entity or its agent. It is never delegated offshore.
How to structure the quarter
The fix is moving the work off the deadline. Almost every BAS scramble is a scheduling problem wearing a compliance costume.
Move coding to weekly
The prep is only painful because it's done once a quarter. Weekly coding means the quarter-end pass is a review, not an excavation. This alone removes most of the pressure and it's the first thing we set up.
Build the query list as you go
A running list, one row per unclear transaction, with the source document attached. The agent answers it in one sitting instead of being interrupted eleven times.
Reconcile GST control monthly
Doing this monthly means a variance is a small hunt, not a forensic exercise. If the control account has drifted, you want to know in week three, not week eleven.
Deliver the pack a week before the deadline
A pack that arrives on the due date isn't reviewed, it's rubber-stamped. A week's buffer is what turns the agent's role back into genuine review.
Debrief once a quarter
Fifteen minutes on what came back as queries. Every quarter the query list should get shorter — if it doesn't, the coding rules need writing down rather than the person needing replacing.
Letting the preparer "fix" prior periods
A conscientious new starter finds a coding error from two quarters ago and corrects it. The period wasn't locked, the prior BAS is now wrong, and nobody notices until the next reconciliation doesn't balance. Set lock dates before day one, make the rule explicit — prior-period issues go on the query list, never straight into the ledger — and check the audit history in the first month. This is the single most common way a good BAS handover goes sideways, and it takes about ten seconds to prevent.