Terms and Conditions

You will provide access to the relevant business records. This may include paperwork relating to the transactions for the month or quarter. 

This may include but is not limited to:

• Ongoing access to the Business Software;
• Bank statements;
• Credit card statements;
• Cheque books;
• Receipts/invoices;
• Bank deposit book or relevant bank transfer information;
• Answers to queries as required

Unless otherwise discussed and agreed it is your responsibility as the business owners for the maintenance and accuracy of business records and availability of records either for our processing or for verification and provision to authorities if required.

We may request source documents for some items and process transactions based on the information provided by you, which does not necessarily include all source documents.

It is a requirement that you must hold copies of all relevant documentation in compliance with the ATO standards.

It is a requirement by the ATO that ABNs of suppliers be checked at least once a year to ensure that they are valid.

All relevant documentation and information required to allow us to prepare and produce financial reporting to comply with legislative requirements must be received 14 days prior to due lodgment dates. We will not be liable for any penalties if documentation and information has not been provided.

A separate signed authority must be provided to us if we are engaged in making payments on your behalf.

A separate specific authority form must be provided to us for each lodgment of documentation with the ATO; we will provide this form to you before each lodgment.

You authorise me to contact your tax agent via email and phone as required 

The monthly fee will be reviewed after 3 months of work has been performed to ensure accuracy of quote. This will again be reviewed annually. An invoice will be sent weekly for hourly billing or upon commencement of work per “Service Fee” schedule above. Payment of that invoice is 7 days net by Direct Debit. Direct Debit set up cost, charge for direct debit fail and credit card merchant fee will be at the cost of the Client. 

If payment is not made without prior arrangement by the due date we may charge a 5% compound interest charge on balance of bill.

We reserve the right to stop work if you fail to make payment when and as it falls due.

Any debts beyond 30 days (unless a prior payment arrangement has been entered into) will be referred to a debt collection agency and any costs associated in recovering such debts will be passed onto you.

We reserve the right to review fees for services rendered on a regular basis; any change in price will be notified in writing.

We shall discuss with you any intention to change the fee arrangement due to changes in the work required.

Utilisation of other workers

Our firm utilises contractors to carry out our engagement with you. 

You hereby authorise us to disclose information relating to your and your entities’ affairs to all such third parties as we may choose to engage to perform such work. 

We currently have outsourcing arrangements with 24×7 in Philippines whom we engage from time to time to assist us.

Our contractors have signed agreements in place with us which preclude them from accepting employment or contracting directly with a client. The agreement also precludes them from sharing or storing your data with anybody else. Their access to your data is only through these “work” laptops which cannot store or copy data locally. Furthermore, their access to your data files is secured by “Practice Protect” used by us to manage login information.

You should always feel free to raise directly with us any questions or concerns that may arise in relation to the persons we assign to our engagement with you.

We are still ultimately responsible for the conduct, supervision and activities of those contractors and outsource providers and for the delivery of the services we are engaged to perform for you and your entities. 

Should you not want us to use 24×7 for our engagement or for some specific work, please let us know in writing before we start that body of work.

Additionally, from time to time, we and our third-party contractors may engage external IT service providers to provide IT services in the carrying out of our engagement with you and your entities (for example, hosting data on cloud-based platforms such as Google, Microsoft, Xero, MYOB, etc)  The utilisation of these services may result in information relating to you and your entities being stored overseas. You hereby authorise us and our third-party contractors to disclose information relating to your and your entities’ affairs to all such external IT service providers as we or our third-party contractors may see fit.

Payroll Matters

Better Bookkeeping for Business (BB4B) is engaged to establish and maintain the payroll systems based on the payroll information provided to us. We will implement and maintain the payroll based on this information. It is agreed that BB4B is not engaged to interpret and apply the FairWork provisions and/or awards to this business.

Lodgement of information with ATO

A requirement of law is that you will be provided with an authorisation for all lodgements required by the ATO including BAS lodgement, Payment Summaries and TPAR reports (if applicable). Lodgement of all forms will follow our receipt of that authorisation. Email authorisation is acceptable. Failure to lodge on time can incur a fine and this will be your responsibility to pay if the authorisation has not been received by us.

Review of documentation

The responsibility for reviewing final reports and/or work rests with you.

You will not be charged to correct errors which are clearly our fault, but revisions performed at your request may require discussion on any time incurred.

Responsibility for Bookkeeping Records

Responsibility for the maintenance of underlying business records rests with you, (client/business owner); this includes security of those records and prevention against fraud. It is important to remember that you are personally responsible for the information contained in any statutory return and that you must retain all necessary supporting documentation to substantiate the transactions.

We have discussed and agreed on the requirement for business records, including primary source documents, to be retained by you. We have discussed your expectations as to our involvement in the verification that such records are accurate, correct and being maintained. It is also important to state that as a BAS Agent/Bookkeeper, if we are advised in writing by yourself that you have incurred the expense for business purpose, have copies of the invoices and the GST is applicable, we will process on the basis that you have the correct records.

While we will perform local backups of bookkeeping work for our own records, you should ensure all your business electronic data is backed up securely.

Ownership of the Accounting Software File

If our license for Accounting Software is used for your business, a licence removal fee may be charged at completion/termination of our bookkeeping services. If you wish to takeover or transfer the licence for software from us, all outstanding fees to us must be paid. We note that the ownership of the data in the software becomes yours following payment of the respective fees. If you choose to discontinue our services including the provision of software through us, we shall cease our licence to that software noting that it is your responsibility to ensure you have retained the necessary business records that you are required to maintain. Working documents of the BAS agent would not belong to the client unless the client specifically instructed the agent to prepare such drafts for them and had paid for them.

Destruction of Documents and Files

Upon our request either during our engagement or following its termination, you must collect your property without delay which will be released to you once our accounts are paid. Should any of your property remain in our possession following our request to collect it, we will hold the property for three months before destroying it in accordance with the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012.

Standards

We aim to provide the highest standard of professional service and are focused on the concerns of your business clients. If for any reason you feel you have not received the level of service expected or have an issue to raise, please contact myself to discuss how the problem may be resolved.

Furthermore, as a Member of the Australian Bookkeepers Network (ABN) and the Tax Practioner Board (TPB), I am subject to the ethical requirements of ABA & TPB and its investigations and disciplinary processes. These requirements cover issues such as Code of Conduct and ethics, adherence to bookkeeping standards, requirements to undertake continued professional education. Should there be an issue regarding the ethical or business practices of myself or my company, you may refer such matters to ABN or TPB.

Working Standards

When working onsite we expect a reasonable working environment which includes safety regulated table & chair, office space, power supply, heating / cooling and non-smoking area.

Indemnity

You agree to indemnify us for any loss that may result from third party claims arising from the provisions of the services. If there is a claim against us for loss, the loss will be proportionately reduced by the extent of your contribution to the loss.

Right of Lien

We have a right of lien on records and business data, that is, we reserve the right to hold records and data against any outstanding debts. Note this will only apply to records and data that has been worked on but for which payment is outstanding.

Privacy

We collect and store information that may be deemed private. Please refer to our privacy policy document on our website.