Info Hunting in the ATO Website - 18/10/2016

By Alexi Boyd |

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
Small Business Bookkeeping Tips
with Alexi Boyd from Boyd Office Management Services
Date: 18 October 2016

Intro:

The ATO is trying had to help us Small Businesses navigate the world’s most complex taxation system. Did you know the ATO looks after a myriad of taxes which impact small businesses including (but by no means exhaustive) GST & BAS Lodgment, Company & Individual Pay as You Go Income tax, super (our own and our employees and our contractors), Pay As You Go Withholding Tax …… it’s a maze of navigation and basically impossible for the typical small business owner who is NOT a Tax Agent or Tax Expert to work out.

And up until a couple of years ago the ATO “information” website was anything but; it was impossible to navigate. The search functions didn’t work (the list was confusing and bore no resemblance to the words you just punched in) answers to basic questions complicated and impossible to understand and often the entire website was down. And don’t even get me started on the portal.

The ATO has been working hard to talk to small business to find out HOW they want to navigate, WHAT they want to know and WHY compliance is so difficult to understand. They’ve held round tables, conducted surveys and asked loads of professional associations for advice. And now fresh off the assembly line is Small Business Assist.

Now if you’re like me you have a very logical way of researching. You start with the basics on a topic (which helps to reinforce what you already know) and they allow the search function to guide you on where to go next. It’s the classic you don’t know what you don’t know so it’s a good idea to start at the basics. And I like to dive down all the rabbit holes to REALLY find out what I don’t know.  Its kind of like those old Pick-A-Path books. You wouldn’t start in the middle because you need to know how the story starts. But once you get going you HAVE to read all the pages.

Take for example a search on GST in this website. Let’s start on the Small Business Assist website (which nicely starts with a simple question: How can we help? AND it has a spelling autocorrect too! I also appreciate the use on consistent colours on the buttons:

  • A simple one word query gives you a set of logical responses or sub-categories. I typed in a broad category like “GST”. Within each sub-categories there is always a couple of links to get more info.
    • The first link always takes you to the page we’re used to seeing on the ATO website (which, mind you are a lot less “wordy”) starting with More About…
    • Accompanying this there is a little Blue Find Out More button which brings you to a more visual info PDF which is more of a pictorial info page (clearly appealing to the visual learners amongst us) which you can download and use as a learning material!
    • There may also be a Purple Watch button which takes you to ATOTV
  • In the ATO website the pages we’re used to seeing have menus that are now clear and logical (taking more of a chronological pathway of how business operates and grows.)
  • What I like also is on the ATO website link it leads you to the next logical step your pathway to discovery about the topic you’re researching. For example if you’re researching GST the next step might be Registering for GST and nicely, it guides you to the links for that pictorial PDF I mentioned earlier as well as video series.

As well as Small Business Assist there is also ATOTv. Which are small, bite size videos with real-life examples and a transcript of the video, if you’re that kind of learner.

Sound familiar? Yeah, made me think of the Xero info pages too. hehehe

Other ways to get help have expanded too:

  • There is now a Web Chat service (limited hours) which can help with:
    • GST
    • ABN/AUSkey
    • Payment Arrangements
    • BAS 
  • Book an after hours call back – how good is this? You book a time for an expert to call you. The questions are a little specific but at least the person will be in the right department and know what you want to ask.
  • Ask Alex is still there. I find this annoying. Its more “conversational” in that the responses look and feel like a real person but they are just key-word search based and are confusing because the little “chat” window can’t achieve when a full webpage can do and you can lose your trail of research.
  • There’s also a new ATO App! The ATO says:
  • Our app has many features. You can:
    • log in to access our online services, including myTax, to lodge your income tax return and track the progress of your return
    • enrol and use your voiceprint for fast, easy and secure access to our online services for individuals and sole traders. Simply log into our online services for individuals via the app and follow the prompts.
    • use your voice to verify your identity the next time you use our app or phone us
    • record and manage your car trips, work-related expenses, gifts and donations, interest, dividends and other deductions and the cost of managing your tax affairs on the go using myDeductions
    • upload your 2016 financial year deductions from within the ATO app myDeductions tool to the ATO for pre-filling into your tax return.
    • calculate the amount of tax to withhold from salary and wage payments
    • check an Australian business number (ABN) using ABN Lookup
    • work out key dates and, depending on your device, set important reminders and alerts for tax and super obligations
    • use the Business performance check tool to compare your business with similar businesses in your industry using the latest Small business benchmarks
    • watch videos, access checklists and visit SMSF assist for other helpful information for SMSF trustees
    • access a number of other useful tools and calculators.

On the regular ATO website don’t just enter a search and move from there; scroll down to the bottom of the page. Chances are you’re not the only person confused with that topic (like Contractor vs Employee) and there’s an easy link (with a clear pretty, colourful picture to boot)

So my top tips?

  • Start your search at Small Biz Assist (why aren’t they advertising that more?) as you’re more likely to get a few info options and a logical progression of what you’re searching for
  • Start with a one word search and work your way through the suggested Subcategories
  • I feels like the ATO is still struggling with Java script and AUSKEY so we might actually cover that in our next show.
  • Remember to always ask for a reference number, the name of the person you spoke to and date and time. Write it down somewhere or better still email yourself this info so you have a date and time stamp as to when you called.
  • If you complete one of the self-help surveys and intend to use the “results” this survey gives you to make important business decisions (like whether to engage as a contractor or employee) then always print as a PDF and save somewhere.
  • Remember not every tax is controlled by the ATO – the State based Payroll Tax is a classic example. So don’t be surprised when these “help pages” don’t operate the same way.