For many business owners, EOFY feels like a tax deadline.
For accountants and bookkeepers, it is one of the busiest and most important periods of the year.
Behind every set of year-end financial reports sits a significant amount of reconciliation, review and compliance work. Payroll, superannuation, BAS, GST, bank reconciliations, debtor balances, creditor balances and year-end adjustments must all align accurately before businesses can finalise their books.
With 30 June approaching, the Tailored Accounts team is gearing up for the busy EOFY period, which is far more than just closing the books. For us, year-end preparation is a valuable opportunity to review your financial health, ensuring that daily bookkeeping is transformed into accurate, reliable reporting for smart business decision-making and compliance.
Payroll remains one of the most important EOFY areas because it affects employees, superannuation funds, ATO reporting and business compliance obligations
Throughout the year, employers may process weekly, fortnightly or monthly payroll depending on their pay cycle, with each pay run reported to the ATO through Single Touch Payroll (STP).
At year end, businesses must carefully review and finalise payroll information so employee income statements can be marked as tax ready. For most employers, STP finalisation declarations are generally due by 14 July each year.
This process often involves:
In addition, a major change from 1 July 2026 is the introduction of Payday Super. Under the new rules, employers generally need to pay superannuation contributions at the same time salary and wages are paid.
As a result, businesses may need to pay closer attention to payroll processes, superannuation timing and cash flow management throughout the year rather than leaving super reviews until EOFY.
Although the April to June BAS is generally due on 28 July after year end, strong EOFY preparation often starts well before that date.
For many businesses, the final BAS of the financial year becomes the point where GST, PAYG withholding, instalments and prior-quarter adjustments are reviewed together. Consequently, businesses often use the final BAS review to check whether the full year’s reporting remains consistent and accurate.
This review process may include:
Once payroll and BAS reviews are complete, businesses then move to a broader review of the accounts to ensure balances remain reasonable, complete and properly supported.
Common EOFY review areas include:
In some cases, businesses holding stock or fixed assets may also need to complete stocktake procedures, update asset registers and review whether assets were sold, replaced or written off during the year.
Importantly, the Federal Budget 2026–27 also made the $20,000 instant asset write-off permanent for eligible small businesses with turnover under $10 million. Therefore, EOFY asset reviews are becoming increasingly important for businesses purchasing equipment, vehicles or technology during the financial year.
EOFY work takes time because it brings together many different parts of a business at once.
For a small business, EOFY may involve payroll reconciliation, BAS review, bank reconciliations, debtor and creditor reviews, asset checks, loan reconciliations and preparing reports for the tax agent or auditor.
At the same time, the time required often depends on factors such as the size of the business, the number of employees, the quality of bookkeeping records and how well the accounts have been maintained throughout the year.
A business with clean records and regular reconciliations may require relatively little EOFY adjustment work. In contrast, businesses with incomplete reconciliations, missing receipts, payroll issues or inconsistent GST coding may require significantly more review and correction time.
This is often why EOFY pressure builds quickly in June and July. The issue is rarely one major problem. More commonly, it is the accumulation of many smaller issues that need to be identified, reconciled and resolved before the accounts can be finalised properly.
EOFY is also not only about closing the year that has passed. It is an opportunity to prepare for the year ahead by reviewing cash flow, cleaning up old balances, improving compliance processes and ensuring the business starts the new financial year with more reliable financial information.
At Tailored Accounts, technology, structured review processes and detailed reconciliations are used to help businesses reduce manual work, improve reporting accuracy and prepare for EOFY with confidence.
As 30 June approaches, EOFY preparation is often less stressful and more effective when businesses review their records early rather than rushing to fix issues after year end.
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