Small Business EOFY Checklist: What to Do Before 30 June

As 30 June approaches, many business owners know they need to prepare for EOFY but are unsure where to begin. Records may be incomplete, customer invoices may still be unpaid, and the likely tax bill may not yet be clear.

A practical small business EOFY checklist starts with accurate financial information, not last-minute spending. Before reviewing deductions or making tax-planning decisions, you need reliable records showing how the business has performed, what it owes and how much cash is available.

EOFY preparation also extends beyond tax. It can involve reconciling accounts, checking payroll and super records, reviewing debtors, updating asset information and planning for upcoming payments. Some decisions must be made before 30 June, while other accounting and lodgement tasks continue after the financial year ends.

What Should a Small Business Do Before EOFY?

A small business should reconcile its records, review debtors and creditors, check deductions, update asset and stock records, complete payroll and super tasks, estimate its tax position and prepare cash flow for upcoming liabilities. Some tax-planning actions must be completed before 30 June and should be reviewed before acting.

An end of financial year checklist for a small business should cover six main steps:

1. Reconcile accounts and records. Check bank accounts, credit cards, loans, payment platforms and outstanding transactions.
2. Review income, expenses and deductions. Confirm that income is complete, expenses are correctly recorded and supporting documents are available.
3. Check debtors, stock and assets. Review unpaid invoices, possible bad debts, closing stock and changes to the asset register.
4. Complete payroll and super requirements. Reconcile payroll figures, PAYG withholding, Single Touch Payroll data and employer super liabilities.
5. Estimate tax and protect cash flow. Use reliable figures to estimate upcoming obligations and confirm the business can meet them.
6. Review time-sensitive decisions before 30 June. Check proposed purchases, prepayments, asset disposals and other planning actions before committing funds.

The Australian Government’s end-of-financial-year checklist also covers records, deductions, reporting obligations and planning for the next year.

Some work continues after 30 June, including final reconciliations, STP finalisation and tax return preparation. However, decisions that depend on payment, documentation or transaction timing may need to be reviewed before the financial year closes.

Start With Accurate and Reconciled Financial Records

Reliable EOFY planning starts with accurate accounts. Missing, duplicated or incorrectly dated transactions can distort profit, tax estimates, cash-flow planning and year-end decisions.

Where records are incomplete, a professional business accountant can help identify unresolved balances and prepare more reliable year-end figures.

Reconcile Bank, Loan and Credit Card Accounts

Reconcile every business bank account to the accounting system, including savings accounts and accounts used only occasionally. Check credit cards, business loans, equipment finance, payment platforms and clearing accounts against their statements.

Review uncategorised, duplicated or unexplained entries before relying on the accounts. A missing supplier payment or duplicated sale can distort both profit and the apparent cash position.

Check Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable

Review accounts receivable for unpaid invoices, incorrect balances, credit notes and payments that have not been allocated. Check accounts payable for missing supplier bills, duplicate invoices, disputed amounts and expenses entered in the wrong financial year.

Supplier statements can help confirm whether recorded liabilities are complete. A business may appear more profitable than it is when expenses are missing, or less profitable where bills have been duplicated.

Gather Supporting Documents

Collect the records needed to support the year-end accounts and any deductions claimed, including:

• invoices and receipts
• business bank, credit card and loan statements
• asset purchase, sale and finance documents
• payroll reports and super records
• stock records
• vehicle or travel records where relevant
• contracts or agreements affecting year-end transactions

Preparing this information early gives the accountant more time to investigate discrepancies and identify matters that may need action before 30 June.

Review Your EOFY Financial Reports

Once the accounts are reconciled, review the reports showing how the business performed and what it owns or owes at year-end. Formal reporting obligations vary, but these reports commonly help identify unusual balances, missing transactions, unpaid invoices and cash-flow pressure.

Report	What It Shows	Why It Matters at EOFY
Profit and loss statement	Income, expenses and profit for the period	Helps identify missing costs, unusual movements and the preliminary profit position
Balance sheet	Assets, liabilities and equity at year-end	Can reveal unreconciled loans, incorrect asset balances and amounts owed by or to the business
Accounts receivable report	Customer invoices that remain unpaid	Supports collection activity, cash-flow planning and bad-debt review
Accounts payable report	Supplier bills and other amounts the business owes	Helps confirm liabilities and whether expenses were recorded in the correct period
Cash-flow information	Cash received, cash paid and funds currently available	Shows whether the business can meet tax and other upcoming payments
Asset register	Business assets, purchase dates, costs and disposals	Supports depreciation, asset write-off and disposal reviews
Stock records	Stock quantities and values held at year-end	Supports closing-stock calculations where the business carries trading stock

These reports should be considered together. A profit and loss statement may show a profit, but it does not show whether customers have paid or whether enough cash is available for tax liabilities. Review unusual movements, missing balances and unresolved items before the accounts are completed.

Review Business Income, Expenses and Deductions

Once the reports are reliable, check whether all business income and expenses have been recorded correctly. This is also the time to identify missing evidence, private-use portions and transactions entered in the wrong financial year.

The review should focus on accuracy and eligibility. Paying an expense before 30 June does not automatically mean the full amount is deductible in that financial year.

Confirm All Business Income Has Been Recorded Correctly

Check that sales, service income and other business receipts are complete, including cash sales, electronic payments, credit sales and relevant grants.

The timing of assessable income can depend on the accounting method and when income is earned or received. For example, work completed before 30 June but invoiced in July may still relate to the earlier financial year under an earnings or accruals approach. Invoice dates should reflect transactions accurately rather than being changed solely to alter the tax outcome.

Review Claimable Business Expenses

A business can generally claim expenses sufficiently connected to earning assessable income, but treatment can vary according to the expense type, private use and whether the cost is capital in nature.

• Confirm the expense has a genuine business purpose.
• Exclude any private-use portion.
• Make sure invoices, receipts or other evidence are available.
• Check whether the amount is an operating expense or relates to an asset.
• Record it in the correct financial year.

The ATO provides further guidance on business deductions, including expenses that may be deductible and costs requiring different treatment. Our small business tax deductions checklist also explains common claim categories, record-keeping considerations and expenses that may require closer review.

A separate deductions review may be needed where the business has vehicles, mixed private and business use, substantial repairs, new assets or unusual one-off costs.

Check Prepayments and Expense Timing Before Paying

Prepaying an expense before 30 June does not always create an immediate deduction for the full payment. Some prepaid expenditure must be deducted over the period in which the goods or services are provided.

Eligible small businesses may be able to use the 12-month rule where the service period is no longer than 12 months and ends by the close of the following income year. Conditions and exceptions apply, so material prepayments should be checked before funds are committed.

For example, paying 12 months of business insurance in advance may produce a different timing outcome from paying several years upfront. The decision should also make commercial sense and leave enough cash for tax, wages and other obligations.

Review Debtors and Bad Debts Before 30 June

Unpaid invoices should be reviewed before year-end, but an overdue account is not automatically a bad debt. A customer may be late because of a temporary cash-flow problem, an administrative delay or a genuine dispute.

For an unpaid amount to support a bad-debt deduction, the debt generally must be genuinely unrecoverable, previously included in assessable income and written off in the accounts during the relevant income year.

Useful evidence may include:

• reminders and payment requests sent to the customer
• records of calls or collection activity
• correspondence about a dispute
• advice that the customer has entered liquidation or insolvency
• evidence that recovery costs would outweigh the amount owed
• accounting records showing when the debt was formally written off

An invoice that is 60 days overdue may still be recoverable and should not be written off merely because 30 June is approaching. An older debt may warrant different treatment where repeated recovery attempts have failed and evidence shows the customer cannot pay.

A deduction is generally not available for an invoice that was never included in assessable income. GST adjustments may be available in some circumstances, but the requirements should be checked separately.

The ATO outlines the requirements for claiming a bad-debt deduction. Review doubtful debts early enough to investigate them properly and record any eligible write-off before year-end.

Check Stock, Assets and Business Purchases

Stock, equipment and other business assets can affect the year-end accounts and tax position. Before making a purchase, confirm what the business already owns, what has been sold or disposed of and whether the records reflect what is actually on hand.

A tax deduction should not be the only reason for spending before 30 June. The purchase should meet a genuine business need, fit available cash flow and satisfy the relevant deduction or depreciation rules.

Complete a Stocktake Where Required

Businesses holding trading stock should review:

• stock received or sold but not yet recorded
• damaged, obsolete or slow-moving items
• stock held at another location
• differences between physical quantities and accounting records

Any stock write-down should use an accepted valuation approach and be supported by evidence. Eligible small businesses may use simplified trading-stock rules where the difference between opening stock and a reasonable estimate of closing stock is $5,000 or less. A formal stocktake may not be required, although the business can still choose to complete one and account for the change.

Update the Asset Register

Review the asset register against the equipment and property the business actually holds. Record new purchases, disposals, trade-ins and assets that have been scrapped, lost or taken out of business use.

• purchase and disposal dates
• cost and finance details
• business-use percentage
• location and current status
• whether the asset is installed or ready for use
• sale proceeds or trade-in values

This review helps identify missing depreciation, assets that should no longer remain on the register and purchases requiring different tax treatment.

Should You Buy Equipment Before EOFY?

A business should buy equipment before EOFY only where it is genuinely needed, affordable and suitable. A deduction reduces taxable income. It does not reimburse the full purchase price or restore the cash spent.

For the 2025–26 income year, eligible small business entities using the simplified depreciation rules may immediately deduct the business-use portion of eligible assets costing less than $20,000. The limit applies per asset, and the asset must be first used or installed ready for use between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026.

Thresholds and eligibility rules should be checked each year. Treatment can differ where an asset costs more than the threshold, has private use, is excluded from the simplified rules or is not ready for use by year-end.

Purchasing a replacement computer in June may be commercially sensible where existing equipment is failing and the new computer can be installed before 30 June. Buying equipment the business does not need may weaken cash flow without enough commercial benefit to justify the expense.

Complete Payroll, STP and Employer Super Tasks

Payroll work does not finish with the last June pay run. Before making an end-of-year declaration, reconcile payroll records against the accounting system and correct any differences.

This review should also identify unpaid or incorrectly calculated super contributions. From 1 July 2026, the Payday Super framework generally requires employers to make super contributions in line with each payday. The precise payment and qualifying-earnings rules should be checked against current ATO guidance.

Reconcile Payroll and Single Touch Payroll Data

Compare the payroll summary with the general ledger and Single Touch Payroll records. Check:

• gross wages and salaries
• PAYG withholding
• allowances, bonuses and deductions
• reportable fringe benefits where applicable
• employer super liabilities
• terminated employees and final payments
• adjustments entered in one system but not another

Investigate differences before submitting the STP finalisation declaration so employees receive accurate PAYG income statements or payment summaries, depending on how the payments were reported. Businesses that need more context on reporting requirements can also review how Single Touch Payroll works for small businesses, including what is reported and why payroll records must remain accurate.

Most employers must make the finalisation declaration for arm’s-length employees by 14 July. For closely held payees, the declaration is generally due by 30 September. Confirm the deadline applying to your payroll before finalising. The ATO provides current instructions on STP end-of-year finalisation.

Review Employer Super Obligations

Check that super has been calculated for each eligible employee using the correct earnings base and rate. For the 2025–26 financial year, the super guarantee rate is 12% of ordinary time earnings for most eligible employees.

• unpaid or late contributions
• incorrect employee or fund details
• contributions rejected or returned by a fund
• payroll items incorrectly included or excluded from super calculations
• differences between payroll liabilities and amounts received by funds

Late or missed contributions can create super guarantee charge obligations. The tax deduction timing may also differ from the period in which wages were earned, so unresolved amounts should be reviewed promptly.

For more detailed business guidance, see our guide to employer superannuation obligations.

Estimate Tax and Protect Business Cash Flow

A reliable tax estimate helps a business prepare for upcoming payments before cash is committed elsewhere. It should be based on reconciled accounts, not a rough profit figure or the current bank balance.

The likely tax position can vary depending on whether the business operates as a company, trust, partnership or sole trader. For people operating in their own name, our sole trader tax tips explain how BAS, GST, PAYG instalments, deductions and tax-return obligations may affect the amount of cash that needs to remain available.

Accounting profit and cash are not the same. A business may report a healthy profit while much of its income remains tied up in unpaid invoices, stock or equipment. It may also have supplier bills, wages, super and loan repayments that reduce the cash available for tax.

Before year-end, review:

• the preliminary profit and tax estimate
• unpaid invoices and expected collection dates
• BAS, GST and PAYG instalment obligations
• upcoming wages, super and supplier payments
• existing tax debts or payment arrangements
• funds that should be reserved for likely tax liabilities
• whether proposed EOFY spending would place pressure on working capital

This review can also reveal small business cash flow problems that are not obvious from the profit and loss statement alone.

The purpose is not to calculate a final tax outcome without complete information. It is to identify likely obligations, protect enough cash to meet them and avoid year-end purchases that leave the business short when payments fall due.

Review Lawful Tax-Planning Opportunities Before Acting

Year-end tax planning should be based on the business’s actual figures, structure and cash position. The aim is to identify lawful opportunities and unresolved risks before 30 June, not to make last-minute transactions solely to create a deduction.

Some matters need review before the financial year ends because they may depend on payment timing, documentation, resolutions or the date a transaction occurs. Understanding the broader principles behind small business tax-planning strategies can also help owners distinguish ongoing planning from last-minute EOFY actions.

• Eligible business expenditure: Check whether planned expenses are genuinely required, deductible and appropriately timed.
• Asset purchases: Review commercial need, business use, eligibility and whether the asset will be ready for use before year-end.
• Bad debts: Confirm that any proposed write-off is supported by evidence and recorded correctly before 30 June.
• Stock and asset adjustments: Review obsolete stock, disposed assets and items no longer used in the business.
• Employer super payments: Check payment timing, payroll records and outstanding obligations.
• Trust distribution resolutions: Where a trust is involved, confirm that required resolutions and supporting advice are addressed within the applicable timeframe.
• Capital gains and asset sales: Consider the tax implications of significant disposals before signing or completing a transaction.
• Division 7A and director loan issues: Review private company loans, payments and shareholder balances before they create avoidable compliance problems.
• Restructures or major transactions: Obtain accounting and legal advice before changing entities, transferring assets or completing a significant transaction.

Not every item applies to every business. Outcomes can depend on entity structure, accounting method, eligibility, transaction date and available records.

Artificially delaying invoices is not a suitable general tax-planning strategy. Income may still be assessable in the earlier year where it has already been earned, particularly under an accruals or earnings approach.

Many year-end decisions cannot be corrected retrospectively. Where an action may affect taxable income, cash flow or compliance, obtain tax planning support before the transaction or deadline passes.

What to Do After 30 June

Not every EOFY task must be completed before midnight on 30 June. Once the financial year closes, the focus shifts from time-sensitive planning decisions to finalising records, correcting differences and preparing information for reporting and lodgement.

• complete remaining bank, loan and credit card reconciliations
• confirm closing stock quantities and values
• finalise asset purchases, disposals and depreciation records
• reconcile payroll and complete STP finalisation
• provide requested records and supporting documents to the accountant
• review year-end adjustments and correct coding errors
• prepare required tax returns, financial statements and other reports
• compare actual results with the budget or forecast
• set cash-flow, reporting and performance priorities for the new financial year

Some adjustments can only be confirmed after year-end, but they should not be confused with tax-planning actions that needed to occur before 30 June.

The completed accounts also provide a useful starting point for the new year. Review which expenses increased, which customers paid late, where cash became tight and whether reporting gave you enough information to make timely decisions.

Scheduling an earlier planning review for the next EOFY can reduce last-minute pressure and provide more time to improve records, manage cash flow and consider decisions affected by transaction or payment timing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Plan Before 30 June, Not After the Opportunity Has Passed

A strong EOFY process starts with reliable numbers. Reconciled accounts, accurate payroll records and up-to-date debtor, stock and asset information give the business a clearer basis for estimating tax and making year-end decisions.

Spending money before 30 June is not automatically good tax planning. A purchase should meet a genuine business need, fit available cash flow and satisfy the relevant tax rules. The same principle applies to prepayments, bad-debt write-offs and other actions affected by timing or eligibility.

Some opportunities and compliance issues cannot be corrected after the financial year closes. Reviewing the business position earlier provides more time to resolve record-keeping problems, prepare for upcoming payments and obtain advice before a deadline or transaction passes.

If you are unsure which EOFY actions need to occur before 30 June, Grow Advisory Group can review your current figures, identify time-sensitive tax and accounting issues, and help you prepare for the business’s likely year-end obligations.

General information only: Tax outcomes and obligations depend on your business structure and circumstances.