When is STP finalisation due?

Shortly after the end of the financial year; the ATO publishes the exact date each year.

Is super deductible if I pay it in July?

Generally, contributions are deductible in the year the fund receives them, not the year they accrued. To claim it this financial year, payments need to reach the fund by 30 June, so build in clearing house processing time.

Do I need a stocktake at EOFY?

If you carry inventory, yes. Generally you need a closing stock figure at 30 June, and a physical stocktake is the standard way to get one, though some small businesses can use simplified rules; worth asking your accountant.

EOFY preparation checklist for business owners

Jamee White, CPA26 July 20266 min read

Every June, the same scramble plays out in small businesses across the country: reconciliations left half done, a stocktake nobody scheduled, a payroll finalisation date that snuck up again. None of it needs to be dramatic. Reconcile every account, finalise payroll and Single Touch Payroll, sort out super timing, do a stocktake if you carry stock, review debtors and assets, and hand your accountant a clean file. Businesses that work through that list in June pay less in accounting fees and get their return done faster than the ones who start in August. Here's the full list, roughly in the order it should happen.

Reconcile everything first

Nothing else on this list means much until every bank account, credit card and loan in your file reconciles to its real world statement at 30 June. Clear the unpresented items that will never clear, chase missing source documents while suppliers can still resend them, and make sure clearing accounts, payroll and payment gateways especially, land back at their expected balances. A reconciled file is the foundation everything your accountant does gets built on.

The payroll block

Payroll carries the hardest deadlines in EOFY, so give it its own project. Reconcile total wages, PAYG withholding and super in your payroll reports against the general ledger and against what's already been reported through Single Touch Payroll during the year. Then complete your STP finalisation declaration so employees' income statements go tax ready; it's due shortly after year end, and the ATO publishes the exact date.

Superannuation deserves its own attention here. The super guarantee sits at 12% of ordinary time earnings, and contributions are generally only deductible in the year the fund actually receives them, not the year they accrued. Want the deduction this year? Payments need to leave early enough to land before 30 June, clearing house processing time included.

The core checklist

Reconcile all bank, credit card, loan and clearing accounts to 30 June
Review aged receivables and write off genuinely bad debts before year end so the deduction lands this year
Review aged payables and confirm the balances are real, not duplicates or stale entries
Complete a stocktake at 30 June if you carry inventory, and record the closing valuation
Reconcile payroll, PAYG withholding and super, then lodge your STP finalisation
Update the asset register: additions, disposals, anything scrapped during the year
Reconcile GST reported on BAS lodgments against the GST accounts in the ledger
Confirm director loans and owner drawings are recorded correctly, and talk them through with your accountant
Gather supporting documents: loan statements, new finance agreements, insurance schedules, major purchase invoices
Back up or export year end reports, even though cloud files retain their own history

Handing over to your accountant

The best handover is a boring one: a reconciled file, a short note on anything unusual during the year, and supporting documents already attached to transactions or sitting in one folder. Every question your accountant doesn't have to ask saves time and fees. If the same questions keep coming up year after year, that's a sign the bookkeeping needs a structural fix, not another year of patching over it.

After lodgment: close the loop

Once the accountant's finished, get their end of year adjusting journals and enter them into your own file so your software matches the lodged accounts. Skip this step and your file drifts further from reality every year, and comparative reporting stops meaning anything. Lock the closed period so the agreed figures can't shift underneath you later.

Where NextEra fits

For NextEra clients, EOFY is quiet by design: managed monthly bookkeeping means the file's already reconciled, and the checklist above is mostly confirmation rather than catch up work. If this June looked more like archaeology than admin, the Strategic Finance Review is the reset that stops it happening again next year.

Quick answers

Reconcile all accounts, review debtors and write off bad debts, complete a stocktake if you hold inventory, pay super early enough for it to reach the fund if claiming the deduction this year, and have a tax planning conversation while decisions can still be made.

This article is general information for Australian businesses, current at the published date. It is not financial, tax or legal advice. Speak to a registered agent or adviser about your circumstances before acting.

Jamee White, CPA

Founder of NextEra Bookkeeping. Jamee leads a team supporting established Australian businesses with strategic bookkeeping, reporting, payroll and Xero, and is a multiple national awards finalist across bookkeeping and finance.