In the leadup to the End of Financial Year (EOFY), it’s time for trade and field service businesses to prepare for a smooth year-end. With the right strategies in place for tax filing and financial reporting, you’ll save valuable time and maximise the effort – giving you the freedom to focus on growth and the business.
Let’s dive into how you can prepare for the EOFY, skip the last-minute rush, and set your business up for success in the year ahead.
Skip to Simpro’s EOFY Guide: 10 expert tips for trade and field service businesses
When is EOFY in Australia?
Every country has its own fiscal year-end dates, in Australia, the 2025 financial year runs from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025.
Although the end of the financial year is when businesses and individuals wrap up their financial activities, it's not the only important date in the fiscal calendar. Missing deadlines can result in financial penalties, so businesses need to stay on top of lodgement and payment due dates.
EOFY deadlines and other dates for financial reporting
2025
| 21 May | Fringe benefits tax (FBT) return and payment due. |
| 30 June | End of Australia’s 2024/25 financial year |
| 1 July | Start of Australia’s 2025/26 financial year |
| 14 July | 2024/25 PAYG withholding payment summaries for your employees are due. This applies only to payments not reported through STP. |
| 31 October | 2024/25 tax return for sole traders, partnerships and trusts due. |
2026
| 28 February | 2024/25 lodgment and payment due date for entities like small businesses that weren’t due at an earlier date. |
| 28 February | Final date for lodgment and payment (if required) for 2024/25 Annual GST returns – if you don’t have an income tax return obligation. |
Throughout the year, you’ll likely have monthly and quarterly reporting obligations, including PAYG withholding, GST and business activity statements. Keep in mind these dates may vary depending on your tax and business structure. Be sure to familiarise yourself with the official schedule from the Australian Tax Office (ATO).
Simpro’s EOFY Guide: 10 expert tips for trade and field service businesses
Whether it’s your first EOFY or you're looking to refine your current processes, this checklist covers the essential tasks and provides practical tips for seamlessly integrating them into your daily operations. This ensures your business is fully prepared for year-end while maximising your efforts. If we have to do the work, we might as well reap all the benefits!
1. Prepare financial statements and reports
Under tax law, you are required to maintain records of all transactions related to your business’s tax affairs. This includes documentation that supports the information reported in your tax returns and financial statements. Before submitting your tax return, it’s essential to prepare your financial statements to ensure your records are accurate and up-to-date. This preparation varies depending on your business structure, but will likely include:
- the business balance sheet,
- profit and loss report, and
- cash flow statements.
Leveraging a digital reporting tool can provide greater visibility into your finances, helping you identify errors early and allowing more time for necessary corrections.
2. Reconcile income and expense transactions
Double-check all income and expenses are accurately recorded and correctly categorised. This includes reviewing invoices, receipts, and payments.
Any missed or misclassified transactions could impact your financial statements and lead to discrepancies in your tax filings, potentially resulting in penalties or audits. Using a financial tool will help provide real-time visibility over your income and expenses, helping you identify discrepancies early and improve cash management.
For businesses registered for GST, Taxify simplifies the sales tax process of applying GST to your sales, reducing the stress of tax calculations. With Taxify, you can easily ensure that your GST filings at year-end are accurate, helping you maintain the correct balance between GST collected and paid.
3. Identify all eligible business expenses and deductions
Review your business expenses and identify any that are eligible for tax deductions. This includes: equipment, tools, office supplies, travel, and other operational costs. The more deductions you can claim, the lower your taxable income will be, reducing your overall tax liability.
Here are some common business deductions according to the ATO:
- professional development training for field and admin staff
- software and subscriptions, including job management software from Simpro
- operating expenses such as office rent and fleet vehicle costs, and
- business-related travel expenses, including fuel and accommodation.
4. Conduct stocktake and asset valuation
If your business deals with many moving parts, a stocktake is essential for accurately assessing the value of inventory and assets. Ensuring everything is correctly valued and recorded is key, as this directly impacts your tax obligations, some Aussie businesses will engage with an accountant or tax specialist to do so.
If you own depreciating assets like equipment or vehicles, ensure you account for their depreciation properly.
Adopting an online stock and inventory management tool can simplify the process, reduce manual effort and help you easily track new and existing assets.
5. Make necessary contributions for employees
Understanding your obligations to employees come tax time is an essential part of the financial year. This includes knowing:
- how much tax and super you need to pay for each worker, and
- how to report and lodge the details.
Each time you pay your employees, you’ll withhold tax to assist with their end of financial obligations - known as PAYG withholding. You must report this sum to the ATO, pay the amount withheld and provide a summary of the payment to employees.
Super contributions for eligible employees (most employees and some contractors who meet eligibility criteria) must be made quarterly, on 28 October, 28 January, 28 April and 28 July.
If you’re using Single Touch Payroll (STP), there’s no need for payment summaries – employees can access their income statement through myGov. If you’re not yet using STP, you must manually provide payment summaries.
6. Review any fringe benefits (FBT) provided
If your business provides fringe benefits to employees – such as cars or loans – it’s a requirement to calculate and report Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) due by the 21 May. Ensure you accurately include the value in your tax filings, and that FBT is paid where applicable.
To streamline this process, consider using software that integrates FBT calculations with your payroll system. This reduces the risk of errors and ensures compliance, making managing fringe benefits year-round rather than waiting until EOFY easier.
7. Check for changes to tax this year
Laws change, and your obligations may shift with each new tax year. It’s important to stay informed about any updates. Also, consider your business circumstance – whether you're growing, downsizing, selling, or building a new office.
Head to the Australian Tax Office website to check if any changes apply to your situation in 2025, ensuring you're on track with the latest requirements.
8. Prepare and lodge your business tax return with the ATO
All registered businesses must file an annual tax return with the ATO, reporting income, allowable deductions, and other financial details. Ensure you accurately capture all income and claim eligible deductions to minimise taxable income. Tax returns are due:
- 31 October 2025 for sole traders, partnerships and trusts, and
- 28 February 2026 for most small companies.
Lodgement deadlines may vary depending on turnover and business structure. It’s best to check the ATO website for specific deadlines and due dates.
Integrated financial software can simplify this process, allowing direct filing with the ATO and reducing the risk of error, resulting in a smoother lodgement.
9. Set financial goals and budgets for 2025
You've already put in the hard work come EOFY – whether it's reporting, reconciliation, or stocktakes. Let’s maximise that effort to align with your business goals and growth plans. This is the perfect time to reassess your financial objectives for the coming year.
EOFY tip from Simpro’s partner - Business Benchmark Group:
As the end of the financial year approaches, it’s crucial for trades businesses to take a proactive approach to planning and reflection.
- Start by cross-checking your resourcing plan to ensure your team is aligned with upcoming demands for growth.
- Review your High Tech vs High Touch ratios to maintain the right balance between automation and personal connection with clients and or external stakeholders.
- Check your scoreboard hygiene – ensure your financial and performance metrics are accurate and up-to-date and befitting your growth plans.
- Finally, set your sights on the future: identify markets to conquer in the next season and don’t be afraid to be bold in your strategic planning.
The EOFY is not just about closing the books; it’s an opportunity to gear up for growth and a high performance challenge!
- Nikki Sadler, Business Benchmark Group
10. Audit your end-of-financial-year process
Finally, once the dust has settled, it's valuable to reflect on how the EOFY activities unfolded – the highs and the challenges of 2024/25. Key areas to review include:
- accuracy of financial records
- responsiveness to deadlines across the business
- time spent gathering and organising information, and
- tasks that could be simplified or automated.
By taking a proactive approach to reviewing your EOFY activities, you can implement strategies to improve efficiency, ensure tax compliance, and position your business for success in the new financial year – use this guide as a starting point.
Simplifying the EOFY with integrated financial features
Job management software like Simpro simplifies key aspects of your operations, including invoicing, payroll, inventory tracking and reporting. By linking field teams with the office, Simpro helps businesses:
- monitor payments and invoices in real-time,
- automate calculations for job costs, expenses, and GST, and
- generate financial reports that aid in EOFY lodgements.
Simpro’s accounting integrations and streamlined quotes ensure all your records are in one place, minimising double-handling and simplifying EOFY preparations.
Business and financial reporting
Gain an in-depth view of your finances with precise reports and configurable dashboards that put you in control. Stay on top of cash flow and be fully prepared for year-end.
Seamlessly integrate with your cloud accounting software to maintain accurate, transparent financial data that stays in sync across all systems.
Keep track of unpaid invoices with automated reminders to ensure timely payments and improve cash flow management. Access detailed cash flow and GST reports anytime for enhanced financial visibility.
Australia’s EOFY glossary
Here are common words and phrases to know for the financial year:
- EOFY (End of Financial Year)
- marks the official date for the end of the financial year, which runs from 1 July to 30 June of the following year.
- GST (Goods and Services Tax)
- is the consumption tax applied to most goods and services in Australia. If your business is GST-registered, you must report the GST earned and paid. Businesses with a turnover of $75,000 or more in the past 12 months (or $150,000 for non-profit organisations) must register for GST in Australia.
- Assets
- are the resources owned by a business or individual used for business purposes, such as equipment, vehicles, and property, that may be subject to depreciation and tax reporting if they have an expected life of more than 12 months and cost more than $300 (for depreciation purposes) under Australian tax law.
- Financial Statements
- are reports detailing the financial activities of a business, including balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and cash flow statements.
- Tax Deductions
- are expenses that can be subtracted from gross income to reduce taxable income, such as business expenses, depreciation, and certain operational costs. Check with the ATO to see eligible tax deductions. Tools such as Simpro can be an eligible business expense.
- A Tax Return
- is the document filed with tax authorities that reports income, expenses, and other relevant financial information, enabling the ATO to prepare tax returns for businesses and individuals.
- Depreciation
- is the reduction in the value of assets, such as computers or vehicles, over time, which you can claim as a deduction for business purposes. Depreciation needs to be reported each financial year.
- Liabilities
- include debts or obligations the business owes, such as loans or unpaid invoices, that must be accounted for at EOFY.
- Reconciliation
- is the process of ensuring that financial records, including bank statements, accounts payable (i.e. expenses) and receivable (i.e. invoices) match and are accurate before EOFY.
- The Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
- is the government agency responsible for managing and enforcing tax laws in Australia. The ATO provides guidance, processes tax returns, and administers programs like the Australian Business Register (ABR).
