If your organisation was previously not registered for GST and is becoming GST registered, you'll need to make some changes.
- If you were using Xero Cashbook, you'll need to upgrade to GST Cashbook. This costs $25 per month (plus GST), or you can upgrade to one of Xero's other plans. Contact Beany Support and we can upgrade this for you.
- Complete your bank reconciliation for all transactions dated before the start of your first GST period.
Tell Xero that you're now registered
Update your GST status in Xero by going to the Accounting menu, select Advanced, then click Financial Settings. Change your GST period (monthly, two-monthly, or six-monthly) and GST basis (payments or invoice).
Chart of accounts
Your account codes in the chart of accounts won't have GST applied at the moment. Before entering any transactions into Xero for your first GST period, you need to edit each account to update the default tax setting from No GST to the correct GST treatment option.
To update your chart of accounts in bulk, you can export it from Xero, make the changes, then import it back into Xero.
Other
If you have any of the following set up, you’ll need to update the tax option as well.
- Bank rules
- Repeating invoices or bills
- Repeating journals
- Draft invoices or bills not yet processed
Now Xero knows that you're registered for GST
You'll find the GST return reports in Reports under the Accounting menu. Any existing transactions already entered into Xero will not be affected by this change – you’ll still be able to see them and include them in reports.
If any transactions have been entered without GST, that should include it, you can add the GST to bulk transactions by using Find and recode in Xero if you have Advisor status.
Alternatively, you can edit the transactions by one of the following methods (depending on the type of transaction).
ZD article Fixing common errors in Xero
ZD article Problems reconciling Xero?
ZD article Used an incorrect code when reconciling a transaction?
ZD article Are there duplicate invoices or bills?
ZD article Recorded an incorrect GST rate on a transaction?
ZD article Has a bill or invoice been paid twice in error?
At any time, Beany Support is only a phone call or an email away. If you're having difficulty, please get in touch - we're here to help!