Australian compliance obligations do not pause for a downturn. BAS is due quarterly. TPAR lodgement deadlines are fixed. Single Touch Payroll reports are filed every pay run. The ATO has become markedly more active in enforcement since 2023 — and it does not offer discounts for businesses under financial pressure.
ATO penalties for a false or misleading BAS statement can reach $1,100 per quarter. TPAR non-lodgement penalties run at $222 per document per day. Yet most Australian SMEs are still assembling compliance obligations from exports: GST data from Xero, contractor payments from a spreadsheet, payroll data from Employment Hero or MYOB. This article explains how Odoo — configured by WAO's accountant-led team — handles the full Australian compliance stack in a single system.
BAS Reporting: From Manual Collation to Automatic Accuracy
BAS preparation in a typical ANZ SME involves three to five steps: export GST data from the accounting system, reconcile against the bank, identify and reclassify miscoded transactions, build the summary, and lodge. This takes four hours to two days per quarter.
In a WAO-configured Odoo instance, every transaction is tagged with the correct GST treatment at point of entry — because the tax mapping has been designed by a chartered accountant who knows what the ATO expects. The BAS summary is a live report that updates in real time. When the quarter ends, preparation takes 30–90 minutes.
What WAO's BAS Configuration Covers
- Complete GST tax code mapping across all transaction types (sales, purchases, imports, exports, mixed supplies).
- Automatic identification of input tax credit eligibility for creditor payments.
- BAS-ready reporting format aligned with ATO lodgement requirements.
- Fuel tax credit tracking where applicable.
- Multi-entity consolidation for businesses with multiple ABNs.
TPAR: Automating the Obligation Most Businesses Get Wrong
The Taxable Payments Annual Report (TPAR) applies to businesses in construction, cleaning, couriers, information technology, security, and road freight services — and any business paying contractors for these services. The ATO uses TPAR data to cross-reference contractor income declarations. When your TPAR is wrong, your contractor's tax return is wrong. The ATO notices.
In Odoo, every payment to a vendor marked as a contractor is automatically tracked. The TPAR report is generated directly from vendor payment data — no end-of-year scramble, no manual assembly, no reconciliation between systems, because there is only one system.
STP Phase 2 and Australian Payroll Compliance
Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 is now mandatory for all Australian employers, requiring disaggregated reporting of each payment component to the ATO at every pay event. WAO's Odoo Payroll implementation covers:
- STP Phase 2 compliant payroll event reporting — filed automatically at each pay run.
- Superannuation guarantee calculation and SuperStream-compliant contribution reporting.
- Leave entitlement management under the Fair Work Act.
- Termination payment calculations including genuine redundancy tax treatment.
- Multi-state payroll tax threshold management.
Compliance Obligation | Xero + Separate Payroll | Odoo (WAO-configured) |
BAS / GST reporting (automatic) | ⚠ Manual collation | ✓ Automatic |
TPAR (contractor payments tracked) | ✗ Manual assembly | ✓ Auto-tracked |
STP Phase 2 (per-event reporting) | ⚠ Depends on payroll tool | ✓ Built-in |
Superannuation (SuperStream) | ⚠ Often separate tool | ✓ Integrated |
NZ PAYE + KiwiSaver | ✗ Requires NZ payroll tool | ✓ Integrated |
Multi-entity BAS consolidation | ✗ Manual | ✓ Automatic |
Payroll tax (multi-state) | ✗ Manual calculation | ✓ Configured |
Wage-to-revenue ratio (live) | ✗ Not available | ✓ Real-time |
New Zealand Compliance
For WAO clients operating across both sides of the Tasman, the same Odoo instance covers NZ payroll compliance: PAYE filing via Inland Revenue's gateway, KiwiSaver employer contribution reporting, Holidays Act 2003 leave entitlement compliance (including the average weekly earnings calculation), and NZ GST.
Ready to take the next step?
Book a free, no-obligation System Process Audit with one of WAO's chartered accountants. 45 minutes. No sales pressure. Just clarity.
The information and tips shared on this blog are meant to be used as learning and personal development tools as you launch, run and grow your business. While a good place to start, these articles should not take the place of personalised advice from professionals. As our lawyers would say: “All content on WAO’s blog is intended for informational purposes only. It should not be considered legal or financial advice.” Additionally, WAO is the legal copyright holder of all materials on the blog, and others cannot re-use or publish it without our written consent.
