From BAS to lodgment: a year-end working paper routine that traces back to the ledger

Last reviewed: 23 October 2026. General information for accountants, not advice for any particular client.

The short answer: build each client's year-end file in the same order every time: reconcile GST to the BAS, map the ledger to return labels, bridge book profit to taxable income, then track lodgment status. Each step should leave a trail back to the transactions, so a reviewer can follow any figure without asking you where it came from.

This post walks through that routine for the four things most practices juggle at once: GST and BAS, the tax return working papers (individual, company, trust and SMSF), ATO prefill, and lodgment status and due dates. It also shows where Fedix and MyLedger fit. Each product statement links to the Fedix site, and the general tax points are routine practice rather than advice.

Step 1: Reconcile GST before you touch the return

A return built on an unreconciled GST position tends to carry its problems forward. Start by comparing what the ledger says with what was reported on the BAS.

1. Pull the BAS figures for the period, including the labels you rely on most: G1 (total sales), 1A (GST on sales), 1B (GST on purchases), and W1 and W2 where the client has employees. MyLedger's BAS summary shows these labels for a period with drill-down to the transactions behind each figure. [ev:feature:acb-bas-summary]
2. Check wages and PAYG withheld against payroll rather than re-keying them. In MyLedger, W1 and W2 come from the client's payroll journals instead of being retyped. [ev:feature:acb-bas-payg-ledger]
3. Compare the GST in the ledger with the BAS, review each difference, and keep a record of the reconciliation. MyLedger's GST reconciliation does this and keeps a history of each reconciliation. [ev:feature:acb-gst-reconciliation]
4. Where the BAS was prepared on a worksheet, MyLedger has a GST calculation worksheet with manual inputs that follows the ATO worksheet. [ev:feature:acb-bas-gst-worksheet]

A practical habit: write a one-line reason against every reconciling difference, even the small ones. A difference with no explanation is the first thing a reviewer will ask about.

On the practice-management side, upcoming BAS and IAS obligations can be tracked as workflow rows assigned to accountants, with a dashboard widget. [ev:feature:crm-bas-ias-workflow] That keeps the "who is doing which client's BAS" question out of spreadsheets and inboxes.

Step 2: Map the ledger to the return labels

Once GST is settled, the next question is whether the figures on the return can be traced to the books. The usual failure is a label total that nobody can rebuild.

MyLedger's tax return label report maps the ledger to ATO tax return labels with drill-down, so return figures trace back to transactions. [ev:feature:acb-itr-report] Work from the label to the transactions, not the other way round. If a total looks wrong, open it and look at what sits underneath.

For the rest of the year-end schedules, MyLedger has a working papers hub: one tabbed page per client covering the checklist, GST, tax return labels, depreciation, amortisation, Division 7A, FBT, investment income, distributions, franking, dividends, SMSF and more. [ev:feature:acb-working-papers] Keeping these on one page per client means the checklist and the schedules sit side by side, which suits a reviewer who is working through several clients in a sitting.

Step 3: Bridge book profit to taxable income

Whatever the entity type, the reviewer's core question is the same: how did you get from accounting profit to taxable income?

MyLedger includes a book-to-tax working paper for each year that bridges accounting profit to taxable income. [ev:feature:acb-income-tax-recon] Use it to list the adjustments one by one, each with a short note on why. Add-backs and deductions that live only in your head do not survive a staff change.

On the Fedix Practice Manager side, tax return workpapers are structured by return, with sections, adjustments, versions you can revert to, and a PDF. [ev:feature:crm-tax-return-workpaper] If you work through deductions client by client, deduction worksheets let you save workings per client and financial year, and lock them once reviewed. [ev:feature:crm-deduction-worksheets] Locking matters because a reviewed working that can be quietly edited is no longer a reviewed working.

Trusts and SMSFs

Two entity types need a little extra care because the working paper is only half the job.

• Trusts: the distribution has to be allocated and then reflected in the books. MyLedger's trust distributions feature allocates trust net income to beneficiaries and lets you post or unpost the distribution journals. [ev:feature:acb-trust-distributions] The "unpost" option is useful when a resolution changes late in the process.
• SMSFs: SMSF schedules sit in the same working papers hub as the other year-end schedules, so the fund's papers are not kept in a separate system. [ev:feature:acb-working-papers]

Whether a particular distribution or contribution is effective is a legal and trust-deed question. Check the deed and the relevant legislation on legislation.gov.au and the ATO website, not a software feature.

Step 4: Use prefill as a cross-check, not a substitute

Prefilled figures from the ATO are a useful second opinion on what you have in the books. In Fedix Practice Manager you can look up and save a client's ATO pre-fill income tax figures so they are ready for the working papers. [ev:feature:crm-ato-iitr]

Then compare. MyLedger's ATO comparison panel compares ATO account activity with the ledger and prompts you to import anything missing. [ev:feature:acb-ato-recon-panel] A mismatch is not automatically an error on either side. It is a question to resolve and note before the return goes out.

If you want to see how this kind of AI-assisted working paper preparation is described, the Fedix site has a page on it: AI working papers on home.fedix.ai. [ev:https://home.fedix.ai/features/ai-working-papers]

Step 5: Know where every return is

The last part of the routine is the one that protects the practice: knowing what is outstanding and when it is due.

• One worklist for all clients. Fedix shows every client's ATO lodgment list, with due dates and status, in one worklist you can refresh in bulk. [ev:feature:crm-ato-lodgments]
• Per-client view. For a single client, see every outstanding lodgement across years in one list. [ev:feature:crm-client-outstanding-lodgements]
• Status board. The lodgement tracker is a board of return batches by lodgement status, updated by dragging a batch to its new status. [ev:feature:crm-lodgement-tracker]
• Client reminders. Reminders about outstanding returns can be generated, previewed and sent manually or on an automatic schedule with escalation templates. [ev:feature:crm-ato-reminders]

Preview before send is the part to use. A reminder that goes out with the wrong tone or the wrong year does more harm than a late one.

Due dates are set by the ATO and can differ by client, for example where a client is on a lodgment program. Confirm each client's due date from the ATO source rather than from a rule of thumb.

A one-page checklist

1. GST reconciled to the BAS, differences explained.
2. W1 and W2 agreed to payroll.
3. Return labels mapped, with every total traceable to transactions.
4. Book-to-tax bridge complete, adjustments noted.
5. Entity-specific schedules done (trust distributions allocated, SMSF schedules complete).
6. Prefill figures compared and differences resolved.
7. Deduction workings reviewed and locked.
8. Lodgment status updated and due date confirmed.

Where to go next

If your current routine involves copying figures between a ledger, a spreadsheet and a status list, it is worth seeing the steps above in one place. Visit home.fedix.ai to see how Fedix and MyLedger handle working papers, GST and lodgment tracking.

This article is general information only. It does not take your client's circumstances into account and is not tax, legal or financial advice. Check the ATO and legislation.gov.au for the current position.