Quick answer
EOFY already forces you to collect bank statements, BAS, payroll summaries, asset records and your accountant's figures. If you save them as named PDFs, reconcile BAS to bank deposits and write a short note on anything unusual, the same work produces a loan-ready file. Do it in July, while the year is fresh, and you will not need to rebuild it later.
Key points
- EOFY already gathers most of a loan file; capture it once, in the right shape.
- Save named PDFs, not scattered downloads.
- Reconcile BAS to deposits while the year is fresh.
- Write the year's one-page summary while you still remember why.
Why combine tax time and loan prep?
Because they ask for nearly the same things. Tax time makes you gather your bank statements, your BAS, your payroll records, your asset purchases and your accountant’s figures. A loan file needs those too. The difference is mostly in the shape: a tax file can be a messy folder and a box of receipts, while a loan file should be named, reconciled and annotated.
The extra effort is small, perhaps an extra afternoon. The payoff is a file you can pick up in a week when an opportunity or a squeeze arrives, instead of rebuilding a year from memory.
What is the July checklist?
| Step | What to do | Why it doubles as loan prep |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Download 12 monthly statements per business account as PDFs | The core of any application |
| 2 | Save four lodged BAS (or the year’s activity statement history) | Turnover evidence |
| 3 | Save the ATO account page | Shows the tax position at year-end |
| 4 | Save payroll and super summaries | Shows staffing costs and obligations |
| 5 | Record asset purchases and disposals | Explains balance sheet changes |
| 6 | Reconcile BAS to deposits (the three-way match) | Pre-empts the biggest query |
| 7 | Write a one-page summary of the year | Becomes next year’s cover note |
| 8 | File everything in a dated folder | Retrieval in minutes |
Eight steps, and they dovetail with what your accountant needs anyway.
What do the dates look like?
The financial year ends on 30 June. The ATO’s published due date for the April to June quarter BAS is 28 July, which is the date for quarterly lodgers in the 2026-27 cycle. Super arrangements are also changing: Payday Super starts on 1 July 2026, covering how employers calculate, pay and report super guarantee, with quarterly super applying to pay periods up to 30 June 2026.
That means July is a heavy month: the last quarterly super obligations, the first payday-based ones, the Q4 BAS and the start of year-end accounts. Getting your file in order early in July keeps the rest from piling up. Check the ATO’s pages for the dates that apply to your circumstances.
How do I do the reconciliation?
Take each BAS quarter, find the total sales figure (label G1), and compare it with the bank credits for the same quarter. Write down what accounts for the difference: GST collected, timing, transfers between accounts, refunds, cash. Five lines per quarter is plenty.
The method is in the page on the three-way match. Doing it at EOFY, with your accountant’s help if needed, means you only do it once and it feeds both your tax return and any later application.
Illustrative example. A florist spends a Saturday in July on her year-end file: twelve statements, four BAS, the ATO page, payroll summary and a note on the year (“new shopfront in November; Mother’s Day up, winter flat”). The folder is called “FY26-pack”. When a supplier offers a bulk deal in September, she can show a lender a complete, annotated year in minutes.
What should I write while it is fresh?
A page of notes, while you still remember. Cover:
- What changed this year: new premises, staff, customers, equipment.
- Anything unusual in the numbers: a big job, a bad debt, a one-off cost.
- Seasonality: which months were strong and which were thin.
- What you expect next year, in a sentence, with the evidence for it.
This is the raw material for the one-page business summary and for the explanations discussed in reading your financials like an assessor. A year later you will not remember why February looked odd. Write it down now.
What about records you must keep?
The ATO says most business records must be kept for 5 years, with some exceptions for longer, and notes that ASIC requires companies to keep records for 7 years. Save copies in at least two places, and name them clearly. A pack built from an organised archive can be assembled in an hour; one built from memory takes a week.
What if I am behind on lodgements?
Catch up first. A year-end file built on unlodged returns is a file with blanks. The order for catching up is in overdue BAS and returns, and it applies as much at EOFY as at any other time.
How does this connect to a monthly habit?
EOFY is the big annual tidy. A monthly routine keeps it from becoming a mountain. The monthly loan-ready routine is a twenty-minute version that you can do on the first working day of each month.
What should the end-of-year folder contain?
A good year-end folder is a small set of documents that you could hand to a stranger and have them understand the year. It is not a box of receipts. Think of it as the layer above your bookkeeping: the finished, reconciled, explained version.
- The final financial statements, or the draft version if your accountant is still finishing, labelled as a draft.
- The year’s activity statements and any adjustments, so BAS and statements can be compared.
- A bank statement set covering the whole year for every account, with the closing balances ticked against the accounts.
- The debt schedule at 30 June, listing each facility, its balance, its repayment and its end date.
- A short year-in-review note, a page at most, in your own words.
- A fresh ATO account page, downloaded after the final lodgments.
Put the lot in a dated folder, such as “FY end”, and leave it alone. Next year you will do the same again, and in three years you will have the simplest possible record of how the business has developed.
How do I write the year-in-review note?
Answer five questions, one or two sentences each: what changed, what was good, what was hard, what is coming and what you will do about it. Keep it factual. A note that reads “Revenue was steady until March, when our largest customer paused orders; we replaced about half of that volume by August and have since signed two new accounts” tells an assessor more than any chart.
The note does not need to be polished. It needs to be accurate and consistent with the numbers. If the statements show a dip in March, the note should mention March. Matching your own paperwork is the most persuasive thing you can do.
Illustrative example. A cafe owner finishes the year with a profit lower than the year before. In her note she explains that she spent the year opening a second counter, which raised costs early and has since started to contribute. The assessor reads a lower profit with an explanation and a direction; without the note he would have read a lower profit and a question.
What do I do about stock, assets and provisions?
Year-end is when the less visible numbers get set. Stock on hand is counted or estimated, depreciation is applied to assets, and provisions are made for leave or doubtful debts. These adjustments can move the profit figure without any change in cash, which is a classic source of assessor questions.
Ask your accountant to give you a one-line basis for each: how stock was valued, what depreciation method was used, whether leave provisions were made. You do not need the technical detail. You need to be able to say, if asked, “the profit is lower because of a non-cash depreciation charge on the new equipment,” rather than guessing.
Can I do this when the business is not a company?
Yes. A sole trader or partnership has fewer formal statements, but the same folder logic applies. Replace the financial statements with the profit and loss summary your accountant produces for the return, and keep the rest of the list. Fewer documents does not mean fewer questions; it only means the documents you do have carry more weight, so make sure they are clean.
Ready to lodge?
If your year-end file is in hand, or even in progress, lodge a free enquiry. It takes about a minute, involves no credit check at this stage, and goes to one real person, not a crowd of lenders.
Complete the form accurately, drawing on your year-end figures for trading history and turnover. Honest, matching answers make the first call quick and useful, and the folder you have just built is the best possible answer to the documents request that follows.
Frequently asked questions
When is the end of the financial year?
30 June. The Q4 BAS for the April to June quarter has a published due date of 28 July, and Payday Super changes apply from 1 July 2026, so July is a busy month to get the file in order.
How long do I need to keep records?
The ATO says most business records must be kept for 5 years, and ASIC requires companies to keep records for 7 years.
What is Payday Super?
From 1 July 2026, employers pay super on payday under set due dates and qualifying earnings rules, instead of quarterly. Missed or late payments can lead to the super guarantee charge. Check the ATO page for the detail that applies to you.
Should I do this even if I am not planning to borrow?
Yes. A year-end file helps with your accountant, your records and any future approach to a lender. The cost is one afternoon.
What if my accountant does the tax return?
Then your job is to hand over a tidy set of records and keep a copy. Ask for the finalised return and notice of assessment as PDFs when they arrive.