Gills Accountants & Advisors

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Gills Accountants & Advisors Helping businesses and individuals save time, money and stress through our range of business advisory, accounting and taxation services.

(Formerly Gills Chartered Accountants)

📋 Getting ready to lodge your tax return? Here's a simple starting checklist.The good news: much of your information, li...
15/10/2026

📋 Getting ready to lodge your tax return? Here's a simple starting checklist.

The good news: much of your information, like employer income, bank interest and private health insurance, is already reported to the ATO, and we can access it for you. No need to dig out those statements. 🙌

What we do need from you is the information the ATO doesn't already hold:
✔️ Rental property income and expenses
✔️ Share and crypto purchase and sale details
✔️ Business income and expenses (sole trader or side business)
✔️ Life changes this year (moved house, new dependant, relationship changes)

And don't forget deductions that are easy to overlook. If you paid for it, it was for earning your income, and you have the records, you may be able to claim:
💡 Working from home: you need a record of your actual hours worked from home, kept as you go (a diary, timesheet or roster)
💡 Working away from home overnight: keep receipts for meals and accommodation, plus a travel diary of where you were and what you were doing
💡 Uniforms: compulsory or distinctive work uniforms and protective clothing, but not everyday clothes or shoes

Get in touch with us to book an appointment to discuss your tax return.

Remember, you'll need to contact us before 2 November. 📞

📅 2 November isn't the same deadline for everyone.If you lodge your own 2025–26 tax return, it's due by 2 November this ...
12/10/2026

📅 2 November isn't the same deadline for everyone.

If you lodge your own 2025–26 tax return, it's due by 2 November this year. If you use a registered tax agent, you may be eligible for more time, in many cases up to 15 May.

Here's how it works:
✔️ Lodging on your own → due 2 November
✔️ Lodging with a tax agent → potentially later, if you're eligible
⚠️ Behind on a past year's return? That can bring your due date back to 2 November, even with an agent.

Behind on your lodgments? It's not too late to catch up, and we can help you get back on track. 💪

Eligibility and payment dates depend on your circumstances, so it's worth checking which due date applies to you.

Get in touch before 2 November and we'll work out the right date for you. 📞

📢 Did you know the ATO often has your information before you've even started your tax return?Each year, banks, employers...
08/10/2026

📢 Did you know the ATO often has your information before you've even started your tax return?

Each year, banks, employers, government agencies and other third parties report data to the ATO, and much of it is used to pre-fill your return. That can include:
✔️ Employer income and payments to contractors
✔️ Bank interest, dividends and managed fund distributions
✔️ Government payments and private health insurance
✔️ Income from online selling and sharing-economy platforms
✔️ Crypto transactions and property sales

The catch? Pre-fill isn't always complete or correct, and you're the one responsible when you sign. Some employer data isn't final until later, and deductions, offsets and income the ATO can't see still need to be picked up.

A return that lines up with what the ATO already holds is a smoother, less stressful return. 💡

Want a second set of eyes before you lodge? Get in touch with our team and we'll check everything stacks up. 📞

💻 Good bookkeeping software only works as well as the data behind it — and one of the most overlooked habits is regular ...
01/10/2026

💻 Good bookkeeping software only works as well as the data behind it — and one of the most overlooked habits is regular bank reconciliation.

What is it? Matching the transactions in your bookkeeping software against your actual bank statement, so your records line up with what's really happened in your account.

Why it matters:
✔️ Missing, duplicated, or miscategorised transactions get caught early, not at tax time
✔️ Your financial reports — and your real-time view of cash flow — are actually accurate
✔️ It's one of the easiest ways to catch errors or irregular activity before they snowball

Here's the part that often gets missed: when your accountant prepares your end-of-year accounts and tax return, messy or un-reconciled books take longer to sort through — and more time usually means a higher bill.

Keeping your reconciliations up to date throughout the year isn't just good practice — it can genuinely save you money at tax time.

Not sure your bookkeeping is reconciliation-ready? We're happy to take a look and help you set up a simple routine.

🔍 Let's bust a few myths about what an accountant/ advisor actually does for you.Myth: "An accountant just does your tax...
24/09/2026

🔍 Let's bust a few myths about what an accountant/ advisor actually does for you.

Myth: "An accountant just does your tax return."
Reality: A good advisor helps with structure, planning, and decisions that affect your bottom line all year — the return is just the paperwork at the end.

Myth: "Advisory services are only for big businesses."
Reality: Small and growing businesses often have the most to gain — the right structure or timing decision early on can save far more than the advice costs.

Myth: "Accountants only care about compliance deadlines."
Reality: Deadlines are the minimum, not the mission — the real value is in the decisions made in between them.

Want to see what proactive advice could look like for your business? Get in touch with Gills Accountants & Advisors — we'd love to chat.

📁 Tax time comes and goes, but some records need to stick around a lot longer than you'd think.Here are 5 records worth ...
17/09/2026

📁 Tax time comes and goes, but some records need to stick around a lot longer than you'd think.

Here are 5 records worth keeping — and how long for:
✔️ Original purchase documentation for capital assets (e.g. property) — keep for as long as you own the asset, plus 5 years after you sell it
✔️ Capital improvement & renovation records — same rule: as long as you own the asset, plus 5 years after disposal
✔️ Rental property income & expense records — keep for 5 years from the date you lodge the relevant tax return
✔️ Loan and finance documents (for interest deductibility) — keep for 5 years from the date you lodge the tax return the deduction is claimed in
✔️ Motor vehicle logbook & related expenses — your logbook is valid for 5 years; keep it and your odometer records for 5 years after the last year you relied on it

Good record-keeping isn't just about staying compliant — it protects you if the ATO ever asks questions, and it can save you real money down the track.

Not sure what to keep or for how long? We're happy to help you set up a simple system.

💰 A profitable business can still run out of money — and it catches a lot of business owners off guard.Profit and cash f...
10/09/2026

💰 A profitable business can still run out of money — and it catches a lot of business owners off guard.

Profit and cash flow aren't the same thing:
✔️ Profit is what's left after expenses, on paper — it includes sales you've invoiced but haven't been paid for yet
✔️ Cash flow is the actual money moving in and out of your bank account, day to day
✔️ You can be profitable and still cash poor — for example, if customers are slow to pay, or you've spent heavily on stock or equipment
✔️ Regularly reviewing your cash flow (not just your profit) helps you spot problems before they become serious

Understanding the difference is one of the most useful things a business owner can do — it changes how you plan, price, and make decisions.

If you'd like a clearer picture of your cash flow, we're happy to help you set that up.

🔄 There are two types of business owners: the ones we hear from once a year, and the ones we hear from all year round.Bo...
03/09/2026

🔄 There are two types of business owners: the ones we hear from once a year, and the ones we hear from all year round.

Both get their tax return done. Only one of them is getting ahead.

Reactive accounting:
❌ Finds out about deductions after the financial year has closed
❌ Gets surprised by a tax bill instead of planning for it
❌ Hasn't reviewed their business structure in years
❌ Only talks to us at lodgement time

Proactive accounting:
✔️ Plans deductions and structure before EOFY, not after
✔️ Knows roughly what's coming, well before the ATO bill lands
✔️ Reviews their structure as their business grows and changes
✔️ Checks in quarterly — tax time becomes a formality, not a scramble

This isn't about doing more paperwork. It's about making decisions with enough runway to actually act on them.

Want to move from reactive to proactive? Get in touch with Gills Accountants & Advisors and let's set up a check-in that actually fits your year.

📊 Good bookkeeping habits make a huge difference at tax time — and most bookkeeping problems come down to a handful of a...
27/08/2026

📊 Good bookkeeping habits make a huge difference at tax time — and most bookkeeping problems come down to a handful of avoidable mistakes.

Some of the most common ones we see:
✔️ Mixing personal and business expenses in the same account
✔️ Not reconciling regularly — letting things pile up makes errors harder to catch
✔️ Losing receipts or relying on memory instead of keeping proper records
✔️ Misclassifying transactions, which throws off your reports and can affect what you can claim
✔️ Leaving it all until tax time, when it's much harder (and more expensive) to untangle

None of these are complicated to fix — they just take a bit of consistency.

If your books are due for a health check, we're happy to help you get back on track.

🏢 Thinking about your business structure? It's one of the most common questions we get — and there's no one-size-fits-al...
20/08/2026

🏢 Thinking about your business structure? It's one of the most common questions we get — and there's no one-size-fits-all answer.

A quick overview of the main options:
✔️ Sole trader — simplest and cheapest to set up, but you're personally liable for business debts
✔️ Company — separates you from the business legally, generally taxed at a flat rate, but comes with more compliance
✔️ Trust — flexible for distributing income, often used for asset protection and family businesses, but more complex to administer

A note on trusts:
The 2026 Federal Budget proposed a 30% minimum tax on discretionary trust distributions from 1 July 2028. It's not yet law — Treasury only closed consultation on the detail this month — but if it goes ahead as proposed, it could meaningfully change the tax benefits of using a trust structure. If you're currently using, or considering, a trust, it's worth keeping an eye on this one.

The right structure depends on things like your risk exposure, how you plan to grow, and how you want profits taxed and distributed.

If you're starting out, scaling up, or just want to check your current structure still makes sense, we're happy to talk it through.

Address

Suite 2, 96 Manchester Road
Mooroolbark, VIC
3138

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+61397271244

Website

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