Glossary
Australian accounting glossary
Plain-English definitions of the tax, compliance and practice management terms Australian firms use every day.
Terms A to Z
These are general definitions to help you find your way around. They are not tax or legal advice.
- ABN
- Australian Business Number. An 11-digit number that identifies a business when it deals with the Australian Taxation Office and other businesses.
- AML/KYC
- Anti-money laundering and know your customer. Checks that confirm who a client is and screen for risk, such as politically exposed persons and sanctions.
- ASIC
- The Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The regulator that keeps the register of Australian companies and oversees corporate and financial services law.
- ATO
- The Australian Taxation Office. The government agency that administers Australia's tax and superannuation systems.
- BAS
- Business Activity Statement. The form that businesses registered for GST use to report and pay GST, PAYG withholding and certain other tax obligations to the ATO.
- Client portal
- A secure online area where a practice's clients can message the team, view and upload documents, and approve or sign requests.
- Engagement letter
- A letter that sets out the services a practice will provide to a client, what is expected of each side and how fees work, usually signed before work starts.
- E-signature
- An electronic signature. A way for clients to sign documents such as engagement letters and approvals online.
- GST
- Goods and services tax. A 10% tax on most goods and services sold in Australia.
- PAYG withholding
- Pay as you go withholding. Amounts a business withholds from payments such as wages and pays to the ATO on the worker's behalf.
- Practice management software
- Software that helps an accounting, bookkeeping or advisory firm run its practice, typically covering client records, workflows and tasks, communication, documents, approvals and billing.
- SMSF
- Self-managed super fund. A private superannuation fund whose members are also its trustees, responsible for running it and meeting its obligations.
- STP
- Single Touch Payroll. A way for employers to report payroll information, such as wages, PAYG withholding and super, to the ATO each time they pay their employees, through their payroll software.
- TFN
- Tax file number. A unique number issued by the ATO to individuals and organisations for tax and superannuation purposes.
- TPAR
- Taxable payments annual report. A report that businesses in certain industries lodge with the ATO to show payments made to contractors.
- XPM
- Xero Practice Manager. Xero's practice management product for jobs, time and client workflows. Portal 360 offers an XPM sync add-on.
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