Making money as a new sole trader and suddenly everyone is talking about GST and BAS?
Here is the simple version.
If your GST turnover is under $75,000, GST registration is generally optional.
If you choose to register, you collect GST on your taxable sales and later report it to the ATO through your BAS. You may also be able to claim GST credits on eligible business purchases.
The important bit: GST you collect is not extra income to spend.
Before registering early, look at what you earn, what you spend and whether it actually makes sense for your business.
When in doubt, have a chat with your accountant before signing up.
Follow Sole for more sole trader tax and business tips without the accounting jargon.
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In the heart of Australia, Sole was born out of a vision to simplify accounting for sole traders, freelancers, and small businesses. Understanding the unique challenges faced by these entrepreneurs, we crafted a platform that is user-friendly, affordable, and perfectly tailored to the Australian tax landscape. Our mission is to provide a tool that not only meets but exceeds the expectations of our
At what point does adding more software actually start slowing your business down?
Before building out your tech stack, start with the problem you are trying to solve.
What needs to be automated? What needs better tracking? What business insights do you actually need?
For small business owners, one of the biggest things to understand is whether the business is genuinely profitable, not just how much revenue is coming in.
Software should help you improve business efficiency and make better decisions. If it creates more admin, more costs and more disconnected information, it may be doing the opposite.
Chased an unpaid invoice three times and still nothing?
A phone call isn't a record. A text isn't a record. Neither has a date on it, and neither says what happens if they keep ignoring you. The next thing you send should be a letter of demand.
It's one page. The amount including GST, what the work was, when it was due, and a date you want it paid by. Your state's small business commissioner publishes a free template you can fill in and send yourself — no lawyer, no fee. Fourteen days is the usual deadline to give them.
If that gets you nowhere, the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman runs a free dispute support service on 1300 650 460. They'll point you to the right low-cost service for your situation and they'll contact the other party for you.
General information only. Speak with a legal professional about your situation.
No hashtags — they don't lift reach on Facebook and they read as spam in a longer post.
Good news for Australian sole traders and small businesses: the $20,000 instant asset write off is now permanent from 1 July 2026.
Eligible businesses with aggregated annual turnover under $10 million can immediately deduct eligible business assets costing less than $20,000.
Importantly, the $20,000 threshold applies per asset.
That means you can potentially use the instant asset write off for multiple eligible purchases during the same financial year rather than having one $20,000 total limit.
It gives small business owners a lot more certainty when planning purchases for tools, equipment, computers and other eligible business assets.
Keep your invoices and records, and always check that the purchase meets the eligibility requirements before claiming it.
01/09/2026
Lost receipts are more than an admin headache. If you cannot support a business expense with the right records, claiming it can become a problem.
The easiest fix is to build a simple habit: capture receipts as you go, keep them in one place, note what the expense was for and regularly check that your spending has a record behind it.
It is much easier to sort out a missing receipt this week than months later when you are trying to remember what happened.
Sole lets you keep receipts with your expenses, alongside your invoices, payments and GST records.
Start with Sole. Free to get started.
soleapp.com.au
27/08/2026
What's the difference between an invoice and a tax invoice? It catches out a lot of Australian sole traders, freelancers and tradies.
Only GST-registered businesses issue tax invoices. If you're not registered for GST, you send a plain invoice, you don't charge GST, and you shouldn't use the words "Tax Invoice" at all. Most people get this wrong because the free invoice template they downloaded had it printed at the top already.
Here's what the ATO requires on a tax invoice: the words "Tax Invoice", your business name, your ABN, the date it was issued, a description of what you supplied and the price, and the GST amount. If the total is $1,000 or more, you also need the buyer's name or ABN.
Two more worth knowing. If a business pays you and you haven't quoted an ABN, they may be required to withhold 47% of the payment. And if a customer asks you for a tax invoice, you have 28 days to give them one.
General information only. Speak with a registered tax professional about your own situation.
Your invoice is three weeks overdue.
You have already sent two follow ups. No reply.
At that point, another email probably is not the answer.
Pick up the phone.
It might feel awkward for 30 seconds, but at least you will know what is actually happening. Maybe they missed it. Maybe there is a payment issue. Maybe they just need a reminder.
Either way, an actual answer beats another two weeks of checking your inbox.
Thirty seconds of awkward beats three more weeks of waiting.
Follow Sole for more practical tips for running your business.
24/08/2026
That money sitting in your account? It is not all yours to spend.
As a sole trader, business income, GST, tax and everyday expenses can all end up mixed together. And when everything sits in one account, it is very easy to lose track of what is actually safe to use.
A simple setup can make a huge difference:
Give business income its own account
Move GST and tax aside as soon as you get paid
Pay yourself intentionally
Keep your records up to date every week
You do not need a complicated system. You just need to know what you earned, what you owe and what is actually yours to spend.
Sole helps you keep invoices, payments, expenses, receipts and GST records together in one place.
Free to get started at soleapp.com.au
How do you actually pay yourself as a sole trader? Do you need to set up a wage?
Nope.
As a sole trader, you’re not an employee of your own business, so you generally don’t pay yourself a salary or wage.
When you transfer money from your business account to your personal account, it’s called a personal drawing.
The important part? Moving the money doesn’t change how much tax you owe. Your tax is based on your taxable business income, not how much you transfer to yourself.
So before paying yourself, make sure you’re setting enough aside for tax.
Save this for later if you’re new to being a sole trader.
20/08/2026
PAYG instalments are easier to understand when you stop thinking of them as another tax.
For sole traders, tax generally isn’t withheld automatically from business income.
PAYG instalments allow eligible taxpayers to make regular payments towards their expected income tax liability throughout the financial year. Those payments are then credited against the final tax assessment.
For many quarterly payers, the standard dates are:
28 October • 28 February • 28 April • 28 July
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