Troubleshooting

Help with using ABS Business Reporting

Contact us

If you are having difficulty using ABS Business Reporting and can't find a solution here, please call us on 1800 735 060 (+61 2 6252 8814 overseas) Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm AEST.

Ready to report?

If you have received an email request to report, log into ABS Business Reporting to get started.

Common Issues

The information below describes common issues reported by our users, and advice on how to work around these.

I can't log in

Before you can log in to ABS Business Reporting you will need to sign up to create an ABS Business Reporting account.

You will need to do this even if you already have an ABS Survey Account that you have used to report for other ABS surveys.

If you have already created an account in ABS Business Reporting but still can't log in, please contact us on 1800 735 060 (+61 2 6252 8814 overseas) so we can assist you.

I can’t access the ABS Business Reporting page

High volumes of traffic may cause issues accessing the ABS Business Reporting webpage. Please wait and try again later.

We recommend accessing ABS Business Reporting using the latest version of the following compatible browsers:

  • Microsoft Edge
  • Google Chrome
  • Mozilla Firefox
  • Safari

If you still have problems, please call us on 1800 735 060 (+61 2 6252 8814 overseas) so we can assist you.

The business I need to report for isn’t listed

The businesses displayed in ABS Business Reporting depend on your accesses within your accounting software. If you can’t see the business you are looking for, check your accounting software permissions. 

If you are unable to resolve this issue through your accounting software, please contact us on 1800 735 060 (+61 2 6252 8814 overseas).

Displayed name is incorrect

The name displayed in the top right of screen may not be updated to reflect recent changes provided within ABS Business Reporting. The name displayed will be the name you provided when you created an account, or the name associated with your Xero account if you logged in with Xero. Changes you have made to contact details will still be received by the ABS.

Report did not save when exiting using the ‘Log out’ button

Recent edits may not be saved if the app is closed by using the 'Log out' button. Ensure to exit the report using the 'Save and exit' button on the left-hand side of the report.

Business is no longer visible (QuickBooks only)

QuickBooks only supports one user having access to an application at a time. If another user with access to the business has connected to ABS Business Reporting, the original user will need to reauthorise the business either on log in or through the ‘Manage Connections’ page.

Unable to authorise a business (QuickBooks only)

QuickBooks requires either ‘Admin’, ‘Primary Admin’ or 'Accountant' level of access to connect to apps. If a user has access to a QuickBooks account as a ‘Standard user’ or lower, they will be unable to connect to ABS Business Reporting. Speak with the business’s QuickBooks admin or accountant to discuss your permission level.

Unable to open a report (MYOB only)

MYOB requires either ‘Administrator’ or ‘Accountant/Bookkeeper’ level of access to open reports from the dashboard. If a user has ‘Sales', 'Purchases'. 'Banking', 'Payroll' or 'Contacts’ access to a MYOB account, they will be able to connect to ABS Business Reporting and log in, but they will be unable to open the report. Speak with the business’s MYOB administrator or accountant/bookkeeper to discuss your permission level. After gaining ‘Administrator’ or ‘Accountant/Bookkeeper’ level of access, please wait five minutes before attempting to open the report.  

What to report in ABS Business Reporting

The following information provides guidance on what to include and exclude for each item in ABS Business Reporting.

Employment

Employment is a headcount of all people who worked for the business as proprietors, partners, salaried directors, or other employees in the reference pay period. It excludes contractors, as well as casual, or seasonal employees, who are on the payroll, but did not work during this pay period.

Sales and services income

Sales and services income includes all gross income generated from the sale of goods or provision of services from each state/territory in which your business operates. This excludes the Goods and Services Tax (GST), and is net of any discounts given.

Please include:

  • sales or transfers to related businesses or to overseas branches of this business
  • for long term contracts include progress payments billed
  • export sales (f.o.b.)
  • rent, leasing and hiring income
  • income from consulting services
  • repair and service income and fees
  • contract, subcontract and commission income
  • management fees/charges from related and unrelated businesses
  • sponsorship income
  • income from operating leases
  • delivery charges separately invoiced or itemised to customers
  • commission earned from providing the service of travel bookings
  • total income earned from tours directly provided
  • commission earned from providing services
  • income earned from the provision of labour hire or recruitment services.

Please exclude:

  • excise and duties received (on behalf of the government)
  • sales of assets
  • export freight charges
  • interest income (include this in Interest income)
  • income from finance leases
  • payments received under hire purchase arrangements
  • royalties income (include this in Remaining income)
  • natural resource royalties income (include this in Remaining income).

Wages and salaries including employee entitlements

For wages and salaries including employee entitlements, please report:

  • All wages and salaries, including provisions for employee entitlements - gross (i.e. before tax).
  • Employee entitlements include provisions for wages, annual leave, sick leave, superannuation contributions, salary sacrificed for superannuation contributions or other purposes, and long service leave. These liabilities are measured at the present value of management’s best estimate of the expenditure required to settle the present obligation.
  • People employed on a fixed term contract; e.g. temporary staff or workforce, should only be included if they were paid through the payroll during the reference pay period and Pay As You Go (PAYG) tax was deducted for them.

Please do not report:

  • Payments made to another business for the supply of staff on a fee or contract basis, where the staff entitlements are paid by the business supplying the employees.
  • Any costs incurred by your business in the conduct of its own recruitment processes (e.g. payment directly to newspapers for running job vacancy advertisements).
  • Payments made to contractors or sub-contractors operating under their own ABN.

Superannuation contributions

For superannuation, please only include employer contributions paid into superannuation. This does not include personal superannuation contributions for business owners not drawing a wage. It also does not include salary sacrificed for superannuation contributions, please report these in wages and salaries.

Inventories

Inventories include all materials, work in progress and finished goods owned by the business, whether held at locations of the business or elsewhere (except overseas).

Inventories should be reported at book value at the end of the reference quarter and split into the following three categories:

  • Raw materials - goods that a business holds with the intention of using to produce other goods, or in rendering services. For example, iron ore to produce steel (produce a good) or raw food to make a restaurant meal (provide a service).
  • Work-in-progress - goods that still require work to reach the condition they are to be sold in, such as partially assembled machinery. The value of work-in-progress inventories should be reported net of progress payments billed.
  • Finished goods - goods that are to be sold in their current condition, including goods for resale.

Inventories do not include depreciable assets of the business or inventories held overseas.

Reporting where there have been changes to your business structure

Reporting for businesses sold before or during the quarter

If the business was sold before the beginning of the quarter, please call us on 1800 735 060 (+61 2 6252 8814 overseas) to let us know.

If the business was sold during the reference period and you still have access to the accounts up to the sale date, report what you have and provide a comment to indicate the date of sale. Please also indicate the name of the new business owners if known.

If you no longer have access to the accounts, us on 1800 735 060 (+61 2 6252 8814 overseas) to advise us of the date of sale, and the name of the new business owners if known.

Reporting for a business that was still operating but did not trade during the quarter

If a business was operating but did not trade during the quarter, you will still need to submit your report with zero figures. A comment to indicate the business did not trade will also help us to understand your situation. Mapping your accounts in ABS Business Reporting will produce a report with zeros in all fields. When the business resumes trade in future, the mapping you have done can be reused.

Reporting for a business that has gone into liquidation or administration during the quarter

If a business has gone into liquidation or administration during the quarter, please call us on 1800 735 060 (+61 2 6252 8814 overseas) to advise the name of the liquidator or administrator.

Other hints and tips

Splitting an account across different parts of the report

Items on the report may not line up exactly with your accounts, and you may have an account that needs to be split across multiple parts of the report. To do this leave the account from your accounting software unallocated, and add a manual entry to each of the report items with the value required.

Reporting information that is different to what is in your accounting software

You can report information that is different to what is in your accounting software. This may be useful if accounts are not finalised at the time of reporting to the ABS. Press ‘Manual entry’, add a description and a value and press ‘Save’.

Image showing the 'Manual entry' button to enter information that is different to what is in accounting software

Revising submitted reports

You won’t be able to edit previously submitted reports through ABS Business Reporting. If you need to make a change to information you have provided previously, please call us on 1800 735 060 (+61 2 6252 8814 overseas).

Viewing submitted reports

You will be able to download a copy of previous reports submitted through ABS Business Reporting by using the ‘Past reports’ tab found on the Dashboard.

How businesses are selected to report to the ABS

Small businesses are randomly selected to participate in ABS surveys. Each business chosen represents others that are similar in size, industry and location. Together, chosen businesses represent the wider business community in Australia. Including a range of businesses means statistics produced by the ABS accurately reflect business in Australia.

Why we need your data by the due date

Industry, business and government rely on the timely availability of key economic indicators to make decisions that impact Australian businesses and communities.

We ask for your information by the due date to make sure these indicators are as accurate and timely as possible.

We recognise that your accounts may not be final at the time your ABS report is due. Near final accounts are still helpful to produce timely statistics.

Manual entries may be used to include estimated values not yet final in your accounting software. We also encourage you to use the comments fields to indicate if accounts are not complete or final at the time of reporting.

If your ability to report by the due date has been impacted by recent events, please contact us on 1800 735 060 (+61 2 6252 8814 overseas) and we will assist you.

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