Special situations
Multi-year catch-up
Years of unreconciled Xero or QuickBooks Online books get brought current in one scoped engagement: every backlog period reconciled to bank and card statements, every correction logged, and GST registration checked against the A$75,000 turnover threshold along the way, so overdue BAS periods are identified early rather than discovered at the next lodgement.
Bank reconciliation summary
Illustrative client · August 2026
AUD
| Account | Difference | Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating account··4821 | 184,220.16 | 184,220.16 | 0.00 | Reconciled |
| Reserve account··0937 | 60,000.00 | 60,000.00 | 0.00 | Reconciled |
| Company card··1006 | (12,418.52) | (12,418.52) | 0.00 | Reconciled |
| Card processor clearing | 8,905.40 | 8,905.40 | 0.00 | Reconciled |
| Payroll clearing | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | Reconciled |
Last weekly runFri, 28 Aug, every account agreed to its statement.
Two open itemsTwo card receipts requested from you, marked on the card account until they arrive.
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
What a multi-year catch-up covers
An Australian backlog rarely announces itself as one problem. By the time a business calls Finbryn, it is typically two or three financial years behind, bank feeds sit unreconciled, and past BAS periods were lodged from estimates rather than a closed set of books. We start from the bank, card and payment-processor statements for the whole backlog and reconcile against them directly, rather than accepting whatever was keyed in at the time.
Every fix goes into a written adjustments log naming what changed, why, and which period it touches. A director, a lender, or the ATO looking back at a prior BAS can trace a number to a specific correction instead of taking a tidy-looking report at face value. Once the backlog reconciles, we agree opening balances together so ongoing bookkeeping starts from a base that holds up.
GST registration gets a close look during any catch-up. A business only has 21 days to register once its turnover crosses the A$75,000 threshold, and a gap here tends to widen the longer a backlog sits unattended. We also check whether Single Touch Payroll stayed current through the period, since STP Phase 2 reporting applies to essentially every Australian employer, with Payday Super requiring contributions to be paid alongside wages from July 2026 onward. Contribution timing gets checked too, since Payday Super requires each contribution to reach an employee's fund within 7 business days of payday, a tighter window than many backlog-era payroll runs were built around.
Where the catch-up turns up an overdue BAS or income tax return, we hand the prepared numbers to your TPB-registered agent under a written supervision arrangement; lodging the actual return stays theirs to do. Many catch-up projects run alongside records reconstruction when the paper trail is thin, and feed into ongoing monthly bookkeeping once the base year is settled.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Multi-year catch-up
How many financial years can you catch up at once?
As many as you have statements for. We scope the engagement by backlog period once we review the accounts, the GST registration history and the lodgement gaps involved.
Will a catch-up change figures already reported on a lodged BAS?
Only where the reconciliation shows a genuine error, and every change is recorded in a written adjustments log. Whether a lodged BAS needs amending is a decision for your TPB-registered agent, not us.
Does the catch-up check whether we should have been registered for GST earlier?
Yes. We check turnover against the A$75,000 GST registration threshold across the backlog period and flag any gap so your agent can address it.
Who lodges the backlog of BAS once the catch-up is done?
Your registered agent or adviser lodges the overdue statements once we have prepared the figures. We do not lodge on your behalf; we get the numbers ready for whoever does.
What software do you rebuild the catch-up inside?
Your existing Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks Online file if one exists, or a new file set up under your own subscription if there was none before.
How many years can you catch up at once?
As many as you have statements for. We scope the engagement by backlog period once the accounts and the volume involved are reviewed.
Will catch-up work change numbers you already reported?
Only where the records show an error, and every change is recorded in a written adjustments log you can review.
Do you handle overdue tax filings as part of a catch-up?
We prepare the books and the supporting schedules; a credentialed signer or registered filing partner handles the actual filing.
What is included in multi-year catch-up?
Multi-year catch-up covers every backlog year sorted into categories and reconciled to bank, card and processor statements and a written adjustments log covering each correction made to prior periods. The exact scope is agreed and set out in writing before work starts, so you know precisely what is and is not covered before the first deliverable arrives.
Related services
- BookkeepingCatch-up and cleanup bookkeepingMonths or years of books brought up to date and reconciled, with a written record of every adjustment, so monthly bookkeeping can start from a clean base.
- Special situationsRecords reconstructionRebuilding a business's financial history from bank statements, receipts and other source documents when the original books are incomplete, lost or unreliable.
Industries
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.