Hospitality & Retail · Brisbane
Accountants for Retail Shops
Stock is your biggest asset and your biggest risk. Retail accounting is inventory accounting with a shopfront attached.
How does inventory affect a retailer's tax?
Directly. Taxable income is calculated using opening stock, purchases and closing stock — so a stocktake at 30 June changes your tax bill. Stock can generally be valued at cost, market selling value or replacement value, and genuinely obsolete stock can be written off before year end for a deduction. Meanwhile gross margin by category and shrinkage are what tell you whether the business is working, and both require the POS and accounting file to agree.
- Specialist support for retail businesses
- Fixed monthly packages from $220
- BAS, payroll and year-end handled together
- Benchmarked against ATO industry figures
What we watch
What matters most for retail businesses.
Stocktake discipline
A real count at year end, with an obsolescence review before 30 June — one of the few remaining legitimate levers in June.
Margin by category
Blended margin hides the categories that are losing money while the good ones subsidise them.
Shrinkage tracked
Theft, damage and error quantified rather than absorbed. You can't manage a number you never see.
Lease and fitout
Incentives, rent-free periods, make-good provisions and fitout depreciation, each with its own treatment.
Deductions
Retail Shops — what you can claim.
A working checklist we go through with every client in this sector. Substantiation requirements differ by item — we'll tell you which need records and which don't.
- Cost of goods sold with stock adjustments
- Rent, outgoings and utilities
- Wages, super and penalty rates
- Fitout, shelving and POS equipment depreciation
- Merchant fees, payment terminal and BNPL costs
- Marketing, signage and promotions
- Insurance, security and alarm monitoring
- Freight, packaging and delivery
- Obsolete or damaged stock written off
How we help
Services retail businesses use most.
Tax Returns
Individual and business returns prepared accurately, lodged fast, with every deduction claimed.
Learn more →Tax Planning
Year-round planning that lowers your tax bill before 30 June — not after it.
Learn more →Business Accounting
Bookkeeping, BAS, payroll and management reporting handled end to end.
Learn more →Self-Managed Super (SMSF)
SMSF setup, administration, compliance and audit coordination in one place.
Learn more →Business Advisory
Structuring, cash-flow forecasting, growth strategy and succession planning.
Learn more →Financial Reporting
Clear statutory and management accounts you can actually make decisions from.
Learn more →FAQ
Retail Shops — questions we're asked most.
Do I have to do a stocktake at 30 June?
You need a reasonable basis for closing stock, and for most retailers that means a count. Simplified rules can allow an estimate where the change in stock value is small, but if stock is material, count it — the number flows straight into taxable income, and estimates are the usual cause of a surprise bill.
Can I write off unsold stock?
Yes, where it's genuinely obsolete or unsaleable, valued down accordingly before year end and documented — what it was, why, and how it was disposed of or discounted. Writing off after 30 June moves the deduction into the following year.
How do I reconcile my POS to my accounting file?
Daily takings summaries from the POS matched to bank deposits and merchant settlements, with fees recorded separately rather than netted. Getting this right also fixes your GST position: many retailers understate both sales and expenses by recording only net settlements.
What margin should a retail shop make?
It varies enormously — 30% gross in grocery, 50%+ in apparel and giftware. The useful test isn't the industry average but your own trend by category and whether gross profit covers occupancy, wages and a return to you. We benchmark against ATO small business figures for your industry code, which is also what the ATO compares you against.
Related
Related pages.
Accountants for eCommerce
Specialist tax and accounting support for Brisbane ecommerce.
Learn more →Accountants for Restaurants & Cafés
Specialist tax and accounting support for Brisbane restaurants & cafés.
Learn more →Business Accounting
Bookkeeping, BAS, payroll and management reporting handled end to end.
Learn more →Xero Certified Accountant Brisbane
Setup, migration, training
Learn more →Local coverage across Brisbane
We work in person from our Wakerley office and by secure video across 200 suburbs. Start with your region:
- Accountants Brisbane CPA accountants for the wider Brisbane metro area.
- Accountants South Brisbane South Brisbane, West End, Annerley and Sunnybank.
- Accountants Brisbane Northside Chermside, Stafford, Aspley and the northern corridor.
- Accountants Brisbane Bayside Wynnum, Manly, Wakerley and Tingalpa.
- Accountants Redland City Cleveland, Capalaba, Victoria Point and the bay islands.
- Accountants Logan City Springwood, Beenleigh, Browns Plains and 50 Logan suburbs.
- Accountants Ipswich Ipswich CBD and the western Brisbane corridor.
Ready when you are
Accountants for retail shops — let's talk.
Free 15-minute consultation, fixed monthly fee, and an accountant who already knows your sector.