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In any job management system built for Australia, GST cannot be an afterthought you bolt on at invoice time. It belongs on every line item, calculated the same way every time, with your ABN where the ATO expects it. Chippie builds it in.
GST is automatic
For GST-registered Australian businesses, every line-item quote and invoice calculates and shows GST automatically, and your ABN appears on the invoice. You set your GST registration once in business settings and then stop thinking about the arithmetic.
Registration itself is not optional past a point: the ATO requires you to register once your GST turnover reaches $75,000, and to do it within 21 days of that happening, per its registering for GST guidance.
What has to be on the document
| If you are | The document is called | It must show |
|---|---|---|
| GST registered | Tax invoice | Your ABN, the GST amount, and the words "tax invoice" |
| Not GST registered | Invoice | Your ABN, and no GST line or "tax invoice" wording |
Getting the second row wrong is the common mistake: an unregistered business that heads its document "tax invoice" is claiming something that is not true. The ATO's tax invoices page is the authority on what each one has to carry.
Per-item GST-free toggles
Not everything you bill carries GST. Individual line items can be marked GST-free, and the totals handle the mix correctly. That matters on any job where:
- Materials and labour sit on the same invoice.
- A GST-free item is billed alongside taxable work.
- You are passing through a cost that was never taxed.
Watching your quarterly position
The built-in BAS reporting dashboard shows, for the current quarter:
- GST you have collected on invoices.
- GST you have paid on recorded expenses.
- Your net position, as it stands today rather than after quarter-end.
- A BAS-readiness score, so you know whether the numbers are complete.
That turns quarter-end into a check rather than a scramble. Lodgement itself still goes through you or your accountant, on the ATO's BAS due dates; Chippie's job is making sure the numbers they get are right.
UK and Ireland
Businesses in the UK and Ireland get VAT handling at their local rates instead, including reduced-rate overrides such as Irish construction at 13.5%.
Common questions#
I am not GST registered yet. What happens?
Does Chippie lodge my BAS?
Where does my ABN come from?
Can one invoice mix GST and GST-free items?
What if I am in the UK or Ireland?
Stop doing this in a spreadsheet
Chippie does the quoting, the invoicing and the GST maths for you.
Have a play