The Tax Assessment AutoFile processes automatically file batches of tax assessments (received electronically via Xero Tax). This is a trigger to let your team know when a notice of assessment comes in. You can use the process to send out the assessment, or as a trigger for your team to download and attach the actual assessment.
The Tax Assessments AutoFile process is only triggered when the return is a refund or nil, or if it has a date payable populated. The Xero Tax app settings can be toggled to ignore the payable date if preferred; if this is toggled Off payable notices without a payable date will not trigger the Xero Tax Return process.
Note: The notice of assessments does not generate the BPay details. The FYI Notice of Assessment is a replication of data and not the actual NOA from the ATO.
This article contains the following sections:
- Using the Tax Assessments AutoFile (Variance) Process
- Editing the Tax Assessments AutoFile (Variance)
- Step 1- Create Word Document and Task
- Information that is not Included in Tax Assessments
For a summary of the requirements for when the FYI Tax Automation Process is triggered from Xero Tax, refer to the FAQ When are the FYI Tax Automation Processes triggered from Xero Tax?
Using the Tax Assessments AutoFile (Variance) Process
The Tax Assessments AutoFile (Variance) process automatically checks batches of tax assessments (received electronically via Xero Tax) where there is a variance in the tax assessment from the original assessment.
This process is similar to the Tax Assessments AutoFile (Agreed) processes, refer to Tax Assessments AutoFile (Agreed & Not Postal/Agreed & Postal) (Australia Only). It imports the tax assessment as a document. But this process uses a different function for the action to check for tax assessments to filter only those that vary with the original estimate. Instead of creating the email ready to send to the client, this process creates a task automatically assigned to the client's manager to investigate and correct.
Notes:
There is an acceptable variance of 50 cents. If the assessed amount is greater than 50 cents plus or minus the estimate amount, it is taken as a variance,
FYI runs the Notice of Assessment process overnight, usually between 1am - 4am AEST. If the document is created when your Tax Assessments AutoFile process runs, this may be a timing issue and the data has not been processed by FYI.
FYI do not receive the details regarding amended returns. If needed, you can set up another Custom Process Automation that can be run manually to cover this scenario.
For the Tax Assessments AutoFile (Variance) the following actions are taken:
- FYI will call out Xero Tax on a scheduled daily basis to retrieve all newly issued assessments since the process was last run.
- The tax assessments are compared with the original assessment from Xero Tax to see if there is a variance.
- Where there is a variance, the tax assessment is filed as a document with the relevant Cabinet and Categories.
- A task is created for the document and assigned to the client's manager so they can investigate and check, when ready, the tax assessment can be sent manually.
Editing the Tax Assessments AutoFile (Variance)
- From FYI, click the Automation menu option.
- Go to the Processes tab.
- In Tax Assessments AutoFile (Variance), click the cog icon to edit this process.
The Tax Assessments AutoFile (Variance) process displays.
Trigger - for the Tax Assessments AutoFile (Variance) this is "Scheduled Daily".
Filter - for this process, this is "Notice of assessment varies from estimate"
To make the process active, change the Status to "Active".
The Owner is set by default as the user who made the process active and this can be changed if required. If the process fails, an email will be sent to this user as a notification. You can set this as "Me" to set yourself as the owner.
Start From Leave as the default date as the process will not retrospectively look back into the past for any Notice Of Assessments received from Xero Tax. The process will only run for any new NOAs received after activating the process and the Xero Tax connection is active. Refer to Xero Tax Return AutoFile (Australia Only)
Last Run shows the date the process was last run. It includes a green tick or a red X icon to indicate if the process ran as a success or with an error. Refer to Automation History.
Note: If you need to reset the process, for example if the step was deleted, click Reset. This will restore the process back to the default configurations.
Step 1- Create Word Document and Task
The step in the Tax Assessments AutoFile (Variance) imports from the Application Xero Tax when the assessment varies.
The options for Filing are set up with Merge Fields to include the tax from and to year in the file name. The Workflow is set with the Owner as the respective client's Manager and the Status as "Completed".
This step creates a Task for the client's Manager to check the assessment.
Information that is not Included in Tax Assessments
There is certain information that is not sent either by Xero Tax or by the ATO and the following is not included in tax assessments:
- Tax Assessment reference number
- Tax Assessment payment details
If your practice needs to include these in what is sent to the client, you can change the Automation Process to allow your practice to leverage the power of the FYI process so you are automatically informed when an assessment is issued, but then allow you to attach the actual assessment. We recommend the following as best practice.
- Use all the default settings in the Tax Assessment automations.
This will stream them into the agreed method for sending the assessments (email or postal) and also checks if there is a variance. - In the Task that is created for the Tax Assessments AutoFile (Variance), change the Task that is created to remind the Manager to download the actual assessment and check it.