# Accounting for Uber Revenue



## JaySonic (Aug 25, 2016)

I'll preface this by cutting short the inevitable 'talk to an accountant'. I simply don't drive enough and have a very small weekly income, that at this stage an accountant or book keeper fees are simply not viable. OK, moving right along. ....

I'm using a free cloud based accounting package to keep a track of things, but how do I account for Uber income. Do I raise a tax invoice that corresponds with the payment summary ? 

My first thoughts are to create invoice line items as follows: 

Fare (inc: surge) $x
Tolls $x
Uber Commission $x
GST $x

... and then allocate the payment to the invoice, leaving Uber Commission, which I'll 'write off' (or whatever) to keep a track of everything. I see no other easy way to account for paying GST on the whole amount, then taking Uber's cut. 

Suggestions? This is NOT for BAS, it for weekly book keeping purposes.


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## UberDriverAU (Nov 4, 2015)

Oh dear. You're obviously in over your head trying to do this stuff. You'd actually need to create an invoice for each and every fare. They are all seperate, individual, and unrelated transactions.


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## JaySonic (Aug 25, 2016)

UberDriverAU said:


> Oh dear. You're obviously in over your head trying to do this stuff. You'd actually need to create an invoice for each and every fare. They are all seperate, individual, and unrelated transactions.


Thanks for your input.

Blocked.


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## UberDriverAU (Nov 4, 2015)

JaySonic said:


> Thanks for your input.
> 
> Blocked.


That's fine by me. Just hope you don't get audited by the ATO, you'll wish you'd have gone the cheaper option and got a professional to do it for you.


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## whyza (Jul 13, 2016)

...as per income tax I let professional tax accountant to do it...as per GST I have my "formula" based on the money received on my account in my bank...
...so...sum of money from foober in my bank divided by factor of 8 then multi-played by 10,-that gives 20% foober cut.Add those two sums which gives you the sum you have to pay GST on...Deduct all my expences (tolls,petrol,services,etc,etc)...it works with drivers on 20% foober cut...
...I might be wrong,but doing the way I'm doing it gives me a sense of cutting off possible rip off by foober if foober charges more for rides than paying the drivers and leaving them to pay GST on the difference between full fare and money the driver got paid...


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## fields (Jul 11, 2016)

Anyone with half a brain should be able to do it themselves without the need of an accountant.


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## whyza (Jul 13, 2016)

fields said:


> Anyone with half a brain should be able to do it themselves without the need of an accountant.


...so I assume that you don't need an accountant...;-)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
...how easy is to live with half of brain?????...;-)))))))))))))))))


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## fields (Jul 11, 2016)

whyza said:


> ...so I assume that you don't need an accountant...;-)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
> ...how easy is to live with half of brain?????...;-)))))))))))))))))


I do use one albeit begrudgingly. You can't even get a mobile phone contract if self employed and not using an accountant.

In jaysonic's case, who i assume has income from other sources, this problem would not apply.


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## UberDriverAU (Nov 4, 2015)

whyza said:


> ...as per income tax I let professional tax accountant to do it...as per GST I have my "formula" based on the money received on my account in my bank...
> ...so...sum of money from foober in my bank divided by factor of 8 then multi-played by 10,-that gives 20% foober cut.Add those two sums which gives you the sum you have to pay GST on...Deduct all my expences (tolls,petrol,services,etc,etc)...it works with drivers on 20% foober cut...
> ...I might be wrong,but doing the way I'm doing it gives me a sense of cutting off possible rip off by foober if foober charges more for rides than paying the drivers and leaving them to pay GST on the difference between full fare and money the driver got paid...


The correct way to do it is calculate the GST on each fare. That is: each fare divided by 11, rounded to the nearest cent. Add all of these together and you get the total GST debits for your Uber income.

Calculating your GST credits is more complicated because some expenses don't have GST at all, and some have partial GST. In other cases you need to consider the percentage business use of an asset (eg. car, mobile phone) to determine the credits you can claim.


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## whyza (Jul 13, 2016)

UberDriverAU said:


> The correct way to do it is calculate the GST on each fare. That is: each fare divided by 11, rounded to the nearest cent. Add all of these together and you get the total GST debits for your Uber income.
> 
> Calculating your GST credits is more complicated because some expenses don't have GST at all, and some have partial GST. In other cases you need to consider the percentage business use of an asset (eg. car, mobile phone) to determine the credits you can claim.


...same destination,different way...everything purchased in Australia has GST input,foober cut does not,that is why I'm doing as I'm doing...if foober charges more for rides then it show me, that is not my problem as GST is concern,I just would not pay GST on money possibly "skimmed" by foober with new upfront pricing...don't want to even think that it is possible but I know it is...so as far as I know the full fare is what I get into my account plus 20% and that is my obligation to pay GST upon...
ubers-upfront-pricing-is-secretly-overcharging-passengers-without-paying-drivers/
GOOGLE IT


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## UberDriverAU (Nov 4, 2015)

whyza said:


> ...same destination,different way...everything purchased in Australia has GST input,foober cut does not,that is why I'm doing as I'm doing...if foober charges more for rides then it show me, that is not my problem as GST is concern,


The full fare is the correct starting point. If the ATO audits you, that's what they'll be working from and there will be no discrepancies if you calculate your GST liability using the full fare. Working in reverse from your payout figure may result in some discrepancies, and it's better for you if there are none.



whyza said:


> I just would not pay GST on money possibly "skimmed" by foober with new upfront pricing...don't want to even think that it is possible but I know it is...so as far as I know the full fare is what I get into my account plus 20% and that is my obligation to pay GST upon...
> ubers-upfront-pricing-is-secretly-overcharging-passengers-without-paying-drivers/
> GOOGLE IT


I know all about the upfront pricing scam that Uber runs, and I've already given my views on why it's unlikely to happen here in Australia.


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## whyza (Jul 13, 2016)

UberDriverAU said:


> The full fare is the correct starting point. If the ATO audits you, that's what they'll be working from and there will be no discrepancies if you calculate your GST liability using the full fare. Working in reverse from your payout figure may result in some discrepancies, and it's better for you if there are none.
> 
> I know all about the upfront pricing scam that Uber runs, and I've already given my views on why it's unlikely to happen here in Australia.


...you are entitled to your views ...


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## JaySonic (Aug 25, 2016)

Indeed, google it. 

Direct from ATO website:

If you are registered or required to be registered, GST must be calculated on the full fare, not the net amount you receive after deducting any fees or commissions.


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## JaySonic (Aug 25, 2016)

I see nobody is able to answer my question either.


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## whyza (Jul 13, 2016)

JaySonic said:


> Indeed, google it.
> 
> Direct from ATO website:
> 
> If you are registered or required to be registered, GST must be calculated on the full fare, not the net amount you receive after deducting any fees or commissions.


...in current situation driver have no way to find what the full fare was,therefore only way to find is to add (in my case)20 % to the sum of money paid by foober into my bank account...if there is any trouble foober will have to explain if they bridge the contract with me...


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## Instyle (Oct 18, 2014)

whyza said:


> ...in current situation driver have no way to find what the full fare was,therefore only way to find is to add (in my case)20 % to the sum of money paid by foober into my bank account...if there is any trouble foober will have to explain if they bridge the contract with me...


Statements available in partner dashboard, also at the end of each quarter Uber send a quarter statement showing full fare, commission, total in trip klms etc.


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## Instyle (Oct 18, 2014)

JaySonic if your accounting software requires you to raise an invoice to log the funds, all you need to do is raise an invoice to match the weekly statement using full fare all inclusive. Just double check your numbers match the statement.


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## whyza (Jul 13, 2016)

Instyle said:


> Statements available in partner dashboard, also at the end of each quarter Uber send a quarter statement showing full fare, commission, total in trip klms etc.


...after reading about what uber is doing with upfront price I'm not sure if the full fare is what I assume to be one...and how would you know how uber define "full fare"???


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## Instyle (Oct 18, 2014)

whyza said:


> ...after reading about what uber is doing with upfront price I'm not sure if the full fare is what I assume to be one...and how would you know how uber define "full fare"???


Your statement online shows the customer charge.


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## whyza (Jul 13, 2016)

Instyle said:


> Your statement online shows the customer charge.


...it would mean nothing if there is a discrepancy between what I got paid and 20% uber cut...we still don't know what passenger paid in relation to what we get paid


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## Instyle (Oct 18, 2014)

whyza said:


> ...it would mean nothing if there is a discrepancy between what I got paid and 20% uber cut...we still don't know what passenger paid in relation to what we get paid


If you notice a discrepancy between the two, you should bring that to Uber's attention promptly. There won't be any discrepancy between your online statement and banked funds, if Uber is charging more than what quoted fare is on your statement, that is a separate issue that won't affect your accounting for this task.


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## whyza (Jul 13, 2016)

Instyle said:


> If you notice a discrepancy between the two, you should bring that to Uber's attention promptly. There won't be any discrepancy between your online statement and banked funds, if Uber is charging more than what quoted fare is on your statement, that is a separate issue that won't affect your accounting for this task.


...so let's go again-sum of money in my account divided by 8 and multi played by 10,what you get just add to the money in your account,that get me full fare including tolls,that is the sum of money that I'm obliged to pay GST upon it...any problem with that???no worries about being dishonest,at least not me...;-)))


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## Instyle (Oct 18, 2014)

whyza said:


> ...so let's go again-sum of money in my account divided by 8 and multi played by 10,what you get just add to the money in your account,that get me full fare including tolls,that is the sum of money that I'm obliged to pay GST upon it...any problem with that???no worries about being dishonest,at least not me...;-)))


I'd certainly advise and want to be checking that against the statement to ensure Uber is being honest.


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## whyza (Jul 13, 2016)

Instyle said:


> I'd certainly advise and want to be checking that against the statement to ensure Uber is being honest.


...there were links to websites about upfront pricing,kind of scary,I could not sleep after reading,if ATO would find wrong with me then I bet there would be many,many more drivers in same position,and I would not go down quietly...;-)))))
...and potentially I'm not paying GST on money that someone else "skimmed"...


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## JaySonic (Aug 25, 2016)

Instyle said:


> JaySonic if your accounting software requires you to raise an invoice to log the funds, all you need to do is raise an invoice to match the weekly statement using full fare all inclusive. Just double check your numbers match the statement.


I would say it needs to have itemised line items that total the gross figure in order to show the GST for the entire fare, before Ubers commission (in accordance with ATO guidelines).

Im also thinking that it will make reporting a lot easier if the commission component was allocated to its own cost centre.

And I'll need to write off/credit this component each week, right, in order to balance my bank reconciliation against my accounting records, yes?


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## JaySonic (Aug 25, 2016)

whyza said:


> ...there were links to websites about upfront pricing,kind of scary,I could not sleep after reading,if ATO would find wrong with me then I bet there would be many,many more drivers in same position,and I would not go down quietly...;-)))))
> ...and potentially I'm not paying GST on money that someone else "skimmed"...


This is disgusting. Paying GST on money we never see.

Right alongside the fact that we pay GST from the first dollar. This impacts another small income stream that I have, and Ive had to start charging my clients 10% extra, which Im not at all comfortable with. Alas, in the next fiscal year I'll likely be trading above the threshold anyway so it doesnt matter so much. Very unfair ATO ruling though


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## snert (Sep 1, 2016)

Really pisses me off this, why should cab drivers be discriminated against in this way?
I mean, it must be by far the most horrible way to earn a living, the only good thing is it used to 
be mostly cash.......not now though. Then you got the multi-millionaire who is buying flats in the CBD, paid for by the tenant, and the tax man.
The tax man by the way get this money from the likes of cab drivers, who cant afford to even fart in the CBD.
The time has come for all Aussies to demand a fair suck of the sauce bottle.


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## Dieudonnee (Jan 12, 2017)

JaySonic said:


> I see nobody is able to answer my question either.


What is la question? S'il vous plaît.


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