First, you need to educate yourself and your team members on this new tax called GST.
For one, all Malaysian businesses whose annual turnover is Rm 500,000.00 is required to register for GST. Failure to do will incur sever penalties. If your business earns less than Rm 500,000 per year, you can choose to register for GST voluntarily. Why would you do so, you may ask? So that you can claim the input tax credits.
GST is entirely a different tax when compared to Service Tax. It is also different from Sales Tax. If your business is currently subject to either Service Tax or Sales Tax, take note those taxes will be abolished, and replaced by the GST.
Secondly, GST is applicable to 'taxable supplies' only. If your business is a mixed supplier (ie supplies both taxable and exempt supplies) you will have to keep records of your purchases and expenses in order to claim the correct amount of Input Tax Credits.
In a GST environment, keeping accurate records is very important. If previously you only prepare your accounts on an annual basis, you will have to rethink about doing your accounts more regularly.
You will have to invest in a GST software to help keep record of the tax paid and tax collected. With an in-house accounting system, you will be keeping better records, and you can identify when you will have a cashflow problem.
There are many accounting packages available in the Malaysian market. How do you know which accounting software is right for your business?
The accounting packages in Malaysia will need to be certified by the Malaysian Customs department.
MYOB Accounting software is a popular accounting software that is used by millions of businesses worldwide, and especially in GST countries. You can find MYOB software being used in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and Philippines, to name a few.
The people behind MYOB Malaysia have managed the GST process across the globe, most recently in Singapore & Australia. Get in touch with the MYOB consultants to help you manage the GST process in Malaysia
