QBCC Financial Reporting

What it is

QBCC Financial Reporting is Connected Reporting for licensed contractors. Every month your numbers arrive from your accounting file with the three figures your licence depends on checked and trended, and every year the annual report QBCC asks for is prepared and lodged before 31 December. You stop finding out about a ratio problem from QBCC.

How we do it

We connect read-only to your accounting file and build your monthly pack: profit, cash, debtors, creditors and margin by job, plus a rolling 13-week cash forecast.

Each month we calculate the current ratio exactly as QBCC does (no rounding, retentions and deeds of covenant treated the way the regulation says), net tangible assets with disallowed assets removed, and revenue against your approved maximum with the 10 per cent allowance. You see the headroom in each and the trend.

If any of the three moves within 10 per cent of its limit you get a note that week with the options, such as collecting a debtor, timing a payment or applying for a higher category before you need it.

Between 1 August and 31 December we prepare the annual report in QBCC's format for your category, check it against the three measures, and lodge it with your authority.

When something triggers an MFR report (a new licence, a revenue step-up, a structure change or a fall in net tangible assets) we prepare the complete workpapers so your qualified accountant can review and sign quickly.

Is this for you?

Clients usually call us for this when:

• You hold a QBCC contractor licence in Category 1 to 3, or an SC licence as a company, and the annual report is a December scramble.
• You have had a close call on the current ratio or the revenue cap, or a letter from QBCC.
• You are growing towards the next category and want to plan the step rather than trip over it.
• Your accountant does tax and the MFR report when needed, but nobody watches the numbers in between.

What you receive, and what each gives you

• Read-only connection to the accounting file (Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks or another supported system); Wickham never posts to or changes the booksThe same read-only feed and monthly pack as Connected Reporting, with margin by job.
• Monthly management pack: profit, cash, debtors, creditors, margin by job and the owner's chosen measuresA rolling 13-week cash view every month.
• Rolling 13-week cash forecast refreshed from the accounts each monthThe three QBCC measures, calculated the regulator's way, with headroom and trend.
• QBCC panel in every pack: current ratio (no rounding), net tangible assets with disallowed assets removed, revenue against the approved maximum and the 10 per cent allowance, with the trend and the headroomA warning while there is still time to act.
• Alert the week any of the three measures moves within 10 per cent of its limit, with the optionsThe annual report done and lodged, with the checks first.
• Annual QBCC report (Category 1 to 3: profit and loss, balance sheet, aged debtors and creditors, cash flow statement; SC companies: revenue, expenses, assets and liabilities) prepared, checked and lodged before 31 DecemberWorkpapers that make your accountant's MFR report a review rather than a rebuild.
• MFR-ready workpapers whenever an MFR report is triggered (new licence, revenue step-up, structure change, NTA fall), for the licensee's qualified accountant to review and signThe annual report in QBCC's format, lodged with your authority before 31 December.
• 45-minute handover session; the monthly service continues at $495 a month plus GST, billed quarterlyA handover so you can read the pack yourself.

What changes for you

• No December surprise: the annual report is in and the measures were checked before it went.
• A ratio problem found in month three, not in a QBCC letter in month fourteen.
• A plan for the next category before the revenue arrives.
• Your accountant's MFR fee smaller, because the work is already done.

The questions it answers

• Will we pass the current ratio this month, and what moves it?
• How much revenue headroom do we have before the cap bites?
• Which assets count towards net tangible assets, and which don't?
• Is the annual report in, and did it pass?

Words we use, explained

Current ratio

Current assets divided by current liabilities. QBCC requires at least 1:1 at all times, and 0.99 fails.

Net tangible assets

Total assets less liabilities, intangibles and the assets QBCC disallows, such as some related-party loans. Sets your maximum revenue.

Maximum revenue

The turnover your licence category allows. You may exceed it by up to 10 per cent without prior approval; beyond that you need a new MFR report first.

MFR report

A report on your financial position signed by an independent qualified accountant, required at licence changes and when net tangible assets fall sharply. Not required for the annual report.

What we’ll need from you

A one-page checklist comes with the engagement letter, with a private page to upload everything. The main items:

• QBCC licence number, category and approved maximum revenue (from the QBCC portal)
• Last MFR report or declaration lodged, and the date
• Adviser or read-only access to the accounting file, or approval of the Wickham Advisory connection
• Confirmation the bank accounts are reconciled to the last month end
• Aged debtors and creditors at the last month end, with any retentions and deeds of covenant identified
• Fixed asset register and any related-party loans (for the net tangible assets test)
• Loan, lease, finance and tax commitments for the next 13 weeks

Not included

• Signing the MFR report: QBCC requires a qualified accountant independent of the licensee. We prepare the workpapers; they sign.
• Bookkeeping, reconciliation, BAS or tax.
• Changing anything in your accounting file: the connection is read-only.

The technical detail

Connected Reporting built for licensed contractors: the monthly pack and rolling cash forecast, plus the three QBCC numbers (current ratio against 1:1, net tangible assets against the category floor, revenue against the approved maximum) checked every month from your accounting file, and the Category 1 to 3 or SC annual report prepared and lodged each year. QBCC's rules allow the annual report to be prepared without an accountant; when an MFR report is triggered we prepare the pack for your accountant to sign.

Often paired with

13-Week Cash Flow Forecast: A one-off 13-week cash flow forecast first if the ratio is already tight and you need the next three months before anything else.

Finance Ready Pack: The Finance Ready Pack when the step to the next category needs a bank facility behind it.

Common questions