Guide · 367 answers

How YourCA works, step by step.

When do I charge GST on retention?

  1. Open Financials, then Retention. Under Your retention terms, the last card is When your claims charge GST on retention.
  2. On the claim that holds it: each claim charges GST on its full value, retention included, and the claim that asks the retention back charges none on it.
  3. On the claim that asks it back: each claim charges GST on what is left after retention, and the GST on the retention goes on the claim that asks it back.
  4. Where your contract says which, YourCA reads it from the clause and shows Read from clause and its number. It is also the seventh of your commercial terms on the Contract tab, as GST on retention, and the two always show the same answer.
  5. To change it, press its pencil and pick in Charge GST on retention, then press Save it as mine. Your next claim charges GST on retention that way.
  6. Once a served claim holds retention, the choice is fixed and the pencil goes, because the claims already served were worked out on it.
  7. While your claims charge GST on the claim that holds it, the figures at the top of Retention show GST charged on it: the GST your served claims charged on the retention still held. The Financial dash says the same under Retention held.
Worth knowing

Which suits you depends on your contract and your accounting basis, cash or accrual. Ask your accountant. YourCA does not choose for you, and it never puts a GST figure on the retention statement.