A client recently told me, “I thought the surcharge was covering the card fees. Now I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do.”

That is the conversation happening in small businesses across Australia this week.

The card surcharge ban took effect on 1 October 2026. At the same time, the ATO has announced it will stop accepting credit card payments after 30 November. Then, on 28 October, many businesses face a concentrated compliance workload involving their quarterly BAS, PAYG instalments and a key Payday Super correction milestone.

When I examine a client’s systems and books, I am not looking only for whether a payment was made. I am looking for the story underneath:

• Does the pricing still protect the margin?
• Can the business fund its tax obligations without relying on a credit card?
• Are the books clean enough to make a confident BAS decision?
• Is payroll producing evidence that super has reached employees’ funds on time?

But here’s the thing: this is manageable when you break it into five practical moves.

The dates to put in front of your team

Before we get to the actions, mark these dates:

• 1 October 2026: Card surcharges on covered credit, debit and eftpos transactions stopped. Card networks and payment providers are now responsible for enforcing no-surcharge rules, rather than the ACCC being the primary enforcer.
• 21 October 2026: Monthly BAS due date for many monthly lodgers.
• 28 October 2026: Q1 BAS and PAYG instalments are due for many self-lodging businesses. This is also the first-year Payday Super compliance milestone for correcting unpaid super from July, August and September.
• 31 October 2026: Usual self-lodged 2026 tax return deadline. Because 31 October falls on a Saturday, self-lodgers effectively have until Monday 2 November.
• 30 November 2026: The ATO will stop accepting credit card payments, including for tax, BAS and payment plan instalments.

The Payday Super date needs careful wording. 28 October is a compliance priority, not a replacement legal deadline. Super is counted as paid only when the employee’s fund receives it, generally within seven business days of payday.

1. Review your payment mix and reset pricing by Friday

Start with the last three months of payment data.

Separate your sales into:

• Credit card
• Debit card
• eftpos
• Cash
• Bank transfer
• Buy-now-pay-later or third-party payment platforms

Then calculate what the old surcharge actually contributed and compare it with the current merchant fees. The Reserve Bank says its interchange cap reduction, from 0.8% to 0.3% for domestic consumer credit cards, could save businesses about $910 million a year. However, business groups including the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry have argued that there are “no real winners”, particularly where businesses still carry other payment and operating costs.

Your options may include:

1. Absorb the fee and protect the customer experience.
2. Adjust your general prices so every customer contributes fairly.
3. Round prices sensibly, for example, moving a $4.80 coffee to $5.00.
4. Offer a clearly communicated cash discount, where appropriate.
5. Renegotiate merchant fees with your payment provider.

Do not quietly change prices without checking your margins. A small fee multiplied across thousands of transactions can become a meaningful annual cost.

And do not make this only a finance decision. Your front-of-house team needs a simple explanation for customers: “Our prices are now card-inclusive, so there is no separate card surcharge.”

The ACCC’s card surcharge guidance is a useful reference point.

2. Move any credit-card-linked ATO payment plan before 30 November

This is the freshest risk many business owners have not yet addressed.

If an ATO payment plan, BAS arrangement or tax instalment is charged to a credit card, it needs to move to another payment method before the next instalment due after 30 November.

Possible alternatives include:

• Direct debit from a business bank account
• BPAY
• EFT or bank transfer
• Debit card
• Another arrangement agreed with the ATO

A failed instalment could push an otherwise compliant business into arrears or cause a payment plan to default. That is an avoidable systems problem, not a tax mystery.

Log in to ATO online services and check:

• Which obligations are included in the plan
• The next instalment date
• The current payment method
• Whether the business bank account has enough authority and funds for direct debit

Then record the new arrangement in your accounting workflow. A payment method change should not live only in someone’s memory or email inbox.

3. Make the books decision-ready for the 28 October BAS and PAYG cluster

A clean-looking accounting file is not necessarily a decision-ready file.

When I review a client’s books before BAS, I want to see:

• Bank accounts reconciled to the latest statement
• Merchant clearing accounts reviewed
• Undeposited funds cleared
• Payroll liabilities matched to payroll reports
• GST treatment checked on unusual purchases
• Loans, asset purchases and private expenses reviewed
• Debtors and creditors investigated for old balances
• PAYG instalment figures compared with current trading performance

The goal is not simply to press “lodge”. It is to understand what the business owes, what it can pay and whether the numbers reflect reality.

If profit has changed significantly, discuss the PAYG instalment position before lodging. Varying an instalment can have consequences, so it should be based on current data, not a hopeful guess.

This is where virtual CFO services can add value alongside bookkeeping. The books tell us what happened. A forward-looking review helps decide what to do next.

4. Close every Payday Super gap from July to September

Payday Super changes the rhythm of payroll.

From 1 July 2026, super contributions must be made each payday and received by the employee’s fund within seven business days, subject to limited exceptions. The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House also closed permanently on 1 July, so businesses need a suitable SuperStream-compliant provider or clearing house arrangement.

This week, run a payroll-to-super reconciliation for every pay run from July, August and September.

Look for:

• Contributions calculated on the correct qualifying earnings
• Payment dates versus fund receipt dates
• Rejected or returned contributions
• Employees with incomplete fund details
• Contractors who may be entitled to super
• Any pay runs processed through a system that was not fully updated

If anything is unpaid or late, do not simply make a catch-up payment and move on. Find out why it slipped:

• Was the bank account underfunded?
• Did the payment file fail?
• Was the clearing house changed after 1 July?
• Did someone assume “submitted” meant “received”?
• Was there no owner for the reconciliation?

The ATO’s first-year approach is focused on education and identifying higher-risk employers, but that is not a reason to ignore gaps. Fix the contribution, document the correction and obtain advice about any Superannuation Guarantee Charge obligations. ATO super guarantee charge letters are already reaching employers.

Review the ATO Payday Super employer guidance and your payroll provider’s process.

5. Build a rolling cashflow buffer that treats card fees as permanent

A temporary squeeze becomes dangerous when it is treated as temporary for too long.

Update your rolling 13-week cashflow forecast to include:

• Merchant fees without surcharge recovery
• BAS and PAYG payments
• Super payments every pay cycle
• Payroll tax, wages and leave liabilities
• Loan repayments
• Insurance and annual renewals
• Expected quieter trading periods
• Customer payment delays

Run at least three scenarios:

1. Base case: current sales and normal expenses.
2. Pressure case: sales fall by 10% and debtor payments slow.
3. Growth case: sales increase but require extra staff, stock or contractors.

Then set a specific buffer objective. For example: “By 31 December, maintain enough cash to cover the next BAS, two payroll cycles and one month of fixed overheads.”

Money is not something your business should feel guilty about having. A healthy buffer gives you choices, protects your team and lets you make ethical decisions without panic. Financial success and responsibility belong together.

What this means for different industries

Creative agencies

Review project margins after removing surcharges, especially where clients pay large invoices by card. Match contractor commitments and payroll to your project pipeline, not just your current bank balance.

Medical and allied health

Check payment terminal settings, online booking fees and patient pricing communications. Reconcile private health, Medicare and patient receipts carefully before BAS.

Construction

Map progress claims, deposits, retentions and supplier payments into the cashflow forecast. A card fee change is less important than a delayed progress payment, but both affect working capital.

Real estate

Separate trust, property management and operating transactions clearly. Review payment methods for landlords, tenants and contractors, and ensure tax instalments are not dependent on a personal credit card.

Hair and beauty salons

Update menus, booking platforms and point-of-sale systems together. Small pricing changes can protect margins, but staff need consistent language when explaining them to clients.

HR and recruitment

Review contractor classifications, payroll timing and client payment terms. If placements are paid by invoice, model the gap between paying recruiters and receiving success fees.

Your checklist for this week

• Review your card, cash and bank-transfer payment mix.
• Turn off any remaining card surcharge settings.
• Check your merchant fees and update pricing assumptions.
• Identify every ATO payment plan using a credit card.
• Move those arrangements before the next post-30 November instalment.
• Reconcile July–September books, payroll and super.
• Confirm the fund received each super contribution within seven business days.
• Update your rolling 13-week cashflow forecast.
• Put 21, 28 and 30 November on the team calendar.

Your books should not merely record yesterday. They should help you see the next decision clearly.

If this list is already competing with a full to-do list, book a conversation with Ethical CFO. We can help take the untangling off your desk and turn your numbers into a practical plan.