Compliance check
Is your Square invoice actually an ATO tax invoice?
Square Invoices is polished software, built first for the US, where there’s no GST, no ABN and no “Tax Invoice” heading requirement. In Australia those things are the law. Pull up the last invoice you sent and check it against this list.
The 5-minute audit
Check your last Square invoice for these
Know when it must be a tax invoice
If you're GST-registered, any sale over $82.50 including GST needs the words “Tax Invoice”, and a customer can ask for one on any sale and you have 28 days to give it (business.gov.au, “How to invoice”).
“Tax Invoice”, the actual words
If you're GST-registered, the document must say Tax Invoice. A document headed just “Invoice” doesn't meet the requirement.
Your ABN, visible
All 11 digits, near your business name. Without it, a business customer is generally required to withhold tax from your payment at the top marginal rate and send it to the ATO.
GST shown per line, or the magic sentence
Either the GST amount for each taxable line, or (when GST is exactly one-eleventh of the total) the statement “Total price includes GST”.
Mixed sales flagged
If some items are GST-free, the invoice must make clear which ones. Default tax settings applied to everything is where this breaks.
$1,000+ invoices show the buyer
The customer's identity or ABN must appear from $1,000 including GST. Check whether your template includes it.
Configured well, Square can produce compliant invoices. The point of this page is the check: five minutes now beats a conversation with the ATO later. Full rules at ato.gov.au.
The structural difference
Payment processor vs. straight-to-your-bank
Square's model bundles invoicing with payment processing. Convenient, with a processing fee per transaction, and your money passes through their platform on the way to you. The alternative model (ours) is an invoice that points directly at your own bank account: no processing percentage, no platform between you and your money, and nothing that can be held. Neither is wrong; they're different trades. If you mostly invoice regulars who pay by transfer anyway, you may be paying processing fees for convenience you don't use.
Want the ATO-correct format without changing apps today? Grab a free template for your trade or use the free invoice generator.
Fair questions
FAQ
Are Square invoices valid tax invoices in Australia?
They can be, if configured so the ATO's required elements appear: the words 'Tax Invoice', your ABN, date, item descriptions with quantity and price, and GST shown correctly. US-built defaults don't guarantee this; check a real invoice you've sent against the checklist on this page.
Does Square hold your money?
Square processes payments, and like any payment processor it can hold or delay payouts in some situations. That's a payments-platform reality, not unique to Square. If you'd rather invoices point straight at your own bank account with no processor in the middle, that's a structural choice about which kind of tool you use.
How do I show GST correctly on a Square invoice?
Ensure GST is configured as a 10% tax applied to taxable items and that it's displayed per line or as a clear 'Total includes GST' statement. If some items are GST-free, the invoice must show which; mixed sales are where generic settings most often fail the ATO's test.
ATO-correct by default, money straight to your account
Dinkum Invoice does the nine ATO checks automatically on every invoice, free and unlimited, and we never touch your money. Founding members lock in $9/mo for life.