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GST and BAS are federal and identical across Northern Territory, so the local variable is payroll tax: it starts once Australian wages exceed A$1,500,000, at rates up to 0.055%, administered by NT Treasury Revenue Office. This page compares the products a business in Northern Territory would realistically shortlist, judged against what Northern Territory actually requires rather than against a global feature list.
Showing Northern Territory, Australia — AUD, GST, DD/MM/YYYY.
Three buying questions, each answered against Northern Territory's own rules.
Accounting software
The general ledger itself — where transactions land, how they get classified, and how the local tax return comes out the other end.
Compare in Northern Territory →
BAS & GST software
Getting GST codes right during the quarter so the Business Activity Statement is a review rather than a rebuild.
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Payroll software
Single Touch Payroll Phase 2, superannuation, and the state payroll-tax threshold that decides whether you owe anything at all.
Compare in Northern Territory →
What a product has to get right to be usable by a business registered in Northern Territory.
| Requirement | What it demands | HelloBooks |
|---|---|---|
| BAS lodgementLegal requirement · ATO ↗ | GST-registered businesses lodge a Business Activity Statement monthly or quarterly, reporting GST collected, GST credits, and PAYG amounts. | Covered |
| Tax invoice requirementsLegal requirement · ATO ↗ | A tax invoice must show the supplier ABN, the words "Tax invoice", the GST amount or a statement that the total includes GST, and the buyer identity above the notified value. | Covered |
| Single Touch Payroll Phase 2Legal requirement · ATO ↗ | Every pay run must be reported to the ATO on or before payday with disaggregated gross income components. | Partly covered |
| PAYG withholding without an ABNLegal requirement · ATO ↗ | Where a supplier does not quote an ABN, the payer must withhold at the top rate and remit it. | Covered |
| Taxable payments annual report (TPAR)Legal requirement · ATO ↗ | Businesses in listed industries must report payments to contractors annually. | Covered |
GST and BAS are federal and identical across Northern Territory, so the local variable is payroll tax: it starts once Australian wages exceed A$1,500,000, at rates up to 0.055%, administered by NT Treasury Revenue Office.
Region authority: NT Treasury Revenue Office ↗ · Northern Territory compliance guide
Start with the product you are actually evaluating.
Accounting software
HelloBooks vs Xero
Xero is what every bookkeeper here uses — what would make me switch?
Compare in Northern Territory →
BAS & GST software
HelloBooks vs Xero
Which prepares and lodges BAS with less fiddling?
Compare in Northern Territory →
Payroll software
HelloBooks vs Xero
We need STP Phase 2 and super handled properly.
Compare in Northern Territory →
Across Darwin, Alice Springs, Palmerston and the wider Northern Territory market, the products most businesses are already running are the ones worth comparing against first.
Partly. GST and BAS are federal and identical across Northern Territory, so the local variable is payroll tax: it starts once Australian wages exceed A$1,500,000, at rates up to 0.055%, administered by NT Treasury Revenue Office. The national GST rules are the same wherever you are registered, so the software shortlist barely moves — what moves is the configuration. Anything you choose has to handle payroll tax from a$1,500,000 · up to 0.055% correctly on every tax invoice without you remembering to set it per transaction.
Payroll tax in Northern Territory has a tax-free threshold of A$1,500,000 in annual Australian wages. NT threshold is annual ($1.5M, second highest in Australia after ACT's $2M), prorated for part-year. Flat 5.5% rate applies to all NT taxable wages above the threshold — no tiered bands or surcharges. No regional-employer discount. NT Treasury Revenue Office is the authority to check for anything region-specific — see https://nt.gov.au/employ/for-employers-in-nt/payroll-tax.
Pricing is national, not regional: $22 and $55 per month, billed annually, in AUD, plus a free tier. Prices are in AUD and exclude GST. Prices are per organisation with unlimited users, so a business in Northern Territory pays the same as one anywhere else in Australia.
In practice the shortlist here is usually Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB Business — those are the products with the most local install base and the most registered BAS agents who already know them. That familiarity is a genuine cost saving, and it is the main reason to stay put if nothing else is broken.
Yes, and at no extra cost. Advisors get their own login with their own permissions, and the seat is free — so bringing in a Northern Territory-based registered BAS agent does not change your bill. That matters most where the advisor relationship, not the software, is the real switching cost.
Each market has its own tax regime, currency, and shortlist of incumbents. Switch to the one where your business is registered.
Australia comparison hub · All states and territories · Australia compliance hub