Account Documentation

When documents are ready to pass to the accountant for updating, to ensure accurate updates to the accounts, it is advisable to maintain the following documents, whether in electronic or hard copy format:

Following Section 82A (1) of the Income Tax Act 1967, it is imperative to maintain comprehensive records and documents, ensuring their secure retention for a minimum period of seven years from the end of the assessment year.

Failed to adhere to this requirement may result in the following consequences:

• Additional tax liability judgment of the Inland Revenue Board (IRB)
• The reliability of Financial Statements can be undermined
• The Offender a Fine of RM300~RM10,000 or Imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both

How should I do the document filing?

Document filing can be sorted into different folders according to these types:

NAME	EXAMPLE
Profit & Loss	Also called an ‘Income Statement’, contains the company’s revenue & expenses (Revenue - Expenses = Net profit / Net loss)
Type of document	Sales invoice / Purchases invoice / Expenses payment/ Bank statement
Date of document	Cash payment / Bank payment
Alphabet of document	Based on supplier/customer name
Number of document	Sales invoice number from 2023/001~100 in one folder

Alternatively, you may consider saving your document in a secure cloud storage solution to ensure accessibility and data preservation. The cloud file can separate the folder as follows:

Oversea transaction documentation

Generally, overseas suppliers may only provide insufficient detail of invoices for payment arrangements such as:

1. Proforma invoice
2. Sales order
3. Quotation
4. Cash bill without the supplier company name, address, contact information, and company chop
5. Payment receipt

These documents do not qualify as an official or valid invoice. It is advisable to request an official invoice from the supplier for proper documentation and accounting purposes.

How to better record the receipt/payment?

To better record the document, we recommend sealing the document by using a record stamp, this is to:

• Ability to record payment method, check number, and payment date
• Know which orders have been remitted, or which bills are outstanding
• In the future, it will be convenient to check the collection and payment information when handling the account
• Reduce the time to organize files

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