These are the problems I look for first when I review a Hawaii business's QuickBooks file. Most of them are invisible until a tax notice or a CPA question brings them out.

1. Charging 4.5% GET and calling it even

Maui County's GET rate has been 4.5% since January 1, 2024, when the county added its 0.5% surcharge. Many owners add exactly 4.5% to invoices. The catch is that GET applies to your gross income, and the GET you collect from customers counts as gross income too. That's why the maximum you can pass on in Maui County is 4.712%, not 4.5%.

Here's how it works on a $10,000 job. Charge 4.712% and you collect $471.20, so your gross income is $10,471.20. GET on $10,471.20 at 4.5% is $471.20. It nets to zero. Charge only 4.5% and the difference comes out of your pocket on every invoice.

2. Revenue recorded twice

This happens when an invoice is marked paid and the bank deposit is also categorized as income. Your P&L looks great, your GET return reports income you never earned, and your CPA has to untangle it at year end.

3. Loan proceeds and transfers booked as income

An SBA loan deposit or a transfer from savings shows up in the bank feed looking like a sale. If it gets categorized as revenue, you overpay GET and overstate your profit.

4. Skipping zero-income GET returns

You have to file a G-45 even for periods with no income. A late return carries a penalty of 5% of the tax due for each month or part of a month it's late, up to 25%.

5. Not reconciling, so nothing can be proven

If your accounts aren't reconciled, you can't show that the gross income on your GET returns is correct. Reconciliation is the step that makes every other number in your books defensible.

Not sure whether any of these apply to you? A free book review will show you. You can also read more about GET-ready bookkeeping.