At Toby we built Core for the questions that sit between a client's records and the rules that apply. It covers income tax, GST and BAS, PAYG withholding, super guarantee, termination and redundancy, state payroll tax for Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, pay rates under FairWork awards, and long service leave. It is for bookkeepers, accountants, BAS and tax agents, and small-business owners checking how a rule applies to a set of figures.
Payroll tax beyond Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria is outside the held coverage. If a question needs the law for another state or territory, Core refuses it rather than approximating. It can answer for today or a past date when it holds the source for that date.
Check the basis
Every figure comes with its working, a source citation and the version and date of the law used. If the relevant source is not held, Core says so. Before a figure reaches a customer, the Compliance Lead signs it off. Those details let a practitioner see what rule was used and what went into the calculation.
At Toby we keep arithmetic in code. AI can explain a computed result, but it cannot change the figure. When a question needs a judgement first, the result does not make the call about a client's facts. A qualified person decides what to do with it.
The Tax Practitioners Board says tax agents must take reasonable care in ascertaining a client's state of affairs relevant to advice, and in applying taxation laws to those circumstances. Its guidance says what counts as reasonable care depends on the engagement, complexity, client circumstances and service. Core can show its working; the practitioner remains responsible for advice and actions. [1]
It works beside your records
Core is not accounting software, a payroll system, a lodgement service or advice. It keeps no ledger, runs no payroll and never lodges with the ATO.
The ATO says businesses must keep records of transactions relating to tax, superannuation and registration affairs, including how an estimate or calculation was made. Keep the source documents and your notes with the work. A computed result does not replace the records that explain a client's circumstances. [2]
A free Xero health check
The free health check is separate from a paid Core seat. Start with a free account and no card, then connect a Xero file read-only. Its report shows what is wrong, what to fix first and what it adds up to. Save the report as a PDF. TobyAI writes nothing to Xero, and you can revoke access in Xero at any time.
Data is held in Sydney. Tax file numbers, bank account numbers, salary figures and employee names never reach any AI provider. The OAIC says privacy obligations apply to personal information entered into AI systems. Its guidance asks organisations to check product suitability, human oversight, privacy and security risks, and who can access input and output data. It recommends not entering personal information, particularly sensitive information, into publicly available generative AI as best practice. [3]
Seats and what comes next
One seat is one person who signs in. Clients are not seats, and Core includes unlimited clients and questions. Core is priced per seat, and every seat starts with a 14-day trial. Stripe takes a card at the start, but nothing is charged until the trial ends, and you can cancel at any time. The pricing page sets out the seat prices and the annual discount.
Plus is not open for sign-up yet. It follows by 31 December, adding fringe benefits tax and the wider areas. Core is what is open today.
Related reading
For more on keeping client information within a practice, read where your data goes when you use AI in a practice.
Sources
- Tax Practitioners Board, Reasonable care. Supports the statements on tax agents' duties and the practitioner's judgement.
- Australian Taxation Office, Overview of record-keeping rules for business. Supports the points on retaining transaction records and the basis or method for calculations.
- Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, Guidance on privacy and the use of commercially available AI products. Supports the points on due diligence, human oversight, privacy and security risks, access to data, and caution with publicly available generative AI.