The best accountants can do much more than just tax and compliance work for your business. They’re troubleshooters and strategic advisors for small business. Basically, having an accountant means that you can operate your business with more clarity and confidence. Whether you’re working to get a startup off the ground, or taking the reins of an established business, you’ll see value from making an accountant part of your team. When you have the right accountant and a good relationship, you’ll see

Continuing its focus in recent years on work-related expenses, this Tax Time the ATO says it will target false clothing and laundry work-related expense claims. In 2018 alone, more than 6 million people claimed work-related clothing and laundry expenses totalling nearly $1.5 billion. ATO Assistant Commissioner Karen Foat said while many Australians can claim clothing and laundry expenses, “it’s unlikely that half of all taxpayers are required to wear uniforms, protective clothing or occupation-specific clothing to earn their income”. “You must have spent the money you are claiming on

Whether it’s a new focus, a new venture or a new year, consciously recognising the process required to change can vastly improve your outcome. The Five A’s of Change breaks it down simply: 1. Awareness.First we must be aware of what needs to change. Perhaps we want to work smarter, not harder, so we can have more family time and better financial returns. 2. Acceptance.We have to accept that in order to work smarter we will need to do things differently. There is

Small business budgets are empowering. They give you the knowledge and insight to eliminate wasteful spending and get to profitability faster. When setting a business budget, you need good numbers. Don’t guess at what’s coming in and what’s going out. You could be making assumptions that just aren’t true. Take the time to look into your accounts and dig out the real figures. It might sound like hard work but it’s worth it. Setting a budget isn’t complicated but it can still

Figuring out how much to charge is a big learning curve for any business owner. The answer to how to approach it will fluctuate as circumstances and markets change. It is important to revisit the question throughout the lifecycle of your business. There is no magic formula All businesses are unique, with an individual offering of products and services. Before you set your pricing, It’s important to look at the whole picture. This will help to ensure you are being strategic and

When people talk about ‘brand’ they often think solely from a customer perspective. However, a strong ’employer brand’ is also critical, in order to attract the right talent to your business. A company’s employer brand is twice as likely to drive job consideration as its company brand. With a shift in skill-set requirements across most industries, and Gen Y entering the workforce, it’s more important than ever to attract the right potential employees. So how do you go about attracting great

An engaged employee is a team member who is fully absorbed by and enthusiastic about their work, and who takes positive action to further a company’s reputation and interests and achieve their goals. More importantly, what does a disengaged team member look like?The symptoms range from a negative attitude, poor communication, absenteeism, lack of initiative, laziness, lateness, lack of participation, and doing the bare minimum at work… all the way to actively damaging the company’s work output, culture, and reputation. The impact

If you are lodging your own fringe benefits tax (FBT) return, you need to lodge and pay by the 21st of May. If we are lodging on your behalf, your due date is not until the 25th of June. Even if you have been paying FBT instalments on your quarterly BAS, we still need to complete and lodge the annual return to assess whether you have paid too much or too little throughout the year. If you have not paid any fringe

Cryptocurrency owners and traders are required to maintain records in relation to their holdings including records relating to the purchase, sale and transfer of cryptocurrency. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will collect data from cryptocurrency designated service providers, under notice, to identify individuals or businesses who have or may be engaged in buying, selling or transferring cryptocurrency during the 2014-15 to 2019-20 financial years. The data acquired will be electronically matched with certain sections of ATO data holdings to identify taxpayers that

Sourcing the right funding for your business can be the first step in achieving your growth goals, or the helping hand you need when you’re in a cash flow hole. Cash is king when it comes to funding your growth plan. But with the funding market now bursting with a huge choice of traditional and alternative finance providers, knowing what type of finance to opt for, and from which provider, can be a complex decision. Choosing the right finance for your business The