lipinspartners

2024 Federal Budget & What It Means for You

Thu, 30 May 2024 03:46:31 GMT

The 2024 Federal Budget was announced on Tuesday 14 May 2024, with a focus on cost-of-living relief (again) and clean energy.

There were no new tax or superannuation changes announced, and the previously announced Stage 3 Income Tax cuts were confirmed to begin on 1 July 2024.

Here is a brief summary of the Budget updates:

Individuals

Household Energy Rebate: The Government will provide a $300 rebate to all Australian households on 2024/25 energy bills to provide cost of living relief. This won’t be cash to you – but it will be $75 per quarter paid to your energy company by the Government.

Medicare Levy Low-Income Thresholds Increased: The Government will increase the Medicare Levy low-income threshold for everyone from 1 July 2023. This means all individuals will now pay slightly less tax.

Revised Stage 3 Tax Cuts for Individuals: The Government confirmed the revised Stage 3 Tax Cuts will begin on 1 July 2024. Here is a summary of the tax cuts you will receive based on your earnings. More money in your pocket each week!

Deeming Rate Freeze Extended: The deeming rate is the Government’s assumed return on a retiree’s investments. The top rate of deeming will be held at 2.25% for another 12 months. Half a million pensioners can relax, the deeming rate is staying unchanged for next year.

Supporting Students – Lower HECS Indexation: The Government will cut $3 billion in student debt for more than 3 million Australians. The Government will cap the HELP indexation rate to be the lower of either the Consumer Price Index or the Wage Price Index – expected to be around 4% for 2024 instead of 4.7%. The Government will backdate this relief to all HELP, vocational education and training (VET) Student Loan, Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan and other student support loan accounts that existed on 1 June 2023. Your HESCS / Student Loan may grow over time if no compulsory or voluntary repayments are made.

Superannuation

Increased Employer Super: While this isn’t a Budget announcement, this is a good opportunity to remind you that your employer is required to pay 11.5% of your salary (up from 11%) into your superannuation from 1 July 2024. Please remember if you have a salary package that is inclusive of super, then your take-home pay effectively reduces by 0.5% from 1 July 2024 – but remember this will be offset by the Stage 3 personal tax cuts also coming into effect on 1 July 2024.

New Super Contribution Caps: While there were no superannuation reforms contained in this year’s Budget, the super contribution caps were given an inflation adjustment. The tax-deductible super cap will increase from $27,500 to $30,000 on 1 July 2024, and the non-tax deductible super cap will increase from $110,000 to $120,000 per year. You will be able to contribute $2,500 more into super as a tax deduction from 1 July 2024.

NEXT STEPS

Australia is currently facing a turbulent financial future, with inflation and interest rates still high as the nation faces a housing crisis.

With this uncertain future, it’s important that you try to build up a cash reserve and ensure your finances are in good order.

Our expert team of accountants are here to help you.

Please contact us TODAY if you have any questions about this 2024 Federal Budget and how it affects you, planning for your upcoming 2024 Tax Returns, and saving tax, growing and protecting your family wealth.

2024 Federal Budget & What It Means for Your Business

Thu, 30 May 2024 03:46:29 GMT

The 2024 Federal Budget was announced on Tuesday 14 May 2024, with a focus on cost-of-living relief (again) and clean energy.

There were no new tax or superannuation changes announced, and the previously announced Stage 3 Income Tax cuts were confirmed to begin on 1 July 2024.

Here is a brief summary of the Budget updates:

Businesses

Small Business Instant Asset Write Off: Small businesses, with an aggregated turnover of less than $10 million, will continue to be able to immediately deduct the cost of eligible assets costing less than $20,000 until 30 June 2025. Please note this is a tax deduction and not $20,000 cash back to you.

Small Business Energy Rebate: The Government will provide a $325 energy rebate to eligible small businesses on their 2024/25 energy bills to provide cost of living relief. This won’t be a cash payment – but it will be a quarterly payment to your energy company by the Government.

Individuals

Household Energy Rebate: The Government will provide a $300 rebate to all Australian households on 2024/25 energy bills to provide cost of living relief. This won’t be cash to you – but it will be a $75 quarterly payment to your energy company by the Government.

Medicare Levy Low-Income Thresholds Increased: The Government will increase the Medicare Levy low-income threshold for everyone from 1 July 2023. This means all individuals will now pay slightly less tax.

Revised Stage 3 Tax Cuts for Individuals: The Government confirmed the revised Stage 3 Tax Cuts will begin on 1 July 2024. Here is a summary of the tax cuts you and your employees will receive based on your earnings. More money in your pocket each week!

Deeming Rate Freeze Extended: The deeming rate is the Government’s assumed return on a retiree’s investments The top rate of deeming will be held at 2.25% for another 12 months. Half a million pensioners can relax, the deeming rate is staying unchanged for next year.

Supporting Students – Lower HECS Indexation: The Government will cut $3 billion in student debt for more than 3 million Australians. The Government will cap the HELP indexation rate to be the lower of either the Consumer Price Index or the Wage Price Index – expected to be around 4% for 2024 instead of 4.7%. The Government will backdate this relief to all HELP, vocational education and training (VET) Student Loan, Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan and other student support loan accounts that existed on 1 June 2023. Your HESCS / Student Loan may grow over time if no compulsory or voluntary repayments are made.

Superannuation

Increased Employer Super: While this isn’t a Budget announcement, this is a good opportunity to remind you that as an employer you are required to pay 11.5% of your staff’s salary (up from 11%) into your superannuation from 1 July 2024. Please remember if your employee has a salary package that is inclusive of super, then their take-home pay effectively reduces by 0.5% from 1 July 2024. But remember this will be offset by the Stage 3 personal tax cuts also coming into effect on 1 July 2024.

New Super Contribution Caps: While there were no superannuation reforms contained in this year’s Budget, the super contribution caps were given an inflation adjustment. The tax-deductible super cap will increase from $27,500 to $30,000 on 1 July 2024. The non-tax-deductible super cap will increase from $110,000 to $120,000 per year. You will be able to contribute $2,500 more into super as a tax deduction from 1 July 2024.

NEXT STEPS

To get the maximum benefits from the new measures announced in the 2024 Federal Budget, please contact us immediately to book in your 2024 Tax Planning meeting with us.

In your 2024 Tax Planning meeting, we plan to discuss these topics with you:

Saving tax for 2024 and planning for your 2025 tax payments.
How your business is performing as we enter another year of high inflation and high interest rates.
Keeping your wealth in your family “bloodline” with advanced Estate Planning and Asset Protection strategies.

Australia is currently facing a turbulent financial future, with inflation and interest rates still high as the nation faces a housing crisis.

With this uncertain future, it’s important that you try to build up a cash reserve and ensure your business and personal finances are in good order.

Our expert team of accountants are here to help you.

Why life's big milestones are a reason to check your life insurances

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 04:18:22 GMT

Traditionally, life’s big milestones were often summed up as getting married, buying a house, having a baby and later settling into retirement. And while all of these are still momentous and memorable life moments, today there are several other modern milestones to add to that list. These could be launching your own side hustle, investing in a property with a friend, choosing to have a child on your own, or deciding to travel in a campervan.

Aside from all these moments being a cause for celebration, these milestones also mark an important point in your life to reconsider the security you have in place to not only protect yourself and everything you’ve worked towards but also the ones you love.

Considering Life Insurances
Big changes in your life are a time to take stock of the things you’ve achieved, your future goals and what’s important to you. And more often than not, life’s big milestones come with added financial responsibility. For this reason, it’s important to consider how you would continue to meet these responsibilities if something were to happen to you.

Pooling money with family or friends to buy property can be a great way to break into the property market, however, it comes with its own unique considerations. In particular, having a plan for how you will manage and share the financial responsibility which extends to how you would cover both your shares of the mortgage if something were to happen to either of you.

Life Insurance, Critical Illness Insurance and Total and Permanent Disability Insurance (TPD), are all ways to help protect yourself and people that are important to you, helping ensure that if you passed away or could never return to gainful employment, neither your friends or your family would be left to cover the cost of your financial commitment. Similarly, if you were diagnosed with a Critical Illness or experience a traumatic event that left you totally and permanently disabled, you would have lump sum payment to help offer you financial security and assist with ongoing expenses, or debts.

Considering Income Protection

While big life achievements are generally a result of considerable planning and preparation, you can’t always predict what will happen in life. This means that if you’re considering launching your own venture as your next big milestone, it can be helpful to have protections in place that can help prevent your goals from being railroaded in the event of an illness or accident. Often, increasing earning power is a motivator to launch a business, so it may be worthwhile considering how you would maintain this financial security if something were to happen to you.

Income Protection can give you an alternative source of income if you’re temporarily unable to work due to an illness or injury that's left you totally or partially disabled. Whether you’ve launched a solo side hustle or are working with a small team, it can help you stay on top of personal living expenses, medical costs and business expenses, leaving you to focus on recovering.

Every Australian is different and has their own unique ambitions, goals and milestones. If you’d like help reviewing your personal financial situation, please reach out.

Any advice is general in nature only and has been prepared without considering your needs, objectives or financial situation. Before acting on it you should consider its appropriateness for you, having regard to those factors.

Reserve Bank of Australia Update - March 2024

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 23:04:27 GMT

The March Board meeting of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) concluded with a decision to maintain the official cash rate at 4.35%, following a thorough review of recent economic indicators. The official statement for this decision is available on the RBA's website .

This decision is in line with what was anticipated by the market, providing stability for borrowers in Australia who have variable interest rate loans, especially in light of recent rapid rate increases.

Although inflation has exceeded the target range of 2% to 3%, registering a 3.4% rise in the twelve months leading to January, the RBA's decision to maintain the rate allows for a continued assessment of the effects of previous rate adjustments.

The RBA board remains committed to bringing inflation back within the target range. Recent data indicates a moderation in inflation, with the headline monthly CPI holding steady at 3.4% over the year to January, showing a gradual decline in momentum driven by a decrease in goods inflation. Despite this, services inflation remains high but is slowing at a more gradual pace. These trends reflect ongoing excess demand in the economy and robust domestic cost pressures, both in labour and non-labour inputs.

The board emphasised the importance of ensuring that inflation is on a sustainable path towards the target range, noting that medium-term inflation expectations have thus far been consistent with the target, and it is crucial to maintain this alignment.

Property Market Snapshot

When was the last time you looked at your SMSF loan interest rate?

In today's rapidly changing financial landscape, it's essential to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to maximising your financial opportunities. That's why we're excited to bring you valuable insights into Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF) borrowing and refinancing, two strategies that could significantly impact your financial future.

SMSF loans are often an untapped resource, offering unique advantages for property investment within the framework of your superannuation. With competitive rates and a growing number of lenders entering the market, now is the perfect time to reassess your SMSF borrowing arrangements.

Refinancing your SMSF loan or conducting a health check on your current setup can potentially unlock large savings and ensure your borrowing strategy remains aligned with your goals. We’re here to guide you through this process, leveraging our expertise to help secure the favourable terms and rates tailored to your needs.

Here are some key tips to consider when exploring SMSF lending:

Evaluate Your Current Loan: Take the time to review the terms, interest rates, and fees associated with your existing SMSF loan. Refinancing could potentially lead to significant cost savings or improved features.

Understand Lender Requirements: Different lenders may have varying criteria for SMSF loans. Make sure you understand their requirements regarding property types, loan-to-value ratios, and repayment structures.

Seek Expert Advice: SMSF borrowing involves complex legal and financial considerations. Consult with professionals who specialise in SMSF lending, such as mortgage brokers, accountants, and financial advisors, to ensure compliance and optimal outcomes.

Assess Investment Opportunities: Conduct thorough due diligence on potential property investments within your SMSF. Consider factors like location, rental yield, and potential capital growth to make informed decisions.

Regularly Review Your Strategy: Market conditions and personal circumstances can change over time. Regularly review your SMSF borrowing strategy to ensure it continues to meet your objectives.

By partnering with the right mortgage broker, you can potentially gain access to a wealth of industry knowledge and a diverse range of lending options.

If you're considering SMSF borrowing or refinancing, we're here to help. Reach out to schedule a free consultation, and let's take proactive steps towards optimising your financial future.

How does the decision affect you?

The cash rate significantly shapes interest rates throughout the economy, impacting lending and deposit rates. Consequently, these interest rates play a crucial role in influencing economic activity, employment levels, and inflation rates.

This broad influence has widespread implications for many individuals in Australia.

If you would like to discuss what today’s news means for you and your finances, please feel free to contact us to arrange a discussion in more detail.

Tax planning helps you do more with your money

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 22:21:08 GMT

Tax planning is a strategic approach to managing your business’ financial affairs, with the aim of legally minimising your tax liability. In other words, you plan ahead to make sure you pay the taxes you should be paying, but not a penny more.

Working with your tax adviser, you can look for deductions, credits, exemptions and tax-saving strategies that will help to optimise your company’s overall tax position.

How does tax planning affect your business?

The primary goal of tax planning is to reduce the amount of taxes your business owes. But it’s also about making sure you stay compliant with all the tax laws and regulations applicable to your business.

But what are the main advantages? Let’s take a look at five of the big benefits of careful, strategic tax planning.

By planning your tax across the year, you can:

Maximise your profits – strategic tax planning helps your company find the best available tax incentives, deductions and credits. This reduces your overall tax liability, cuts your annual tax costs and increases your overall profitability as a business.
Boost your cashflow – tax planning is a great way to open up more liquid cash and achieve a better cashflow position for the business. When you cut down the company’s tax payments, that frees up cash and helps you achieve a positive cashflow position.
Stay compliant and mitigate your risk – being proactive with your tax planning keeps the company compliant with the relevant tax laws and regulations. It’s a sensible way to tick the compliance boxes and reduce the risk of costly penalties and legal issues.
Drive your strategic growth – smart use of tax planning helps you reduce your tax costs and reassign those funds to your strategic business goals. It’s a golden opportunity to invest in areas that promote long-term growth and competitiveness.
Give your business a competitive edge – if managed well, efficient tax planning leads to lower operational costs for the business. This gives you a competitive edge when it comes to pricing, innovation, sales and revenue generation.

How can our firm help you with tax planning?

Getting strategic with your tax planning has many advantages for your financial stability as a business. But to maximise your planning, it’s important to work with an experienced adviser.

As your tax adviser, we’ll help you look ahead across the whole financial year, looking for the opportunities to reduce your tax liability and find the best tax deductions and incentives.

If you’d like to know more about the impact of tax planning, we’ll be happy to explain.

Get in touch to talk about tax planning.

Market Outlook 2024

Tue, 27 Feb 2024 23:26:11 GMT

Last year saw mixed reactions with the economy and markets. Contrary to widespread expectations, markets defied projections, setting aside elevated inflation and increasing interest rates. Surprisingly, most major equity markets demonstrated robust performance, posting strong returns for 2023.

After experiencing a consumer-led recovery that surpassed initial concerns following COVID lockdowns, major global economies have encountered a new challenge in recent years: a significant rise in inflation. This inflationary pressure primarily stems from stronger-than-anticipated demand outpacing a slower-than-expected supply response. Consequently, central banks worldwide have been compelled to adopt an assertive approach, increasing interest rates from their emergency lows during the COVID period to curb both demand and pricing pressures.

Despite a slowdown in economic growth, Australian and most major global economies have displayed greater resilience than initially anticipated. Global unemployment rates remain low and the feared hard-landing recession scenario has, at least for the time being, been averted. Inflation, while still elevated, is showing signs of moving in a favourable direction. Notably, many central banks are now slowing down the pace of interest rate hikes and are beginning to consider the prospect of lowering interest rates later this year.

Three risks that could make for a bumpy landing

Nevertheless, we remain cautious, particularly these early days. We have identified three primary risks that have the potential to disrupt our current perspective and lead us in an alternative direction

1. Inflation and interest rates - There remains a possibility that the delayed repercussions of previous interest rate hikes might catch up with the economy, particularly as an increasing number of households and businesses find themselves compelled to refinance previously affordable COVID loans at higher rates. Additionally, the persistence of a sluggish growth environment could potentially instigate a more profound downturn. However, if inflation continues to trend downward, either of these scenarios might result in central banks implementing swifter and more substantial rate cuts, thereby mitigating the extent of the economic downturn.

2. Labour and unemployment - A more concerning risk arises if the deceleration in inflation begins to lose momentum, particularly if wages and inflation in the service sector remain elevated despite tight labour markets. This risk can be mitigated if the overall economic growth continues to ease, leading to a gradual increase in the unemployment rates in countries like Australia and the US, aiming for around 4.5%—hopefully, without precipitating a more profound downturn. If the demand for labour subsides or the labour supply continues to recover, there is a possibility that wages and inflation in the service sector could further decelerate without a substantial increase in unemployment.

3. Geopolitics - A last factor of concern pertains to geopolitical risks—any intensification in the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Europe could elevate inflation by disrupting vital global food and energy supplies. Persistent tensions between China and Taiwan also contribute to uncertainty, and the potential re-election of Donald Trump as the US President later this year adds a new unpredictable element to the scenario.

In summary, based on our research, it seems that the most probable scenario for 2024 involves a continued, albeit modest, deceleration in economic growth—avoiding a severe recession. This outlook creates room for additional decreases in inflation and subsequent central bank interest rate cuts by the end of the year.

Setting goals for you and your business in 2024

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 21:58:31 GMT

The new year is a new beginning. If you are a business owner, this is often the time of year when you reflect on where you are at and think about your business goals for the year ahead.

Setting goals is an essential part of personal and professional growth. These could be lofty goals, or even setting out a plan to achieve some more mundane (but equally important) projects. Whether that is getting paid faster, reassessing expenses or bigger things like automation of processes and new markets. You may be looking to expand your business or create more time for yourself.

Having a clear vision and actionable goals can help you achieve your long-term plans. Here are some tips to get you started:

Envision your future: Reflect on what you truly want from your life and how your business can help you achieve those aspirations. Consider where you want your business to be in the next five or ten years. Having a clear endpoint in mind will make it easier to set goals that align with your vision.
Set measurable goals: Vague goals can be challenging to track and evaluate. Instead, focus on setting goals that are measurable. Think about the key metrics you already monitor in your business and how you would like to see them improve. For example, aim for a 3% increase in net profit year-on-year, a 2% reduction in expenses, or acquiring two new customers per month or grow your prospect database by 50%. If you set specific targets, you can easily track your progress and make adjustments as needed.
Develop a plan for each goal: Once you have identified your goals, it's crucial to create a plan of action to achieve them. This can be as simple as jotting down your ideas or engaging in a brainstorming session with your team or advisors. Having a well-defined plan in place will help you stay focused and motivated to follow through.
Monitor your progress regularly: It's essential to regularly check in on your progress towards your goals. Set reminders on your calendar or align your monitoring process with your invoicing cycle. By consistently evaluating your progress, you can identify any areas that need improvement or come up with fresh ideas to help you reach your targets.
Celebrate your achievements: Celebrating milestones along the way is crucial for maintaining motivation and momentum. Plan a reward for yourself when you achieve a significant goal. It could be treating the team to a morning tea, having a day out of the office together or planning an event for the end of the year. Choose something that brings you joy without breaking the bank.

Not sure how to get started?

We can help you with the strategy and identifying the information you’ll need to track, so you can monitor your progress.

Setting goals is just the first step. By implementing these tips and staying committed to your vision, you can turn your long-term plans into reality.

Reserve Bank of Australia Update - February 2024

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 05:39:07 GMT

In its initial gathering for 2024, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has opted to maintain the cash rate at 4.35 percent. The official statement for this decision is available on the RBA's website , and the subsequent cash rate determination is scheduled for March 19 .

The most recent quarterly inflation data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) indicates a decrease in the Consumer Price Index to 4.1 percent for the year ending in December, down from 5.4 percent in the September quarter. In the December quarter alone, inflation slowed to 0.6 percent, marking its lowest quarterly figure since March 2021.

Given these inflation metrics, numerous economists had anticipated that the cash rate would remain unchanged in the early part of 2024, with the possibility of a reduction in August or September .

In a recent survey conducted by CoreLogic, over 70 percent of real estate professionals expressed the belief that interest rates would exert the most significant influence on the housing market in 2024. The survey, titled 'Decoding 2024: Real estate's trends and goals revealed,' gathered insights from over 1,400 real estate professionals regarding the property landscape this year.

Among the survey respondents, 71 percent identified interest rate fluctuations as the primary driver for the Australian real estate market in 2024. Within this group, nearly 59 percent strongly believed that increasing rates would have the most substantial impact, while 12 percent foresaw some degree of impact from falling rates.

Eliza Owen, CoreLogic's Head of Residential Research Australia, shared the broad expectation that housing values in 2024 would still experience growth but at a slower pace than the 8.1 percent observed in CoreLogic's Home Value Index in 2023.

SELF-EMPLOYED AND LOOKING TO BORROW? A KNOWLEDGEABLE MORTGAGE BROKER MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE

For self-employed individuals navigating the Australian mortgage landscape, enlisting the expertise of a specialised mortgage broker can be a game-changer. Unlike traditional borrowers with steady pay slips, self-employed applicants often face unique challenges when seeking home loans. Here's why partnering with the right mortgage broker can be particularly advantageous for self-employed borrowers:

Understanding Complex Income Structures: Self-employment often involves intricate income structures, such as irregular earnings, business expenses, and fluctuating profits. The right mortgage broker will specialise in deciphering these complexities, presenting your financial situation in the most favourable light to lenders.

Access to Specialised Lenders: Many traditional lenders may view self-employment as a higher risk, leading to stricter lending criteria and potentially higher interest rates. Mortgage brokers, however, have access to specialised lenders who understand the nuances of self-employment and offer tailored loan products with more flexible terms.

Tailored Loan Solutions: A mortgage broker will work closely with you to understand your specific financial goals and circumstances. They can then source loan options that align with your needs, whether it's a low-doc loan, asset-based lending, or other specialised products designed for self-employed individuals.

Expert Guidance and Support: Navigating the mortgage application process as a self-employed borrower can be daunting. A mortgage broker acts as your advocate, providing expert guidance and support every step of the way. From gathering documentation to negotiating terms with lenders, they ensure a smoother, less stressful experience.

Maximizing Approval Chances: The right mortgage broker knows which lenders are more inclined to approve loans for self-employed applicants. By strategically matching you with the right lender and presenting your financial profile effectively, they enhance your chances of loan approval.

In conclusion, for self-employed individuals in Australia, navigating the mortgage market can be challenging due to complex income structures and varying lender requirements. However, by partnering with a knowledgeable and specialised mortgage broker, self-employed borrowers gain access to other lenders, tailored loan solutions, and expert guidance tailored to their unique financial circumstances. With the support of a mortgage broker, self-employed applicants can confidently navigate the loan process, maximize their approval chances, and ultimately achieve their dream of home ownership.

How does the decision impact you?

RBA rate decisions play a pivotal role in shaping borrowing costs, consumer sentiment, and property market dynamics, influencing borrowers' financial decisions accordingly.

If you would like to discuss what today’s decision means for you and your finances, please feel free to contact me.

For those looking to buy their first or next property in 2024 or considering refinancing, assistance is available.

Let us compare market offerings to find home loans tailored to your specific needs and financial goals.

What are your business goals for the year ahead?

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 02:51:48 GMT

The beginning of a new calendar year is an excellent time to review the year just finished and reflect on what worked, what didn’t, what you’d like to change and new things you’d like to implement.

Take the time to review the year and acknowledge all that has happened, good, bad or indifferent. Examining the year with an objective perspective can provide valuable insights to prepare for the next business year. Planning and goal setting will help provide a focus for your business efforts.

Your Yearly Business Review

What were the most significant impacts on your business in the last 12 months? How well did you meet the challenges?
What worked well last year? What systems, technology, products or services were successful?
What accomplishments can you celebrate?
What situation, event or experience provided the biggest learning opportunity?
What is the biggest challenge or frustration you face as you prepare for the year ahead?
What did you most enjoy during the year? Do more of it. What did you least enjoy? Do less of it!
Analyse your financial reports. Are you earning what you’d like to? Is the business sustainably profitable?

Get Ready for a Great Year

While there are many metrics you could evaluate to track business performance, we’ve given you just a few ideas to inspire your business planning for a positive start to the year.

If you’d like to chat about what you can do differently this year to enable your business to thrive, book a time with us today.

A business budget will help with your financial decision making

Tue, 30 Jan 2024 22:43:30 GMT

Budgeting is about estimating your revenues, projecting your expenses and detailing the allocation of funds, so you stick to (and don’t overrun) your agreed budget ceiling.

How does budgeting affect your business?

Having a clear, agreed budget gives you a structured framework for your financial decision-making. It’s a practical way to control your costs, monitor performance and adapt your strategic and financial decisions to meet changing economic conditions.

Using budgeting helps your business in a number of ways:

Better control over your finances – budgeting gives you a clear roadmap for managing your company’s finances. Sticking to that budget helps you maintain control over expenses, reduce wastage and make the very best of your resources.
Achieving your financial and strategic goals – your budget helps you to set and track financial goals, making it easier to align your business strategies with your desired goals and outcomes. It’s a great way to boost growth, profitability and debt reduction.
Improved control over your cashflow – effective budgeting helps you anticipate any cashflow fluctuations. That’s a bonus that helps you plan for both lean and prosperous periods, making sure you have the funds to cover expenses and seize opportunities.
Allocating your resources – budgets are useful for guiding how and where you allocate your resources. From your one pot of cash, you can decide whether to prioritize investments, marketing efforts, operational improvements or business growth.
Keep track of your performance – comparing your actual financial results to your budgeted results helps you quickly assess your performance as a business. You can look for variances, make timely adjustments to stay on track toward your goals.

How can our firm help you with budgeting?

Being in control of your expenses, spending and predicted revenues sits at the heart of your financial management, giving you a framework and set budgetary goals to aim for, track against and (hopefully) achieve.

As your adviser, we’ll help you set up budgets for your strategic business plans, with clear tracking and reporting to keep you on the ball and meeting those targets.

Get in touch to chat about budgeting.

Five Steps to Better CashFlow

Tue, 23 Jan 2024 04:39:03 GMT

Need a hand managing cash flow? You’re not alone. The key is getting your invoicing right, by invoicing customers as soon as possible and using tools like Xero’s invoice reminders to move payments along.

That said, there are a few other simple rules you can apply to manage your cash flow and get your invoices paid even faster:

Keep your books accurate and up to date - so you can see your financial state at a glance.
Don’t be too lenient with your customers - you can be direct and still polite. Keep a close watch on your accounts receivable turnover at all times and act sooner rather than later.
Keep your accounting simple - so you have a good handle on these business metrics. We can help with this.
Keep your business and your professional finances separate - this is essential to understanding your true cash flow position. Mixing your business and personal finances can leave you uncertain about business performance.
Build a cash reserve - so you are prepared for unexpected events and can take advantage of opportunities when they pop up.

First you want to get your invoicing right. Get into a habit of sending invoices quickly. Then follow the steps above to collect revenue and keep your finances organised.

Cash flow management is the lifeline of your business and given post covid price rises and inflation we recommend you contact us to discuss and better manage your quarterly cash flow requirements

Top Ten Estate Planning and Family Wealth Protection Resolutions for 2024

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 00:20:51 GMT

As we welcome 2024, it's an important time to prioritise your estate planning and family wealth protection. Making these resolutions now can provide you with a sense of achievement and relief from the weight of uncertainty. Here are the top ten resolutions you should start on immediately to ensure your family's future is secure.

1. Create or Update Your Will

Your will is the cornerstone of your estate plan. If you don't have one, make it a priority to create a will this year. If you already have one, review it to ensure it reflects your current wishes and circumstances. Life changes such as marriage, divorce, or the birth of a child should be reflected in your will. If it does not have a testamentary trust as part of the Will it will not protect your family wealth and that of your beneficiaries.

2. Establish an Enduring Power of Attorney

An Enduring Power of Attorney allows you to designate someone to manage your affairs if you become unable to do so. This is crucial not just for the elderly but for anyone at any age, as unexpected incapacitation can happen to anyone.

3. Review Your Beneficiaries

Ensure that your life insurance, superannuation, and other financial products have the correct beneficiaries listed. Over time, your relationships and preferences might change, so it’s essential to keep these up to date.

4. Create a Living Family Wealth Protection Trust

A living trust can help your family avoid the lengthy and expensive probate process. It also allows you greater control over how your assets are distributed to your heirs.

5. Organise Your Digital Assets

As our lives become increasingly digital, don't forget to include digital assets like social media accounts, digital currencies, and online banking accounts in your estate plan. With the right lawyers or advisers these are best enshrined within your Will as part of it or as a schedule to it.

6. Plan for Your Business's Future

If you own a business, it's crucial to have a succession plan in place. This ensures that your business continues to operate smoothly without you, providing for your family and employees. This is absolutely crucial if you are the sole director or sole shareholder of the company.

7. Secure a Life Insurance Policy

Life insurance provides your family with financial security in the event of your untimely death. If you already have a policy, review it to ensure it's adequate for your family's needs.

8. Understand Your Tax Implications

Estate taxes can take a significant chunk out of your assets. Understand how these taxes work and implement strategies to minimise their impact.

9. Establish a Healthcare Directive

A healthcare directive and a living will ensure your medical wishes are honoured if you're unable to communicate them yourself.

10. Speak with a Professional

Estate planning can be complex. Consult with the Lipins Partners Team and their Legal Support to ensure your plans are legally sound and reflect your wishes.

Embarking on these ten resolutions will not only protect your family's wealth but will also give you peace of mind knowing that you're prepared for whatever the future may hold. Start 2024 off right by ensuring that your estate plan is in order. Remember, estate planning isn't just for the wealthy or the elderly; it's for anyone who wants to protect their loved ones and ensure their wishes are honoured. Don't let another year pass without getting these essential tasks off your shoulders. Your family's future depends on it.

Minimum Pension Payments Increased from 1 July 2023 - Wealth Peak Financial Advice

Wed, 19 Jul 2023 03:39:17 GMT

Your pension payments are increasing

On 1 July 2019, the Federal Government temporarily reduced the minimum pension payments members must draw from their pensions each year by 50%. This temporary reduction will end on 30 June 2023 which means your pension payments each year are likely to increase. The changes for account-based pensions are outlined in table below.

What if I want to keep receiving the lower amount?

Minimum pension rates are set by the government, so you’re unable to draw less than the minimum they’ve set. Taking extra income you may not need reduces funds available in a tax-free environment. As this income builds up in your personal name, you could pay tax on income earned on investments in your personal name. It is prudent to organise a review to discuss other investment options for the extra funds. These options are likely going to reduce any tax payable on your personal income.

As always, you can reach us on 02 9121 4545 or email advice@wealthpeak.com.au for a review of your personal circumstances.

General advice warning: As always, information provided here is of a general nature only and does not constitute financial advice. We encourage you to speak to Wealth Peak Lipins 02 9121 4545 or advice@wealthpeak.com.au if you want to understand how these issues apply to your personal circumstances.

Tax Tips for Small Businesses 2023

Wed, 19 Jul 2023 00:28:29 GMT

Common Tax Deductions for Small Business

Are you claiming all the business tax deductions that you are entitled to?

There are many expenses common to most small business, and there are other expenses that are specific to the nature of each industry and the goods or services that your business provides.

Operating expenses include accounting, administration, advertising and marketing, office premises, office running expenses, trading stock, legal fees, repairs and maintenance, insurance and vehicle expenses.
Employment expenses include salary and wages, fringe benefits, superannuation and training costs.
Other operating expenses may include things specific to your business, for example point of sale systems, freight, professional membership fees, professional education, protective equipment, tools or specialised software.
Capital expenses include machinery and equipment, vehicles, furniture and computers. Depreciation for these assets may also be deductible if the expense was not claimed immediately.

Expenses must relate to the running of the business and providing the goods or services that your business offers.

Some common expenses that are not deductible are fines and penalties, provisions for employee leave, donations to entities not registered as deductible gift recipients and some entertainment. Super and PAYGW are tax deductible when they are paid on time – but not if paid late!

There may be some expenses you want to check with us such as private usage of business vehicles or other equipment, prepaid expenses, bad debts, loss of stock and borrowing expenses. We’ll make sure to include all the deductions you’re entitled to.

What’s on the ATO Radar for Business Tax Returns?

Businesses whose benchmarks fall significantly outside the ATO’s small business benchmarks.
Work-related travel expenses – travel fares, accommodation, meals. The travel should be directly related to income producing activities and you need records to verify the travel claims.
Motor vehicle expenses – keep records for fuel, repairs and servicing, finance arrangements, insurance and registration. Keep a logbook to record private travel.
Fringe benefits – have you reported all benefits provided to employees?
Superannuation – have you paid the superannuation guarantee on time to employees’ super funds? The ATO will examine your Single Touch Payroll records including superannuation payments.
Instant asset write-off – the threshold remains at $150,000 this year, but there are rules about eligibility so talk to us to see if the asset deduction claims apply to your business.

Maximise Your Business Deductions

Remember to keep all your business records for at least five years, and payroll records for at least seven years. Companies must keep all records including director meeting minutes for at least seven years.

We’ll make sure you have time to plan for a tax bill, or if you are due a refund, you’ll get it within ten days of us lodging your tax return.

We’ll also check your business’s eligibility for concessions, offsets, incentives and rebates and make sure your business is calculating taxable income correctly, so you don’t pay more tax than you need to!

Temporary full expensing is due to end soon – your tax deduction guide

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 03:46:02 GMT

With the temporary full expensing (TFE) incentive due to end on 30 June 2023, the federal government has announced the reintroduction of the small business instant asset write-off.

Businesses with an aggregated turnover of less than $5 billion

The TFE rules provide for a full deduction to businesses for the cost of eligible depreciating assets in the year they are first used, or installed ready for use, for a taxable purpose before 30 June 2023.

You and your business must be mindful that this tax incentive is set to expire next month so you will need to act now to avoid missing out on the available full write-off.

Assets must be installed ready for use, or be first used, by 30 June 2023, merely entering into a contract to purchase or owning the asset is insufficient to qualify for the full write-off.

If your turnover is under $50 million, you can also get the full write-off for second-hand assets.

Businesses with an aggregated turnover of less than $10 million

For small business entities using simplified depreciation, the cost threshold of an asset for instant write-off was set to revert to $1,000 until a reintroduction of the instant asset write-off was announced in the 2023–24 Federal Budget.

As per the announcement, from 1 July 2023, small businesses with aggregated annual turnover of less than $10 million will be able to immediately deduct the full cost of eligible assets for tax purposes.

For you to be eligible to claim the instant asset write-off next year, the asset must:

be first installed or ready to use between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024, and
cost less than $20,000.

The $20,000 threshold will apply on a per asset basis — this means that you will be able to instantly write-off multiple assets.

Opportunities

With the TFE incentive end date approaching on 30 June 2023, you and your business should consider investing in assets before 30 June 2023 to avail the TFE accelerated tax deductions.

However, if your business’ turnover is under $10 million, making an asset purchase after 30 June can still get you a full write-off, if you stay under the $20,000 threshold.

Small business entities that want to elect into a general small business pool should consider doing so for the 2022–23 income year. This could allow them to bring the tax written down values of eligible depreciating assets into the pool in 2022–23 income year, with a full write-off of the balance being available.

Other taxpayers

For other taxpayers, no instant asset write-off applies from 1 July 2023, assets costing less than $1,000 can be allocated to a low value pool if the taxpayer elects to do so.

Super Guarantee Rate Rises in July to 11%

Wed, 07 Jun 2023 05:09:31 GMT

In July 2023, the superannuation guarantee statutory rate will rise to 11%. Annually, the rate is increasing by 0.5% until July 2025 when it will reach the legislated 12%.

Review your current superannuation costs for all employees, both hourly and salaried.

Review any salary packaging arrangements. Is the agreement inclusive of superannuation or is super paid on top of the agreed salary?

For salary packages inclusive of super, you will need to check the contract's wording to make sure you apply the changes correctly. This change may also impact annualised salary arrangements.

Calculate your revised payroll costs from July, showing the current wages and superannuation expense compared to the new rate from July. Highlight the increased amount per month or quarter, so you know precisely what the impact will be.

Discuss the super rate increase with your employees now. Let them know that there will be an increase of 0.5% each year from now until July 2025 when the statutory rate will reach 12% and remain there.

Remember – short payment or late payment of super can incur hefty penalties – plan now for higher payroll expenses from July, so you don't get caught short.

Prepare Now for the July Rate Rise

If you’d like help reviewing payroll costs and employee agreements, talk to us now, and we'll make sure you have accurate reports to make planning for the rate rise easy.

Getting organised now means that you'll be well prepared for your business's increased costs when the first payment is due later this year.

Strategic Business Partnerships: The Benefits of Working Together

Wed, 31 May 2023 02:09:30 GMT

Your business may compete head-to-head with a number of other companies, but this doesn’t mean you have to treat ALL other businesses as if they are the competition. In fact, there are real benefits in creating strategic alliances with other like-minded organisations.

When you look at the wider marketplace, you’ll see that there are businesses out there that may well compliment your offering. And by working together (rather than against each other) it’s possible to become valued strategic partners, collaborating to serve your joint customers, improve brand awareness and, ultimately, expand your target market.

If this sounds like a positive strategy, now’s the time to do your homework and start hunting down the best strategic partners for your business.

Working to serve a shared customer base

Strategic partnerships are all about finding the common ground between you and your intended partner – and this means finding the best ways to combine your efforts. If you can share the same customer audience, and create a complimentary way of meeting their needs, that creates a broader, more connected way of growing both companies.

Find a company that’s interested in forming a strategic alliance

1. Find partners in complementary sectors

If you’re an accounting firm, like us, it makes sense to partner with solicitors, lawyers and other professional services providers who can help your clients. If you're a maker of shoes it makes sense to partner with a clothing manufacturer that shares your same sense of style and purpose. The key here is to find a shared audience or customer need, and to create some real synergy between your two businesses.

2. Take part in business networking and events

To get a wider understanding of your local, or industry specific, business network, it’s worth taking part in plenty of online and offline business events. You’ll meet new people, hear about new brands and will find it easier to find your ideal strategic partner. The wider your business network, the more choices you have for an alliance.

3. Look at crossover between your target audiences

Once you’ve found a potential strategic partner, it’s important to take a detailed look at the crossover between your partner’s audience and your audience. Do they shop through the same channels? Do they fit a certain age group or social demographic? Are these customers local, or are they part of a national or global online customer base? How large is their database?

4. Cross-reference your customer databases

By sharing and comparing your client relationship management (CRM) data, you can cross-reference both sets of customer data and see where there’s overlap, or where you may already share some of the same customers. The better you understand each other’s customers, the more likely it is that you’ll find some common ground for shared marketing and promotion.

5. Run joint events and promotions

P resenting joint webinars with your strategic partner, or running joint promotions. By finding a common theme, you bring both audiences together and reinforce the alliance between your two brands. You also reduce the expenditure by sharing the costs and reach a wider audience.

6. Combine your R&D efforts

T o move your alliance forward, you can also try combining your research and development (R&D) activity, to find new products, new services and new ways of keeping your joint customers happy. By sharing the time, costs and effort of developing new offerings, both companies will benefit – and you keep your businesses at the cutting edge of their respective sectors or specialisms.

Which is more important? Cashflow or Profit?

Thu, 25 May 2023 05:42:44 GMT

Cashflow and profit are two of the most important financial metrics for any business. But while they’re both related to the financial performance of a company, they measure different things.

Knowing the difference – and how cash and profit contribute to your success story – is a vital skill if you want your business to have the best possible financial health.

The difference between cashflow and profit

Understanding the technicalities of financial reporting can be daunting as a new entrepreneur. And even seasoned business owners can find it hard work resonating with the various financial reports that today’s cloud accounting software can produce.

But getting your head around the differences between cashflow and profit can be a gamechanger – especially when it comes to managing your working capital.

So, let’s look at the differences:

Profit refers to the amount of money your business has left after subtracting all expenses from your revenue. It’s a measure of your company's financial success over a given period, whether that’s a month, quarter or a full 12-months.
Cashflow is a process that measures the inflow and outflow of cash in your business. This includes both your operating and investment activities. Maintaining a ‘positive cashflow position’ is vital for meeting your financial obligations.

Why is it important to make a profit?

Profit is a measure of the financial success of your business. It’s also a key factor in your growth as an organisation. Healthy profits mean you have the surplus cash needed to reinvest in the business, and to pay yourself and your fellow shareholders healthy dividends.

However, you can only make a profit if you have enough liquid cash to keep operating – and this is where the importance of cashflow becomes paramount.

Why is positive cashflow so essential?

Poor cashflow is one of the biggest factors in most business failures. As the lifeblood of the company, cash is an essential ingredient in the financial mix. To operate effectively, you need more cash inflows than cash outflows. If not, you don’t have the cash to purchase raw materials, pay your workforce or buy the services that keep you operating.

Positive cashflow is all about ensuring that there’s more cash coming in than expenses going out. In this harmonious place of being in a ‘positive cashflow position’ you have liquid cash available exactly when you need it – and that’s vital for keeping the lights on in the business.

Talk to us about getting in control of your cashflow

Profit is an excellent measure of your financial success. But positive cashflow is the electricity that powers your business and keeps the wheels turning day in, day out.

Positive cashflow helps you:

Stay operational, with enough cash in the kitty
Meet your financial obligations as a company
Invest in your expansion, growth and scale-up strategy
Sustain your long-term success as an ambitious business.

Even a profitable business can face liquidity issues, so getting in control of your cashflow really should be top of your financial to-do list this year.

Get in touch to talk about your cashflow position.

Superannuation Update - Edition 1

Mon, 22 May 2023 00:46:24 GMT

Below is a round-up of some superannuation changes and key developments that may be relevant to you, as trustee of your SMSF. It is important that you know what changes are coming, so you can effectively understand how they may affect you and the members of your SMSF.

We intend to regularly provide you with these updates as a way of helping you plan for your retirement and identify any opportunities that can assist you to grow your superannuation savings.

APRIL 2023

1. Deductibility of personal super contributions and the work test

Since 1 July 2022, there has been a law change that abolished the requirement for anyone aged between 67 and 75 to satisfy a work test – or be gainfully employed – before making superannuation contributions. That is, unless you want to claim a tax deduction for a personal super contribution – which still requires you to meet the work test or rely on the one-off work test exemption.

However, an unintended consequence of this law change has been that some individuals, despite no change in their employment arrangements, may no longer be entitled to a tax deduction. For example, some company directors aged 67 to 75 may be impacted.

To resolve this issue, the ATO has released a draft Legislative Instrument (LI 2023/D11) which is intended to ensure that all individuals aged 67 to 75, who would have been eligible to claim a tax deduction for their personal superannuation.

2. SuperStream Rollover Relief is ending

From 1 July 2023, all trustees will need to have an Electronic Service Address (ESA) and to use the SuperStream system to successfully rollover member benefits. This means all SMSFs actioning a member rollover will be required to receive and send electronic messaging and payments.

Undertaking a rollover without using an ESA after 30 June 2023 will result in a contravention, reportable by your SMSF auditor.

Since March 2022, SMSF trustees that had difficulty getting an ESA have been able to seek approval from the ATO to rollover member benefits to an APRA regulated fund (or to another SMSF), outside of the SuperStream system. Given the number of messaging providers now available and the small number of trustees that needed to seek approval from the ATO, this temporary relief is now set to end on 30 June 2023.

MARCH 2023

1. New tax on large balances

There has been much discussion surrounding the tax treatment of large superannuation balances in recent months, following the Treasurer’s initial announcement that the Government’s intention is to introduce a new tax for fund members with superannuation balances above $3 Million.

The Government has since released a consultation paper seeking input on how this new tax is to be introduced and how changes will be implemented.

Much of the debate, since this change was first announced, has surrounded the way in which ‘earnings’, for the purposes of this new tax, will be calculated – in particular, the inclusion of annual unrealised capital gains through the use of an individual’s Total Superannuation Balance (TSB).

While the details contained in the Government’s consultation paper demonstrate that Treasury’s proposed approach is still evolving, many unanswered questions remain.

FEBRUARY 2023

1. Indexation of Transfer Balance Cap (TBC)

Following the release of the December Quarter 2022 CPI figure by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the General TBC is set to increase from $1.7 Million to $1.9 Million, from 1 July 2023.

However, it is important to be aware of the proportional indexation approach that is used to calculate every individual’s Personal TBC. This means that for some, the amount they can transfer into retirement phase pensions will increase substantially, while for others there may be no change at all.

2. Indexation of contribution caps and other rates and thresholds

The Australian Bureau of Statistics released the November 2022 AWOTE figure – which essentially confirmed that there will be no indexation to the superannuation contribution caps for the 2023/24 financial year.

However, the indexed General TBC could have positive flow-on impacts on your ability to make Non-Concessional Contributions (NCCs). If you are seeking to utilise the NCC bring-forward rules, the thresholds are expected to increase on 1 July 2023, as outlined in the table below.

3. Death v Member Benefit

The ATO has updated its online guidance to assist trustees in determining how to deal with situations in which a member requests an amount to be paid from their SMSF before they die, but die before they received it – QC45254 .

Based on the updated guidance, the ATO has reminded trustees that they must assess whether the payment is a member benefit or a death benefit based on the facts known at the time of the payment. The ATO has also provided additional specific issues that need to be considered.

Treating a benefit payment one way or the other can have a very different tax outcome and can deliver very different estate planning consequences. Given the specific circumstances surrounding the payment, SMSF trustees have the option to apply to the ATO for a Private Binding Ruling (PBR).

4. Objective of Superannuation

In February the Government released a consultation paper providing a range of options for consideration as it seeks to legislate an objective of superannuation as a way of making sure that super is used for retirement only.

The proposal is not intended to change your obligations as SMSF trustee or the way that your SMSF is regulated. Instead, it is aimed at policy makers to ensure any future changes to superannuation are aligned with the purpose of the system.

The Government’s proposed objective, which is up for discussion, is: “The objective of superannuation is to preserve savings to deliver income for a dignified retirement, alongside government support, in an equitable and sustainable way.

JANUARY 2023

1. Transfer Balance Account Report (TBAR)

From 1 July 20 23, all SMSF trustees will be required to report TBC events no later than 28 days following the end of the quarter in which the event occurred – even if the member's total super balance is less than $1 million.

This means all unreported events that occur before 30 September 2023 must be reported by 28 October 2023. You can read more on the ATO’s updated web

content outlining the event-based reporting obligations applicable to SMSF trustees.

2. Non-Arm's Length Income (NALI) and Expenses (NALE) - Consultation Paper

In January this year, the Government released a Consultation Paper which put forward several options to amend the NALI provisions to address the potential for disproportionately severe outcomes for breaches relating to general expenses.

For SMSFs the proposed amendments would result in the maximum amount of income taxable at the highest marginal rate being five times the level of the general expenditure breach – calculated as the difference between the amount that would have been charged as an arm’s length expense and the amount that was actually charged to the fund. Where the product of 5 times the breach is greater than all fund income, all fund income will be taxed at the highest marginal rate.

The intent of the Consultation Paper is to facilitate a public consultation process and does not yet represent the Government’s settled position.

3. Downsizer Contributions

From 1 January 2023 , you can make a downsizer contribution if you are 55 or older at the time of the contribution and have satisfied the other eligibility requirements. This is a reduction to the minimum age requirement which was previously set at 60.

All other eligibility rules remain unchanged and the maximum amount of downsizer contributions that can be made remains at $300,000 per person or $600,000 per couple.

4. Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC)

The income thresholds used to determine eligibility for the CSHC were increased from 1 January 2023.

These income thresholds are currently:

WHAT'S NEXT

Navigating your way through the evolving superannuation rules can be very complex, especially in the lead up to a member’s retirement. If you have any questions, require assistance, or would like to discuss any of the above changes, please feel free to give us a call to arrange a time to discuss.

This article was provided by the SMSF Association. The SMSF Association is an independent, professional body that represents Australia’s self managed super fund sector. The contents of this Super Update are taken to be correct at the time of publication on 2 May 2023.

2023 Federal Budget Highlights

Tue, 09 May 2023 23:58:58 GMT

The Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down the 2023 Federal Budget on 9 May 2023. The following is a list of highlights from a tax and superannuation perspective.

Businesses

The instant asset write-off threshold for small businesses applying the simplified depreciation rules will be $20,000 for the 2023-24 income year.
An additional 20% deduction will be available for small and medium business expenditure supporting electrification and energy efficiency.
FBT exemption for eligible plug-in hybrid electric cars will end from 1 April 2025.
An increased capital works deduction rate and reduced withholding on managed investment trust (MIT) payments will apply to new build-to-rent projects.
The clean building managed investment trust (MIT) withholding tax concession will be extended from 1 July 2025 to eligible data centres and warehouses, where construction commences after 7:30pm (AEST) on 9 May 2023.
The start date of a measure to prevent franked distributions funded by certain capital raisings announced in the 2016-17 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook has been postponed from 19 December 2016 to 15 September 2022.
The patent box regime announced in the Coalition government's 2021-22 Budget, and expanded in the 2022-23 Budget, will not proceed.The introduction of tradeable biodiversity stewardship certificates issued under the Agriculture Biodiversity Stewardship Market scheme will be delayed to 1 July 2024.
The Location Offset rebate and the Qualifying Australian Production Expenditure thresholds will be increased to boost investment in film production in Australia.
Deductible gift recipients list to be updated.

Individuals

Income support payment base rates will be increased by $40 per fortnight.
The minimum age for which older people qualify for the higher JobSeeker Payment rate will be reduced from 60 to 55 years.
The workforce participation incentive measures to support pensioners who want to work without impacting their pension payments will be extended for another 6 months to 31 December 2023.
Eligibility for Parenting Payment (Single) will be extended to support single principal carers with a youngest child under 14 years of age.
Housing measures will be introduced to increase support for social and affordable housing and improve access for home buyers.
The maximum rates of the Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) allowances will be increased by 15% to help address rental affordability challenges for CRA recipients.
CPI indexed Medicare levy low-income threshold amounts have been announced for the 2023-24 income year.
Eligible lump sum payments in arrears will be exempt from the Medicare levy from 1 July 2024.

Multinationals

Australia will implement key aspects of the Pillar Two solution of the OECD/G20 BEPS Project, meaning certain large multinationals will be subject to a 15% minimum tax in the jurisdictions in which they operate.
The scope of the general anti-avoidance rules in Pt IVA of ITAA 1936 will be expanded from 1 July 2024.
Changes will be made to petroleum resource rent tax (PRRT), including the introduction of a cap on deductible expenditure at 90% of assessable income for projects that produce liquefied natural gas from 1 July 2023.
The meaning of 'exploration for petroleum' in the petroleum resource rent tax legislation will be amended to reflect the government’s intent and ATO guidance.
Taxation legislation will be amended to realign the taxation law with the reissued AASB 17: Insurance contracts for income years beginning from 1 January 2023.

Superannuation

Superannuation tax concessions will be reduced for individuals with total superannuation balances in excess of $3 million from 1 July 2025.
Employers will be required to pay their employees' superannuation guarantee entitlements at the same time as they pay their salary and wages from 1 July 2026.
The non-arm’s length income (NALI) provisions will be amended to provide greater certainty to taxpayers.

Tax administration

Funding will be provided to the ATO over 4 years to lower the tax-related administrative burden for small and medium businesses, cut paperwork and reduce time small business spend doing taxes.
Reduction in GDP adjustment factor for pay-as-you-go and GST instalments.
Funding to improve the administration of student loans will be implemented.
Additional funding will be provided to address the growth of businesses' tax and superannuation liabilities, and a temporary lodgment penalty amnesty program will be provided to small businesses.
The Personal Income Tax Compliance Program will be extended for 2 years from 1 July 2025 and its scope expanded from 1 July 2023.

GST and indirect taxes

Funding for GST compliance will be extended for a further 4 years to address emerging risks to GST revenue.
The Heavy Vehicle Road User Charge rate will increase 6% per year from 2023-24 to 2025-26.
Indirect Tax Concession Scheme: diplomatic and consular concessions extended.
The start date for streamlining of excise administration measures announced in the Coalition government’s 2022-23 Budget will be amended.
Tobacco excise measures to improve health outcomes and align the treatment of stick and non-stick tobacco tax.

If you would like to know more information about any of these measures, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

How to get the best from AI content writing tools like Chat GPT

Wed, 03 May 2023 03:25:24 GMT

The chances are that you've heard ChatGPT being mentioned heavily in your social feeds and in business articles in recent months. But what exactly is ChatGPT? In essence, it’s an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that promises to automate a lot of tasks, including write your content for you.

But do these AI content-writing tools live up to the hype? And what's the best way to balance using a solution like ChatGPT with the core skills of good human-powered writing?

What does ChatGPT do?

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot model from OpenAI that can produce complex, well-written responses to any prompt you give it. It uses a huge database of sources to provide you with complete blog posts, articles, email - in fact, it will write whatever you ask it to.

Is AI content writing the answer to your business prayers?

If you believe what technologists and business leaders are saying, these AI tools have the potential to replace a lot of the human work involved in writing. This could mean writing your blog posts, sales emails, or even looking after your internal comms. (There will be a lot of other functions the tools will be applied to, but we are focusing on writing here)

But does a solution like ChatGPT live up to this promise? Yes and no. Here are a couple of things that you’ll want to bear in mind when you use these tools.

1. Creating content that stands out

ChatGPT can certainly provide you with business content – but it can be quite generic and bland. This generic nature of AI content may be a problem. You want your brand content to stand out and be unique – but this is more difficult when using the same AI tools as every other small business. As Tom Fishburne puts it, the issue is that ‘much of what is created is already a sea of sameness, written more to appease Google’s search algorithms than actual people.'

A human, like you and me, has opinions, personality and can deliver unique insights. AI cannot do this. It’s limited to the source data and models it's been provided with. So, if you want your business content to stand out, you need an experienced human writer who writes for humans not just the bots.

Content writing is as much about having good ideas as it is about writing well. So, what you input as your prompt to the AI is just as important as the text that the software spits out.

2. Content accuracy

When ChatGPT’s rival, Bard was first launched it wrongly attributed the discovery of an exoplanet to a telescope that didn’t exist at the time of the discovery. The problem is that the internet has become increasingly cluttered with fake news, spam links and content that's designed purely for SEO. So it’s no wonder that the AI will sometimes provide you with content that is inaccurate.

As a business owner you’ll want to make sure that a human is involved - to create a unique and original brief and then to review the output for accuracy and relevance for your brand and your audience.

What's the best balance between AI and human writing?

AI tools are useful. But, at present, you still need a human in the equation. Someone to come up with the ideas, write intelligent prompts for the AI and edit the output so it sounds more human and personalised.

Working with both AI tools AND a content professional is the best way to ensure you’re getting the eye-catching content you deserve.

5 ways to get in control of your business finances

Tue, 25 Apr 2023 22:53:26 GMT

Having proper control of your business finances is a big advantage. It helps you make well-informed business decisions and keeps your organisation profitable.

With so many digital tools for managing your bookkeeping, accounting and management reporting, it's never been easier to manage, track and forecast your financial position.

But what are the main tools you need? And how do you set up your financial systems, apps, processes and reporting to put yourself back in the finance driving seat?

1. Bring your bookkeeping into the digital age

Digital bookkeeping apps are a great way to digitise your receipts, records and source documents. This not only saves a lot of time at year-end, it also makes it much easier for you to keep track of your company’s finances and accounting. Keeping your receipts in a box to manually enter at period-end is no longer enough. Take the next step and digitise your receipts at source, so you have up-to-date digital records and copies of source documents.

Optical character recognition (OCR) software, like Dext Prepare or Auto Entry, scans the receipt, converts it into a digital format and stores it in the cloud.

2. Do your accounting in the cloud

Cloud accounting is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution that helps you carry out all your main accounting and financial management online, without having to install any software.

Cloud accounting providers, like Xero, QuickBooks, MYOB or Sage, design their accounting platforms to take the pain and hassle of business accounting. You get all the tools and features you need to work on your accounting tasks. And your platform provider will also take care of all the data storage, backups and security of your data.

A good cloud accounting platform does more than just save your hard drive space. It also provides you with tools and dashboards that improve your access to management information, financial reporting, forecasting and projections, performance tracking and more.

3. Use the latest in expense management tools

Expense management can be a time-consuming and tedious job. But it’s also a vital task that helps you ensure you’re spending company money wisely and not overspending. If employees start going over their budget limits, this can be a costly mistake for the company and your cashflow.

Expense management tools, such as Soldo, Weel or Pleo, help you manage staff spending by giving employees virtual cards that are linked to a specific budget, account and code. This helps you track their expenses easily and make sure they’re staying within their budgeted limits. These platforms also give you detailed reporting and analytics, so you can see where money is being spent, and where savings can be made.

4. Make it easy to accept digital payments

The problem of slow payment is one of the most frustrating things for small businesses. If your customers don’t pay on time, this can result in a loss of revenue, poor cashflow and an inability to cover your basic costs and overheads. To resolve this issue, many companies have begun to switch to digital payment platforms that make it simpler, faster and easier to collect payment.

Payment platforms, like PayPal, Square or Stripe offer faster payment times and more control over the customer experience. Some platforms even integrate with your cloud accounting, so you get automatic bank reconciliations.

5. Embrace the latest in digital reporting and forecasting

With digital accounting changing so rapidly in recent years, there's never been a better time to embrace the benefits of the latest in digital reporting and forecasting.

Economic conditions are hard to predict. So it's crucial to be able to quickly analyse data, check your performance and make predictions about how your company will fare in the coming months. When you use cloud solutions for financial reporting and key metrics, you'll be able to monitor trends in real-time while having access to the data anytime, anywhere.

Having this information at your fingertips helps you make informed decisions faster than ever before – and that translates that into more sales, increased business growth and bigger profits.

Talk to us about updating your financial systems

If you’re looking to give your finances a touch of digital magic, please do come and talk to us.

We can walk you through the best cloud platforms, fintech apps and business tools to add to your app stack – so you’re ready to make the most of a digital approach to your finances

Get in touch to supercharge your finances.

New accountability measures proposed for ABN holders

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 01:45:57 GMT

Originally announced in the 2018–19 Federal Budget, and now set out in draft legislation, are newly introduced accountability measures for ABN holders.

Once in effect, this will mean you will have to:

lodge outstanding income tax returns, and
confirm the accuracy of your entity's details on the Australian Business Registrar annually.

Currently, there are no registration penalties for ABN holders when it comes to lodging tax returns. That is, you can continue to quote an ABN regardless of whether you have lodged outstanding returns.

The regulator will now have the ability to cancel your ABN if you have 2 or more outstanding income tax returns for income years commencing on or after 1 July 2022. Also, the regulator will be able to cancel your ABN if you do not confirm the accuracy of your ABN details in an annual form on or after 1 July 2024.

If your ABN gets cancelled by one of these measures, the registrar must reinstate your ABN once the outstanding items have been resolved.

We are closely monitoring the progression of this draft legislation and once further information is provided by the Treasury, we will inform you of the specifics surrounding the legislation.

If you wish to discuss the contents of the draft legislation further, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Budgets are boring – 5 ways to spend less without budgeting

Wed, 12 Apr 2023 03:28:41 GMT

If you hate budgets and budgeting, how can you easily cut your spending? Here are five ways to save without tracking every transaction:

Review your subscriptions - Your fixed outgoings are the easiest way to cut back: big outgoings like your insurance, power, phone and entertainment subscriptions. If you can reduce or eliminate even a few of these, you’ll make an immediate difference to your spending.
Embrace low-cost social activities - A night of drinking and dining out is fantastic fun, but it’s also costly, so try to make it an occasional treat. Instead, check out the free and cheap activities in your area and swap an expensive night out for a more cost-effective option .
Have a zero spend day - Pick one day a week, or one day each fortnight, and try to spend nothing. Make your own food and coffee, stay away from the shops and don’t add anything to your cart.
Plan your meals - Groceries have shot up in price over recent years. Planning your meals for the week and shopping accordingly means you can spend less and buy fewer takeaways.
Pay yourself first, then live off what’s left - Pay a realistic amount into your investments, savings or debt reduction first, advises the author of Automatic Millionaire . Then pay your commitments, like the utilities. Whatever is left over, live off that. If you’re not sure how much to pay yourself, we can help.

Confession time: we love budgets!

We actually love budgets, even though they have a boring reputation. They’re part of the spreadsheet family, and you know that spreadsheets are close to our hearts.

While you can save money without a budget, if you embrace one it can turbocharge your success. There are apps to make it easier and support your saving goals.

So whether you want help with saving, or a budget for your personal life or your business, we can definitely give you a hand. Get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.

The benefits of automating your customer experience

Tue, 04 Apr 2023 22:56:49 GMT

Smart use of automation doesn't just help you scale up your business more quickly. Business process automation (BPA) helps you streamline your operations and save money by eliminating many of the repetitive manual tasks involved in your customer support and customer-facing processes.

Embracing the benefits of automation

Digital transformation has been a powerful trend in the business world over the past few years. And the next logical step for a business that’s moved into the digital realm is to embrace the advantages of software automation.

This means identifying and logging the complex, repetitive processes in your business, and then using software tools to automate these key operational steps.

For example, you can:

Automate your tier 1 customer support – keeping pace with customer queries and enquiries can eat into the time available to your agents. By automating your tier 1 customer support, you provide a fast and scalable way to take calls and respond to live chat enquiries. Digital workers, armed with Conversational AI technology, can respond to customers, offer resolutions and pass complex cases to your human team.

Automate form-filling and information capture – Business Process Automation can be used to automate the process of capturing information from your customers. Instead of relying on a human team, your organisation can automate the whole process of data capture. This speeds up the process and reduces errors, giving you faster, higher-quality data.

Automate your on-boarding activity – on-boarding new customers to your processes takes time. But with AI automation involved, you can quickly run customers through your on-boarding process, so they’re familiar with how your operations function and what’s required of them. The same applies to on-boarding of new employees, or suppliers that need to follow a set process when trading with your business.

Automate your customer outreach activity – staying in touch with your customers is a big part of nurturing those relationships. A digital assistant armed with voice AI can call your customers to run surveys or ask for feedback on your services. You can also contact customers to offer exclusive discounts, beta testing or special offers.

Automate your re-engagement of lapsed customers – if customers don’t check out their eCommerce trolley, or don’t renew their subscription, this can have a profound impact on your bottom line. Using automation, you can contact lapsed customers at scale and invite them to re-engage with your brand. This could involve automated emails, instant messages or outgoing voice calls, all with the aim of bringing these potential customers back on board and interacting with your products and/or services.

Getting on board with automation

Automation and artificial intelligence are evolving quickly. If you can build the benefits of automation into your operational and customer-facing processes now, you’re setting the foundations for an efficient, productive and highly scalable business model.

Business Plant and Equipment: Buy or Lease?

Tue, 28 Mar 2023 22:18:58 GMT

When your business needs new plant or equipment, what’s the best choice – buy or lease? The answer will depend on your specific circumstances, but there are some basic considerations that can help you weigh up the options.

The advantages of buying

Buying gives you certainty and ownership, at a higher upfront price, but a lower total price. Owning an item of plant or equipment gives you unrestricted use for the lifetime of the item. You can alter it to suit your business, and you can sell it if you need to free up some cash. The full cost is paid up front, so you have no ongoing payments, and there may be opportunities for tax depreciation.

When equipment lasts for a long time and maintains its value, ownership can be a particularly good choice. Overall, the total price of ownership is usually lower than the total cost of leasing the item.

The advantages of leasing

Leasing tends to give you more flexibility, at a higher cost. It spreads out the cost of an expensive item – you don’t need to save or borrow the purchase price, and instead you make regular payments. You can return a leased item if it’s not working out, or upgrade to a better model as your business grows.

If the equipment or plant is something that quickly becomes obsolete, or that you’re likely to upgrade, or that you’re not totally certain is right for your business, leasing could be ideal. While leasing is generally more expensive across the lifetime of the item, it also frees up your money to invest in other areas of the business.

Running the numbers can help you find the right decision

The decision to invest in new plant or equipment can be a tricky one, but we can help. We can tally up the upfront and ongoing costs, and weigh these against the economic benefits you might get from the new equipment. We consider your cashflow, the cost of borrowing, and sales projections, so you can make an informed choice.

Drop us an email or give us a call – we’re here to help.

A Changing Environment

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 00:39:50 GMT

Over the course of 2022 our message to investors has been simple. Markets are in a period of transition and with transition comes some pain. The rapid shift from record-low interest rates and liquidity-fueled markets to one of higher interest rates and central banks shrinking their balance sheets has impacted markets. This has been coupled with the ongoing effects of COVID on economies, notably China and the unexpected conflict in Ukraine with both events contributing to rising inflation which has been the topic for all of 2022.

What can we expect from markets in 2023.

Our research suggests that we should hit peak inflation in 2023. Central banks around the globe have been aggressively raising rates to curb inflation. In Australia, the December CPI figure hit 7.8% with the cash rate target reaching 3.10% up from 0.10% in December 2022. The cash rate has since gone up to 3.6% in March 2023. Cyclical indicators have been broadly trending down and we are yet to see the full impact of rate rises on households. We believe that demand will show more material signs of slowing in the second and third quarter of 2023 which should see inflation stabilise.

Is a mild recession a possibility?

The inverted yield curve is suggesting that a recession is on the cards. Historically, recessions have occurred 12 to 18 months after the yield curve has inverted. While the likelihood of a recession is elevated, the relatively strong labour market is expected to reduce the risk of a deep prolonged recession. We do however expect segments of the economy to be hit harder than others, such as the construction industry which has already experienced a downturn following rises in interest rates. Conversely Australia’s exposure to materials and the expected reopening of China from strict COVID lockdowns is expected to benefit things such as iron ore exports.

Company earnings to slow second half of 2023.

We are yet to see the full impact on demand on the back of interest rate rises. While the savings ratio has been declining as households increasingly dip into their savings, households are still spending with travel spending being the big winner. However, our expectation is that we will observe a slowdown in demand in the second half of the year as many household budgets get a jump in their mortgage repayments as their fixed rate loans roll-off and they move towards the higher variable rate. This should see a slowdown in discretionary spending which should show up in company earnings later in the year.

Range trading market.

Investment markets have started 2023 on a positive note. Some of the acute issues that adversely impacted markets in 2022 have subsided. Energy prices, which rose sharply following the Russian invasion of Ukraine have fallen with European gas prices falling by over 27% in January alone. Furthermore, the consumer is still buoyant despite higher interest rates. As 2023 progresses and the impact of rising rates makes its way through the economy and company earnings come under increased pressure, we may see the market pull back. Net-net, it is plausible that 2023 may be a relatively flat market characterised by spikes in volatility both to the upside and the downside.

What does this all mean for you.

It is now more important than ever before to have a structured financial plan in place to ensure that you understand these changes and most importantly not panic throughout this short-term noise. As your financial advisers, we will work with you to develop and maintain a strategic plan that is adaptable to your needs as you go through your various life stages. We will monitor, re-balance and strategically modify your investment portfolios to ensure you stay on track.

We are aware that investment markets change and things happen outside your control. As your situation changes overtime and life events occur, we will be able to review the strategies in place and provide further advice at the time that could assist you in maximising your wealth, making sure that your strategies remain relevant at all times.

Keeping your cashflow strong in tough times

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 22:49:46 GMT

Small businesses are particularly vulnerable in tough economic times.

When sales are slow, there are still overheads and salaries that need to be sorted. Pre-planning and being proactive can help you weather tighter economic periods and allow you to continue to thrive.

Make sure you have a clear picture of your payroll, and any other planned expenses that will need to be accounted for.

If there’s even a possibility that there could be a shortfall, it’s essential to meet this head-on. Whether this means talking to your supplier or creditors to figure out an arrangement, or compromising on other business outgoings, you must make a plan to ensure that the business, or your staff, won’t suffer.

Minimise the stress of cashflow

Invoice early - Send any invoices that you can, and in advance if possible. Perhaps consider whether you have any regular clients or customers that you could offer a retainer or similar deal to if they book services or make a purchase from you in advance.

Chase payment - Use this opportunity to chase up any outstanding payments. Strong communication and relationships matter - talk to clients and chase invoices.

Talk to suppliers - A little honesty can go a long way. Perhaps they can extend a line of credit for your payments to them. In most cases, a good supplier would rather offer a little flexibility to keep an ongoing business relationship.

Review Inventory - Can you find a cheaper supplier locally to avoid the shipping costs or discuss alternative products that allow you to reduce expenses?

Review your costs - It’s also a good idea to do a general review of expenses. Business costs can creep up, and it’s a great idea to make a time to check on your expenses regularly, no matter what your financial situation. Review all of your regular payments and subscriptions as well as upcoming costs. There may be travel, functions or purchases which you can decide on an alternative approach to.

Talk to the bank or tax department - If cashflow is tight, make sure you have conversations early so you have everything in place to see you through.

We can help you implement strategies to protect your business for the long term and help you alleviate cashflow worries.

Understanding Your Breakeven Point

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 05:17:24 GMT

Understanding your business breakeven point is essential to know how much money you need to make to stay in business. It can therefore help you make well-informed financial decisions and practical business plans.

The breakeven point is the income or sales needed to cover all costs. Any earnings above this point generate profit. So your breakeven point tells you the minimum sales required to continue operating a viable business.

Understanding the breakeven point in conjunction with financial reports can give you valuable data to analyse fixed and variable costs and set sales targets for the business or individual staff members.

Fixed and Variable Costs

Fixed costs - remain the same regardless of how many sales you make. Expenses like rent, equipment lease repayments or full-time staff have to be paid whether you sell any goods or services or not. Fixed costs are often called overheads.
Variable expenses - (sometimes called production costs) fluctuate based on sales. For example, cost of goods sold, production labour, and commissions paid to salespeople will vary according to the number of goods or services sold.

It's helpful to work out an amount or percentage of variable costs compared to the sale price of your products or service. This may not be exact initially, but even if you get a rough figure to work with, this will help calculate your breakeven point. Over time as you analyse your financial reports, you’ll be able to refine the calculation and adjust your selling price accordingly.

How to Calculate Break even

You’ll need to know your fixed costs (overheads), selling price and production costs.

One common method of calculating breakeven is as follows:

Overheads / (selling price – production cost)

For example, let’s say overheads per month (rent, vehicle lease, administration staff) are $20,000, and you sell a coaching program for $3,000 with variable costs (coach fees, handout materials for participants, advertising) of $1,500 per program.

$20,000 / ($3,000 - $1,500) = 13.33

You would need to sell over 13 programs per month to break even, which equates to $40,000 worth of sales.

If the same program had variable costs of $1,800, you would need to sell 17 programs per month to generate $50,000 worth of monthly sales just to cover costs. Variable costs of $1,000 per program would mean you only need to sell 10 per month to break even.

With these examples, you can see how important it is to understand your fixed and variable costs. Then you'll know exactly how much you need to make to remain in business and the resulting impact on your financial position. Once you have a reasonably accurate breakeven figure, you can quickly calculate your profit before tax for sales above the breakeven point. In the example where variable costs are $1,500 per program, let’s say you sell 20 programs each month. This would result in an extra $10,000 in profit (before tax) after paying for overheads and variable costs.

Can breakeven help with your pricing?

Understanding your breakeven point can give you some deep insights into your selling prices, helping you understand if they’re realistic.

For example, if your variable costs are high, how much more income will you need to reach breakeven. Is there a fair price for consumers that covers your expenses in a reasonable time frame? Do you need to raise prices to account for fixed and variable costs accurately?

Talk to us about calculating your breakeven point

There are different ways of calculating your breakeven point to confirm the viability of your business, and the ideal pricing point for driving both sales and profitability.

We'd love to help you understand your business financials in more depth, so you can plan for long-term sustainability, enjoyment and profitability.

Building Long-Term Customer Relationships: Improve Your Financial Stability

Wed, 08 Mar 2023 21:00:00 GMT

We know that building long-term relationships with your customers makes good sense for your customer experience. But good relationships are also a key factor in making your business more financially stable and improving your bottom line.

The answer lies in nurturing the relationship, building a sense of trust and satisfaction that leads to regular sales and a boost to your revenue.

Nurturing customer relationships that drive your profits

A business with no customers has no future. But a business with a pipeline of happy, satisfied customers can rest assured that it has a more stable and successful future ahead of it.

This network of happy customers doesn’t appear overnight. It takes time. But once you’ve built these foundations, you’ll begin to see the financial and non-financial benefits.

To drive your financial stability through customer relationships, you’ll need to:

Build trusted relationship with your customers – Having strong relationships with customers helps to create loyalty. If you can succeed in building this feeling of trust between both parties, you’re onto a winner – and can rest assured that you have a receptive audience who will want to buy your products and services.

Aim for repeat business and increased sales – A trusted customer relationship can lead to repeat business. As the old saying goes, you only have one chance to make a first impression. But if you continue to make a good impression, time after time, sale after sale then your customers will come back for more.

Turn your customers into brand advocates – customers that see the value in your proposition, and repeatedly buy from your brand, become advocates for your brand. They’ll tell their friends, their colleagues and others in their network just how great you are – and that’s the best kind of advertising a company can buy. This leads to referrals and word-of-mouth promotion, creating another channel for enquiries and sales.

Learn from your customers – Deeper relationships also help you understand your customers’ needs in a broad and detailed way. Talk to your satisfied customers, listen to their feedback and use this information to develop and build products or services that truly meet their needs and expectations.

Keep the business competitive and agile – Closer customer relationships help you stay competitive in your industry by offering solutions that cater specifically to your target audience. If there’s a significant change in your customers’ needs, or a seismic shift in the market, you can pivot, diversify and take the business in a new direction.

Keep the cash rolling in – a satisfied customer base will spend more readily and will also spend more. These benefits deliver a more predictable level of sales – a huge advantage for any business. Predictable sales = stable revenue + positive cashflow. And that’s excellent news for your financial health and your end profits. This means:
You can accurately predict your income over a given period
You can easily cover your operational expenses and ad hoc costs
You have money to invest back into the business for development or growth
You have better end-of-period profits, keeping you and your investors happy.

Talk to us about improving the financial stability of your business

Long-standing, evolving and trusted relationships with customers are the bedrock of your business. If you get it right, these solid relationships can result in increased sales, income and profits – all of which keeps the business more financially stable.

If you want to know more about nurturing customer relationships, and how you can tie this into your financial stability, please contact us.

7 ways to get more from your personal finances

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 03:24:51 GMT

There’s plenty of advice available to help you manage your business finances. But what about the tips and hacks you need to get fully in control of your personal finances?

We’ve outlined seven essential tips for managing your personal finances and making the best of your investments and savings.

1. Create a budget and stick to it

Having a budget helps you keep track of your income, expenses and debts. It also ensures that you’re spending money in the right places. A sensible budget keeps your expenditure in check, but also gives you the cash you need for your day-to-day needs and purchases.

When creating a budget, think about all your regular outgoings and the major purchases you’ll need to make over the coming months. Be realistic about your expenses and make adjustments as needed. Remember to allocate money for savings and investments, too.

2. Pay off any debts and liabilities

Other than for major investments such as buying property, borrowing money should always be a short-term solution. High-interest debt, such as credit card debt, can eat away at your savings and hold you back from achieving your financial goals.

It’s a good idea to make paying off your debt a priority. Review your credit card debts, personal loans and overdrafts and focus on paying off the debt with the highest interest rate first. Consolidating all your legacy debts into one easily manageable debt can also make sense – lenders can help you consolidate these debts and bring down your overall repayment costs.

3. Save regularly and look for the best interest rates

We all know it’s good to have a ‘nest egg’ behind you for those times when cash gets tight. Building an emergency savings fund gives you a more solid financial foundation and protects you against unexpected expenses and unplanned purchases.

Whether it’s a sudden expensive car repair, or losing your job and salaried income, with savings in the bank you always have liquid cash available. Aim to save at least three to six months' worth of living expenses and make sure you shop around for the savings accounts with the best interest rates. It’s also sensible to set up a standing order from your main bank account, so you automatically pay a set amount into your savings account each month.

4. Invest in your future to build solid foundations

It’s all very well to have money in the bank today – but what about further down the road? Make sure you’re making provision for the major life events such as marriage, starting a family, buying a house and (eventually) retiring and stepping back from employment.

Investing in stocks, bonds or a pension plan can help you grow your wealth over time. Consider working with an independent financial advisor to achieve your investment goals and help you create a diversified investment portfolio that aligns with your goals. They’ll also help you achieve the best risk tolerance with your investments.

5. Keep an eye on your personal credit score

Your credit score is an important factor in determining your financial health. A personal credit score measures your risk to a potential lender – the lower your risk, the more likely it is that a provider will lend you money, safe in the knowledge that you’ll make the repayments.

Many of the big credit agencies now offer personal credit reports. Make sure to check your credit report regularly to ensure that the information is accurate and to gauge the impact this score is having on your ability to borrow money. Simple steps, such as paying your bills on time and reducing credit card balances, can help to improve your credit score.

6. Stay informed about taxes and reliefs

Taxes are a necessary part of paying our way in society, but tax costs can also have a significant impact on your personal finances. It’s important to stay informed about changes to tax laws, especially those around income tax and capital gains tax, and to understand how they affect you. We don't have an inheritance tax in Australia, however there is a need to consider future tax ramifications for your beneficiaries so having a properly-considered and professionally drafted will is essential.

It’s worth working with a tax professional who can review your tax situation and suggest all the available tax reliefs and incentives that may be open to you.

7. Review your finances regularly

Keeping a close eye on your finances is the best way to keep things in check. Most banks now offer apps that make it much easier to review your income and expenditure, and to see exactly where you’re spending your money. With so much financial information available, there’s no excuse for letting your money management get into a mess

Regularly reviewing your finances helps you stay on track and make adjustments as needed. You can even use one of the many personal finance software platforms to help you stay organised in the cloud and make well-informed financial decisions.

Talk to us about getting your personal finances in order

Managing your personal finances, investments and savings well requires discipline, knowledge, and a good understanding of your end goals. By following these seven top tips, you put yourself in the financial driving seat and set the foundations for a solid financial future.

Where you need a helping hand, we're available to introduce you to the best independent financial advisors and to work with them to help plan to manage your taxes.

The Value of Life Insurance

Fri, 17 Feb 2023 00:45:49 GMT

The advice that changed the trajectory of Stuart’s life

Stuart and his wife are in the process of selling the family business, after a rapid decline in his health and shock diagnosis of Lewy Body Disease in 2021.

A loving husband and father, and caring boss, Stuart has run his own small business since migrating to Australia in the late 2000s.

However, his condition has forced him into an early retirement.

Lewy Body Disease is one of the most common types of progressive dementia after Alzheimer’s disease. It causes a decline in mental abilities, affecting a person’s thinking, movement and behaviour.

To accommodate Stuart’s changing lifestyle needs, significant renovations are being made to the family home including widening hallways and rooms to make it easier for him to move around the house, expanding the master bedroom and bathroom, and converting the garage to a home gym to aid rehabilitation.

These essential alterations have only been made possible due to the money he received from his insurance payout

In addition to life insurance, Stuart had trauma and total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance. Those policies paid lump sum benefits, enabling him to stop work without having to worry about paying household bills and medical expenses. It has allowed him and his family to focus on his health, renovate their home and, importantly, take their time to find the right buyer for their business.

“Trying to sell a business in the middle of a pandemic

is stressful, especially because COVID-19 has impacted our business in the past couple of years but it is great knowing we don’t need to rush,” Stuart said.

“My wife and I can take our time and wait for the right price and terms because we’re covered. We have enough.”

After migrating to Australia and taking out a loan to buy a small business, the couple’s accountant recommended they see Curo Financial Services about their life insurance needs.

That meeting changed the trajectory of their lives.

Curo Financial Services assessed their circumstances and needs, recommended comprehensive life insurance including trauma and TPD cover, and explained the various products and options available.

It was clear that the young family was exposed to some serious risks, especially if something happened to Stuart, who was the main income earner. Still, the decision wasn’t easy.

At the time, money was tight and there wasn’t a lot left over every month after the bills and mortgage was paid.

“We thought we could get by without it but then, if something did happen to us, we’d be in dire straits.

“We spent a lot of time thinking about it and we decided it was worth the cost. Our kids were at school and if something were to happen to one of us, we wanted to know they’d be taken care of financially,” Stuart said.

“People think that life insurance is complicated but the way our adviser explained everything to us, it all made sense. If he didn’t take the time to explain everything carefully, diligently follow up and manage the process, we would’ve self-assessed and taken out minimal cover, probably only life insurance, and our lives would be very different now.”

Over the years, as their circumstances and needs changed, Stuart and his wife continued to meet regularly with Curo Financial Services to review their financial situation and insurances.

At an advice meeting in 2019, their adviser recommended Stuart and his wife increase their level of cover. Again, it wasn’t an easy decision. The couple thought long and hard about it, before acting on their adviser’s advice.

In hindsight, that meeting was fortuitous, as shortly after in August 2020 Stuart’s family started to notice a slight change in his behaviour and pushed him to see his doctor.

His family light-heartedly suggested it was probably just a sign he was getting older, yet Stuart was only in his mid-50s.

At first, they didn’t think too much of it.

However, the doctor immediately noticed Stuart

was moving slower than usual and referred him to a neurologist. After months of doctors’ appointments and tests, Stuart was diagnosed with Lewy Body Syndrome.

“Our adviser managed the entire process, which was invaluable because at the time, I just didn’t have the capacity to think about insurance forms. If it was left to me, I’d still be trying to complete the application,” Stuart said.

“Instead, after my diagnosis, I literally didn’t have to worry about the claim side of things. I knew we were going to be looked after. Ian, Justin, Behram and the team at Curo Financial Services are second to none. They are compassionate and empathetic. They genuinely care about us and we would not be in the position we’re in if it wasn’t for them.”

“Having an adviser is essential. If we didn’t receive professional advice, we would’ve remained underinsured and we wouldn’t have even known. We would be scrimping and scraping by right now with no buffer to think. Having adequate insurance protection has made an enormous difference to our lives.”

Insurance is a promise to your loved ones. For more

Upcoming Tax Calendar for February and March

Fri, 17 Feb 2023 00:31:40 GMT

Welcome back to work after what was hopefully a restful and lovely summer break! And welcome to 2023, where we are truly looking forward to working with you and your business this year.

In order for you to be across your tax obligations as you get back into the swing of things, below are the key compliance dates coming up. If you have questions or need help with any of the following, we are here to help.

KEY TAX DATES – FEBRUARY 2023

21 February 2022 – GST – Monthly Activity Statement and payment for January.

21 February 2022 – PAYG withheld – Monthly Activity Statement and payment for January.

21 February 2022 – PAYG instalment – Activity Statement and payment for monthly reporters for January.

28 February 2023 – GST – Quarterly Activity Statement and payment for the October to December 2022 quarter.

28 February 2023 – PAYG withheld, FBT instalment and PAYG instalment – Quarterly Activity Statement and payment for the October to December 2022 quarter.

28 February 2023 – GST Annual Return – Lodgement and payment of annual GST return or Annual Information Report for GST payers who are not required to lodge an annual tax return.

28 February 2023 – SMSF Annual Return – Lodgement of annual return and payment of outstanding income tax for SMSFs if 2021–22 was your first year in operation.

28 February 2023 – Superannuation guarantee – Lodgement and payment of superannuation guarantee statement.

28 February 2023 – Company tax return – 2021–22 lodgement and payment of company tax return if you do not lodge with us.

KEY TAX DATES – MARCH 2023

21 March 2023 – GST – Monthly Activity Statement and payment for February.

21 March 2023 – PAYG withheld and PAYG instalment – Monthly Activity Statement and payment for February.

31 March 2023 – Fringe Benefits Tax – The last date of the 2022–23 FBT year.

31 March 2023 – Company tax return and consolidated head companies – 2021–22 lodgement and payment of company tax return if your company has more than $2 million in total income and you do not lodge with us, unless you are required to lodge earlier.

31 March 2023 – Superannuation fund tax return – 2021–22 lodgement and payment of superannuation fund tax return if the fund has more than $2 million in total income and you do not lodge with us, unless you are required to lodge earlier.

31 March 2023 – Individual tax return – 2021–22 lodgement and payment of individual tax return if your latest tax return resulted in a tax liability of $20,000 or more.

31 March 2023 – Trust tax return – 2021–22 lodgement and payment of trust tax return if the latest tax return resulted in a tax liability for the trustee of $20,000 or more.

Anything keeping you up at night?

If you’re facing operational issues, tackling people challenges, or have health and safety questions, give us a call, email us or text us. We are here to help.

5 Ways to get in control of your business's finances

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 03:20:27 GMT

Having proper control of your business finances is a big advantage. It helps you make well-informed business decisions and keeps your organisation profitable.

With so many digital tools for managing your bookkeeping, accounting, and management reporting, it's never been easier to manage, track and forecast your financial position.

But what are the main tools you need? And how do you set up your financial systems, apps, processes and reporting to put yourself back in the finance driving seat?

1. Bring your bookkeeping into the digital age

Optical character recognition (OCR) software, like Dext Prepare or Auto Entry, scans the receipt, converts it into a digital format and stores it in the cloud.

2. Do your accounting in the cloud

Cloud accounting is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution that helps you carry out all your main accounting and financial management online, without having to install any software.

Cloud accounting providers, like Xero, QuickBooks, MYOB, or Sage, design their accounting platforms to take the pain and hassle of business accounting. You get all the tools and features you need to work on your accounting tasks. And your platform provider will also take care of all the data storage, backups and security of your data.

3. Use the latest in expense management tools

4. Make it easy to accept digital payments

5. Embrace the latest in digital reporting and forecasting

With digital accounting changing so rapidly in recent years, there's never been a better time to embrace the benefits of the latest in digital reporting and forecasting.

Having this information at your fingertips helps you make informed decisions faster than ever before – and that translates that into more sales, increased business growth and bigger profits.

Talk to us about updating your financial systems

If you’re looking to give your finances a touch of digital magic, please do come and talk to us.

We can walk you through the best cloud platforms, fintech apps and business tools to add to your app stack – so you’re ready to make the most of a digital approach to your finances

Get in touch to supercharge your finances.

Cash is not profit and vice versa

Mon, 19 Dec 2022 03:39:08 GMT

Cash is Not Profit

The purpose of a business is to make money, and that means you need to know the difference between profit and cash flow.

Net profit is what you have left after you deduct all your business expenses from all your revenue. You can improve net profit only by changing the things that affect revenue and expenses.

For example, if:

You renegotiate with your suppliers, you may get stock cheaper, or carry less inventory
Your staff engage with customers better, you can learn more about what they do and don’t like – and get more business
You can roster staff differently, you may be able to run your business more efficiently.

Cash flow comes from various sources. However, it also covers operating expenses, taxes, equipment purchases, repayments, distribution, and so on.

Note that a profitable business does not always have good cash flow. And a business with good cash flow is not always profitable. For example, you can have good cash flow, and loss-making expenses.

To work out how fast you can grow your business, look at your projected cash flow. We can advise you on this.

Keeping cash crowned as King

Your business can’t survive without cash.

The following six takeaways are essential for business success:

1. Protect your cash position, by knowing what it is. Build a cash flow statement and always keep it up-to-date. If you foresee a shortfall, start at once to fix it.

2. Create a cash buffer as an insurance against unexpected difficulties.

3. Protect your cash position against revenue shocks, by maintaining a balance equivalent to at least two months of operating expenses.

4. Be realistic with revenue expectations. Take action now if it looks like sales are not going to get you to breakeven.

5. Credit checking up front will reduce the risk of customer non-payment. Make sure you follow up with clear payment terms agreed in writing. Communicate regularly with customers and automate where possible.

6. Every dollar you spend reduces cash reserves. The best way to protect your cash is to create a budget for the spend you know you need, and stick to it.

Looking to improve cash flow? Make a time to talk to us. We're here to help.

Make the most of the season by following these simple guidelines

nz-webmanager@wolterskluwer.com (Web Manager) — Fri, 14 May 2021 03:24:30 GMT

The new season is a great reason to make and keep resolutions. Whether it’s eating right or cleaning out the garage, here are some tips for making and keeping resolutions.

Make a list

Lists are great ways to stay on track. Write down some big things you want to accomplish and some smaller things, too.

Check the list regularly

Don’t forget to check in and see how you’re doing. Just because you don’t achieve the big goals right away doesn’t mean you’re not making progress.

Reward yourself

When you succeed in achieving a goal, be it a big one or a small one, make sure to pat yourself on the back.

Think positively

Positive thinking is a major factor in success. So instead of mulling over things that didn’t go quite right, remind yourself of things that did.

Keep in touch with site visitors and boost loyalty

nz-webmanager@wolterskluwer.com (Web Manager) — Fri, 14 May 2021 03:24:30 GMT

There are so many good reasons to communicate with site visitors. Tell them about sales and new products or update them with tips and information.

Here are some reasons to make blogging part of your regular routine.

Blogging is an easy way to engage with site visitors

Writing a blog post is easy once you get the hang of it. Posts don’t need to be long or complicated. Just write about what you know, and do your best to write well.

Show customers your personality

When you write a blog post, you can really let your personality shine through. This can be a great tool for showing your distinct personality.

Blogging is a terrific form of communication

Blogs are a great communication tool. They tend to be longer than social media posts, which gives you plenty of space for sharing insights, handy tips and more.

It’s a great way to support and boost SEO

Search engines like sites that regularly post fresh content, and a blog is a great way of doing this. With relevant metadata for every post so search engines can find your content.

Drive traffic to your site

Every time you add a new post, people who have subscribed to it will have a reason to come back to your site. If the post is a good read, they’ll share it with others, bringing even more traffic!

Blogging is free

Maintaining a blog on your site is absolutely free. You can hire bloggers if you like or assign regularly blogging tasks to everyone in your company.

A natural way to build your brand

A blog is a wonderful way to build your brand’s distinct voice. Write about issues that are related to your industry and your customers.

Tips for writing great posts that increase your site traffic

nz-webmanager@wolterskluwer.com (Web Manager) — Fri, 14 May 2021 03:24:30 GMT

Write about something you know. If you don’t know much about a specific topic that will interest your readers, invite an expert to write about it.

Speak to your audience

You know your audience better than anyone else, so keep them in mind as you write your blog posts. Write about things they care about. If you have a company Facebook page, look here to find topics to write about

Take a few moments to plan your post

Once you have a great idea for a post, write the first draft. Some people like to start with the title and then work on the paragraphs. Other people like to start with subtitles and go from there. Choose the method that works for you.

Don’t forget to add images

Be sure to include a few high-quality images in your blog. Images break up the text and make it more readable. They can also convey emotions or ideas that are hard to put into words.

Edit carefully before posting

Once you’re happy with the text, put it aside for a day or two, and then re-read it. You’ll probably find a few things you want to add, and a couple more that you want to remove. Have a friend or colleague look it over to make sure there are no mistakes. When your post is error-free, set it up in your blog and publish.