The Australian Tax Office (ATO) recently announced that they are allowing more time for small businesses to get ready for SuperStream.
The new deadline for SuperStream submissions or changes is 28 October 2016.
The ATO recognised that it can take some time for small businesses with 19 employees or less to get organised for SuperStream. It’s also worth noting that this new deadline will allow extra time for small businesses to ensure that information that has already been submitted is correct and complete. If any submissions do not meet criteria set out by the ATO or are incomplete, the super payment may be rejected.
If you’re yet to get started on your SuperStream submission, you’ll need to choose an online system to make super contributions electronically. These can be:
An experienced accountant or bookkeeper can help you choose a system that is SuperStream ready and ensure you are prepared for the new deadline.
If you want to know more about how SuperStream works or how we can help, please contact us.
Cash flow management is the Bermuda Triangle for many businesses. The mystery behind managing your cash flow is to keep it central to everything you do. This sounds pretty obvious, but once business owners set up shop, they tend to want to run everything themselves – from day-to-day operations, marketing, people management, product development and accounts. To survive in business, especially if you’re in a competitive market, you need to understand how to manage cash flow. Read on for some of our best tips:
Firstly, put a yearly budget together which shows your actual outgoings. This will ensure you have your yearly spend clearly outlined and will know when certain items need to be paid, including insurances, labor, rent and equipment. Once you’ve locked down your 12-month budget, put it into a monthly view and mark payments that will need to be made at least six weeks ahead of their due date. Factor in interest that will be owed, commissions and any other incremental costs.
Business owners like to think the best of their customers and service providers and expect that they will pay on time. Sometimes, this isn’t the case and so extra steps need to be taken to ensure you can address late payments and meet your running costs. You can get your customers to work to your conditions by invoicing immediately and setting clear 14 or 21-day payment terms. Also be careful with discounting, as you will need to factor in the amount or percentage of the invoice that you are giving away in your overall budget.
It may seem like a good idea to make your payments to creditors before the due date. What many don’t realise is that actually paying your bill on the due date, not before allows you to earn more credit interest as the money is sitting in your account. That being said, make sure you do pay your bills on your due date otherwise the creditors overdue fee will outweigh any benefit received by keeping the cash in your account.
Want to know more about managing cash flow? Contact us for advice from our team of certified professionals.
Many Australian small business owners are turning to the sharing economy phenomenon to supplement their income. Otherwise known as ‘collaborative consumption’, the sharing economy allows buyers, sellers and skilled or trade service providers to connect through an online platform, usually a mobile app or a website. A typical business transaction under this model allows customers to access unused items or services through a digital platform – meaning there’s little to no effort involved to gain a reasonable return for the service provider.
Small business owners claim to have ‘struck gold’ with the sharing economy craze alongside social sharing giants Uber, Airbnb and Airtasker, however there are some regulations that small business owners need to be wary of. Graham Whyte, the ATO’s assistant commissioner says, “If you earn a fee from task sharing for odd jobs or providing a service and it counts as assessable income you just need to include the income in your individual tax return.’’
Depending on what service you intend to provide under the sharing economy, there are different obligations set out by the ATO to abide by:
A vast majority of small business owners started their business with a single, unique idea. This is generally how so many market gaps have been addressed when great minds think outside of the square. So, how do these initial ideas get off the ground and shape into a growing business?
According to a survey run by accounting firm MYOB, 38% of more than 400 SME’s said they lived by the classic ‘trial and error’ method when they worked through the motions to get their business off the ground. Dropbox Co-Founder and CEO Drew Houston once said, ‘Don’t worry about failure; you only have to be right once’, a really important message for all small business or start up owners that during the first few phases of setting up shop, actively learning on the job is fundamental to getting your team engaged and upskilled and developing processes to successfully manage your business.
Against the last SME snapshot conducted by MYOB, 78% of SME’s believe that a degree isn’t required to run a business. MYOB’s CTO Simon Raik-Allen explains, ‘Start-ups are basically learning on the job, we can see a real opportunity emerging to provide practical training for entrepreneurial types’. Along with having the right support to set up the books, on the job learning is key to ensuring your business remains relevant.
The books from 2016 are closed, new plans for 2017 are drawn up and everyone is ready to focus on this year’s buzz word for small business: growth.
According to Inside Small Business, ‘growth is the most common theme from business owners when asked what they want for their business this next 12 months’. To ensure your business is set up for growth and success, here are 3 tips to guide your development plan for 2017.
Do your people want the best for your business? Do they uphold company values and are aware of the overall direction of the business? If you’re a little unsure on these questions, then you’ve got a bit of thinking to do. Your people are your biggest asset so ensuring that they remain engaged with your overall growth strategy is key. This can be particularly tricky when your staff operate in shifts or on a casual basis as the overall strategy can get diluted in the thrum of everyday responsibilities.
Your people need to be aware of and willing to support critical functions of the business. This seems pretty obvious but often the maintenance of critical business functions can lose focus and clarity when you’re busy managing shifting priorities between staff and suppliers. To keep track of this, note down the key services or products of your business then assess which items are solely delivering on your brand promise to customers. Take note of which services are most important and if they are clearly listed on your staffs position descriptions. This is also where you need to demonstrate these key items to your staff so they feel empowered to own their responsibilities and feel engaged with your growth strategy.
Sometimes small business owners need a helping hand or guidance from someone in the know. An expert advisor or consultant can help you understand your positioning in the market and compare your results to the industry benchmark. An advisor can also help develop tool kits to get your team engaged and improve communication and training.
As of July 1 2016, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) migrated its tax lodgement system from e-tax across to My Tax.
My Tax is a more simple and intuitive system that will automatically populate your key credentials, employer and government agency related information to make it quicker and easier to lodge your tax return.
My Tax is web-based, meaning you no longer need to download anything and the portal is easily accessible across a range of devices.
Considering e-tax was launched in 1999, My Tax is a welcome change that will greatly reduce the time it takes to lodge your tax return, thanks to these automation updates.
According to the ATO, My Tax can be used even if you have capital gains, investments and rental properties or if you are a sole trader.
When you lodge your return with your tax agent or accountant make sure you have your updated BAS statements and you have reconciled any accounts. We can help with preparation of business records for end of year/tax reporting.
Unsure how to diagnose the status of your business financials? SWAG Bookkeeping has created a fast and simple way to work out how your business is going and how to improve its financial outlook as you head into the next financial year.
Whether you are a start-up business, medium-sized enterprise, or rather a large company, you can benefit from filling out our online financial health check questionnaire. It should take a couple of minutes at most, and provide you with an effective bookkeeping solution at the end. You will also be emailed links granting you access to our Breakeven Analysis template and Cashflow Forecast template.
What are you waiting for? Take our free, fast online financial health check now.
When it comes to the end of financial year, many business owners find themselves rather unprepared and in a mad dash to meet their tax requirements by deadline.
This year, get ahead of the game with these top tips.
Review your records for all employees that have worked for you throughout the 2015/16 financial year. Ensure you have their correct name, address and tax file number recorded, as well as any termination dates. By doing this now, you will avoid the unnecessary frustration of going to organise Payment Summaries only to find you are missing important employee details.
If you can balance your payroll up until the end of May, then you will only have your June payroll report to check at the end of financial year. Doing this now will take the pressure off come EOFY.
Now is the time to organise your tax claims and ensure you are taking full advantage of the concessions, deductions, rebates and write-offs to which you are eligible. Remember that the majority of costs associated with running your business are tax deductible, so long as they relate directly to you earning income.
Questions? Comments? Get in touch with us by calling 1300 58 40 50 or email us: [email protected]
Are you running a business with 19 or less employees? If so, you have until the end of this financial year to start using SuperStream – an initiative designed to simplify payment of super contributions by employers.
SuperStream means you’ll only need to make one transaction electronically, which will cover all of your employees’ superannuation contributions. The system is definitely a good move, making the process much easier and more efficient for employers.
If you have 19 or fewer employees, you qualify for free use of the ATO Small Business Super Clearing House (SBSCH), which allows you to pay all employee superannuation contributions at the one time.
How it works
And just like that, your super obligations are taken care of.
If you have any questions about SuperStream, we’d be happy to provide you with more information. Feel free to get in touch by emailing [email protected] or call 1300 58 40 50.
We’re excited to launch our new business bookkeeping packages, offered at three levels to suit the different types of clients we have.
Whether you are running a startup business, a small to medium enterprise or a large company, we have put together a package that accommodates your needs and your budget. Find out more on our Bookkeeping Packages page.
We have also recently launched a financial health check tool, which provides a convenient way to examine the health of your business money matters. It’s quick, convenient and completely free!