Are you short of money because customers haven’t paid on time?
Running a business poses many challenges… making sales is a big one, as is getting customers to actually pay for your services rendered.
There are many reasons why a customer might not have paid their bill, and while you want (and likely need) their payment for cash flow, you have to be careful not to ruin the customer-provider relationship by being insensitive, annoying or over-pushy when chasing the debt owed to you.
SWAG Bookkeeping offers a personalised debtor service where we follow up overdue customer accounts on your company’s behalf. Our polite and professional manner sees us work with your customers, identifying what is impeding bill payment and finding a solution to help all parties.
Our friendly and experienced team have a proven track record for collecting overdue payments and reducing the time it takes for customers to pay. Our approach is efficient and respectful, and we avoid making demands that could alienate your customer.
SWAG’s debt management service is normally priced at $300 per month + GST, but for the month of June 2016, we are offering the service at half-price. So if you have customers with overdue bills or even payments you’ve given up on receiving, now is the time to enlist our debt management service!
Get in touch with SWAG Bookkeeping and reduce your debtor list for the end of the 2015/16 financial year for the limited time price of $150 + GST.
Please note: Our Half-Price June Debt Collection offer is valid for the month of June 2016 only!
Find out more:
t: 1300 58 40 50
There’s just over a month left before the end of financial year and if your business’ cash flow is good, then it’s the ideal time to spend on any extra expenses.
By doing so, you’ll benefit from maximising the tax deductions at your disposal within the 2015/16 financial year.
Unsure what you can and can’t claim? Feel free to get in touch with any questions.
Are you an SME trying to work out what’s going on with the Federal Budget? We drill down to bring you the main points to be aware of.
The 2016 Federal Budget has placed considerable focus on small and medium sized businesses – and it’s been mostly good news, although the extension of the instant $20K asset tax write-off failed to emerge.
What’s changed?
What are your thoughts on the 2016 Budget? Do you think the changes will help you and your business? If you run an SME, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us today.
Are you an employer? Use this EOFY payroll housekeeping list to ensure everything is in order before June 30.
With so much going on leading up to the end of financial year, it’s a good idea to do some payroll housekeeping during June and avoid any issues that will inevitably arise once June 30 arrives.
As an employer, it is your duty to provide PAYG summaries to your employees by July 14. They must then be lodged electronically with the ATO via the Business Portal, BAS Agent Portal, Tax Agent Portal or SBR provider by August 14. This is particularly important for MYOB users, who may not be able to process payroll in the new financial year until the last payroll year is closed off. You may also be unable to edit 2015/16 payroll entries, so it is essential your records are correct before this occurs.
By going through the below checklist, you can identify the issues you’re unable to resolve without professional help, and find suitable assistance before the EOFY rush.
Check your employee details are correct
Update contact details, and ensure Tax File Numbers are recorded.
Cross-reference your payroll data
Run a payroll report, and a profit and loss report for the financial year to date.
Compare the amount of gross wages recorded with the amount of wages and salaries reported on the P&L – these should be the same.
Check that the PAYG withholding amount agrees with what has been paid to the ATO. The June BAS provides an opportunity to adjust these balances.
Investigate discrepancies
Reimbursements paid to employees through payroll may show up on the payroll report, but may not accrue to wages and salaries.
Manual entries made against an employee but not through the payroll function may not accrue to wages and salaries.
Speak to your accountant
Check whether you are liable to report FBT amounts.
Employee entitlements
Ensure any unused employee entitlements such as annual leave and personal care leave are flagged to carry over to the next year.
Do a dummy run of PAYG summaries (still referred to as Group Certificates by some)
Check amounts against payroll report and ensure that any salary sacrifice made for an employee is showing as RESC (Reportable Employer Super Contributions).
How did you go? If you’ve come across an issue that you need help with, please get in touch with us at SWAG Bookkeeping.
With the end of financial year fast approaching, it’s important to be aware of some key deadlines and due dates. Use this list to keep track of them all and ensure you’re up-to-date with all your EOFY obligations.
28 April: Super charges and quarterly (Jan-March) BAS due for the third quarter of 2015/16
21 May: Lodge and pay April IAS/BAS
28 May: Fringe Benefits Tax – Due date for payment of annual return
21 June: Lodge and pay May IAS/BAS
25 June: Fringe Benefits Tax – Due date for tax agents lodging annual return electronically
Before 30 June: Super guarantee payments to be processed in order to qualify for a tax deduction
30 June: End of 2015/16 Financial Year!
– Stocktake
– Prepare employee payment summaries
14 July: Distribute employee payment summaries
21 July: Lodge and pay June IAS/BAS
– Payroll tax annual reconciliation
28 July: Lodge and pay quarter business activity statement
– Superannuation contributions for June 2016 quarter – due date
Unsure about anything? Get in touch with us for more information.
Many Australians have multiple superannuation accounts open, leading them to less interest and more fees. If this sounds like you, than it’s definitely worth finding your lost super accounts and consolidating them into one. Taking a bit of time to do this now will ensure you have more money for retirement (and who doesn’t want that?)!
How do we end up with so much lost super?
Employers tend to have their preferred superannuation fund, and often new employees will simply go with that rather than nominating their own. Then, when the employee moves on, the same thing happens again with their new employer, and 20 years down the track they have more than 4 or 5 superannuation accounts… each charging a separate administration fee.
Find and consolidate your super
Your super is considered lost after your superannuation fund hasn’t received regular contributions for over five years, and they have been unable to contact you. You can check and see if you have lost super using the Australia Government’s free lost superannuation search tool.
To conduct a full search of the super that exists in your name, you’ll have to get in touch with the ATO directly.
Once you’ve located your lost super and multiple super accounts, it’s time to consolidate it all into one. You can do this in one of two ways:
It may seem like a bit of a hassle to go searching for your super now, but doing so will serve you well in the future.
If you’d like to talk about superannuation or recovering lost super, we’d be happy to help. Get in touch with SWAG Bookkeeping for an obligation-free discussion.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has been captivating readers for over 25 years. It continues to be recognised as one of the most impactful books ever to be written and has been praised by many high-profile professionals including Presidents and CEOs. This inspiring read offers wisdom on many fronts; empowering readers to change, grow and approach both personal and professional problems from a different angle.
Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance? by Louis V. Gerstner Jr.
Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance? is an inspirational look at Lou Gerstner’s business achievements, which includes going into IBM and changing the way employees behaved to bring the company back up from imminent bankruptcy. This book is a must-read for all business owners, providing valuable insight into everything from how to be a leader, to strategy, PR and finance.
Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk
Crush It! shows you how Gary Vaynerchuk used the internet to turn his hobby into a thriving business. He is generous with his knowledge and teaches how to use social media to realise goals, gain momentum and keep up in the ever changing digital climate. This book is great for business owners with all levels of social media knowledge – from novices to experts.
The Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) is payable by employers on some benefits they provide their employees. The FBT is not included in income tax and has its own separate tax year – from April 1 to March 31. If applicable, employers must lodge their FBT tax return for the year ending March 31, by May 21.
What is a fringe benefit? An extra benefit that is additional to an employee’s monetary wage or salary, for example a vehicle, living-away-from-home allowance or payment for personal expenses.
Do I have to pay the FBT? Not all benefits are taxed, including certain items such as mobile phones, laptops, protective clothing, briefcases and most small benefits valued below $300.
Use the below checklist to identify whether you are providing taxable fringe benefits to employees. If you answer yes to any of the questions, you may be required to pay the FBT.
I may need to pay the FBT. What now? Please get in touch with us for more information and/or help lodging your FBT return.
Many small business owners start off doing everything themselves, however as business grows, they find themselves in need of assistance completing certain tasks. Bookkeeping is a critical responsibility in your business that you can easily hand over to a professional, enabling you to focus on other business matters.
So, are you ready for a bookkeeper? Here are the signs pointing to yes.
If you’re regularly sacrificing business development time to do your bookkeeping, it might be a good time to employ a bookkeeper. Doing so will free you up from banking, chasing money, reviewing invoices and checking transactions, so you can work on further growing and improving your business.
Falling behind on your bookkeeping is a definite sign that it’s time to employ a professional to look after it for you. If you leave everything until BAS or tax time, you’ll likely run into financial issues that could have easily been prevented with the help of a bookkeeper.
When it comes to your business, it’s incredibly important to ensure you comply with regulations, obligations and continuing changes such as those in superannuation law. These responsibilities can become quite complex, so if you think your books and processes could be inaccurate, it’s time to enlist a bookkeeper.
Accountants are more expensive than bookkeepers, so if you’re paying one to prepare your BAS, update financial records or deal with other compliance requirements, you’re likely paying more than you should be.
Do any of these signs ring true for you? If so, get in touch with us and learn more about how SWAG Bookkeeping can help.
When you’re running your own business, it’s super important to be on top of your accounting. It can be easy to let it slide for a little while, only to end up with a massive headache down the track. Avoid getting yourself in a bind and adopt these three quick and easy tips for organising your accounting.
Avoid mixing business and private bank accounts – it will be much easier to locate and record all your business transactions that way.
Using cash for business transactions is not ideal as records of the transaction can easily get missed.
Implement an accounts payable process that tracks unpaid and overdue customer invoices so you can follow up promptly. It’s amazing how many businesses do not know who owes them money!
These quick, easy tips will save you time, money and stress, freeing you up to get back to business! For more help getting your accounts organised, get in touch with SWAG Bookkeeping today.