July 1 2019 Happy new financial year! A small business guide to the tax changes

By Matthew Prouse, Head of Industry, Xero Australia New financial year, new obligations and opportunities… If you’re like most small business owners, you’re probably focused on closing out the 2018-19 financial year. But it’s worth taking a moment to consider the year ahead too. There are new regulations to be aware of in 2019-20 – Read More…

July 1 2019 Why document management is critical for small business growth

Byline: Scott Crosby, CEO, Upstream The merit in going paperless for small and medium businesses (SMBs) is clear: digitally stored documents, information, and files save businesses time, money, and resources. SMBs are increasingly taking up document management technology to better manage their finances, customer data, and employee details, leaving behind the physical paperwork proven to hold Read More…

June 21 2019 Three ways politics impacts your business

You may not personally want to be involved in modern politics but if you want to run a business you have to be aware how the laws of the land can affect your bottom line. Tax laws, business treaties, tariffs, and commerce in general is impacted by politics. Sometimes having a degree in political management Read More…

June 18 2019 Are you making any of these 7 mistakes when hiring payroll staff?

By Tracy Angwin, CEO and payroll expert at Australian Payroll Association Are you looking to hire new payroll people? Payroll staff are an integral part of any organisation, whether it be in a finance or HR capacity. However, the reality is that it’s a specialist set of knowledge and skills that are unique to the Read More…

June 14 2019 How to stay organised during tax time to optimise your returns

Australians are urged to get organised ahead of the end of financial year, including finding a great accountant, collating all necessary paperwork and knowing what you can deduct, in order to maximise and get the most out of your returns. Caroline Guillemain-Brunne is the founder of Organise.Curate.Design, a lifestyle management agency that helps people tackle their ever-growing to-do Read More…

June 12 2019 How SMEs can turn tax time into an opportunity to grow

Many small business owners see the end of the financial year (EOFY) as a busy time during which they need to prepare tax returns for the business and group certificates for employees, as well as finalise sales, do stocktakes, and ensure all financial recordkeeping is in order. The thought of adding another task to that Read More…

June 6 2019 How SMEs can avoid common financial pitfalls by managing cash flow

Setting up a small business can be an exciting yet daunting experience. By the time you actually launch your business you have likely experienced a lot of uncharted waters, sleepless nights, caffeine highs and are generally left questioning your overall sanity. Trust me I know. In 2008 my brother and I started our business, Credit Read More…

June 4 2019 The Australian Tax Office hotspots 2019 – do they apply to you?

Byline: Mark Chapman, the Director of Tax Communications at H&R Block. Every Tax Time, the ATO focusses on certain hotspots where taxpayers are prone – either accidentally or deliberately – to make errors. These are the areas it will concentrate its audit firepower on and for those who have made claims in areas which the Read More…

June 3 2019 Getting ready for the EOFY: A how-to-guide for businesses

By Mark Chapman, Director of Tax Communications with H&R Block With just a few weeks remaining until the end of financial year, many businesses will be taking stock of the year just gone and planning for the year ahead. So what are some of the key issues your business might be facing as it looks Read More…

May 31 2019 Why do major companies keep getting caught in employee underpayment scandals?

Every few months sees a major employee underpayment scandal – companies announcing that they have made payroll errors that have impacted thousands of employees – go public. Examples are the $43 million error by Rebel Sport this year, the $2 million error by Lush Cosmetics last year, the $1 million in underpayments by Maurice Blackburn Read More…

May 23 2019 $30k Asset Write-Off up for grabs for next month: is your business eligible?

With the end of financial year fast approaching, small and medium-sized businesses are being reminded they could be eligible for an instant asset write-off of up to $30,000. The Federal Government boosted the threshold on the Instant Asset Write-off Scheme last month, in a move designed to stimulate growth for small and medium-sized business. The Read More…

May 20 2019 Morrison to prioritise planned tax cuts

Scott Morrison plans to prioritise his promised tax cuts after he settles his new ministry line up, as the nation waits to see if the coalition gets a majority in the lower house. As counting continues on Monday the Liberal and Nationals were on 75 seats – two seats short of the 77 it needs Read More…

May 9 2019 What Single Touch Payroll means for your employees

Have you taken the next step and started reporting through Single Touch Payroll (STP)? Employers with 20 or more employees should have already started reporting their employees’ salaries and wages, pay as you go withholding and superannuation information to the ATO through an STP-enable payroll solution. If your business employs 19 or fewer employees, you Read More…

May 9 2019 Australian small businesses losing $5.8 billion each year

Insufficient cash flow means lost opportunities  Australian small businesses have lost opportunities worth an estimated $5.8 billion due to insufficient cash flow1 Nearly half (46 per cent) of Australian small business owners have been at risk of being unable to pay their employees1 More than a quarter (26 per cent) of Australian small businesses that Read More…

May 6 2019 Admin ‘killing the dream’ of Australian Small Businesses

Research reveals financial and emotional burden of administration on small businesses ahead of new Single Touch Payroll reporting regulation Australian small businesses estimated to collectively spend over $20B a year on admin and payroll Half of small business owners also willing to sacrifice wellbeing Reckon launches hub to help small business owners get ‘in the Read More…