The budget delivered by Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, last Tuesday night was all about getting the economy moving after the shut-down caused by Covid-19. The theme of the budget was getting people back into work and tax cuts. So, what does this mean for small business?

This year, I decided I wanted to spread my wings and enter a few business awards. It is not normally something I do, being an accountant, I am used to being in the background. I entered the Women in Finance 2020 and won Accountant of the Year.

Being in business reveals a lot about us – all our flaws, weaknesses and strengths. Through the process of building a business, there are often many peaks and valleys that can make or break us. Sometimes, we are confronted with a decision about whether to stick at it or move on. Staying or going in business is one of the most important decisions in business you’ll ever make.

You know the saying prior planning prevents poor performance? This applies to getting ready for tax time…and there is no time like the present. While we are in the thick of the tax season, you have a little breathing room to get organised and prepared for when your trusty accountant prepares your business or personal income tax returns. Here are five things you can do to make it easier for yourself and for your accountant:

There are hundreds and thousands of apps out there that can potentially help your small business, but narrowing that down to just the essential few is really time consuming and at times confusing. We have tried to take the hard work out of the decision on which apps you need to successfully run and grow your business in our top ten app countdown.

On 21 July 2020 long awaited revisions to JobKeeper were finally announced, however the worsening of the economic situation in Victoria as Stage 4 coronavirus restrictions took place saw the revisions revised yet again on 7 August (and yet again later updated on 10 August – ughhh!!). Here is a quick summary of the main points for businesses with aggregated turnover of less than $1 billion:

The most common questions we get asked around tax are about what individuals and businesses are able to claim, so we’ve compiled this list of resources to help. Save this post in your Bookmarks/Favourites so you can refer back to it quickly.

Accounting Heart celebrates its third birthday this month. So, I have used the occasion to reflect on my expectations versus the reality of starting my own business, the highs, the lows, my fears, the people I’ve met, the constant evolution and the things I have learned along the way.

JobKeeper is a wage subsidy being a fixed payment of $1,500 per fortnight for fortnights starting 30 March 2020 and ending 27 September 2020. The subsidy is to be paid to an eligible business which is then passed on to an eligible employee. The JobKeeper scheme recognises that certain participants in a business, such as a sole trader, a partner in a partnership, a beneficiary of a trust and a director or shareholder in a company are also affected by the economic downturn caused by the Coronavirus. Accordingly, in order to provide a benefit to such business participants, the Jobkeeper scheme has been extended.

What is JobKeeper? JobKeeper is a wage subsidy being a fixed payment of $1,500 per fortnight for fortnights starting 30 March 2020 and ending 27 September 2020. The subsidy to be paid to an eligible business which is then passed on to an eligible employee. The payment must have already been passed on to the employee in full for the business to be eligible for the payment. Once in the scheme an employer cannot elect for some eligible employees to be covered by the scheme and not others.

Over the past few months there has been a great deal of focus on large companies not paying their employees correctly. I thought it a timely reminder to take a deeper look into an area that we see many small businesses fall short when it comes to employee entitlements, and that is super.

With so many announcements having been made in relation to Covid-19 and the assistance available we thought we would put together this handy resource for you to access just what need. This is a rapidly changing situation and this list is current as at 14 April 2020.

Working with an accountant isn’t only a necessary business investment but can also be an easy one when the right systems are in place. Here’s the 5th installment in this series where we’ll talk about: how to make your accountant up to date with the latest technology, the what and why on secure client portals, the benefits of electronic signatures and how these work.

Getting accounting software isn’t always a priority for most business owners. Because at first look it may seem like an expense. But believe it or not, it can actually save you money in the long run. In this 4th of a series of 5 videos to help you reduce accounting costs, I’ll cover: how you can say goodbye to paper and hello to real-time accounting, how to reduce the back-and-forth with your accountant, my recommended accounting software and how one of them works especially on saving you time, and what you’ve been waiting for – tips to use it efficiently and how it can save you loads of money.

Cutting accounting fees is a concern of most business owners. It’s necessary to work with an accountant that you trust but it’s also important to keep expenses at a minimal and reasonable amount. That’s why in this video series, I help you tackle this natural worry in the head using simple and effective steps you can apply today. In this 3rd video, we’ll talk about: how to reduce accounting fees if you don’t prefer using an accounting software, what needs to be included in the summarised information you need to give your accountant, and the do’s and don’ts when making a summarised information to be ready in case of an audit.

This is the 2nd in a video series on how you can cut back on accounting fees in a simple and efficient way. These tips will also help you build a long-term relationship with your accountant without burning them out in the process. In this 2nd installment, I’ll walk you through some steps on: how to get your paper work and other financial info organised, how to help your accountant get all the details he needs and work straight away, what systems you can set up, and my suggested filing process for all your documents.

Do you employ contractors or contract your services as a freelancer to other businesses? Some situations require superannuation payments. And it’s a question I’ve been asked for years from both sides of the fence. But what are the cases when this is required and why? That’s what I talk about in this video. I also talk about several examples and what we’ve done, both for contractors to recoup super owed and businesses to do the right thing by their contractors and stay ATO audit compliant. Plus where to get the right information if you’re unsure about it.

Reducing accounting fees may sound counter-intuitive coming from an accountant, but it actually is a win-win situation, both for you, as a business owner, and your accountant. That’s why I created this video series to give you 5 effortless tips to minimise accounting costs while building a good and ongoing relationship with your accountant. In this first video, you’ll learn: the most important step you need to have in place for all the rest of the tips to work, why this first tip will help save you money in the long run, and what you can do when you haven’t given all information and your accountant is asking for more details.

As Australia burns, many of us have already or are considering donating to one of the many appeals set up for this worthy cause. You may have also seen items being auctioned, sold or raffled all in the name of raising money, not to mention charity events and dinners and buckets being handed around at one of the many sporting and social events you attend over summer. There is often some confusion in these types of situations as to what can and can’t be claimed as a tax deduction. So why does it matter how the funds are raised and received when it comes to claiming a tax deduction?

Inspired by tidying queen, Marie Kondo, in our last blog post, we looked at the basic benefits of spring cleaning your business . Now you’ve let go of what you don’t need, and created some order around what you’re keeping, let’s go deeper into organising the business-specific categories. To recap, in her book, Kondo suggests a specific order to sorting your categories, from easy, low value items, through to rare or high value items that evoke an emotional response. Sorting your items this way makes it easier and less painful, so you’re more likely to commit to completing the task. With that in mind, I’ve devised the following order to help simplify sorting your business categories…