Get Your Head Ready for the 2015/2016 Financial Year…

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PLANNING FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS

~ Mark Creedon, Red Monkey Coaching.

The most important aspect when looking to secure future success in your business is to plan for it. There is a saying that “a failure to plan is a plan to fail” and, with the new financial year here, now is the time to develop your plan for success for the coming twelve months.

A business plan doesn’t need to be a complex or complicated document that once completed sits on the shelf collecting dust, rarely seeing the light of day. A truly effective business plan should be more like a readily-available guide or map for where you want your business to go in the coming year.

Normally, little more than a single page is all you need to be able to have a clear picture of where you want your business to be and an outline of the steps you need to take in order to get there. The simplicity of this business plan model allows you to focus your headspace and allows you to spend your energy on the steps and activities that will actually help you to achieve your goals and milestones.

 

Direction

Firstly, you have to think about the overall direction and vision of your business. This involves asking the question, “Where do I actually want my business to be in twelve months’ time?” This will be a matter of looking at the following:

  • Where will my business operate from?
  • Where will my business fit in the marketplace?
  • How will my business model evolve?
  • What staff will I have?
  • What turnover do I want to achieve?
  • What retained profit do I want from the business?
  • What changes within the industry will influence my business?

Secondly, take the time to review and reflect on the action you have taken in business over the last year; highlight the lessons learned, potential areas of growth and identify what actions worked (and those that didn’t) – the Red Monkey Coaching Business Pulse Check Workbook (downloadable at www.redmonkeycoaching.com) is a great place to start.

Having a direction and clear goals is a great foundation point. However, you won’t achieve those goals and reach the desired direction without having a clear strategy in place to achieve them.

The question to focus on is, “What are the steps and actions I need to take to achieve the goals and who do I need to help me achieve the goals?” To do this look at each goal individually and outline three clear steps that you will take toward achieving the goal.

If you’d like to know more, contact Mark at Red Monkey Coaching.

success

3 Must Have Tax Tips – Open Before 30 June

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The end of the financial year is rapidly approaching. It is time to take some action and get prepared for another financial New Year’s Eve.  It may not be as big an event as the New Year’s Eve of 31 December each year but it does require just as much planning to come out on top.

Here’s 3 tips to help you get through this end of financial year with ease.

 

Tip #1    Increase Your Cashflow 

Pay expenses prior to 30 June if are you on a cash basis for GST reporting.   If you are on an accruals basis for GST reporting, you only need to have received the invoice for the expenses to make your claim in the June quarters BAS return.  By adhering to these deadlines you will get the GST back three months’ sooner to assist with other business cashflow needs.

 

Tip #2   Review, Collect and Start Fresh

Review your accounts receivable and see if any of the amounts your accounts are showing as owing to you are actually not collectable.  If they are not collectible, ask your bookkeeper to write those off.  Better still, if you think there is a chance that you can collect that money from your customers make that phone call to try to collect it, or alternatively engage a professional debt collector.    The receivables left on your aged receivables report at 30 June should reflect what is currently owing to your business.

 

Tip #3   Move Your Bookkeeping Into The 21st Century

Is your bookkeeping up to date?  In an ideal world your accounts would be up to date on a daily basis but I can say that even mine are not updated that regularly!   With real-time accounting solutions now available, the shoebox method belongs in the museum.  If your books are not up to date get a bookkeeper in today to get them into shape so you are in a position to move forward into the new financial year being able to ascertain the financial position of your business at any given time.

These are 3 simple tips to get you through the Financial New Year’s Eve and into the new financial year with ease. If you would like further information on any of this please give our office a call on (07) 3355 6427.

 

 

cafe counter front of house

How to apply for an ABN

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An unique number for every business

An Australian Business Number is an 11-digit number unique to each business. It’s a legal requirement for anyone who wants to start an enterprise in Australia or who wants to register for GST (Goods and Services Tax). Even if your business isn’t going to register for GST, you still need an ABN.

Apply for an ABN through the Australian Business Register (ABR) – it’s free to apply. Your business will use its unique number to identify itself when dealing with the government, other businesses and the public.

 

Apply for an ABN if you intend to run a business

You’ll be asked to provide lots of information when you apply for an ABN. The information you provide will determine if you receive one or not.

To be issued with one, your business must be one of the following types (also called entities):

  • individual/sole trader
  • partnership
  • company
  • trust

Every business entity (whether a sole trader, partnership, company or trust) that applies for an ABN only needs the one number. However, you can choose to run more than one enterprise with a single ABN – for example, a furniture shop, a curtain outlet, and a fabric supplier could all use the same number if they’re part of the same business entity. But if any of the operations are run by a different business entity, they’d require a separate ABN.

So it’s important to choose the right structure for your business. You should always seek professional advice from your accountant or lawyer before making any decisions about registering for an ABN or choosing your business structure. Read more about choosing your business structure on the ATO website.

 

The advantages of having an Australian Business Number

One of the main advantages is that you’ll save time and money. That’s because other businesses are legally required to withhold tax from payments to you if your business doesn’t quote an ABN on invoices. And in this case, they must withhold it at a rate of 46.5 percent. So even though your business can claim back any excess tax paid in the tax return at the end of the year, it’s not ideal for your cashflow.

Having an Australian Business Number also means your business can:

  • claim GST credits (when registered for GST)
  • claim fuel tax or energy grants credits (if you qualify)
  • stay compliant and be able to lodge activity statements (BAS/IAS) with the ATO
  • confirm your business identity to others when ordering and invoicing
  • avoid pay-as-you-go (PAYG) tax on payments you receive (see below)
  • obtain an Australian domain name (for your .au website)
  • deal with other businesses more seamlessly.

Registering an ABN is a separate process to registering a business name.

Specialising in Xero bookkeeping, Notch Above is a Brisbane bookkeeper and BAS Agent located in Alderley that offers Xero setup, as well as training and ongoing support.  Notch Above can take care of all the bookkeeping tasks you would rather not do, like bank reconciliations, supplier payments, payroll services, debtor control and BAS returns.

Thanks for Xero for providing this article

Travel and Tax Deductions

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Claiming a tax deduction for travel-related accommodation and meal expenditure
A question that we are commonly asked at CNS Partners is “Can I claim for a deduction for accommodation and/or meals while away for work?”. This applies to both self- employed people and employees.
As a general rule accommodation and meals will only be deductible where the individual is found to be travelling overnight on work. This type of expenditure will not be deductible where the individual is found to be ‘living away from home’. The ATO tends to apply the 21-day rule of thumb. Specifically, where an individual is away from home for a brief period and it is difficult to conclude whether they are travelling overnight or living away from home, the taxpayer will generally be take to be travelling overnight on work where they are away for 21 days or less.

Evidence to support expense
If you incurred work-related overnight travel expenses and want to claim these expenses as a deduction, the nexus has to be established. If you are selected for a review or an audit, you may be asked to provide the following records to the ATO:

  1. Details of employment duties, including information about the requirements to undertake overnight travel for work-related purposes
  2. A letter from your employer, including contact name and telephone number, to confirm:
  • why you were required to undertake overnight travel in the course of carrying on your employment duties
  • details of any relevant reportable fringe benefits, or reimbursement to compensate your client for expenses incurred
  • details of specific travel allowances paid to you

Substantiation
In order to claim deductions for meals and accommodation expenditure in relation to work-related travel, taxpayers are generally required to substantiate this expenditure by providing receipts and/or maintaining a travel diary.
As an exception, these substantiation requirements do not apply to meals and accommodation where an employee is paid a ‘bona fide’ travel allowance to cover such travel costs, and the amount claimed by the employee does not exceed the Commissioner’s prescribed reasonable amount.
For more information on claiming travel expenses please contact CNS Partners.

Author

CNS Partners

CNS Partners

http://www.cnspartners.com.au/

Note: We at Notch Above Bookkeeping are BAS Agents and can’t provide tax advice. This information is general purpose only from Tax Agents, CNS Partners.