Budget Smart Strategies for Making the Most of the Post-Christmas Holiday Period With all the fun and activity of the silly season, and hopefully, a busy time with lots of sales in the lead up to Christmas, it’s easy to forget that January can often be a quiet period when we get the chance to reflect on our personal and business and goals for the year ahead. The new year provides a great opportunity for business owners to assess performance, plan ahead and implement strategies for growth. With many of your customers likely taking time off, during January in particular, consider how you might use the extra time available to you for budgeting and goal-setting. To help you make the most of this period, we have pulled together some practical advice to help you prepare for a successful year ahead.
Is it too early to mention Christmas? No! With Christmas only 7-ish weeks away there are some important things you need to know … especially if you are planning to close your business for a few days or more, or use skeleton staff for your business over the holidays. You’ll also need the information in this blog if you are planning to have any kind of Christmas celebration, whether that includes your employees, their spouse, contractors, clients and/or suppliers. So, let’s just jump straight in with some of the important information you’ll need.
If you’re one of the many Not-For-Profit organisations who have the month of December as your EOFY – it’s time to start preparing. Whether you have 30 June or 31 December as your EOFY, this information will be helpful, but if it is December, you don’t want to find yourself struggling to gather information when you’re distracted with Christmas, staff holidays and extended time away from the office. The end of the financial year can often seem overwhelming, but with proper planning, you can ensure your organisation remains compliant, financially healthy and well-positioned for future success. So, what can you do to ensure you are fully prepared?
Managing finances is one of the most critical aspects of running a small business. Without the right processes in place, it can quickly become overwhelming, leading to errors, missed deadlines, and even cash flow issues. That's where an efficient bookkeeping system, and detailed internal processes and procedures, can make all the difference. By implementing these efficient processes, you can streamline your financial management, reduce the burden of paperwork, and ultimately focus on growing your business. Here are some key bookkeeping processes and systems that every small business should consider, in order to stay on top of their finances.
When you’re running a small business, it’s highly likely you’ll have some debt to manage. Whether that’s due to the purchase of essential assets required to run your business, like vehicles, plant and equipment or technology, or whether that debt is due to inconsistent cashflow, effective debt management is essential for peace of mind. Some debt can actually support your business growth if it’s managed well. That’s why finding effective debt management strategies can be a game-changer for your business.
The financial management of your business is important – right? And the new Financial Year, is the perfect time to be assessing your budget and cashflow forecast. Regardless of the service you provide or the product you sell, without a strong financial plan and an understanding of your financial management, you could end up working for little return for all the effort you put in. And as much as budgets and cashflow forecasts sound like something you can ‘put off for another day’ – we would caution you otherwise; know your financial position and know your goals! The terms budget and cashflow forecast are often used interchangeably, however, they refer to distinct concepts that play unique roles in the financial health of your organisation. Understanding the difference between budgets and cashflows is crucial for effective financial planning and management.
When you’re in charge of an NFP, you’re often faced with many challenges to acquiring the funding necessary to operate your organisation and provide the services you’ve identified to support your community. Most NFPs are funded through donations and grants, and many of those grants are from various government departments, though some are through donations from philanthropic organisations or charities. This is dependent on the type of service your NFP supplies.
30th June is the day every small business owner and bookkeeper dreads! But why wait till the end of June to get your affairs in order. If you plan ahead and get most of the work done throughout the month of June, you’ll find all those dates and deadlines can be handled with ease and you’ll keep your stress to a minimum.
As an NFP organisation, getting funding to cover your everyday expenses while servicing your clients, can sometimes seem like an uphill battle where every penny counts. And employee wages, as well as enticing high quality personnel, can throw another spanner in the budgeting mix. So why wouldn’t you take advantage of salary packaging options to pay your employees? Offering salary packaging gives you more options when enticing staff who might command a high salary in the private sector. With salary packaging, your NFP organisation is on a more level playing field; when the organisation offers competitive salary packages, the employee can save money on their tax, which results in the same (or higher) net value on their wages. It’s a win-win situation.
With technology moving forward so quickly, it’s my experience that many businesses are now paying a significant amount in expenses to monthly subscriptions and digital products. Many of these digital software providers are based overseas and therefore do not supply you with a ‘tax invoice’ including an ABN. However, overseas subscription providers have a complex relationship with the ATO. Since 2017, international corporations, such as Google, Adobe and Netflix, as well as smaller software and digital product suppliers, have been required to collect and pay 10% (GST) to the Australian Tax Office for their sales to ‘end consumers’ in Australia.
It’s a word that still strikes fear into the hearts and minds of employers, despite it now being well-entrenched in Australian society since its inception in 1992! After all this time, superannuation should be simple, but it still seems that many employers are not quite on top of all the rules surrounding it – that’s why your professional bookkeeper is the person to go to when you have any questions. In this blog, we attempt to give you, the employer, the most straight-forward information so you can understand the basics, but of course, if in doubt, always consult a professional. PLEASE NOTE: This blog is directed at EMPLOYERS only. Employees wanting to further understand the intricacies of superannuation should seek independent advice from a financial advisor or wealth management expert. Now, it’s likely that many people reading this blog will have some knowledge around superannuation rules and laws, but we will start with the very basics, just as a guide for those who may be new to business.
Christmas and school holiday season - for some business owners it’s a great time to relax and rejuvenate, but for many, it can be a very stressful time. Depending on your industry, there’s the added administration of ensuring your staff take the holiday time they want, while still covering all necessary shifts and completing the workload, with far less hours due to all the public holidays.
With the silly season over, and everyone (slowly) getting back to work after long, lazy summer days, it’s a good time to take an overview of how your business is performing and to ensure you are fully compliant when it comes to employees and payroll. ‘Now’ could be the perfect time to revisit your award and ensure nothing has changed in your obligations towards your staff.
There are a reported 257,000 Not-For-Profit Organisations (NFPs) operating in Australia, 55,000 of which are registered charities, with the sector growing annually by 2%*. With a primary focus on serving their missions, causes and charities, it’s essential for these organisations to have transparent financial and business management, even more so than other commercial enterprises. Additionally, they are required to provide an annual audit, by professional auditors, and comply with regulations issued by the Australian Charities and Not for Profits Commission (ACNC).
Working with a number of business owners in a variety of industries, it’s common for me to see small businesses using policies and procedures they wrote in 2015!
When you’re running your own business, it can be easy to fall into the trap of doing everything yourself, especially in the early years.
HAPPY NEW FINANCIAL YEAR! Yes it’s that time again ….. those four little letters that strike fear into almost every business owner – EOFY. But it really doesn’t have to be that way. If you’ve been a client with us for a while we’re probably your best friend right now (smile) and it’s likely you have the right procedures to breeze through this period of the year (just keep breathing – we’ve got your back). June does seem to be the month when everyone starts to panic, but when you look at things logically, you can put strategies in place to help you through July, which is the month with all the deadlines! It’s likely you’re on top of most of these dates and changes anyway, but please go ahead and use this blog as your check-list, knowing that all i’s are dotted and t’s crossed.
Running a successful National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) service provider business involves more than just providing essential services to those in need. With a huge amount of administration required, not just for your clients but, importantly, for effective financial management, compliance with NDIS regulations and maintaining transparent financial records, it can sometimes be overwhelming to keep on top of everything.
Technology is certainly a wonderful tool to relieve the day-to-day stress of any business, and accounting software is a ‘must have’ these days.
