Setting sales targets for your business is standard practice for any aspirational, growing company. If you’re going to stretch the sales and marketing teams, it’s important to have clear, unambiguous targets for them to aim for. But what happens when a crisis looms? In uncertain times it’s more than likely that your pre-crisis sales targets will effectively become unrealistic and impractical for your teams to use. So, how do you… Read more
The Federal budget was announced on Tuesday 6th October after a delay due to the coronavirus pandemic. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said it would focus heavily on job creation in order to pull the country out of the economic crisis it faces. With uncertainty remaining until a vaccine for Covid-19 is available, there will likely be more announcements as circumstances change over time. Some of the key measures in the budget… Read more
With more than 85% of SMEs expecting a lower profit in the next nine months, the more prepared you can be for the unexpected, the better. Managing expenses is a good idea at any stage in your business and you may need to consider increasing your prices. Smart ways to get your costs under control Cashflow has been a big issue for thousands of businesses this year, and when the… Read more
From 28 September, the JobKeeper payment scheme enters the next phase seeing the payment extended until 28 March 2021. There are two separate extension periods, each of which is tested separately for eligibility based on business turnover. Extension 1 – 28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021 Extension 2 – 4 January 2021 to 28 March 2021 What has Changed? From now on, there are two tiers of payment based on the… Read more
Promoting your goods and services to potential customers is at the heart of running any successful business. And to advertise your brand in the modern world means diving into the world of digital marketing – i.e. online promotion activity for your business. 87% of consumers begin their search for a product online, according to recent research. So having an ‘online presence’ is critical if you’re going to engage with prospective… Read more
The Australian Government’s R&D tax incentive provides targeted offsets that aim to encourage more companies to engage in R&D, in order to contribute to a stronger economy. The incentive is designed to encourage research and development activities that companies may not otherwise do due to uncertain returns and risk. What’s involved? The R&DTI offers two levels of tax offset depending on your aggregated turnover: a 43.5% refundable tax offset for… Read more
You know what chocolate-chip cookies are, but what about the ‘cookies’ that websites ask you to accept and that are somehow linked to digital marketing? HTTP cookies, to give them their full name, are small packets of information that are stored on your computer when you use a web browser. So, when you visit your favourite websites, you’ll have downloaded certain cookies onto your device. These cookies fall into three… Read more
Buying an existing business can be a great way to get started as a business owner, or to expand operations if you are already running a business successfully. Established businesses have already done the hard work of setting up a business, so you can get up and running on day one without a lengthy formation process. Things You’ll Need Why is the business for sale? – It’s important to understand the… Read more
We are living in uncertain times right now. The situation changes daily with new challenges to overcome. We are all feeling the strain. So what can we do to manage the stress and regain some much needed sense of wellbeing? Research shows that doing something (no matter how small) is the best way to manage anxiety. There is a lot we can’t control right now but there are also things… Read more
It takes guts to start a business. It also takes a strategic mindset to succeed. Business owners are no strangers to weighing risk and navigating uncertainty, but the current climate has dialled everything up. Many business owners face the uncomfortable position of having to remap carefully thought-out succession plans and exit strategies and to consider selling their business before they’re ready and, possibly, for less than it’s worth. Transition may… Read more
Poor remote meetings will extinguish your humanity in minutes. Here’s some guide to getting them right. In the world before lockdowns, self-isolation and work-from-home virtual teams and remote meetings were on the rise. Now they are nearly guaranteed to become the predominant mode of getting work done for many teams. And there is no future, short of extinction, where meetings won’t happen in one form or another. Here’s our evidence based guide to getting virtual meetings… Read more
Working from home is becoming a way of life for many people. While there are undoubted advantages, and many people say they enjoy it, as the pandemic stretches out it is beginning to wear thin. Mostly that’s because many companies replicated the old office-bound ways of working to the virtual world. Workplaces that don’t adapt shift the burden to workers, who have to contort their lives to fit. That affects… Read more
Time is running out for employers to take up the Government’s superannuation guarantee (‘SG’) amnesty, which expires at 11:59pm on 7 September 2020. The amnesty allows eligible employers to disclose and pay SG charge (‘SGC’) amounts owing from 1 July 1992 to 31 March 2018, without incurring penalties (up to 200% of the SGC) or administration fees ($20 per employee, per quarter) that would otherwise apply. SGC payments made during the… Read more
Having clean, up-to-date information and data about your customers is a vital part of running your business. But recording, tracking and accessing this customer information can be tricky if you don’t have the right tools to get the job done. Client relationship management (CRM) tools offer a fast and effective way to manage all of this customer information. A CRM solution provides one central hub for recording all your customer… Read more
Having a personal budget is essential to gaining control of your personal finances. Budgeting doesn’t necessarily mean restriction; it frees up your money, so you know exactly what’s available to spend. The top 10 benefits of personal budgeting: Gives you control. Developing your personal budget gives you control over your money. You’ll know how much cash you’ll have coming in and can make a plan for how to spend it. Focuses… Read more
Running a small business requires taking some risks. Debt is one of those risks, but it is also a positive tool for small business that is usually necessary in order to fund your growth. However, when circumstances change and your debt levels grow, it can keep you up at night. It is important to act early and put a plan in place to manage it. We can help you assess… Read more
JobKeeper Extended Until March 2021 The government has announced further changes to the JobKeeper payment scheme, which will see it continue until March 2021.The current system will remain unchanged until 27 September 2020 as planned, providing $1,500 per fortnight for employees and eligible business participants. However, from 28 September the changes will apply. There are several amendments that business owners need to be aware of, including different tiers of payment… Read more
The coronavirus pandemic has forced a significant amount of change and upheaval onto you and your team – in a very short amount of time. We’ve gone from ‘business as usual’ to closed offices, working from home and the full reality of isolation during an emergency lockdown. To combat this change, it’s important to take steps to care for your employees. Key ways to take care your teams wellbeing There’s… Read more
On 18 September 2019, the Government announced that it was reintroducing the one-off Superannuation Guarantee Amnesty (the Amnesty). The Amnesty applies to previously undeclared SG shortfalls for any quarter starting no earlier than 1 July 1992 and ending no later than 31 March 2018. The Amnesty will not be available for SG non-compliance that occurs in relation to a quarter starting on or after 1 April 2018. The super guarantee (SG) amnesty is… Read more
Some employers need to pay PAYG withholding liabilities to the ATO monthly, even if the BAS is lodged quarterly. The monthly instalment activity statement (IAS) and payment is due on the 21st, whether you are lodging your own statement or using our lodgement service. Things to review before finalising the IAS: Have you allocated all payroll related bank transactions to the correct accounts? Have you checked your payroll detail reports… Read more