09 September 2016
BUSINESS TIPS, EMBRACE ONLINE TECHNOLOGY, SMALL BUSINESS TOPICS, Wordpress
Smart, Easy Online Solutions that make Bookkeeping Fun
The beginning of a financial year is always unknown, but you can improve your opportunities for success by educating yourself on how to beat the taxman legally. How so?
By taking time out to spend it with your BAS Agent and your Accountant for one tip. These people can help you gain valuable insight into your business and help you achieve your financial goals for this 2017/18 year. To remind you of the value that both BAS Agents and Accountants have to offer, I approached a group of my Twitter Accountants and Application friends to share their top tax tips to help YOU start 2018 financial year on a high.
Collaboration is the secret ingredient for any business success.
Surround yourself with positive, smart and innovative professionals / friends to help you propel you and your business to new heights.
An application or addon that works with Myob, Quickbooks and Xero to make data entry a thing of the past and ensure your never loose another receipt ever again!
Every business needs this amazing addon!
Ash from Receipt-bank advises Bookkeepers and Accountants the following:
My advice would be, as you reflect on what was and forecast for the year ahead, now is the perfect chance to implement change within your practice.
EOFY can be a stressful time but it’s also an opportunity to look at improving services and providing more value to clients.
Debbie Hoffman CPA and Registered Tax Agent was extremely enthusiastic with her recommendations. Out of the eight she gave me, I felt that No.4 was especially important.
Repay all drawings if you are a company business structure by 30th June 2017.
Many small businesses get caught out by the so called ‘deemed dividend rules.’ Under tax law, loans and advances to private company shareholders or their associates are deemed to be taxable unfranked dividends for the shareholders. The intention of these rules is to stop the profits of private companies being distributed to shareholders as tax-free “loans”.
So, if you find yourself borrowing money out of the company of which you’re a shareholder, try to ensure those borrowings are repaid by the time the company’s tax return for the year is due. If that isn’t possible, declare a dividend and treat the amount as income, in which case, the dividend would be franked if applicable.
Alternatively, enter into a complying loan agreement, complete with commercial interest and capital payments and a defined loan period.
Debbie Hoffmann | Stellar Accounts | CPA : Registered Tax Agent
The tax blog is full of informative updates and information that helps small business. One of their more recent helpful articles was on Beware of website domain company targeting newly registered ABN holders. You can read this article and more by clicking over to https://thetaxblogau.wordpress.com/
“A great EOFY tax tip for small businesses with employees is to pay the Quarterly April to June 2017 Superannuation Guarantee by June 30 to claim a tax deduction in the 2016/2017 year, instead of waiting until the 28 July due date. Superannuation makes up a significant portion of total business expenses, hence bringing forward payments is a highly effective way of legally minimising income tax at year end.”
The Tax Blog for small business articles of interest
REVIEW YOUR DEBTORSEspecially if this is not something you do regularly, you should review your debtors at year end.Chase the ones you are likely to collect and improve your cash flow. If you are not yet fully utilising the cloud with online invoicing and automatic reminders, you should talk to your bookkeeper or accountant about these features.If there are any receivables that you are certain you will not be able to collect anymore, you should write them off before 30 June 2017. This way, they will reduce your current taxable income and therefore the tax payable.
Petra King | Chartered Accountant | Xperion
Phil Shephard | Tax Agent | PanicAtax
Regardless of your length in business, be it as a startup or a well seasoned business of five years or more get away from excel spreadsheet and use technology to automate your bookkeeping.
All too often I hear business owners saying that they will get around to bookkeeping. But they procrastinate, fail to prioritize their time and leave BAS to the last minute.
It’s a big headache at the end of the financial year if they haven’t done anything as a non-registered gst business with missing dockets, bank statements and the like. It costs them in lost deductions and having to pay $15 per missing statement. It’s unnecessary and can be avoided very simply.
Using a phone app and online accounting software you can automate your bookkeeping process, know where you are financially and increase the accuracy of your business records.
It isn’t even expensive, most small business owners would spend more buying coffee than the $50 month you spend automating the process with Xero / QBO + Receiptbank or Hubdoc.
Amanda Hoffmann | My Office Books
Press delete on excel and sign up to use cloud accounting and one of the many applications available to automate your bookkeeping.
Start this financial year right from July 2017 onwards and stop procrastinating or making excuses.
Contact Amanda from My Office Books to find out more by booking in your FREE 30 minute consultation today https://calendly.com/myofficebooks/30min
Amanda Hoffmann is a registered Tax Practitioner / BAS Agent No.18613005, Associate of Finance, Xero, Myob & Quickbooks Proadvisor / Trainer and a Consultant for the Australian Taxation Office.
She says she is more than just a bookkeeper with experience in real estate investing, social media, podcasting, blogging and recently recording monthly youtube episodes
Amanda loves to teach smart, easy online cloud solutions and fix messy bookkeeping. Follow her on social media and say “Hi”
