Author: Simon Terry

There is no separate fringe benefits tax (FBT) category for Christmas parties. You may encounter many different circumstances when providing these events to your staff. Fringe benefits provided to, an associate, or under an arrangement with a third party to any current employees, past and future employees, and their associates (spouses and children), may attract FBT. Implications for FBT The following explanations may help you determine whether there are FBT…  Read more

Planning for success means taking control of your future. In 2010 Richmond CEO, Brendon Gale, laid out a 10 year plan for the club including three premierships by 2020. Following no premiership in 30 years, this was no easy task and bordered on fanciful. I am not a Richmond supporter, but I admire what they have achieved. The CEO laid out a plan for “winning together”. We think it is…  Read more

The past six years have been tough for Perth’s property market but maybe the tide has turned. Perth dwelling values fell by more than 22% from highs in June 2014. For any home or investment property buyers from 2008 onwards, breaking even on a subsequent sale has been a measure of success. Regional markets are also booming. You will struggle to find a rental property, a holiday home, a vacant…  Read more

October has been a busy month for us. We have been fundraising for and participating in a range of community events to raise money for valuable charities, research and services. It is inspiring and rewarding to have the opportunity to participate in fundraising events. We have connected with so many like minded individuals who share a goal, to make a difference. Donating to a cause or participating in community events…  Read more

Family business owners often share a similar goal – to grow the business and pass it on to the next generation. While keeping the business in the family and getting to work with your parents, siblings, or children can be rewarding, managing and growing a family-owned business isn’t without its challenges. Conflicting views on business and family matters such as succession of power, rivalry, favoritism, and disposition of assets often…  Read more

Fairy tale touring notes from an accountant? Stick with us, it could be fun and you could be the Hero in this tale… We love to guide clients from financial anxiety and a mess of paperwork to a better place with systems, process and control to free up time and achieve their goals. Valley Of Despair A Travel Guide You only visit The Valley of Despair on your way to…  Read more

What a year! We don’t need to tell you that this year has been “unprecedented”. With so many stimulus packages, support programs, tax changes and business shutdowns this financial year is set to be like we’ve never seen before. Oddly enough, amongst all the upheaval, rarely have we felt so enthusiastic about the opportunities for people and businesses who are open to new ideas and who are looking for guidance…  Read more

As small business operators emerge post COVID, there are some important business questions to ask. These questions will help determine whether your business model is working and if there are additional changes you want to make to protect your business through future economic downturns or volatility. Will you remain the same old caterpillar or a change and improve like a butterfly? 1. What worked and what didn’t work in my…  Read more

You run a business, you take a risk. The aim is generally to provide income to support your lifestyle and family and freedom to be your own boss. For too many business owners, their business is a harder task master than any boss they have ever reported to. We know there is a better way… Too many businesses fall over or fail to achieve their potential because the owner has…  Read more

Image from The Spirit Business If you’re like many business owners you’re probably astounded by how the world changed in a very short time, and now it seems to have changed all over again! While we can all hope that the pandemic is a once-in-a-lifetime scenario, the truth is there is a lot in life and in business that is uncertain, and there is a great deal we can learn…  Read more

Seamless bookkeeping and accounting You want to avoid paying more than you should come tax time. Part of that is ensuring you have well organised and recorded financial records. When tax time comes around, are you ready or scrambling last minute for missing financial records? Business owners have a lot on their plate and can easily lose track of an approaching tax deadline or financial data needed to submit returns.…  Read more

Your “war chest” is the financial reserve your business has built up. Your war chest helps you take advantage of opportunities or cover unexpected costs or emergencies such as the current Covid pandemic. Building a cash reserve when finances are tight, however, can be difficult. You need money to continue running your business while attempting to keep your reserve account healthy. To begin you should download a cashflow scenario planner…  Read more

If your business qualifies for JobKeeper support (effectively measured by your actual or forecast turnover reducing by more than 30%), then your business may qualify for commercial rent relief as provided for in the National Cabinet Mandatory Code of Conduct SME Commercial Leasing Principles during COVID-19. The key principles are as follows: Where it can, rent should continue to be paid, and where there is financial distress as a result…  Read more

We have drafted a memo with some insights to help you during this difficult time with the Coronavirus (or COVID-19) affecting all of us. So take a moment to make yourself a cup of tea, then read through this memo with an open mind. As a business owner, you need to face the possibility of team members being absent from your workplace, product supply issues and demand for your services…  Read more

Today the Commonwealth government announced a $17.6 billion economic stimulus package to support Australian businesses dealing with the significant challenges posed by the spread of the coronavirus. The package has four components: Supporting business investment Providing cash flow assistance to help businesses Targeted support for the most severely affected sectors, regions and communities Household stimulus package The new measures will be introduced in the Parliament when it returns on 23…  Read more

With Christmas at hand it is time to think about payroll and staff leave over the Christmas break. Getting ready now will take some of the stress out of payroll over this period. Are you closed over Christmas? Do your staff need to put in leave requests for this period? If so get them in early to help with smooth processing. Discuss expectations with your staff. Those who don’t have…  Read more

With the implementation of single touch payroll, the ATO has real time data of wages paid, super due and receipts by super funds. This means now more than ever Superannuation must be paid on time. We’ve helped many small businesses implement systems to embrace single touch payroll by moving to cloud accounting with Xero or MYOB and gaining the additional benefits of time, knowledge and control of their business. We see…  Read more

Advice from the desk of Simon Terry I have been helping clients recently with commercial leases they can’t afford, in premises they don’t need, for leases we didn’t discuss, locked in place by personal guarantees. So I have put together 10 tips of dos and don’ts: 1. Personal guarantees – don’t do it.  Accountants create business structures to minimise personal risk so don’t undo our hard work. 2. How well…  Read more

You’ve got a great idea for a business, and now you want to get it off the ground and take it to market. This is a very exciting time, but there’s quite a bit you need to think about before you can launch. We offer resources to help you get started. Follow our seven day program to:  Determine if you can make any money Prove you can beat the competition…  Read more

You would have been hearing a little about Labor’s proposed changes to negative gearing and CGT over the last couple of months. So with the election just a few short weeks away, here’s a summary of what the changes might look like. Currently… Negative gearing of an investment property occurs when the annual costs (interest, management fees, repairs and maintenance, depreciation, etc) are greater than the net rental income. Any…  Read more