Blog Posts - Page 8 of 16 - RA Business Advisors

Five Tips To Get Your Business Ready For The New Year

January 24, 2019 By raadmin

1. Make sure you are maximising your use of Xero

The cloud is the place to be in 2019, has your business gone digital? If you haven’t fully integrated the cloud into your business just yet don’t worry, because we are here to help. The benefits from cloud accounting are endless but here’s just a few: scalable, cost-effective and easy to use, no need for software to clog up your computer and no need to worry about huge initial costs as Xero runs off a monthly subscription.

Not only this, but apps have brought a whole new dimension of utility to the Xero platform. Research from Xero has shown businesses which make use of apps grow net profits 30% faster. Apps enable you to combine a specialised set of services into an app stack that works together to streamline your business. Eliminating so many of the hassles commonly associated with the archaic endless list of computer programs you would use in the past. Goodbye dumb license agreements, goodbye constant update waits, hello more time on your hands.

You can read about some of our favourite apps here

2. Automate your business processes

Automating your business processes reduces manual tasks in processes such as forwarding data, extracting information from databases and much more. A good business integrated app stack will not only eliminate human-caused errors but will save you money.

Faster, cheaper and powerful, these apps will not only identify bottlenecks in your business but will eliminate them too.

3. Review your expenses

Has it been a while since you took a good hard look at your supplier costs or your additional spending? It’s time to get on top of your expenses and cut unnecessary costs out of your life. The first step is to examine your quarterly invoices and see if there are any unwanted patterns arising. Shop around and make sure your current supplier is giving you the best deal you can get.

Review the purpose of what you are spending money on and consider if it’s critical to the success of your business. Think about the renewal fees and whether there are loyalty discounts you can access.

Consider making some payments to decrease your debt, whether it be the company credit card or back payments to suppliers. Making payments ahead of interest coming into the picture is an important policy for ensuring you don’t have unnecessary debt.

4. Forecast your cash flow

A well thought out cash flow forecast is helpful for predicting surpluses and deficits in cash flow. This mean your business can make better decisions, as well as prepare for potential business changes or decisions.

There’s three steps to a cash flow forecast:

Estimate your likely sales for each week or month
Estimate when you expect to receive payments
Estimate your likely costs

After you’ve taken these steps, add an opening bank account balance and the revenue, less expenses for each period to calculate your likely cash position.

Once you’ve taken the necessary steps to create your cash flow forecast, make sure you are updating it throughout the year.

5. Come in for a free consult!

If you want to take your business to the next level this year or have been thinking about taking the next step to become a pro at Xero

GIVE US A CALL!

Managing Your Cash Flow Over The Holiday Period

December 14, 2018 By raadmin

December is usually the busiest time of the year for retail and hospitality businesses. But businesses in other sectors often find that their sales slowdown and their customers stop paying them for a few months. So cash flow dries up.

Whether your business is large or small, well-established or in start-up mode, you need to take a planned approach to managing cash flow during the holiday season. Here are few tips for keeping on top of cash flow management during the Christmas/New Year holiday period.

1. Keep Invoicing In The Lead Up To Christmas

Don’t let your business admin slip in the rushed lead-up to Christmas. This is the most important time of the year to stay on top of your invoicing. You may find that many customers will be slow to pay because their businesses are closed over the Christmas period.

2. Set Clear Expectations With Your Customers

Be clear with your customers that you expect them to pay within the pre-arranged credit terms over the Christmas period. Phone regular slow payers a few days before payment is due to confirm that they’ll be paying on time. The phone is always a more effective method than email. If you’re not comfortable having this conversation with your customers, your accountant or bookkeeper may be able to assist.

3. Service Business – Offer A Discount For The “Quiet Time

If your business is usually quiet in January, why not offer your clients a 10% discount if they book you in for January? Why not offer them a 15% discount if they also refer a neighbour or a friend? Set whatever discount amounts work for you. This is the thing: A strategy like this will keep your business busy and some cash coming through during the usually quiet period.

4. Use The Quiet Time To Work On Your Business

If sales are a little slow in the lead-up to Christmas, use the time wisely to hit the ground running int he new year.

The pre-Christmas slow down is a great time to work through the to-do list you’ve been compiling all year.This might include taking a thorough inventory, searching for more suitable lending alternatives, completing a comprehensive competitor analysis or researching the market for new products and suppliers.W

App Stacks – The Next Step For Business Optimisation

December 13, 2018 By raadmin

The future of business is digital. This might sound like something you would hear from someone in the 90’s, but digital is taking on a whole new meaning. The world of apps long relegated to games and memes on iTunes has moved into the world of business. The positive effects on your business from having an ideal app stack are boundless. Research from Xero shows small businesses using apps grow net profit 30% faster.

Hang on, what is an app stack?

App stack is the name given to the family of apps you have working for your business. In the digital ecosystem it’s important to eliminate clutter. You need to make sure your app stack is set up to work efficiently for your business. When you have the ideal stack you are going to see administrative work eliminated, time saved and a foundation for success built.

What are the ideal apps for small businesses?

Xero – Xero is our bread and butter here at RA Business Advisors, but it’s for good reason. Xero is where everything starts when it comes to running your small business. All the apps that follow in your stack will most likely already work perfectly with Xero considering the Xero app marketplace already has over 700 apps integrated.

Google Docs – Well-known by everyone but still an integral part of any small business, Google Docs is the go-to word processing software for those looking to save money.

ReceiptBank – ReceiptBank allows you to scan receipts directly into Xero, simply take a photo with your phone and ReceiptBank will scan for important information and produce a handy version in Xero instantly.

Hubdoc – ReceiptBank is the go-to app for your receipts but what about banks and online vendor receipts you have to fetch? That is where Hubdoc comes in, automatically fetching statements, bills and receipts from more than 700 banks and online vendors.

WorkflowMAX – WorkflowMAX is exactly what the name suggests, a solution for maximising your workflow. Through WorkflowMAX you can push sales invoices to Xero, get payment confirmation, send invoices and view profitability all through one place.

Deputy – Deputy is the ultimate employee management tool, simplifying rosters, timesheets and every aspect of payroll and time billing – all integrated with Xero. All in 1 click!

If you want to take the next step and get a tailored app stack for your business which will work towards your goals, get in contact with us today on 07 3367 0852.

Would You Like Fringe Benefits Tax With Your Eggnog?

November 29, 2018 By raadmin

The end of the year is fast approaching and its finally time we put our phones down, hung up our stockings and sat back with a glass of eggnog. Here at RA this will be accompanied by a wholesome team dinner for our Christmas party, but if you are considering having a Christmas shindig for your team you may be forgetting one thing – fringe benefits tax.

Fringe benefits tax?

Fringe benefits tax is a tax employers pay on certain benefits they provide to their employees – including employees’ family or other associates. FBT is separate to income tax and is calculated on the taxable value of the fringe benefits provided.

When would fringe benefits tax apply?

A Christmas party provided to current employees held on the premises on a working day may be an exempt benefit.
The costs associated with a Christmas party (food and drink) are exempt from FBT if they are provided on a working day on your business premises and consumed by current employees.
Gifts provided to employees at a Christmas party are exempt from FBT if they meet the minor benefits exemption rule and are worth less than $300.

What do I keep in mind when I’m planning to make sure I don’t accrue any FBT?

How much is the event/gift going to cost?
When and where is the event going to be held?
Who is going to be invited? Are exclusively current employees going to attend or a wider base of people?
What type of gifts are going to be given if I’m giving gifts?
Who is going to be receiving the gifts?

What about Christmas parties off-site?

Costs associated with Christmas parties held off your business premises will give rise to a taxable fringe benefit for employees and their associates unless the benefits are exempt minor benefits. For example, if exclusively current employees and their associates attend for $180 per head, there are no FBT implications as the minor benefits exemption applies. However, if current employees, their associates and clients attend at a cost of $365 each – a taxable fringe benefit will arise for employees and associates. For clients, there is no FBT payable and the cost of providing the entertainment is not income tax deductible.

If you need further advice on your tax needs, give us a call or book a consultation on 07 3367 0852

How Are You Making Sure Your Mobile Phone Data Is Safe?

November 23, 2018 By raadmin

Recently, the new shiny iPhone XS and XR entered the market.

For all the Apple lovers out there, this might mean being the first to wrap your hands around the irresistibly smooth all-glass design, or finally upgrading your old glitchy iPhone to the new model.

If this is you, I’m guessing you’re focused on the opportunity to start afresh, buy a new case, clear all those apps cluttering your current device, and start playing with its new features. Right?

But have you considered the security aspects?

According to online security software vendor, Norton, the scary reality is that 978 million people in 20 countries were affected by cybercrime in 2017. In New Zealand and Australia, one in four small businesses experienced a cyber-attack or hacking attempt.

“It’s an unfortunate fact that the impact of cybercrime is a reality for all businesses,” Xero Head of Security, Paul Macpherson, said at the recent Xerocon conference in Brisbane. “We continually remind all of our customers – small businesses, accountants and bookkeepers – to take precautions to keep their data safe from hackers.”

Sure, you’ll be eager to try the cool Face ID feature and of course you wouldn’t dream of breaking your shiny new phone. But are you mindful of how you’ll keep its contents safe too?

Obtaining a new phone is the perfect opportunity to get everything set up correctly right from the start. And if you don’t plan to upgrade your mobile phone, there’s no time like the present to make changes.

Are you too relaxed with your data security?

While many of us are looking for convenience of easy-to-find or easy-to-remember passwords, in reality you’re making yourself vulnerable to digital identity theft.

Xero Head of Industry, Matthew Prouse, says “the biggest mistake people make is keep highly confidential information in their phone, such as in ‘Notes’ or disguised as a contact. You’re walking around with a pocket of very sensitive data.”

Prouse recommends that you do not –

· Add passwords and pin codes to the ‘Notes’ app

· Try to disguise passwords, bank account numbers or your tax file number as phone contacts

· Choose obvious passwords (such as your date of birth or cat’s name) that even your kids can work out

· Replicate the same codes everywhere (such as your bank account pin)

· Allow your computer or phone to automatically save passwords

· Hand over old mobile phones to your kids without clearing all sensitive data first

Think about the worst case scenario: your phone gets stolen. For many of us, this doesn’t just mean losing a device. It also means losing passwords. And your digital identity.

Every day, there are reports of email accounts being hacked, phishing emails being sent with the aim of collecting credit card details and bank account numbers, and credentials stolen from one website and then used against other sites to see if username and passwords have been replicated.

Macpherson says over 80% of breaches occur via stolen or weak passwords, with email as the primary method of attack. So it’s highly important to keep sensitive employee and customer data safe via modern security practices, especially while running a sustainable and trusted modern business.

How can I improve my phone security?

Now is the time to brush up on your security awareness.

Prouse recommends utilising apps such as LastPass and Google Authenticator for encryption and a second layer of security for important business and personal websites. However, you can’t just download them and consider yourself completely covered.

“As a business owner, your smartphone itself needs to be safe and secure too,” says Prouse. “Make sure there is a fingerprint scanner, facial recognition, and good password security.”

And when it comes to passwords, Prouse suggests thinking outside the box.

“You might like to check out Stay Smart Online for some good tips and policies around passwords. Don’t just use your date of birth, postcode, or banking pin numbers. Pick random numbers; the authorisation apps will remember them for you.”

It’s also key to remember that if you have an existing authenticator app setup on your old phone, you need to set it up on your new device before disposing of your old one.

So if you’re getting your hands on the new iPhone X, take some time to set up the security as a priority. Because, admit it, downloading Instagram was otherwise first on your list!

Staying Safe At Tax Time Begins Now!

November 16, 2018 By raadmin

As the year comes to a close and the financial year moves forward at full-steam, it’s important to be on top of your tax time practices now to prevent heartbreak later.

The ATO have profiled the five most common mistakes Australians are making during the end of the financial year period:

Leaving out some of their income (for example, money earned from cryptocurrency etc.)
Claiming deductions for personal expenses (for example, between work travel, personal phone calls etc.)
Forgetting to keep receipts or records of their expenses (around half of the adjustments the ATO makes are because the taxpayer had no records, or they were poor quality)
Claiming for something they never paid for
Claiming personal expenses for rental properties (either claiming deductions for times when they are using their property themselves, or claiming interest on loans used to buy personal assets like a car or boat)

If you are worried about what you can claim for work-related personal expenses, just remember these three golden rules:

You must have spent the money yourself and not have been reimbursed
It must be directly related to earning your income
You must have a record to prove it

With ATO efforts to crack-down on tax time cheats increasing, it’s more important than ever to ensure you don’t get caught off-guard when June 30 comes around.

If you are worried about any of these, don’t hesitate to get in contact with us! Especially if you are worried about ensuring you are on top of your receipts over the year. Through utilising apps such as ReceiptBank with Xero you can streamline your business and won’t have to worry about storing receipts ever again!

What To Do When You Want To Keep Your Business ‘In The Family’

October 26, 2018 By raadmin

Have you got a family business you love but want to have some peace of mind for when it’s time to step away? You aren’t alone as more and more Australians start their own business, we are hearing about more people worried they will have to sell or close down their business they have worked so hard for.

But this anxiety doesn’t have to plague you, transferring your family business to the next generation can be a very straightforward and hassle-free experience!

Who will take over the business?

This is an important question everyone asks themselves, and there are a few things to keep in mind when considering this. Skills should always be at the top of your list when you rattle through your list of candidates – you may have a great affinity to help out your daughter, but your son’s best friend may be better skilled for the position. Make sure you take the time to find the ideal candidate, hold a panel, a series of interviews, whatever will give you the best insight into the perfect candidate!

What’s the steps for handing over the business?

There are a number of steps if you are transferring to a family member and you will no longer be a part of the business and these may include:

Transfer business name or cancel your business name
Cancel tax registrations such as GST
Lodge all required tax returns
Pay outstanding bills, activity statements etc.
Make GST adjustments on your final activity statements
Transfer any other assets such as domain names or web domain registrations
Transfer business records, customer records and employee records
Cancel your ABN after you have met all of your obligations for lodgement, reporting and payments

Start planning now!

A succession/exit plan is integral to a smooth transition for you and the new business owner. When you develop this plan, remember:

Will you transfer both ownership and management?
Are you going to review the plan regularly?
Are you going to include direct family members in the business? What roles are they going to play?
Is training or mentoring required on your part for your successor?

A terrific guide issued by the Australian Government on what steps are best can be found HERE

How To Stay Safe Against The ATO Crackdown On Declared Income

October 19, 2018 By raadmin

Warning Time

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is closing in fast on everyone who doesn’t properly declare their income and pay the correct amount of tax.

As your Tax Accountants, we want to help you be aware of what the ATO is doing and how you can protect yourself.

How Does The ATO Know?

The ATO is linking databases of property sales, car purchases, international plane flights, dividends paid from shares, and sales of shares and investments with the income declared on your Tax Return.

If your Tax Return income doesn’t match with your spending or repayment of loans, then the ATO will probably “red flag” you for a tax audit.

These databases have not been linked before like this, so we’re expecting to see a huge increase in the number of tax audits over the next 12 months.

Business Cash Receipts Not Declared

Many small business owners pocket some of their cash takings each week and don’t declare this in their Tax Returns.

The ATO now has the tools to catch this out

When your business Tax Return is lodged, the ATO compares your profit and other key indicators as a % of your total sales with other businesses in your industry. If your profit % is lower than average, then the ATO may decide to do a tax audit just to see if you’re properly declaring all the income you actually receive, or if the expenses you’ve claimed are actually allowable as tax deductions.

Also, not declaring cash income from your business could result in you getting a much smaller price for the sale of your business. We’ll discuss this in a future article.

What Are We Doing To Help You?

We have 2 keys roles as your tax accountants.

Ensure you pay least amount of tax you legally should.
Assist you to lodge a correct tax return, so if you’re audited by the ATO you can sleep peacefully at night knowing that you’ve done the right thing.

While we don’t like paying tax just like you don’t like paying tax – at the end of the day it simply is a normal part of life and there’s nothing we can do about it except for obeying the laws and lodging a true and correct Tax Return.

If you don’t declare all income you receive and if you claim as expenses things that aren’t properly allowable tax deductions – then if you’re audited and lose you will have to pay back tax PLUS pay large penalties to the ATO.

Is this really worth it?

We’re On Your Side. Talk To Us Today!

Let’s talk frankly. If you’ve been naughty in the past, talk to our expert accounting team about it. There are option we can advise you on to help you and reduce possible fines and penalties.

It’s better for us to help you declare past sins before the ATO finds out and starts their attack on you.

We’ll help you fight the ATO if the occasion is needed. But you need to do the right thing – even if you disagree with the tax laws.

Please – don’t doubt our resolve to help you.

Contact your expert team at RA Business Advisors today on 07 or by email at mail@raaccountants.com.au

We’re your good friends. And we’re here to help you!

Utilising the Xero App Marketplace to Save You Time

October 2, 2018 By raadmin

Time saving for small business has always been the focus of Xero, with over 700 apps on the marketplace to make Xero save you even more time. With so many apps it can be overwhelming, but there is no need to worry about which ones are best for your business as each app is reviewed by users – no room for bias!

Research has shown small and medium businesses who use cloud apps grow revenue 30% faster!

There are four key areas that Xero apps help businesses exceed in

Project visibility and delivery: Achieve real-time views of projects that give you meaningful insight into how work will be completed and the impact on bottom line.
Managing cash flow: Make sure your cash flow is healthy by realising revenue and settling bills efficiently

Improve customer relationships: Generate new business through acquiring new clients as well as growing existing client revenue
Managing people: Improve your processes to attract, retain and develop the right staff

What are the best apps on Xero?

Let’s take a look at a restaurant business with a single storefront for example.

All of their accounting and payroll are processed through Xero, they also use apps to streamline point-of-sale, invoicing, and rostering.

Vend provides a database of products which can be used to view profitability against wages and other expenses, opportunities to see sales, payments and posted stock orders as well as plenty of tools to analyse loyalty programs.

Receipt Bank provides a one-stop automated solution for all supplier invoices to be deposited. Using your mobile device you can easily upload invoices through simply taking a photo. Receipt Bank automatically scans for GST and all other relevant information. This is all automatically uploaded to the cloud and transferred into Xero.

Deputy provides rostering software that all employees can easily use for time-sheets as well as processing leave and issuing rosters. Employees automatically receive messages whenever there is a roster change or associated changes. This app also allows you to easily juggle rosters in the case of an absent employee or spur-of-the-moment sick leave.

You don’t need to worry about juggling between apps as all of these are integrated into Xero. Even better, these are all scalable, a store expanding to multiple stores can easily use Deputy to manage multiple stores, for example.

But what if you don’t have a physical store?

If you are thinking that maybe Xero might not be for you as you don’t have a retail business, there’s still value for you if you are operating a trade business for example.

Through apps such as Tradify, tradies can manage jobs across multiple vehicles and process each job quickly through Xero. Through Tradify, a trade business owner can link their vehicles to employees, assign jobs, process billing for each vehicle and process payments for their employees – all through one app. Business owners can view all of this information through Xero at the end of the day, automating the things you don’t want to do and providing information you want all in one place.

How do I set this up?

If you are already an avid Xero user, jump on the app marketplace and have a look at the highest rated apps. Otherwise, if you want to take the guesswork out of integrating apps – give us a call! We understand the importance of time and can set up your business with Xero and associated apps using the method that suits you best. We pride ourselves on providing you with knowledge and advice to incorporate Xero into your daily life without any hassle. Apps such as Tradify offer automation opportunities within Xero that truly change how you work, book a meeting with us now and see which apps would benefit your business!

What is identity management and why do I need it?