The weather is cooling down, but the changes in tax are hotting up! From 1 July 2017, there are significant changes to the rules on superannuation.
With only 4 months to go it will pay to make sure you know where your position is to ensure you take full advantage, or minimise the impact, of the coming changes.
The Federal Budget is coming up in 2 months’ time (second Tuesday in May), and this usually sees more changes to taxation. With the focus on the budget deficit and how this shortfall will be funded, all eyes will be on changes to tax.
We will be providing our summary and thoughts on the Budget in our annual update on the morning after the Budget, so keep an eye out for that in your inbox on the Wednesday morning!
Is Cashflow An Issue For You?
The number one issue that the majority of businesses, and individuals, face is cash flow.
You can make as much money as you want, but if you don’t manage the flow of cash in and out of your bank account you can still find yourself short and having to manage payments on a regular basis.
How do I fix this problem?
Knowing you have a problem is only one part of the equation.
Knowing how to fix it is the important key to getting out of a cash flow hole and getting yourself financially fit and back on track.
Firstly, do a budget.
On a personal level this means tallying up all of your after tax income, and your regular and one-off expenses.
For a business, this involves a similar process of forecasting income and expenses, with the added factor of GST and other quarterly payment obligations which affect the timing of the outflows.
Having a good handle on how much and when that amount is payable is vitally important to managing the cash flow, and not spending money that you don’t really have available as it should be kept for future payments.
The next step is to review the incoming and outgoing funds and understand where the pain points are.
Do you never have enough for the BAS? Does your credit card always seem to be higher than expected? Are you over committed in your debts?
The point of this exercise is not to lay blame, but to acknowledge what the issue is so that it can be understood and a plan can be put in place to improve your cash flow.
What then?
Once those steps are done, then the key part is action! Know your limits in spending, put money aside for future obligations, know your numbers so you aren’t surprised or caught short by bills and payment obligations, and look at ways to increase your income to cover any shortfall.
Still stuck on what to do to improve your situation? Look out for our Cash Flow Masterclass which we will be running in late March/early April.
This workshop was run last year, and attendees found it useful to both understand the theory of cash flow, as well as practical tips to manage it on a day to basis.
Telstra Business Awards Are Now Open
Do you run your own business? Or do you know someone else who is running their own business?
Do you think what that business does is “award worthy”?
The Telstra Business Awards are now open, and applications close March 16, 2017.
Last year one of our customers Lingua Franca, a French language school, were nominated and then went on to win the Micro Business Of The Year at the Queensland awards held at City Hall in July 2016.
Not only did the win provide recognition and publicity for the business and what it had achieved, but even the process of entering and completing the application allowed Katrina Waugh and her team to better understand their business and the key aspects of what made it successful. The prizes for winning were just the icing on the cake.
As Katrina says: “Being nominated by one of our students was just the first in a run of wonderful events for us last year. By taking part in the Telstra Business Awards we were able to look back and really take stock of how far we’d come, where we could improve and where we wanted to go next. This calendar year we have seen a very healthy increase in turnover. I am sure the exposure generated from our win helped, but more than anything I think it is the confidence it has given us as a team that has really made the difference. I would recommend the Telstra Business Awards to all small (and micro) business owners.”
For more information on the awards, eligibility and details about the judging categories and criteria, visit the Telstra Business Awards website at https://www.telstrabusinessawards.com/
If you decide you want to enter, but you aren’t sure how to go about completing the application, contact us at Value Beyond for assistance.
Finally, if you want to be inspired by some amazing businesses, their owners and their incredible stories, check out the videos of the speeches by last year’s winners.
Electronic Signing Is Here!
As part of our efforts to improve the efficiency and reduce the burden surrounding preparation and lodgement of tax returns and activity statements, we have set up an online Client Portal.
This Client Portal will not only allow you to securely download documents we have prepared, or upload documents you wish to send to us, but it also offers the ability to sign your returns electronically.
No more printing out the signing page and having to scan it back in!
The electronic signatures are managed by DocuSign, so they are secure, efficient, and the audit trail provided meets all the requirements to be a valid signature for your tax lodgements.
To get setup with the Client Portal we will send you an email invite, and from there you set up your account with your email address and a password of your choosing. We will upload documents for signing, and you will receive a notification any time there is a new document uploaded.
If you need to securely send any documents to Value Beyond, then you can use the Client Portal to upload them and we will receive notification when a new document is available for us.
If you have any questions about the Client Portal, or how e-signing works, please contact us at Value Beyond to discuss.
Upcoming Dates
21 March 2017
Lodgement and payment of monthly February 2017 activity statements
31 March 2017
Lodgement of tax returns for companies and super funds with income over $2 million in the latest year lodged, and individuals whose latest return resulted in a tax liability of $20,000 or more
21 April 2017
Lodgement and payment of monthly March 2017 activity statements
28 April 2017
Deadline for paying superannuation guarantee contributions on behalf of employees for the March 2017 quarter
15 May 2017
Lodgement of all tax returns that did not have to lodge earlier, and payment by companies and super funds if required
21 May 2017
Lodgement and payment of monthly April 2017 activity statements
26 May 2017
Lodgement and payment of quarterly March 2017 activity statements where lodged electronically by tax agent