Posts Categorized: News

How we will get back a huge amount of tax for a client

It never ceases to appal me how most accountants do so little for their clients. Too many accountants’ role starts and ends with lodging historical documents such as BAS’s and Tax Returns.  They are important documents in themselves and they should be prepared with care and diligence.   However, what an accountant should do is to use their years and wide array of experiences to show a client how they can better run their business.

We met a new client late last year. Their accountant only prepared historical documents.  Worse still, the accountant didn’t understand the client’s business.  The client has a very good understanding of what services they provide and what market they operate in. They are however not an accountant. Put this together and the accountant was treating sales orders and sales invoices. The orders weren’t income!  The end result was that they have over paid a bucket load of income tax – which we will now get refunded for them. They could do with it – they were paying tax on profits they didn’t have!

Moreover, we have changed their accounting system so that they issue orders and then convert them to invoices at the time their customer will proceed with the order.

We will also segment their profit and loss so that it reports on how each part of their business is performing. We are going to have costs of new customer acquisition as a segment – our client has always wondered what it cost.  We can now put that information at his fingertips.

Going forward, our client will know where his business at any time.  More importantly, with some advanced analysis tools, we can help him better manage his cash flow, understand the outcome of making any change to his business, understand how the banks view his business amongst other insightful exercises.  But this is all a conversation for another day. …

At MRS, we will spend today planning for your success tomorrow.

The value of an expense?

It always amazes me how many businesses view an expense as a negative. This is far from the case.

I would argue that there are three types of expenses:-

  1. One type of expenses are those that are uncontrollable but necessarily incurred – such as a company paying its annual review fee to ASIC. You can’t control it. It doesn’t provide any benefit (other than staying registered). They are just costs of opening the doors every day (and therein lies a discussion for another day).
  2. There are also those expenses that don’t provide much benefit and/or are controllable. You might be able to get a supply that is the same at a cheaper price (such as electricity). You might also choose to buy things in bulk or buy cheaper quality items that may no difference to a firm’s ability to do what it is does.
  3. And then there are those expenses that are in reality investments. They may be treated as an expense and reduce profit but they determine the long term health of a business. You spend money on them and they provide a return. It could be advertising. It could be buying basic tools that make employees life more enjoyable and productive. One wise man once said to me that such expenses aren’t expense at all – they are resources necessarily incurred to generate a result. Such expenditure should be seen as positives not negatives.

It is amazing when meeting with clients to discuss their business to see what comes out of asking them to address which expenses are in effect investments. It is amazing how the focus on their activities changes – and their results improve.  No truer is this across the board than with employees.  They are the biggest or second biggest expense for most businesses – yet it is often an area not monitored and/or subject to cost cutting.

So now I ask the question is what value to do you get from your expenses?

So what are the key investments in your business? Do you focus on them and monitor and track what is happening?

The reality is most public tax accountants just prepare Tax Returns and BAS’s. They are focused in the past and not on the potential of their clients businesses.  If you would like a forward looking accountant focused on your long term success and security, why not call us to make a cost and obligation free meeting.

At MRS, we will spend today planning for your success tomorrow.

 

Running out of cash – and what to do about it

Summer is a great time of year isn’t it?

Most people think so – but not all business owners.

Rent, wages and other fixed expenses all must be paid whilst most businesses see their sales fall over the holiday period. Just because everyone is back at work, doesn’t mean the ship rights straight away. And then there is the December BAS quarterly payment due by month end!  Running out of cash is stressful and can break even successful businesses.

There a few things that can be done now to get through these times. But the real lesson here is not to let it happen again.

We have a great tool that can generate a workable cash flow from a cloud accounting system within 15 minutes.  Our client’s that use this tool have a clear idea of what their future looks like – which allows an analysis of how they can control it.  And if it is projected to get tough, they can go the bank and ask for help in advance of the problem (and not when the house is burning down).

For those larger business, we also have a program that generates four way budgets – in addition to cash flow, it generates at the click of a button a Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, and Funds Flow Statement all of which are backed up by supporting schedules. These reports blow away most bank managers.  In fact, during the week I received glowing feedback from a franchisor as to the detail and reliability of the budgets I prepared for a prospective franchisee.

We would welcome the opportunity to help you take control of your cash flow and business. Why not call me and arrange a free initial meeting.

At MRS, we will spend today planning for your success tomorrow.

Effective e-marketing for SME’s

When I first started work there was a saying that 50% of advertising works, one just doesn’t know which 50% it is. That was even largely true 15 years ago.  Not today though.

Search engine optimisation (SEO) tools allow one to accurately test and track what is working and not working. Campaigns can be targeted and altered as necessary.  The results (sales generated versus dollars spent) can be accurately measured.  And much of this can be done quite cheaply by historical standards.

These SEO tools are amazing.

What is even more amazing though is just how little advantage small businesses take of these opportunities. May be 10 years ago, modern advertising tools still were the domain of big firms who could afford what was once costly.  Now though even the typical mobile phone has a camera with quality good enough to post video on a web page!

Not all businesses need a web page to survive and/or grow. However it has been interesting, or should that be alarming, to note that our retail clients who have struggled or shrunk have had no or little effective e-marketing.  Often what is not considered is that even though customers used to find them, customers are now looking for what they want by largely different means.  If you don’t exist in the new forms, then you are invisible.

To have an effective e-marketing campaign, a small business needs to address 10 common issues:-

  1. Who is my customer?
  2. What do they want?
  3. Where are they?
  4. How do they want to deal with me? Do I have a mobile responsive web page (by the end of 2014, half of all web searches were made on a mobile phones).
  5. Does your web page include the features that Google ranks highly? You’d be surprised how effective videos are in this respect.
  6. Does your web page enable customers to order on-line?
  7. Does your web page enable customers to pay on-line?
  8. Does your web page look fresh and up to date or tired and out of date?
  9. If your industry doesn’t rely on selling on-line, does your web page clearly set out the call to action you would like your customer to make? If you want them to call you, is your phone number prominently stated? Does it provide the articles and matters of interest that your existing and potential customers are looking for?
  10. Is your web page supported by integrated forms of social media? Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are the most common forms; they may not all be relevant to your business but one can’t disregard the lot.

One size/approach doesn’t suite all. To begin with, is your best approach pull marketing (advertising and direct marketing) or push advertising (such as positioning as an authority and leader as well as sharing of knowledge).

The businesses that handle all of this well have a documented marketing plan and systemised approach. The process of documenting the marketing plan ensures all key matters are considered and properly evaluated.  The systemised approach ensure that it gets done and done properly.

It is now 5 years since we ran an e-marketing workshop. Please register your interest by e-mailing admin@mrsaccounatnst.com.au and we will re-run it if we have sufficient interest.

At MRS, we will spend today planning for your success tomorrow.

 

An undervalued benefit from business planning

Last week I attended a business planning workshop with a number of clients. Yes, I could have created the content myself – but that would have taken a lot of time whereas Peter Knight and Kate Groom have rolled out their interactive workshop (with workbook and action plan) to thousands of businesses around Australia.  The best and most efficient thing for me to do was to extend the offer for their course to my clients.

During that workshop, it was interesting to watch and hear my clients’ questions and observations. It reinforced the point that business owners so often focus on what they are good at and ignore and pay too little attention to what they are not good at.

Proper business planning requires one to address areas such as marketing & sales, admin & finance and employment & process/operations.

With the possible exception of Rick Charlesworth (state cricketer, Australian hockey player, Olympian, state parliamentarian, doctor, author and coach of Australian women’s and men’s hockey teams through periods of their greatest success), we are not good at everything. And people being what they are, business owners are good at one or two of these areas, not all three.

An undervalue benefit from business planning is that it forces one to address what one often tends to ignore.

So what should you do to avoid this common trap? You should use someone who is good at these areas to guide or deliver what is needed in these areas.  Obviously, we as accountants can help you with the finance areas.  We also have a panel of other professionals who we can recommend to help you with other areas.

A business can be strong in some areas. But so often the weakest link can detract from or even destroy the overall performance.  Don’t let that happen to your business.

At MRS, we will spend today planning for your success tomorrow.

The NAB share split

Shareholders in the National Australia Bank had a choice to make last week. The board recommended that the holding in the UK Clydesdale bank be split into a separate company.  If passed, smaller shareholders then had the option of deciding as to whether they wished to sell their shares.

There are some interesting observations to be made about this situation.

What was the cost of demerger booklet? Not only was it almost 600 pages, but the very large accountants and lawyers firms involved would have billed a fortune for their work.

For those holding their shares in their self managed super fund (SMSF), a new holding in a UK bank would be an international investment. This raises the question of whether one’s SMSF’s Investment Strategy allows for such an investment.

All SMSF’s are required to have an investment strategy and to review it regularly. As well as considering the insurance needs of the members and other requirements, the document must consider:-

  • In what areas the SMSF will invest – such as cash, Australian shares, international shares, property and whether it will do so directly or indirectly.
  • Diversification.
  • Liquidity (which is particularly important for funds paying pensions and possible lump sums).
  • The members’ needs and circumstances.

International shares are considered a different class of asset as they involve different rules, currency exposure and a breadth of exposure often not available within the Australian share market (which is dominated by banks and miners).

So does your investment strategy contemplate such an investment in international shares? A similar question need be answered when a fund buys a commercial or residential property.

If not, to avoid committing a breach, you will need to amend your Investment Strategy. As accountants, until 30th June, we can provide you with a template for you to complete.  However, the Corporations Laws precludes us from making a recommendation as to whether you should hold these share or not and whether you should invest in such a class of assets.  If you would like assistance, you could though seek advice from Maggs Reid Financial Planners Pty Ltd within which employs Arianna McKean and Alex Stewart are as authorised representatives.  Maggs Reid Financial Planners Pty Ltd is a corporate authorised representative of Securitor Financial Group Ltd (ABN 48 009 189 495).

At MRS, we will spend today planning for your success tomorrow.

How strong is your industry position?

I trust you had an enjoyable Christmas break. I have no doubt though that at some stage your mind wandered onto business matters and what you could do to improve the overall performance of your business.

Unlike during the year when people seem to be caught up on day-to-day issues (that probably were relatively unimportant in the long run), I bet what you thought about on your holiday were more of a high level and long-term nature.

Now is the ideal time to address those issues and do something about them.

In a world that is changing at an ever-increasing rate, it is always important to analyse your industry and your position within it. This is something every business owner and management team should regularly address.

We have a questionnaire and process that delves into such things as:-

  • Levels of competition within your industry.
  • Industry bargaining power.
  • Unit cost and learning experience.
  • Technology improvement within the industry.
  • Industry vulnerability to further changes.
  • Lifecycle management.
  • Adequate rate of return within your industry.
  • Is your industry growing rapidly?
  • Does your industry has scope for geographical expansion?

As members of the global Principa network, we have access to their questionnaire and process that addresses these issues and what can be done about them to improve your overall position.

This is just one of the considerations that will be addressed in the business planning workshop on Thursday 28th of January.  Please contact us if you would like to know more about that session.

At MRS, we will spend today planning for your success tomorrow.

How to make 2016 your best year yet

So 2015 has gone and we are into a new year. 

Did you achieve in your business what you wanted to?

Even if you did, what new challenges lie ahead and what are going to do about them? 

A Goal Without a Plan Is Just a Wish sign on desert road

 

Either way, the only way to improve your position is to plan.  Some good things happen by chance or luck but not many.  There is no substitute for proper planning.  Random thoughts in the shower or in the car don’t create clear and well founded direction.  You need to pull all your thoughts together and decide upon them in context of all other (at times geometrically opposed) issues whether they be marketing, HR, finance, positioning, budgeting and so on.

Question Concept - 3D

The best way you can make 2016 the best year yet is to start the planning process now.  And the best way of doing that is to attend the FAN (of which I am a member) business planning workshop.  It’s a three hour structured workshop run by Peter Knight (who is one of the smartest and most successful accountants I know and, like me, a member of the Principa Alliance) and Kate Groom who will be down from Sydney to run this course on Thursday 28th January.  They are both highly credentialed and skilled speakers.

The workshop is interactive so you can ask any question you like. You will also be issued with a guide to continue the process.

You can book by going to:-

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/goals-business-planning-workshop-melb-tickets-19479213853

I’ll be there; I usually spend the first week of January behind closed doors undertaking this planning process but this time will be doing so in this workshop.  I look forward to seeing you on the day.

Make 2016 your best year yet.

At MRS, we will spend today planning for your success tomorrow.

 

 

 

Christmas and tax

Entertaining and providing gifts at Christmas time to staff, customers and suppliers is a cost of doing business. However, there are some important FBT, GST and income tax considerations and outcomes.

Under-pinning the implications are the following key points:-

  • Christmas parties, entertainment and gifts are all treated under entertainment tax rules.
  • FBT applies to benefits given to employees.  There are no FBT implications on entertainment and gifts given to customers, clients and suppliers.
  • There are three methods under which an employer can quantify the taxable components of any entertainment expenditure – in fact there are 38 permutations depending on who is entertained where, how and with whom.  We will largely address the actual method which the vast majority of clients use and which delivers more favourable outcomes.  It is beyond the scope of this briefing to address 12 week log method and we will only touch upon the 50/50 method where relevant.
  • Christmas comes but once a year and to the best of my knowledge and experience does so on 25th December.  Nevertheless, the ATO treats Christmas parties and gifts as being what are called minor, infrequent and irregular benefits.
  • Such minor benefits are FBT exempt where they cost less than $300 (including GST) provided the actual method is used to quantify entertainment.

 

The Christmas party

Where entertainment is calculated under the actual expenditure method:-

  • If a Christmas party is held on-site on a work day, the whole cost for each employee will be an exempt fringe benefit.  So too will the spouse’s cost provided the cost per spouse is less than $300.  No income tax deduction can be claimed for the cost of the party including that in respect of any family members that may attend.  Taxi travel to or from the workplace (not both ways) will be exempt from FBT and not tax deductible.
  • If a Christmas party is held off the work premises, then the whole cost will be exempt from FBT provided the party costs less than $300 per person (employees and their spouses).  No income tax deduction can be claimed for the cost of the party including that in respect of any family members that may attend.
  • If an external Christmas party costs more than $300 per person then the total cost is subject to FBT.
  • The cost of any entertainment provided during the party (whether that be at the work premises or outside) will be exempt if it costs less than $300 per head – for example DJ, musicians, clown and comedian.
  • The cost of entertaining clients, customers and suppliers is not subject to FBT and is not tax deductible.
  • If any exemption is exceeded then FBT is payable.  Consequently, an FBT Tax Return must be lodged and FBT paid.  Please keep this in mind when completing the 2015/16 FBT Questionnaire in early April 2016.

Where entertainment is calculated under the 50/50 method:-

  • 50% of the cost will be subject to FBT and this portion will be tax deductible.  The other 50% will not be subject to FBT and will not be tax deductible.  An FBT Tax Return must be lodged and FBT paid.
  • Only taxi travel from home to the venue will be FBT exempt and not deductible for tax.

 

Gifts

The following gifts are exempt from FBT and are tax deductible:-

  • Hampers, bottles of wine, gift vouchers, a pen set costing less than $300 (inclusive of GST).

The following gifts are subject to FBT and are not tax deductible:-

  • Tickets to a sporting event or theatre, holiday, accommodation, etc.

 

GST

  • The GST component of any tax deductible portion can be claimed back.
  • The GST component that relates to the non tax deductible portion can’t be claimed.

 

Please do not hesitate to call us should you have any queries.

At MRS, we will spend today planning for your success tomorrow.

Reporting on segments and divisions

We had a meeting with a new client during the last week. We discussed tax matters of course.  But what was of much greater importance and interest was the performance of the business.

Like most business owners, the owner wasn’t an accountant. Nor had they been trained in the features of their accounting software.  Their previous accountant hadn’t discussed this with them.  As it turns out, things that the new client wondered about were just a click away.

The three major software providers (MYOB, Reckon and Xero) are all remarkably cheap software for what they do. However, some have features the others don’t.  In this case they already had the software that best reported on the segments/divisions within their business.

We have shown and will now train them on how to segment and report on the different sections of their business. We also went on to discuss the most appropriate way to allocate proportional overheads to each section so we can begin to understand the real return from each segment of the business.

Does your software report on what is important to your business? Are you using the features within the software that can better assist you to run your business?  Or does you system only work for your accountant’s compliance needs and those of the Tax Office.

And are you using the best software for you?

At MRS, preparing a Tax Return is just part of what we do. It is not the end product.  Our focus is helping you run a more successful business (and to protect yourself).  We would welcome the opportunity to discuss how we can assist you in an obligation free one hour meeting.  Give us a call – you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain.

At MRS, we will spend today planning for your success tomorrow.