Posts Categorized: Tips of the week

Your will and passwords

Your will becomes a public document once probate is granted.  One can search on probates that have been granted.

It is therefore not the place to record usernames and passwords.

Please contact us if you would like the solution which we provide to our clients.

Single Touch Payroll exemptions

Single Touch Payroll has now been legislated to apply to all employers from July 2019. So from 1st July, 2019, all employers must notify the Tax Office of every employees gross pay, tax and super at the time of payment.

Some exemptions and deferrals have been granted.

However, you shouldn’t need them.  The main accounting software products offer Single Touch Payroll solutions.  Furthermore, there is much preparatory work for which you will need to change and or improve your processes.  It is not something bets left to deal with later.

Keep an eye out for future educational and preparatory steps.

STP – now law!

Single Touch Payroll has now been legislated for all employers.  From July 2019, even the smallest of employers will have to report wage payments (inc super) to the ATO at the time of payment.

Whilst there will be some extensions, the time to start planning and preparing is now.  We can help you with this.

National Employment Standards

It is a compulsory requirement to have issued all employees with the Fair Work Information Statement

That Statement includes the National Employment Standards.

You can access that document at:-

https://www.fairwork.gov.au/employee-entitlements/national-employment-standards

And please remember to:-

  • Keep evidential records that you have given the statement to each employee, and
  • Give one to yourself!

 

Employment – ATO & unpaid super

The ATO is getting serious about unpaid employee SG super.

Legislation passed last week means employers can be forced to attend educational courses and even be jailed. The ATO will also have the power to issue what are called Director Penalty Notices (DPNS).  DPNs make unpaid SG super a personal liability of a director.

The government is greatly concerned about the amount of unpaid SG super.  It has now given  the ATO the weaponry to address non and under compliance. And from July with the expansion of Single Touch Payroll to all employers, the ATO will know which employers to track down.

Speak to us if you need help with your payroll.

Who will get your super?

Who will get your super?  Unfortunately, that is a question that many fail to address.

Having a will does not resolve this issue. A will dictates what happens to your personal assets.  As super is held in trust, your will cannot dictate where your super will go.

In order to set out to whom you would like your super to go, you need to make what is called a death benefit nomination. There are three kinds of death benefit nominations.  Each type has its merits and disadvantages.  The best one for you depends on your position and what you would like to happen.

What is best for you is often complex, particularly when there are self managed super funds and trusts (where the issue of on-going control is important).  Furthermore the tax considerations can be a major factor in determining the best way to leave what assets to what people.  This is all best discussed with a financial planner and skilled estate planning lawyer.  Please ask us for a referral.

Cash flow – get paid quicker

Cash flow.  If you want to get paid faster make it easier for your customers.

Provide your customers with a link on an invoice to pay via a payment gateway.

There are many of them such as Paypal, Square and Stripe.  Ask us which is the best solution one for you.

Will these solutions cost you money – yes the will.  But that cost will be covered by giving you the use of sales money earlier and avoid lost time from chasing payment. And don’t start me on bad debts – that will be a future blog.

WorkCover – avoid a fine

WorkCover requires that the If you are injured at work poster in each workplace.

You can download the poster at https://tinyurl.com/ychzvxdw

Cash flow – getting paid quicker

If you want to get paid quicker by your customers make it easy for them. One way to do so is to provide credit card facilities.  Yes, you may be charged merchant fees but that is usually cheaper than the costs incurred in carrying your debtors.

Call us if you would like help with this.

What GST to charge on food and drinks?

We often get asked by our food and hospitality clients what GST to charge on food and drinks.

Sounds easy but its frequently not.

Thankfully the ATO have created a search tool which you can find at:-

ATO GTS food and drink search tool

We help a number of clients within food and hospitality and would welcome the opportunity to uncover the ways in which we can help you.  We can also show you our real time reporting food and hospitality dashboard (which is full on financial and non-financial KPI’s).