Blog
With the start of a new financial year, it’s the perfect time to revisit your vision, aspirations and goals.
It starts with shaping and creating your year to achieve the best you can be in Business and in life.
Fulfilling your hopes and goals, can be challenging, particularly in the current economic environment and cost of living pressures. It’s a ‘testing’ time and you are not alone if you are finding yourself feeling a little deflated or sometimes almost defeated.
What to do! It’s more than just keeping going, it’s how to bounce back!
There are steps you can take!
6 Steps to Building a Better, BEST ever year!
- Believe it's possible!
Self-belief, and belief in others are the foundations of success, achieving your dreams. This isn’t about wearing rose coloured glasses or burying your head in the sand. It’s about facing the facts, building resilience and having the courage to believe.
To quote from Alice in Wonderland; ‘Alice laughed: ‘There's no use trying,’ she said; ‘one can't believe impossible things.’ ‘I daresay you haven't had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.’
For most of us, life isn’t a fairy-tale!
BUT the power of belief in the ‘possible’ shouldn’t be dismissed or underestimated.
- Know, Find your Why.
What makes you happy, fulfilled. Know the why, and what success means and looks like! Personal interests, career and more, whatever your endeavours know the measure of your happiness and fulfilment. Monetary reward can be included but it’s that deep feeling of satisfaction, along with energy and excitement that are true indicators of fulfilment.
- Attitude is everything.
For Business, Small Business it’s critical to have some understanding of the impact, the benefits and pitfalls of new technologies.
Yes, AI it’s here, it’s everywhere, we can’t ignore it!
If you are a small Business owner, it’s worth asking questions if or how AI functions may help your Business, or not.
There may be some applications, for example, robotics process automation (RPA) area. This allows you to automate repetitive, time-consuming tasks that take valuable human resources that could be doing higher level tasks. Sounds good, makes good Business sense.
And there’s more on this topic, watch for updates!
Read on for our 7 Top Tips to help you take ‘good’ care of your Cashflow!
Cashflow, the lifeline of your Business, keeping it flowing is critical if you are to succeed, more importantly, survive during these inflationary times, with cost-of-living pressures and higher interest rates eating into profits and for some, viability.
If you are a small Business you may be already feeling this pain.
For example, a recent survey found cashflow problems are already affecting two in five small Businesses, with $23,000 owed in unpaid invoices. Additionally, they often relied on personal funds as backup.
Are you one of those Businesses?
On that note, Small Businesses are being alerted to the need to stay on top of their Business ‘cashflow’ activities, specifically, debt management, your own and that of your Debtors. Key message, to carefully manage what’s coming in and going out!
Its been said many times, running a Business, managing finances is challenging but don’t leave it to chance, or wishful thinking.
Read our 7 Top Tips to help you take 'good' care of your Cashflow:
- Avoid overdue payments
Slow and late payments pose the greatest risk to small Business. In a tight economy, as we are now experiencing, keeping on top of invoicing and receivables is the difference in debt levels, what you are owed.
Tip: It’s essential to have a streamlined collection model in place, ideally one that prompts and collects payments rather than chasing them as overdue.
For example, electronic systems can monitor receipts and overdue accounts allowing you to better manage and avoid late payments. These invoicing and billing systems can also generate accounts at point of sale and offer various payment methods, including upfront deposits or advances. Remember you are running a Business that supports you financially.
An example, where you must outlay for goods, invoice clients prior to making an order rather than tapping into your finances (example, interior decorating).
- Pricing margins
It’s vital to monitor pricing/ profit, margins particularly in the current inflationary cycle. It’s critical to have true-cost pricing, you can’t keep absorbing increases, letting your profit margins be eaten away. Be diligent in keeping watch on this cycle.
Tip: Regularly check the cost of goods and products and determine realistic profit margins by setting prices not too low or too high. Pricing points are needed to keep you competitive and in the red. Offer value for money and your customers will keep coming back!
- Taxpayers are encouraged to have all their ‘paperwork’ before lodging their returns. This helps avoid delays with missing information, for example, where there are multiple sources of income.
- reminder that the income tax cuts, which started on 1 July 2024, don't apply to the 2023-24 tax return
- the importance of keeping accurate records and having records to substantiate any claims
- that there is updated web content for the Small business energy incentive including eligibility requirements and how to claim
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for an employer with a mixture of both closely held payees and arms-length employees, the due date for end-of-year STP finalisation for closely held payees is 30 September each year. All other employees are due 14 July each year.
If you have 20 or more employees the final date to finalise is 14 July
- that super guarantee contributions need to be paid in full, to the right fund, by 28 July
- June 2024 income tax installments are due on 28 July
There’s more and the ATO website provides regular updates.
Tax matters can be complex and understanding what’s within the tax laws can be confusing. If that’s you, you are not alone.
If you need help, contact Blackburn Accounting. We are here ready to make Tax Time less stressful and minimise your tax contributions within the ‘rules’.
In these challenging economic times, it’s tough going for many, small Businesses and households alike are experiencing it. Budgets are stretched to the limit!
If you are a small Business operator it’s very likely you are facing increased pressure to maintain profitability and sales and attract product growth. Not an easy task!
The key is what to do to survive these difficult times.
And there are those, you may be one of them, Businesses that are making it work.
It’s been said before, ‘successful people find a way through tough times’!
But more importantly the question is, 'how do they do it'!
Google ‘successful businesspeople’ and the word ‘entrepreneur’ appears, and with that certain characteristics and traits to describe them. Many enjoy huge success, and they are to be applauded for what they have achieved.
If you are a small Business operator you will probably recognise yourself with the same traits and qualities. You too are to be applauded. You may be one of the everyday small Business owners enjoying the success of running a healthy Business that supports you, a family and Team.
Traits of successful Business people include
- Effective Communication skills:- open, active listening, seek and take feedback
- Adaptability & flexibility: in thinking and actions, embrace change and challenges as opportunity
- Initiates ideas and action orientated to achieve outcomes
- Positive mindset: optimistic, self-confidence & motivation – belief in self, others and take action
- Strong leadership – leads by example, rolls up sleeves, make the hard decisions
Finding a Way through! Here are 8 Ways to consider
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Your Management Accounting Partner
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