Jim's Bookkeeping Blog

Posts Tagged ‘bookkeeper’

Keep super records or be super charged

Tuesday, April 12th, 2011

2 Folders on table Do you employ people?

Do you pay super for your eligible employees?

If you answer ‘yes’ to both these questions, do you know what records you need to keep for super?

You must keep adequate records showing the amount of super paid for all your eligible employees.

Your records should include:

  • how you calculate any reportable employer super contributions
  • how you calculate each of your employee’s salary or wages and ordinary time earnings
  • copies of relevant salary sacrifice agreements you entered into with your employees
  • copies of relevant industrial agreements with your employees
  • evidence that you have offered your eligible employees a choice of super fund

You must also keep records:

  • for five years
  • in English, or in a form that can be easily accessed and converted into English

Have you ever missed the cut-off for superannuation?

Meeting your employer super obligations is an important part of running your business.

All compulsory super guarantee contributions must be made by the quarterly deadlines, as outlined below.

Quarter Period Payment cut-off date
1.  1 July – 30 September -  28 October
2.  1 October – 31 December -  28 January
3.  1 January – 31 March-   28 April
4.  1 April – 30 June -  28 July
If you miss the super guarantee quarterly deadline, you must submit a Superannuation guarantee charge statement – quarterly (NAT 9599) to the ATO

The superannuation guarantee charge is a charge you have to pay to ATO if you:

  • do not pay enough super contributions (at least 9%) for your eligible employees
  • do not pay super contributions for the quarter at all
  • do not pay super to the employee’s chosen super fund
  • pay a super contribution to a fund after the cut-off date for payment

Can the superannuation guarantee charge be offset?

If you make a super contribution to an employee’s super fund after the cut-off date, you may be able to offset this late payment against your superannuation guarantee charge liability. This is called the superannuation guarantee late payment offset.

You can elect to apply the late payment offset when the late payment for an employee is made into a complying super fund before the superannuation guarantee charge assessment for the quarter is made.

A handy reference:  Portable Document Format (NAT 72035, PDF, 153 KB)

Small Business Superannuation Clearing House

If you have fewer than 20 employees, you can use the free Small Business Superannuation Clearing House service administered by Medicare Australia.

The service is optional. It’s designed to reduce red tape and compliance costs for small businesses by letting employers pay their super guarantee contributions to a single location in one simple electronic transaction.

You can find out more or register for the service by:
visiting the Medicare Australia website at www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/super

For more information about your super obligations and record keeping, visit www.ato.gov.au/employersuper

Article from Workforce Education news 1.4.11.  Website: www.ato.gov.au/wen

Shared with you by – Maureen Millar

Jim’s Bookkeeping Northern Gold Coast (Helensvale QLD 4121)

Maureen Millar is the owner of Jim’s Bookkeeping Northern Gold Coast and she supports small business’ in Helensvale and across the Northside of the Gold Coast. To find out more about Maureen, visit her profile page at http://www.jimsbookkeepingbrisbane.com/maureen-millar.html or request her free report to discover “How to Stabilise & Grow Your Business in 7 Easy Steps“

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Posted in Bookkeeping, Gold Coast, Superannuation, small business | Comments Off

There’s “bookkeepers’ and there’s “bookkeepers!”

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Spinning Dollar sign… and then there’s Professional Bookkeepers who are Registered BAS Agents who will – Save You Time, Save You $$ and Make You $$


There can be a huge difference in skill level of people that call themselves bookkeepers. Just as an apprentice “chippie” and his boss with 30 years construction experience may both call themselves “builders,” people representing themselves as bookkeepers can range from data entry clerks through to qualified management accountants.
A Professional Bookkeeper is identified by the fact that they are:

  • working to a Code of Practice Standard, a Code of Conduct and a Code of Ethics
  • a member of an accredited association recognised by the ATO
  • registered with the Tax Practitioners Board as a BAS Agent
  • able to produce a current Practicing Certificate which illustrates their qualification to offer their services publicly
  • constantly furthering their studies to expand their knowledge and service
  • prepared to work with the Client’s accountant on a professional level to ensure their client’s needs are best served
  • helping the client achieve their business goals
  • accredited in the use of accounting software.

How will they save me Time?

Time is a non-renewable resource. Every second you waste is a second you will never have back. Effective time management is one of the biggest keys to success for any business. Try this little exercise out to see if you are using your time in the best way possible:

Make a list of the top five most important tasks that need to be done in your business on a daily basis. These should be the things that literally put more money in your pocket.

Now, make a separate list of the tasks you spend the most amount of time on each day.

Don’t worry, I’ll wait until you actually put these two lists down on paper…

Now, if those two lists are not identical then there is a problem with your time management.

The solution is to outsource the tasks that are on the second list but not the first. If you are like most business owners then bookkeeping is certainly on the second list (or even worse it is not on it at all). Finding a service to handle this task will be a very important step in freeing up time for the tasks that actually grow your business.  Struggling to stay on top of your paperwork along with the complexities of accounting and GST is not an ideal task.

OK, how will they Save me $$ and Make me $$

Do you think is sounds a little strange that hiring a Professional Bookkeeper will save you money? Well, it really comes down to simple mathematics. There are likely two scenarios right now for how you are handling your financials. Either you are doing it yourself or you are paying a member of your staff to do it for you. Both of these cut deep into your bottom line, and I will tell you why.

If you know your business well then you will know exactly how much an hour of your time is worth to the company. As we talked about in the previous section, there are some tasks that are just more important than others.  For example let’s say that when working on the most important jobs your time earns your business $100 per hour. Now compare that to the amount of money it would cost to outsource to bookkeeping services. Even if it costs as much as $55 per hour you are still making an extra $45 per hour by having someone else do it. When you do a $55 per hour job yourself instead of a $100 per hour one, you are wasting a lot of potential money.

The other scenario is that you are paying an employee to do the job, either part or full time. When you factor in superannuation, sick pay, holiday pay and pay raises the cost can add up quickly. In most cases you can outsource this job to a dedicated Professional Bookkeeper and save a lot of money now and in the future.

Look at it this way…

  • What is the average cost of your DIY Bookkeeping per month?  Answer: $ _________
  • How much of your cost for DIY Bookkeeping is claimable as a business deduction?  Answer: Nil
  • The total amount that is claimable as a business deduction for using a Professional Bookkeeper?

Answer:  100%

Added Bonus – Help Prevent Costly Mistakes

Incorrect GST coding usually resulting in under claiming GST Credits

You probably know that mistakes in your bookkeeping can seriously damage your business. This is much more likely to happen if the job is being handled by someone who is not specifically trained for it. Most business owners are not bookkeepers. If bookkeeping was something you loved and excelled greatly in than it is not likely you would have started your current business in the first place – you’d be a bookkeeper. The combination of inexperience and distaste for the job is a recipe for costly mistakes.

Here lies the added Benefit of using a Registered BAS Agent.

  • A Taxpayer is provided a level of ‘consumer protection’ in meeting their GST legislative compliance obligation requirements
  • BAS Agents get extensions for BAS lodgments and Payment concession of up to 4 weeks after the due date
  • BAS Agents get extension for Payment Summaries until  30th September instead of 14th August
  • Clients are assured that a registered BAS Agent can ‘do the BAS legally’ for them, are accredited to help and can therefore be relied upon to assist.
  • A Taxpayer who engages the services of a Registered BAS Agent has access to ‘Safe Harbour’ which removes penalties (Failure to lodge – FTL) from certain administrative activities such as late lodgement, misstatement

When does the Safe Harbour from FTL not apply? – when it is lodged by the Taxpayer

Save yourself some trouble and outsource this job to someone who really knows what they are doing.

“Oh but I just send it to my accountant” I hear you say…

And we hear it all the time but unfortunately what many business owners are confused about and and don’t realise is that while very similar, a Professional Bookkeeper focuses on maintaining timely and accurate records of financial data – ranging from income, payments, Payroll, BAS, Reconciliation, sales, and purchases. An accountant, on the other hand, takes the information recorded by the bookkeeper in order to create financial statements. They are valuable for preparation of tax returns and conducting an overview of the business

DID YOU KNOW THAT YOUR BEST $$ VALUE IS ACHIEVED IF YOU SPEND 80% OF YOUR ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT TIME WITH YOUR PROFESSIONAL BOOKKEEPER AND 20% WITH YOUR ACCOUNTANT…

Shared with you by – Maureen Millar

Jim’s Bookkeeping Northern Gold Coast (Helensvale QLD 4121)

Maureen Millar is the owner of Jim’s Bookkeeping Northern Gold Coast and she supports small business’ in Helensvale and across the Northside of the Gold Coast. To find out more about Maureen, visit her profile page at http://www.jimsbookkeepingbrisbane.com/maureen-millar.html or request her free report to discover “How to Stabilise & Grow Your Business in 7 Easy Steps“

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Posted in Accounting, Bookkeeping, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Software, Sunshine Coast | Comments Off

Had a Great Coffee Lately?

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011

Coffee on tableI was chatting to a well known and branded Coffee/Cafe Franchisee last week who trains new owners.

One problem he identified was the diversity of bookkeeping systems used by Franchisees and he believed there was a great opportunity for Jim’s Bookkeeping to provide a standard system

When I quizzed him about his own system he said he used MYOB and felt there was no reason to use an external bookkeeper as “doing my own books is easy”

My answer to him is that many also find it easy to make a coffee but to make a great coffee requires a professional touch.  In fact, I purchase his coffee as it is the best in the whole food court.

Why is it the best?

He ensures it is the best by choosing the right coffee supplier, keeping his coffee making equipment clean and serviced, making sure the coffee is the right temperature and not letting the bitter remains of the coffee get through.

In a similar way many people feel bookkeeping to be an easy task but are not aware of the expertise involved in thing like:

  • choosing the appropriate accounting software
  • keeping clean transactions by separating the private expenses from the business expenses
  • performing regular reconciliations of bank and credit cards
  • making sure that GST liabilities are met with the appropriate use of GST coding
  • ensuring they only pay the taxes they need to and can claim everything they are entitled to

So if you’ve put more thought into where you get your coffee than you have into where you get your bookkeeping support, maybe it’s time to think again…

Shared with you by – Maureen Millar

Jim’s Bookkeeping Northern Gold Coast (Helensvale QLD 4121)

Maureen Millar is the owner of Jim’s Bookkeeping Northern Gold Coast and she supports small business’ in Helensvale and across the Northside of the Gold Coast. To find out more about Maureen, visit her profile page at http://www.jimsbookkeepingbrisbane.com/maureen-miller.html or request her free report to discover “How to Stabilise & Grow Your Business in 7 Easy Steps“

Written by John Birse  – National Divisional Franchisor – Jim’s Bookkeeping (Australia)

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Posted in Bookkeeping, Franchising, MYOB, small business | Comments Off

How we’re avoiding a cashflow crisis and how you can too…

Monday, September 27th, 2010

Do you realise that every time you allow a client or customer to pay after they have received a service or product you are effectively offering them a line of credit?

Every time you allow them to pay in 7 days or 30 days you are essentially giving them a loan from your own pocket till they pay you. (Can you honestly afford to be handing out loans to people you barely know?)

Every time you let them ‘pay you when they can afford it’ you are saying “that’s ok – you need my weekend away more than my family does…, your mortgage is more important than mine, so that’s ok just as soon as you can will be fine…” And with small business owners it generally doesn’t take long for the business owners personal life to begin to suffer from the lack of cashflow in the business.

I’m sure many of you are struggling with it yourselves at the moment – how many lines of credit have you extended this month?

But how many of you are charging interest on that line of credit? If the people who owed you had to borrow that money from a legitimate lending institution – a bank or credit card etc – instead of from you, they would be required to pay interest on that amount until it was repaid. So why don’t you? Why don’t you stand up for yourself and say ‘If you want a loan from me these are my terms of credit…’

Ahh now I just saw many of you cringe – I see it all the time with small business owners – your thinking “yeah your right, I know what your saying makes sense, but I can’t do that to so & so because they really are struggling at the moment and I know so & so will pay me eventually so why rock the boat, I’ll get by…” and many other similar scenarios.

They all boil down to the same thing, as a small business owner you are very often actually getting to know your clients and customers and becoming involved in their ‘lives’ through the services you offer them and the direct contact you have with them. And because you’re such a nice person, you like to be able to give them a little bit of leeway to help them out… after all it’s good customer service…

I see it all the time and I’ve done it myself – I’ve given out many loans and essentially extended many lines of credit… but this is leaving all of us in very vulnerable situations and we’re at risk of going into what is know as a ‘cashflow crisis’. This is where your doing plenty of work and there is more coming in but your letting everyone ‘pay when they can’ so there is no money to start on the new jobs or to sustain your business in between times.

But there is a solution…

‘Stop it’,

I’m serious… you went into business because you love doing the thing you do – not as a lending institution. So just say to people…

“Hey, I’m really happy to be ably to offer you this service, as part of my business. I will always do my very best for you, and if you can ever fault my customer services please tell me so that I can improve my relationship with you. I will always endeavour to ensure you have the most reliable and professional service and if you ever find fault with it or it doesn’t meet with your expectations please tell me so that I can amend it and offer you a reduced or refunded rate.”

It’s called a service guarantee… (this is mine so yours may be slightly different but you get the idea)

Then say…

“And as an extension of my service I will also offer you interest free credit for up to 7 (14,21,30,60 – what ever you choose) days, if you contact me within those 7 days to discuss an extension I will also allow another 7 days interest free. If you feel that you will require longer to pay, that’s fine, but please be aware that there will be an interest rate of x% added on a fortnightly basis.”

See it’s not hard and it’s fair, so you don’t need to feel like a big meanie…

But if you’re still struggling with it and you’re worried that it will make your clients feel awkward or upset the balance of your relationship – there’s another way around it…

Have a chat to your bookkeeper and get them to amend your invoice templates to say it for you.

It’s quite easy to do and can save you from a cash flow crisis and many sleepless nights.

If you have any queries about this, or about implementing a similar system into your business, please feel free to give us a call.

Wishing you success

Kelly Golder

Jim’s Bookkeeping Moreton Bay (Redcliffe QLD 4020)

Author Kelly Golder is the owner of Jim’s Bookkeeping Moreton Bay and she supports small business’ in Redcliffe and across the Northside of Brisbane. To find out more about Kelly, visit her profile page at http://www.jimsbookkeepingbrisbane.com/kelly-golder.html or request her free report to discover “How to Stabilise & Grow Your Business in 7 Easy Steps”

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No, it’s not a business expense… well, not all of it anyway…

Sunday, August 15th, 2010

I recently had an experience with a client who went interstate to a conference and then stayed on for a weeks holiday with friends. While he was on this holiday he lived the high life after making the assumption that because he had originally arrived for a conference the whole trip was a business expense – and could be claimed back in his taxes. This poor fellow now has a reputation for incredible generosity with his friends, and a huge personal debt to his business… If only he had thought to check with his Registered BAS Agent Bookkeeper before he went away. He would have discovered that only some of the expense were able to be claimed and he could have been more frugal with the rest.

Business Expense Percentages – Business or Personal.

There are also many DIY bookkeepers out there who are unaware of the correct procedure for dealing with some business expenses, particularly those working from home using ‘bought in the box’ accounting software such as MYOB and Quicken etc.

Many business owners, for example, are claiming a 100% business expense for their mobile phone. The reality is that they are almost certainly making some calls of a personal nature so it is wise to perhaps only claim 90% as a business expense and 10% for personal use.

Other common business expenses which need to be split between business and personal use are:

- Vehicle expenses: The most accepted method to work this out is to maintain a log book which is kept for 3 months. The starting amount of kilometres is recorded and each time the vehicle is used for business purposes, the amount of distance, purpose and destination, is recorded. At the end of the 3 month period, it can then be determined how much of the vehicle use was for business and how much was used for personal use. Once this has been established, this figure can be used continually until circumstances change.

- Electricity expenses: If you have an office in your residence, you can claim a business expense based on the percentage of area of the office, as well as the area used to garage the business vehicle, against the total area of the residence.

- Home phone: The only way to measure the percentage of business calls made from the home phone is to go through all the calls made during a period.

- Rental expenses: You can also claim on a percentage of your rent based on the area of your office in the same way as the electricity expense.

- Home expenses: If you are living in your own home, you can claim a percentage of your rates and interest on your mortgage, based also on office area, however, you must be careful with this one. If you claim these expenses, you will have to pay capital gains tax on the same percentage when you sell, so many people don’t do this.

Professional Bookkeepers know how to deal with these type of situations, and for the business owners who need a bookkeeper, it is a wise investment to pay for a professional bookkeeper who is continually keeping up to date with the latest tax requirements through ongoing training and development.

Author John Deutschmann is the owner of Jim’s Bookkeeping Coolangatta and he supports small business’ from Burleigh Heads to Cabarita Beach. To find out more about John, visit his profile page at http://www.jimsbookkeepingbrisbane.com/john-and-gillian-deutschmann.html

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Posted in Accounting, Bookkeeping, Gold Coast, Home Based Business, small business | 4 Comments »

Professional Bookkeeper Reveals The Secrets To Successful Cashflow Management…

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

What is cash flow and how is it measured, monitored and managed?

Cashflow ManagementDefinition:

Cash Flow; A measure of your business’ financial health. Cash Flow equals cash receipts minus cash payments over time.

Cash flow management is critical to your business to ensure you have enough money to pay your bills. These bills include day-to-day running expenses and large sums predicted and planned for in your annual budget.

In cash flow management, timing is everything. You must have money available to pay the bills when they come in. If you run out of cash you can’t pay your bills on time – you may end up in financial difficulty. This could be just paying the power bill late or as serious as not being to pay your employees, if you are not in control of your cash flow minor problems can become major problems and could even be the end of your business.

Part 1. How is it measured?

Cash flow measurement can be with a simple cash flow budget that lays out what you have to pay each month and what you will receive each month – extend this out for a year. For example; in one month of the year you may have to pay Quarterly BAS + insurance for the year + annual loan repayment + interest + vehicle registration + usual monthly bills all in one month. You need to know when this is going to happen and have the cash available.

Making a cash flow budget is not difficult once you’ve got the figures, but the hard part is to get accurate figures. A good to start is with previous budgets, or cash-flow forecasts to see if they show any clear seasonal patterns of income and expenditure. If you are starting from scratch you will have to go through all your cash receipts, bills and payments and list them in the month that they were received and paid to create an historical record. You can do this with a pencil and paper but an electronic spreadsheet is a very useful tool.

Without an accurate cash flow budget/forecast you cannot fully monitor and then manage your situation.

Part 2. How is it monitored?

Now that you have your cash flow budget you need to make sure that it is going to predict high cash demands correctly so you are not caught short. Your cash flow budget is a working document – it is very important that actual figures are entered regularly and adjustments made as necessary (a spreadsheet is particularly useful for this). For example; just when you think you have the cash to pay the rent at the end of the month, the big fridge ‘blows up’ and you have to pay for urgent repairs immediately – this is the time to make adjustments and plan how you are going to get by until the insurance claim is paid.

5 Keys to Monitoring Your Cash FlowCashflow Monitoring

1. Do a cash flow budget

2. Enter the actual cash flow frequently – weekly is recommended

3. Have double authorisation for payments so you know what is going out

4. Check your bank account balance against your forecast at least monthly – preferably weekly

5. Review your budget until is accurately predicts your bank balance.

Monitoring your cash flow can have positive results as well. For example; things are going along OK but you notice that some bills were less than expected and business has been better than expected, this leaves you with extra cash in the bank. After double checking your forecast, you could use this extra cash to bring forward some payments to take advantage of early payment discounts, buy some stock on special to reduce average cost of goods or place the surplus cash in an interest bearing account until needed.

Your Jim’s Professional Bookkeeper will be able to help you with this. NOTE: Do not buy a new major piece of equipment or take that world cruise just yet… remember cash does not equal profit (more on that later). Monitoring your cash flow is the key to managing your cash flow.

Part 3. How is it managed?

You may think that having strong positive cash flow would be easy to manage and you would be right – but manage it you must.

5 Things to do if you have more cash than expected: -

1. Double check your cash flow budget, maybe you have missed a payment

2. Take advantage of early payment discounts

3. Reduce high interest loans E.g. credit cards

4. Use interest bearing deposits

5. If you have a mortgage off-set account that you can park this extra cash in and get it back without costs then you can earn tax free income by reducing your mortgage interest. This one is a special, but make sure that your business setup allows this and document the actions.

Tight cash flow is a common problem but there are ways to manage this and catch up if you are behind with creditors.

5 Things you can do if you have cash flow problems: -

1. Collect outstanding cash of your own – try not to be part of someone else’s cash flow management program.

2. Use 30 day supplier accounts to the max

3. Talk to outstanding creditors and make a payment arrangement; E.g. promise to pay new invoices within their terms and $xx off old invoices each month. Suppliers are less likely to cut you off if you are making an effort to clear the debt. NOTE – you must honour your promise so make sure you can. (I have had good success with this strategy)

4. Freeze all non essential purchases and payments.

5. Your Bookkeeper can request a payment plan from the Australian Tax Office to even out BAS and PAYG payments. Still has to be paid but gives you extra time.

There are many more things that can be done to get your cash position into positive territory – your Jim’s Professional Bookkeeper can make this much less stressful for you.

This is where your Jim’s Professional Bookkeeper can help you sort out your cash flow. There is a very useful workbook valued at $57 to help your business thrive, it is full of practical tips and suggestions that you can start using from day one. To get your FREE copy go to http://www.helpmybusinessthrive.com today.

(Contributing author, Dai Reynolds Jim’s Bookkeeping-Brisbane Western Suburbs. Dai is a Master of Business Administration graduate of the University of New England, Registered BAS Agent and fellow of the Institute of Chartered Bookkeepers. For 16 years he owned, operated and managed businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry – particularly accommodation, event management and food & beverage management. In recent years Dai has worked in the not for profit sector, motor sports and motor trades industry and business services, in finance, administration and practice management roles, before becoming a Professional Bookkeeper in 2009.)

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Posted in Bookkeeping, Brisbane, Home Based Business, Uncategorized, small business | 3 Comments »

Gold Coast Professional Bookkeeper gets National Franchisor of the Year

Monday, July 19th, 2010

All the small business owners on the Gold Coast who have been lucky enough to have Terry Shand, of Jim’s Bookkeeping Gold Coast and South Brisbane, providing them with  professional bookkeeping services over the last few years and all  the franchisee’s under his care are in no doubt about his enthusiasm and commitment to providing exceptional service and now, at last, he has been officially recognised for his achievments.

Terry receiving his AwardTerry has recently been awarded the prestigious ‘National Franchisor of the Year Award’ by Jim’s Bookkeeping Australia which recognises his outstanding dedication to the welfare of his franchisees and the personal involvement he shows in all of their businesses.

John Birse, Jim’s Bookkeeping’s Divisional Franchisor, says “Regional Franchisors are the cornerstone of the Jim’s Franchising model as they not only select but continue to support franchisees in building a successful business. Terry has seen 100% growth in the number of franchisees he manages and has also introduced the Attraction Marketing system to assist his franchisees in finding more prospects. Terry is active in supporting regional ICB meetings in his area and is highly regarded by other Jim’s Franchisors from other Divisions because of his work ethic and commitment to the Jim’s model.”

Terry has been recognised after an enormous effort on his part, above and beyond expectations, to improve the potential for success in the businesses of his franchisees. He has worked on further developing his own skills as a mentor and trainer and after recognising a shortfall in the marketing skills of himself and his team he has devoted himself to introducing an up-to-date, interactive marketing strategy that empowers his franchisees to pro-actively grow their businesses in a competitive marketplace.

When asked about his award Terry says that he is pleased to have won it but the smiles on his franchisees faces as they tell him about another milestone they have achieved in their businesses actually bring him more pleasure.

If you’re interested in finding out more about starting your own small business a Jim’s Bookkeeping Franchisee and having a mentor and trainer as dedicated as Terry to help you succeed just Click Here for more info or got to www.helpmelivethedream.com

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Posted in Bookkeeping, Brisbane, Franchising, Gold Coast, Home Based Business, News, Sunshine Coast | 5 Comments »

Professional Bookkeeper Goes Green…

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Jim’s Bookkeeping Bayside Goes Green at Work & Home

Depending on what material you read the next big money maker will be the Eco- economy! It seems this has been said for the last couple of years, but in the middle somewhere we had a little hick-cup called the GFC. With the media now focusing on the upcoming unprecedented pricing on power and water a cabinet meeting was called where by the Treasurer (my wife) and ministers for War, Policing & (loud) Communication, (my children) decided to go green with the following plan to be implemented by the Nike Minister – “Just do it” (me)

Reduce Power Usage:

All incandescent lights were replaced as they blew, with new power efficient globes, I installed a sky light to reduce power usage during the day; all non essential electrical items are to be turned off when not used. Finally we had a solar power system installed; the junior ministers get really excited and constantly want to see if the power meter is going backwards. If it is not they run around the place looking for things to turn off so that it will.

Reduce Water Consumption:

Living on the driest continent on the planet and having just come through one of the worst droughts in history this was still fresh in our minds but we could do a bit of a health check which consisted of replacing all tap washers & ensuring the shower head is the most efficient. Future plans include rain water tanks and front loader washing machine.

Minimizing Paper usage:

With the increased use of technology there is an ability to reduce the amount of paper an office uses, I am still old school and am more comfortable reading off the source article but I am having some success with holding a thin book and reading off my computer screen, I wonder if it is similar to the feeling smokers have when they are trying to quit and need something to do with their hands. The junior ministers also came up with the idea of shredding any paper we had to take it to the pet shop; I wonder if there were any ulterior motives.

Plants:

This was the most contentious issue of all, with no majority vote for what was to be planted we had healthy debates and strong arguments for Natives, flowers and food bearing plants and trees. In the end it was decided to incorporate a combination of all. The next cabinet meeting will be a design meeting.

I might have to look for information on help my garden thrive whilst you check out how to help your business thrive at my web site www.helpmybusinessthrive.com

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Posted in Bookkeeping, Home Based Business, News | 4 Comments »

The Bookkeeper and the Accountant – who does what and when?

Monday, June 28th, 2010

Bookkeeping services are sooo different from accounting services. Trying to compare the two is like comparing apples to oranges. Bookkeeping is about the day-to-day management of your finances. A good bookkeeper will actually become involved in your business and is all about working closely with you to help you achieve your goals. An accountant is valuable for preparation of tax returns, conducting an overview of the business and providing financial planning.

Did you know that your best $$ value is achieved if you spend

80% of you account management time with your Bookkeeper

and 20% with your Accountant…

The Bookkeeper:

Bookkeeping is seen by many small business owners as a chore that they have to submit to on a regular basis and this leaves them quite vulnerable to half hearted efforts or only doing the bare essentials. They are then missing out on some really useful and profitable information about their business. The smart small business owner will see this weakness in their business and realise the true value in outsourcing their bookkeeping to a professional.

A professional bookkeeper can offer you more then just data entry to satisfy ATO requirements. They can keep you informed about what is happening in the wider business community. One of the most common mistakes when hiring a professional bookkeeper is not taking full advantage of their experience and knowledge. A bookkeeper talks to many business owners and accountants. Ask them for tips on how other clients do their advertising, source referrals or reduce their costs. You will be surprised by the answer.

It’s also important to be aware that not all bookkeepers offer the same services.

Good bookkeepers should be skilled in:

  • Computerised system such as MYOB, QuickBooks, Xero or Saasu. (A good bookkeeper will be familiar with several systems). They should be able to offer you basic data entry as well as managing your reporting and your chart of accounts.
  • Keeping track of your sales invoices and customer payments. They should tell you when your customers are not paying on time and offer suggestions for encourging prompt payment and debt collection.
  • Keeping track of your purchase invoices and telling you when to pay your bills or making sure you get that prompt payment discount. They should be able to develop forcast budgets to help you make sure the funds are always available for paying your bills.
  • Managing your payroll system. They should keep track of sick and annual leave accruals as well as superannuation and payroll tax.
  • They should help you to set up a budget and every month run a report comparing your actual figures to budget and identify areas for improvement and act on them.
How do I know if my bookkeeper is going to do the job correctly?

If you don’t have some set standards for your bookkeeper, you have nothing to measure them by. Remember, you can only manage what you can measure. For example, some business owners require their bookkeeper to do bank reconciliations within 7 days of receiving the bank statements. They also want to see management reports soon after, to make crucial business decisions. Take time talking with your bookkeeper to define what duties your bookkeeper must perform. A professional bookkeeper should provide you with a clearly defined scope. Ask them to give you an engagement letter outlining all their services. It will help you in deciding if your future bookkeeper really understands your business and your requirements.

Gain more out of your bookkeeper.

A good bookkeeper will help you in implementing business systems and procedures.  For example, if you have a problem with late payments they will help you get a formal system in place. The real key to getting more out of your bookkeeper is to work with them and not around them.   If they make a recommendation for a system that involves you having to develop a new habit of placing receipts in a nomited pile or file or making sure personal expenses are indicated on bank statemnets before sending them in  it will ultimately help you get quality information from your bookkeeper to help you grow your business rather than paying them to spend hours chasing you up with emails and phone calls to clarify the little details.

A bookkeeper can be the independent unbiased person taking care of your financial day to day record keeping. They have no other agenda except to see you grow and succeed in your business. With a consistent person performing all the financial recording, you will get reliable and accurate financial reports. You will be free to run your business, focus on delivering a high quality product or service, knowing that your financial health is taken care of.

N.B. Your Professional Bookkeeper should have current membership with a Recognised Association and attend regular seminars and training to update skills, knowledge and professional development.

The Accountant:

Don’t think of your accountant like the dentist. This isn’t someone who inflicts pain with a calculator instead of a drill who should be avoided until a visit is absolutely necessary. Accountants are an important part of a small business owners operations but like the dentist, if business owners leave their visit until it’s too late, the pain can be excruciating.

The Purpose of Your Accountant

Once an accountant has all the clues, (from the efforts of your Professional Bookkeeper) he or she can do their job effectively and painessly. They will give you specific direction on the steps to be taken to save money on your tax bill this year. Equally important, they will give you advice on how you are going to save taxes in future years. Depending on your situation, they may even recommend a long-term tax strategy for putting away money to pay for your children’s education or your retirement.

The purpose of using an accountant is not just to put tax returns together. They put together tax strategies to save you money this year, the next and throughout your life.

The more work your Professional Bookkeeper does to provide complete and correct records minimises the cost factor of an accountant and minimises costs both in downtime and disruption on your daily operation in answering the accountant’s queries. It will also allow your accountant to be able to add value to your business beyond the compliance work.

Where business owners hurt themselves most is by not consulting their accountant prior to major, usually infrequent transactions:-

  • Is it best to lease a new vehicle or buy on HP?
  • What is the best way to finance new equipment?
  • Help in preparing to discuss financing with the bank

Accountants are there to help, not hinder, so business owners should work to build rapport and a working relationship between themselves, their Professional Bookkeeper and their Accountant

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