Just how proactive is your accountant?
Do you meet just once a year to do your tax returns and that's it?
We are seeing many small businesses who pay either a bookkeeper, a BAS agent or tax accountant to do their books.
In extreme cases the business is using a combination of all three; they do not even know each other and all work remotely at considerable expense to the client.
Incredibly the small business owner still has no real idea about the performance or real financial position of the business.
How can this be you ask?
Simply put there is no one on watch - busy yes, accountable no. Adding value to clients business - hardly.
In very many cases the process of accounting for a small business is extremely inefficient, expensive and of very low value to the business. In the background there is a very substantial real cost to the owner of the business who is sponsoring the business through long hours and having their equity position eroded.
In many cases this situation arises from a lack of knowledge - you don't know what you don't know.
The smart thing to do would be to ask someone that does to address this most urgent of situations. 

Small Business Accountants - Perth
Every small business should have a good working relationship with an accountant who knows and understands the needs of small business. Most importantly the accountant should be able to diagnose what the issues are with the performance of any small business - and they are always issues - and provide prompt advice to enable you to take immediate action.
The most common issues we see are lack of cashflow, low gross profit margins, inadequate working capital and business owners paying themselves more than the business can possibly afford.
If any of these issues resonate with you, you need to talk to us fast and save yourself a fortune in the process. 
Ph 9351 5824 for an appointment.

For most of us in small business the answer to that is that you are catching up on administration and, in particular, BOOKKEEPING. If your tap leaks you call a plumber, you take your car to the mechanic to be serviced. Why do you still struggle with your bookkeeping when we can take care of it for you? What we offer is: • one day per month dedicated to your bookkeeping, or more if necessary; • access to your data 24/7; • management accounting advice, to help keep your business on track; • BAS report preparation and lodgement; • Tax advice • Tax return preparation and lodgement. So, regain your weekends with the family. Stop the anxiety of completing your bookkeeping and BAS, let us take care of it for you. Take back your life today – call 9351-5800 and make an appointment with Chris Gray to discuss your needs.

Tax can be scary if you are not "in the know" and in small business the last thing we need is negative financial surprises. Preparation is everything; get organised, know what your liabilities are and prepare well. Following are some tips to make End of Year as painless as possible.

Your Business — Your Responsibility
Tax and your business is your responsibility. The first tip is to do your research, meet with your accountant early and know what's required. Ignorance is no excuse in the eyes of the ATO. Become comfortable with tax and tax terms.
Good Accountant
Find an accountant who is willing to support you all year round - not just at tax time. You can save yourself from tax shocks by regularly speaking to your accountant. Meet with your accountant quarterly, or if you really want to know how your business is tracking make it monthly.

Business Taxes
Like most things in life, if you know what you are up against it's much easier to deal with. Here's a quick list of the tax issues faced by businesses.
The BAS (business activity statement (BAS) is a statement businesses use to report your GST obligations, and also includes Pay As You Go (PAYG) instalments, PAYG withholding and Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) instalments. FBT is a tax payable for any benefit provided by an employer to an employee, or their associate.
Finally there is Payroll Tax. A state tax on employing staff.

Record Keeping
Doing business means dealing with paper. Efficient filing and handling of paper is important. Being able to find a document can be a nightmare without an effective filing system. Time is money!

Questions for Your Accountant
Business is tough enough without unexpected surprises. Here are some questions you should ask your accountant to prepare yourself for tax time:
• Which taxes are applicable to you and your business?
• When are they due to be paid?
• What tax deductions may be available?
• What and how should you be recording business transactions?
• How does the paperwork need to be recorded and filed?
Above all if you are not sure about anything ask questions- remember, the only stupid questions are the ones unasked.

Random audits, reviews and investigations are conduted by the ATO and other State and Federal Government agencies to ensure compliance, by businesses and taxpayers, with various tax and legislative requirements such as Income and Payroll Tax, GST, Workers Compensation , Superannuation Guarantee etc.  There continues to be a significant increase in the number of audits being conducted by the ATO and other Federal and State agencies, increasing the risk of being selected for audit.

If you or your business is selected for audit you are responsible for the cost of producing the information required.  This can involve additional work by your accountants and may even involve legal expenses.  This cost can be into thousands of dollars depending on the size of the entity being audited.

Do you have the cash flow capability to cover this extraordinary expense or would you rather take out an insurance to cover these costs?  At BEC Weshpool we have recently met with a company offering this insurance for a relatively small annual fee.  For more information contact Chris Gray on 08 9351 5800.

Many small businesses need a reality check on how they manage the compliance requirements of the ATO in regard to their business and personal tax returns. I raise this as in the course of our business advising and accounting work we see lots of issues.
During the GFC the Federal Govt and the ATO were very proactive in assisting small business to weather the storm.
Part of the assistance was provided by way of payment arrangements on BAS payments due for BAS's lodged on time.
This was provided across the board to all businesses. This included even businesses that were being poorly run, lacked proper recording systems and that were heavily reliant on non payment of creditors including the ATO due to inadequate cashflow management, that had little to do with trading conditions.
Any small business relying on this for it's very survival needs to seriously reconsider their business strategy.
Businesses are now operating in a vastly different climate and using past practices will not get you by. 
Small business please be aware the honeymoon is well and truly over.
The ATO is now being very proactive in communicating with small businesses over late lodgement and late payment of BAS's, Payment Summaries, FBT reporting and tax returns and penalties are being applied.
Businesses need to be more accountable in a timely manner. The benefit is that with the same up-to-date financial information there is an opportunity to make real improvement in the business performance.

  

The 10 most common mistakes of small business owners - to be avoided at all cost.

1. Starting or buying a business where no genuine business opportunity exists.
2. Spending 80% of the available cash on capital investment [immediately becomes worth a lot less] and leaving no working capital to run the business.
3. Buying a franchise expecting the franchisor to provide the business smarts they lack - just does not happen.
4. Trying to operate a business with no prior business or industry experience - stick to what you know / get some business experience.
5. Not paying attention to the numbers - they do not lie.
6. Not taking management accounting advice before starting and on a quarterly basis thereafter.
7. Not having a business plan of any description.
8. Having no perception of the value of a $ and what it can buy.
9. Surrounding themselves with advisors,family, friends who all lack any business experience.
10. Asking for help when it is all just too late and available resources are completely drained.

Please take advice before taking a blind leap of faith!
Why repeat the mistakes of many that have gone before when all of the above are easily avoidable.

Right now is the ideal time to do your research, ask for referrals and make an appointment with another accountant so that you get the new financial year off to a great start. 

Many of our clients tell us that their Key Frustrations with their existing accountant are :
1. Excessive Costs and for what exactly?
2. Lack of Accessibility - too hard to get an appointment or to discuss issues
3. Lack of Communication - I want a response!
4. Lack of rapport / relationship - what I really want is someone I like, trust and respect / who provides leadership and takes action
5. Lack of knowledge of Small Business - I need advice / benchmarking / solutions to our issues
6. No capacity - to deliver on time and provide expertise
7. I am not aware of the full range of services – do they include Management Accounting / Tax Returns / BAS / Bookkeeping or Business Advice?


Here are the Top 7 Sure-fire Ways To Find & Hire a Good Accountant:

1. Understand exactly what you accounting needs are
2. Establish what your business can afford and what value add you want from your accountant
3. Create a buying criteria - address all 7 key frustrations outlined above
4. Ask for referrals or introduction to an accountant from others
5. Set up an appointment and interview the accountant
6. Ask the accountant for testimonials and ring his / her clients
7. Treat the relationship with your new accountant with the respect it deserves.
     He / she will save you a fortune - at a very reasonable cost

If you need assistance with any of the above talk to Chris at the BEC Ph 1300 368 986 or chris@metrobec.com.au

Webinar March 23rd at 11 am [WA Time] Presented by Chris Gray - Business Advisor and Ross Ludwig CPA

Join us for this "straight to the point" session on how to find & hire a good accountant.
This session is FREE and it could save you thousands of dollars and countless hours of frustration.

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/815152870

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

In our first 'Ask a CPA' Webinar yesterday Ross Ludwig CPA provided some excellent accounting and business advice to both start up and existing business owners. These session will run on a regular basis as we grow our BEC Webinar program.