The package is such that small businesses can claim a bonus 50 per cent tax deduction for eligible assets costing more than $1,000 acquired from 13 December 2008 until 31 December 2009, and installed ready for use by 31 December 2010.

To benefit from this Tax Break a small business must have a turnover of less than $2.0 million a year.

Forget the tax break, shop at your locally owned store

This may look good on paper, but unless you actually need to make any investment in capital purchases such as motor vehicles or equipment, how does it actually help small business?

It certainly helps large businesses – the suppliers of motor vehicles, national stationary / office equipment suppliers, hardly normal electical chain stores and the like, but how does it help you, the small business owner in and around Mandurah, Dudley Park, Coodanup, Greenfields, Erskine, Pinjarra and Meadow Springs?

Speaking to an accountant of one of our bookkeeping clients recently, he said that whilst the incentive looks very rosy, you should actually look at the costs involved in the purchase of a new vehicle.

Taking all things into consideration for this particular client, the client was going to be worse off purchasing a new vehicle compared to finding a cheaper second-hand vehicle

Many small business owners are understandably looking to save money wherever they can, believing that’s the only way that they can increase their income. Yet at the sametime, they also want to increase their turnover by attracting more customers or upselling existing customers.

Why do small business owners have a problem with supporting other small-to-medium enterprises?

Many of our bookkeeping clients take their shopper dockets from the major supermarkets, to get discount fuel, rather than paying a few cents more (perhaps) for fuel from independent service station operators.

The same clients buy all their fruit and vegetables, meat and other groceries from the large supermarket chains instead of supporting small independent green-grocers or butchers

Why do small-to-medium enterprises complain that your potential customers are going to the large companies or multi-nationals instead of shopping from you? Maybe we should stop pointing the finger at other people, and start asking ourselves, why do small businesses have a problem trading with other small businesses?

Do large companies really care about the local businesses in and around Mandurah, Dudley Park, Coodanup, Greenfields, Erskine, Pinjarra and Meadow Springs? Not when the head office is overseas

The positive effect on the local economy would be far wider reaching than all of those small business owners that continue to support large companies who are only interested in making huge profits for their shareholders (many of whom are large multi-nationals themselves).

Go shopping at your local independantly owned business, take business away from large corporations and bring back competition to the market place – you’ll be helping the local econmy whch will in-turn help your business

Our bookkeeping clients in and around Mandurah often ask about meals as a tax deduction.

With the new Australian Government Tax- Free Stimulus Package Bonus to $900, how many free lunches would that get?

So if you want a tax – free lunch, then the Australian Government one-off tax-free payments of up to $900 for eligible taxpayers, could be your ticket

As bookkeepers, we can sort out the documentation, set up a bookkeeping system, key the relevant data into an accounting software package, and get all the figures ready for your accountant or registered tax agent to then assist you with lodging your tax return. Contact our mobile bookkeeping service now to get your bookwork up to date.

We often get calls from bookkeeping clients requesting a bookkeeper to sort out their bookwork and get them upto date so that they can lodge their tax returns.

Is the ATO using this to chase up tax returns, or is the government trying to stimulate the economy?

Our bookkeeping service can go to your Dudley Park, Greenfields, or Erskine premises and work on-site, or we can organise pick-up of your documentation and work at our offices.

The Australian Government Stimulus package of Tax Bonus payments refers to your personal tax return. So if you are self employed sole-trader, have a business partnership or a small business owner, you’ll need to have the figures prepared for your business so you or your accountant can calculate your earnings for the year 2007-08. Contact our mobile bookkeeping service now to get your bookwork up to date.

The ATO advises that you won’t have to pay tax on your payment nor will you need to report the receipt of your tax bonus on your income tax return. The tax bonus won’t be included in your separate net income for tax purposes.

To benefit from the Australian Government’s Tax Stimulus Package Bonus you’ll need to get your bookkeeping upto date and have your 2007/08 tax return lodged by 30 June 2009

Apparently already 7.4 million people have already lodged their 2007-08 tax return, and they’ll start receiving their payments from Wednesday 8 April 2009.
If your 2007-08 taxable income was $100,000 or less and you paid tax, you could be eligible to receive a tax – free bonus payment of up to $900.

Is the Government trying to stimulate the completion of tax returns, or is it trying to stimulate the economy?

We should stress that we are not registered tax agents, and so any matters regarding taxation must be referred to your accountant or tax agent.

Contact our mobile bookkeeping service now to get your bookwork up to date, so you can lodge your tax return and benefit from the Tax- Free Stimulus Package Bonus to $900, and have a tax-free lunch on the ATO

No sooner have we finished lodging BAS for the December Quarter, to find the January – March 2009 Quarter will soon be due. Contact us for HELP

Quarterly BAS
Most businesses submit quarterly, and the 1 January – 31 March 2009 (Quarter 3) BAS is due 28 April 09 for lodgment and payment with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

A new client contacted us out of desperation. Struggling to prepare all the documentation for the Business Activity Statement, she could not get the figures to balance.

We suggested she email us the MYOB data file, so that we could get a clearer understanding of where she was at with her bookwork. Contact us for HELP with your BAS

“I had trouble with my MYOB files and contacted Carol and her team and they were just excellent.
They listened and then explained what they could do to help.
Everything was done speedily, efficiently and most of all cost effectively.
They emailed me how to send my files and worked on them that day!
Most of all “they listen” and don’t treat you like a dummy!
It got me out of a potentially tricky situation and literally saved the day!
Thanks Carol.
Liz Bird, Perth WA”

Monthly BAS
If your business submits the (BAS) Business Activity Statement monthly, then 21 March 09 was the due date for lodgement and payment of the February 2009 monthly activity statements

Superannuation Guarantee Contributions
Also on that date are due the Quarter 3 Superannuation guarantee contributions (1 January -31 March) contributions to be made to the fund by this date.

If you are struggling to complete your BAS form, contact our team of Mandurah Bookkeepers for HELP

When a business gets started, the first thing you should do is to make sure that you keep track of all the costs involved in setting up you business, so that you can set up a book-keeping system correctly from day one. If you need some help in establishing your bookeeping, then contact us right now.

A bookkeeper’s nightmare

A new Dudley Park bookkeeping client has been running her graphic design business for over a year operating on one bank account for everything. She’s a bookkeeper’s nightmare, using the same bank account for both her personal and business expenses. That makes our job as mobile book keepers quite a challenge. We have to ask her which items on her bank account relate to business, and which are personal.

What Bookkeeping Records Do You Need?
The type of business you operate affects the type of records you need to keep for ATO purposes. You should set up your books using an accounting method that clearly shows your income for your selected tax year.

From a bookkeeping viewpoint there are a few basic bookkeeping matters that every small business owners should focus on to reduce the fees you will otherwise have to pay your bookkeeper or accountant

Depending on your business, you should get into a habit of keeping records daily

• Identify the source income that you’ve received
• Ensure you keep your dockets for expenses, and a note of any petty cash expenses
• Keep a record of all your assets

The Australian Taxation Office requires you have supporting documentation such as invoices and receipts for all transactions incurred in running your business such as purchases and sales. You might generate invoices electronically using an accounting software package such as MYOB or Quickbooks, or you may hand write your invoices using an invoice book

The ATO do not like you putting a lump sum amount on invoices for amounts above $1000. You need to itemise the account into, say $300 for labour and $700 for materials

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) requires you to keep business records:

• for five years after they are prepared, obtained or the transactions completed (whichever occurs later), and
• in English, or in a form that the ATO can access and understand in order to determine your tax liability.

It is important to retain these documents because they support the entries in your books and on your tax returns. You should keep them in an orderly fashion and a safe place.

Purchases
Purchases are items that you buy maybe as raw materials, that you then on sell to your customers. The supporting documentation may be suppliers invoices, or dockets from cash / credit card purchases made for the business

Expenses
Expenses are costs incurred in running your business, such as telephone, electricity, rent etc The supporting documentation may be utility bills invoices, or dockets from cash / credit card

Petty Cash
It’s a good idea to ensure that you have petty cash for staff to make small purchases for items such as milk, or postage stamps etc. A good policy is that if your staff cannot produce a docket, then you should not reimburse them for monies spent.

Travel
Depending on how your accountant advises you, there may be opportunities to claim your fuel expenses in running the business from Coodanup or Greenfields, or whever your business is located. You may be able to claim for travel to meet a client at Erskine or to Rockingham etc.

No problem in buying your Perth client a gift at Christmas time, just keep the docket, and ask your accountant if it’s a legitimate claim.

Travel, transportation, entertainment and gift expenses require some extra documentation to deduct them as business expenses. For example, to deduct the cost of taking a client to lunch in Mandurah, you should record the name of the client, the purpose of the lunch and topic discussed at the lunch.

Contact us for more information

PS – We are not registered tax agents and cannot give advise in such matters. You need at ask your accountant regarding what you can and cannot legitimately claim.

Tracking the flow of money in and out of your business occurs through the recording of each transaction by the person responsible for your bookkeeping. Contact us NOW and we’ll help you determine whether there is more money flowing in, than is flowing out of your business.

In basic terms there are four sources of income, and four reasons why money flows out of your business.

Depending on your business, income is generated through the sale of goods and services, or the sale of business assets. Other sources of income can be through loans to the business, either from yourself, or money that you have borrowed from relatives, friends, or formal channels such as financial institutions.

There are very few businesses that incur no expenses to generate the income. Thus money flowing out of your business will be to pay bills for overheads, such as power, telecommunications, rent, wages etc.

Other expenses include buying or replacing assets to run the business. Then there’s your remuneration, as drawings etc, and also your business may lend money to others.

The recording of each transaction by your bookkeeper is critical to protect all parties concerned. Each transaction should be supported by the appropriate documents. When the Australian Taxation Office decides to audit your business, they will often need to see all your supporting documentation.

Your bookkeeper needs to ensure that all the documentation is filed in such a way that it can be easily traced. Each transaction recorded in the bookkeeping system should be supported by the relevant documentation also.

Consider the day that a piece of equipment fails, and you wonder if it’s still under warranty. Your bookkeeper should be able to tell you when you bought the equipment, how you paid for it, and also be able to located the documentation relevant to that equipment.

A logical and ordered filing system is just as important as the balance sheet or P & L reports for your business. For more information or a free appraisal of your bookkeeping system, contact one of our Mandurah, Dudley Park, Coodanup, Greenfields, Erskine, Pinjarra and Meadow Springs, Western Australia bookkeepers NOW, and we’ll help you determine whether there is more money flowing in, than is flowing out of your business.

A client asked us today whether he should make the final balloon payment on his earthmoving equipment, even though he still has 12 more months to pay it off

We’re not registered tax agents and can’t advise whether he’s better paying the lump sum before the end of this financial year, or whether he should carry the payments over into next year.

If your bookwork’s not upto date, how do you make an informed decision about your tax liabilities?

If you don’t have your bookwork upto date, or if bookkeeping is the last thing on your mind right now, then how can you make an informed decision about your tax liabilities for the financial year ending 30 June 2009?

How do you know if you should make a lump sum payment on your vehicle lease this year? If you ask your accountant, you’ll most likely be told that without seeing any upto date figures for this financial year, your accountant cannot give you an informed answer

To prepare for the end of the financial year is not as difficult or as daunting as the task may appear. In fact, the ATO offer you encouragement to get your financials upto date with the quarterly BAS requirements.

Look no further, stress no more, simply contact us, as we provide an outsourced bookkeeping service. Our mobile bookkeepers can come to your premises, work on your computer, or pick up the paperwork and take it away to return with neatly filed and documented set of accounts ready for you to take to your accountant

As a small business owner in Mandurah, Dudley Park, Coodanup, Greenfields, Erskine, Pinjarra and Meadow Springs, Western Australia you need to ensure that you have a handle on your cashflow. If you do not have a bookkeeper, or book-keeping system in place then contact us here for details

If you do not use an accounting software package such as Quickbooks or MYOB, if you do not use a bookkeeper, or have a bookeeping system in place then you could be heading for disaster. Unlike Kevin Rudd’s government, most likely you do not have an unlimited supply of cash,

What is 2009 looking like or small business owners in the South west of Western Australia?
Some economists are predicting a tough year for the Australian economy. Since the South west of Western Australia relies heavily on tourism, the Government’s campaign to encourage Aussies to holiday within Australia could be of benefit.

For small business owners around Mandurah, Dudley Park, Coodanup, Greenfields, Erskine, Pinjarra and Meadow Springs, Western Australia that aren’t involved in tourism, perhaps the government’s boost to the first home owners grant may create some stimulus.

Unlike the government that apparently has an unlimited supply of money, if you ain’t got it to spend, how can you spend it?

Keeping on top of your bookwork when the going gets tough is so critical. Customers that have always been slow in paying, could now be even slower.

Even customers who were quick to pay, begin to stretch out the payment of their invoices. Do you have a book-keeping system in place to give you Quickbooks or MYOB reports each week?

Small business owners who are so busy undertaking the everyday tasks of running their business often leave the bookkeeping work until the end of each quarter when the next BAS (Business Activity Statement) is due to be lodged. This habit can be disastrous in a tight economy.

You need to have a handle on your finances week in, and week out. If you do not have a bookeeping system in place, you may find that within a few months you do not have a business.

Many small business owners understand that outsourcing their book-keeping to a contract bookkeeper can be a great investment.

Other small business owners still insist on trying to muddle through their bookkeeping, regarding a freelance bookkeeper to be an unnecessary expense. They may get their wife, girlfriend, or partner (or all three) to have a go at doing the bookwork.

Professional mobile bookkeepers can come to your premises each week, fortnight, or month or even each quarter to straighten up the paperwork, undertake any data entry, and carry out relevant Quickbooks or MYOB reports to ensure all your bookkeeping is in order.

Our bookkeeping Service has clients in and around Mandurah, Dudley Park, Coodanup, Greenfields, Erskine, Pinjarra and Meadow Springs, Western Australia. Contact us here for details

So how’s your bookkeeping? Cash-flow is king in a tight economy.

What you do with your paperwork, and how you handle your record keeping at the beginning can make a big difference at the end of the financial year.

Here are some basic tips to ensure that your record keeping is in order

1) Open a separate bank account for the business.
It may seem an expensive option at the beginning to be paying fees on two separate bank accounts – however you can claim the running costs of your business bank account as a business expense.
The same applies to a credit card. Even if you simple have another credit card in your private name, keeping a separate credit card for the business makes the bookkeeping so much easier

2) Don’t mix your personal expenses with your business expenses.
A simple example of this is when you buy fuel; if you happen to buy some milk or chocolate etc, pay for them in a separate transaction. You need to make sure that you have legitimate business expenses and keep those personal items separate from the business

3) Always ask for a receipt
When you do make a purchase for your business, ensure that you always ask for a receipt. By getting into the habit of always asking for a receipt, you don’t have to worry about whether or not you need one, because you’ll have them all anyway.

4) Vehicle log book
You can buy a vehicle log book at the local newsagency. Take a not of the kilometre odometer reading at the beginning of the financial year, and enter ethe distance travelled each day you use your vehicle for business travel. – Use a seperate logbook for each vehicle.

5) Don’t throw the receipts on the dashboard or glovebox of your vehicle.
These days many receipts will either fade so your bookkeeper cannot read them, or the paper turns black because of the heat, so again, your bookkeeper will not be able to read them.

Get into the habit of putting your receipts into a monthly file or an envelope in your office. At the end of the month, you can attaché them to your bank statement, to give to your bookkeeper.

6) Keep all your business records
Have a place to keep all your business records for each financial year. You can buy a “concertina” type folder and place each month’s paperwork in to it’s own division in the file. Or use an A4 file with plastic sleeves to insert your receipts into

7) Keep your business records for five years
The Australian Taxation Office requires that you keep your business records for at least five years after the tax returns have been completed. If the ATO should conduct an audit they will need to see those records.