Do you have a business? No matter whether you are a sole trader, company, trust or any combination of these, you need to keep your financial records in order.
There is a common belief that bookkeeping is only for doing your tax return. Or that only big and complex businesses need bookkeeping.
Research shows more than 60% of small businesses fail within their first three years.
Why do they fail? The number one issue isn’t profitability – it’s cashflow.
How promptly are your customers paying you? You may have a perfectly profitable business, but will you have enough cash in the bank to pay your bills when they are due?
Too many small businesses think that budgeting and managing business finances is only for large businesses.
Treat your small business like a large corporation, and you will have the best chance at not being in the 60% of businesses that go under.
Can you afford to buy a new car or put on a new employee? How much inventory do you need? How much cash will you have at some point in the future, and will it be enough to pay your bills? Will you be able to afford a holiday this year?
All of these questions require real time and accurate financial information to answer. Don’t leave your bookkeeping to the end of the quarter, when your BAS is due. You can’t make decisions, and manage your cashflow, if you don’t have real time information.
Modern cloud software such as Xero allows businesses of all sizes to keep their business records in real time, and without huge expense, time or effort.
Feeling overwhelmed yet? Don’t be! Black Cat Accounting can help you with all of this, so that you can concentrate on your business and live the life you set out to achieve.
- Bookkeeping – we keep all of your financial records (your accounting software) up to date, weekly, monthly or quarterly depending on your preferences and circumstances
- Preparation of financial statements, usually at year end, but also at any other time you like (this is where real time bookkeeping is very handy)
- Preparation of income tax returns, BASs, Taxable Payments Annual Reports, QBCC Annual Reports and MFR Reports – anything that the ATO or QBCC needs lodged, we can do it for you!
- Liaise with the ATO for you, so that you don’t have to
- Help with filling in Centrelink forms, Bureau of Statistics forms, and any other forms that need to report numbers
- Compile documents and information needed by your lender for loan applications
- Help you decide if you should (or shouldn’t) buy that car, house, boat, giant TV…
- Advice on whether something is or is not tax deductible
- Answer all the questions you have, no matter how big or small, as long as they have something to do with (even vaguely) numbers or your business
We don’t forget tax and GST! They may sound like a chore, but lodging everything correctly, on time, and then budgeting and planning for payment is important if you want to stay stress free and keep the ATO happy.
Are you a small business, not yet registered for GST?
You need to keep an eye on your sales figures so you know if you are likely to exceed $75,000 revenue in any 12 month period. How will you know if you are not keeping real time and accurate records?
The importance of this is if you miss the critical milestone of more than $75,000 in revenue and have to backdate your GST registration – you may find yourself out of pocket by the GST amount and trust us, it can be a big fright!
We can help take this worry off your plate and look after all financial responsibilities that come with running a new business and avoid those nasty surprises.
We boast fixed fees, bundled packages by monthly subscription, and all our work is quoted up front so you’re not left wondering how much a phone call is going to cost you, plus we are good for cashflow.
Of course we can! We prepare and lodge tax returns for everyone including individuals without a business.
Rental properties, investments, foreign income, there isn’t much we haven’t seen or done before!
Even if you are living overseas with Australian tax obligations, we can help with that as well.
Not sure if you have Australian tax obligations? Contact us to find out.
