Statewide Business - Finance | Consulting | Wealth Protection

7 Good Reasons to Use MYOB in Your Business

Michael Bagshaw — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 01:49:45 +0000

Most business owners are aware of the need to use good quality book-keeping and accounting software. However, there are some huge benefits for considering MYOB as your software of choice. Here are 7 good reasons you should use MYOB in your business: 1. Powerful Reporting MYOB software is extremely flexible when it comes to generating reports. This allows you to receive specific information about your business quickly and easily. Aside from offering more than 60 regular reports, MYOB also allows you to customise any reports, to give you greater insight into your business, customers, stock, finances and more. Reports generated can also be ideal for predicting cash flow problems, or working out any potential impact on cash flow of raising or lowering your prices. Data can then be easily transferred to Word or Excel if you need to use it for correspondence or if you prefer other formats. 2. Reduce Accounting Fees Many business owners commonly end up sending most of your business book work to your accountant at the end of every financial year in order to prepare their taxes. Yet, if all your information was already entered into your MYOB system, your accountant will end up spending far less time putting together all your information. Your accountant can simply produce a report through MYOB to generate all the information required, which saves you time and money overall. 3. Centralised Information MYOB lets you centralise all your business information within one convenient software program. Yet, it’s still flexible enough to make that information available to other MYOB products, as well as to programs such as Microsoft Excel, Word, and even Outlook. This effectively means you can use MYOB across several customer contact points or multiple office locations and still have access to centralised data. 4. Customisable Security You may have multiple staff members accessing your MYOB software throughout each day, but you might have certain information you don’t want some of them to access. MYOB does allow you to customise your security levels for each individual user or even different user groups. Each person can create their own unique login and then the system can be modified to allow or restrict access to areas and information that is relevant to their individual job roles. 5. Grows with Your Business MYOB is able to grow with your business as it expands. Add more unique users to your system in minutes as you increase staff numbers. You can even upgrade some MYOB packages to include more comprehensive and more advanced software as your business needs it. 6. Protect Business Information MYOB Connect offers an excellent way to securely store your business information online. This allows for off-site storage of sensitive information you don’t want to lose, but also gives you a secure place for daily backup information you want to keep. This means you can store your financial documents, GST returns, or any other important information in your own personalised online space. 7. MYOB is Australian Because MYOB software is Australian, it’s designed specifically to understand the Australian accounting system and our own taxation requirements. Regular free software updates are conducted frequently to be sure each new tax legislation is up to date, so you never need to know all the details. Those same software updates also ensure that your system is always compatible with that of your accountant’s. MYOB is also able to help you prepare BAS returns quickly and easily.

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Long Term Investing

admin — Wed, 25 Dec 2013 06:24:23 +0000

Most people understand the objective of investing money: the end result is to generate a profit. The rate of return you receive for investing your cash into a particular investment vehicle is heavily dependent on the type of investment, plus the inherent risk associated with the opportunity. “Long term investing” often brings to mind the ideal of buying an investment property now and holding onto it for the next 20 years. Yet there are other types of investment vehicles that can be ideal for long term investing goals. What most people forget to take into account when choosing their investment strategies is that there are two primary types of investments: Wealth-creation investments Security investments In most cases, wealth creation investments are those that offer a high rate of return. Wealth Creation investments can include: Business Share trading Undiversified share portfolio (highly focused on two or three stocks and often geared) Property development Highly geared property investment The objective of these types of investments is to ideally increase the amount of money the investor has at the end of the investing exercise. They can also represent a higher risk level. Security investments tend to return a lower rate return by comparison. Due to the nature of the investments, they also often represent a significantly lower risk. These types of investments include: Superannuation Highly diversified share portfolio Managed funds Cash Conservatively geared property investments More aggressive investors will tend to shun the comparatively low returns offered by ‘security investments’, opting instead to aim at the much higher returns available with other vehicles. Yet, the key to successful long term investment does involve a strategic mix of both types of investment. The higher returns of wealth creation investments can help to grow capital initially, but allocating some funds towards the security investments allow you to preserve and protect wealth over the longer term. Those lower-yielding investments, such as your superannuation fund or privately owned managed funds, can add up over the long term to staggeringly large amounts. This could be partly due to the compounding nature of reinvesting profits and holding them over the long term. Regardless of the type of investment vehicle you choose, any successful investor does understand the inherent relationship between rate of return and risk associated. Rather than gamble with your financial future and put all your cash into high-return wealth creation projects, consider the benefits of syphoning off a little of those profits to put towards security investments. If you aren’t sure how to break down your own investment strategy to allocate funds in a way that suits your own financial goals, it’s important to discuss your desired results with a financial advisor and an accountant. This will give you the best possible information with regard to ownership structures, allocation amounts and any tax implications that may arise as a result of your investment decisions.

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Power of Attorney and Guardianship and why they are important

admin — Wed, 25 Dec 2013 06:18:15 +0000

Having an Enduring Power of Attorney and Guardianship appointed in a legal document is something that everyone should consider. Power of Attorney In general the Power of Attorney allows you to appoint someone to take care of your financial affairs while you are still alive on your behalf. This is a very powerful document and it is important to appoint the right person to take on this role if it is required. There are different type’s Powers of Attorney and it is important to have the right one in place, the types are: General Power of Attorney – this gives the appointed person the power to look after your financial affairs, but only while you still have full mental capacity. This can be revoked at any time and maybe for a short period of time if required. Enduring Power of Attorney – this gives the appointed person the power to look after your financial affairs once you lose mental capacity. For example if you suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and are no longer capable of making financial decisions. This type of Power of Attorney only comes into place once a certificate is issued stating the person has lost mental capacity. General and Enduring Power of Attorney – as you would expect this combines the features of both types of Power of Attorney. Enduring Power of Guardianship This document gives the appointed person the ability to make personal or lifestyle decisions on your behalf. These may include things like what day to day activities you undertake and decisions around your care and where you live. The powers given to the guardian can be limited and specific as required. The document comes into force once you are unable to make these decisions yourself. As with the Power of Attorney it is important that a lot of thought has gone into the decision of who to appoint to this role. Your guardian must take into account your wishes and act in your best interests at all times and where ever possible make the same decision as you would have. All information in this article is of a general nature and not specific advice.

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7 Things Businesses Should Look At Before the End of the Financial Year

admin — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 09:31:15 +0000

Tax time always seems to creep up on us every year before we’re really ready. This can leave plenty of business owners at a loss for time to catch up on any taxation plans they wanted to implement. As a business advisor with an accounting background, I tend to try and remind businesses to think about tax all year round. But I’m a realist enough to know that most people only start to think about it as June 30 approaches. So, here is a quick reminder of 7 things you can do now before the end of the financial year hits us. Super Guarantee Contributions Don’t forget to pay your Super Guarantee contributions before June 30. Any contributions you pay for staff before this time are deductible in this financial year. Besides, if you miss the deadline date you risk being slapped with a penalty fee. Personal Super Contributions If you intend to make any personal contributions into your superannuation fund, get these in by June 30 to ensure they’re tax deductible. Just be sure you don’t breach the cap limits set for contributions. Prepay Expenses Look for any expenses you may be able to pre-pay before June 30, regardless of what the due date is on them. If you have business loans you may be able to prepay the interest. This makes those payments deductible in this financial year. Write off Bad Debts If you have tried everything to get your non-paying creditors to pay outstanding amounts and you’ve given up hope of ever seeing that payment arrive, it may be time to write off that debt amount. If you do this before June 30, it’s deductible now. Get Your Books in Order Take the time to sit down and really look at your business’s profit and loss statements. This includes reviewing your insurances for both business and personal use. It should also include reviewing your sales figures and your profit margins on sales. Take some time to review your business plan to ensure you’re really on track. These things combined will give you a much clearer image of your overall financial picture and make it easier to see how much focus needs to be spent on tax strategies next financial year. Private Loans If you’ve put cash into your business as a private loan, be sure you repay yourself before the end of the financial year. The same is true in reverse, if you have taken a private loan out of your business, pay it back prior to June 30. Stock Up Think of some business assets you need that you may be able to claim an immediate deduction for and then go shopping. This might include buying new computers, machinery or equipment, or even a new car. There are certain rules around purchasing plant and equipment that can allow you to claim a certain amount up front as a total tax deduction (check with your accountant). While these tactics might help you to minimise the amount of tax you pay overall, it’s still important to consider your own business’s cash flow first and foremost. After all, you need to have the available cash reserves to pay for those purchases first, so don’t spend money to get a bit of a tax benefit. Work out your cash position first and talk to your accountant about your options.

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Different Options for Cloud Computing

admin — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 09:29:45 +0000

Cloud computing is simply the name given to using computing services or software over the Internet or over a network. What this means to you as a business owner is that you may not have to spend thousands of dollars for software licenses to be installed in your business computers. Instead, you can pay a fraction of the amount to access the same software via cloud computing services. You don’t have the software installed on your local computer system. Rather, you access it via your Internet browser. Using cloud computing can be a great way to access a range of software programs cost-effectively. You also get the benefit of reducing your business’s IT costs. This also gives you the ability to reduce maintenance costs and reduce storage risks, as your information is safely stored ‘in the cloud’ and not on your computer. In the event of a computer failure, you can feel safe knowing that your sensitive business information is backed up securely. Did you know you could use a cloud computing option for your accounting software packages, such as MYOB, Xero and Quickbooks? Opting for cloud computing options means your software programs are always up to date, as you’re accessing the service provider’s application to input your own business data. No more costly software updates for you. What’s more, you have the benefit of being able to access your business information even when you’re away from the business. This is because you can log into your account from home on your laptop and still see what’s going on. That is the beauty of using the cloud. There are several options available in terms of privacy levels when using the cloud service; here is a quick look at them Public Cloud A public cloud is one where the service and the infrastructure of the cloud is hosted off-site. In most cases, this means it’s accessible via the Internet and not based on your own internal business computer network. Despite its name, the general public can’t usually access your sensitive business information. Rather, it’s password protected for your account only – which is especially good when you’re using this option for accounting software and services. Private Cloud A private cloud is the name given to services and infrastructure that are hosted on your own on-site private network. This is often a more expensive option to install, implement and maintain than a public cloud, but you have far more control over who is able to access the cloud. This option is usually the preferred choice for businesses that require stringent security measures around data privacy. Hybrid Cloud A hybrid cloud is one where you can decide which parts of your cloud account are public and which parts remain private. This is usually achieved by using different providers and is often the preferred option for businesses that want to share specific information with clients, but want to keep other sensitive business information private. Regardless of which option you choose for your business, always ensure that you are diligent about monitoring security levels around your stored data. This will help keep your business information safe.

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How to Use Your Lazy Balance Sheet to Create Wealth

admin — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 09:27:47 +0000

Do you know what a ‘lazy’ balance sheet is? It means you may have excess cash sitting around that isn’t working for you – or your business – as hard as it could be. The truth is that you could be creating wealth from any excess you have sitting on your balance sheets. Essentially, when your incoming cash flow regularly exceeds your outgoing expenditure, you might be tempted to put that excess aside into an interest bearing account for a rainy day. Sure, you might be earning 4% or 5% interest on that cash, and it might be sitting there in reserve for when you want it, but could it be doing other things to grow your wealth? Many business owners like the idea of holding cash in reserve to help cover those tough times or slower months. This is fine if you want to hold a buffer to protect against slow cash flow months. You may even prefer to reinvest that excess cash back into the business to fund expansion plans or to increase operations. You might even opt to reduce business debts and decrease those liabilities. But there are times when having too much excess cash could actually reduce your business’s overall profitability. How Can Too Much Cash Be Bad? In truth, having too much cash isn’t bad. However, you’re running a business that you hope becomes a profitable concern and that may be worth something when you eventually sell it. Your return on equity can influence your business’s profitability, which can directly affect your business’s value. If your eventual end goal is to sell your business for a profit, you obviously want the business value to increase as much as you can. Your business equity is the amount remaining once you deduct the liabilities your business has from the asset totals. Obviously, the cash you have sitting around forms part of that asset total, so you have an inflated figure to begin with. When you remove that cash, your figures suddenly don’t look quite so attractive, unless you’re replacing that value for an equivalent value in other types of assets. Ideally, these should be assets that can offer returns higher than those offered by earning bank interest. Increasing Wealth When you have equity available in your business budget, you also have the capacity to borrow money. This can allow you to purchase other assets to increase the business’s value overall. In other words, you’re taking advantage of the opportunity to leverage that excess cash to increase your returns. Alternatively, you might want to diversify your asset classes and consider purchasing shares or even property. Both of these options have the capacity to increase your return on equity far higher than the lazy 4% or 5% you might earn in interest from your bank. They also help to create wealth in other asset classes that might offer a form of hedge in future in case your business takes a turn for the worse. Of course, you could decide to pay yourself a fat bonus and give yourself a large pay rise, but that’s not quite the same thing as creating real wealth that has the potential to earn you far more over the longer term. Take a more careful look at your own balance sheets and see if you can work out whether yours could be considered ‘lazy’ or not. Then see if you can pinpoint ways to put that excess to good use.

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Power of Attorney and Guardianship and why they are important.

admin — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 09:26:24 +0000

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Importance of Having a Top Quality Bookkeeper

admin — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 09:24:12 +0000

Let’s face it – accounting fees can get expensive, especially if you’re relying on your accountant to also act as your bookkeeper. But if you had a great bookkeeper working with your business, it may be possible to reduce your accounting fees and minimise the time it takes to keep your business records in good order. You see, a top quality bookkeeper has plenty of experience with keeping business’s books in good order. They also have lots of experience and knowledge about what things they can look for to help reduce any potential tax liabilities. Here are some of the biggest advantages to hiring a great bookkeeper: Time Management If your business is still small and you spend a lot of time on bookkeeping duties yourself, you could find that a bookkeeper can get the same amount of work done in a much faster time than you can. This leaves you free to work on other aspects of your business where your talents may end up being more profitable. You don’t have to worry about the time you spend on admin tasks, knowing your books are in good hands. Aside from this, your bookkeeper is also able to liaise with your accountant regarding things like your BAS lodgement. They can help to prepare and compile your files ready to hand over to your accountant when it’s time to lodge your tax return. This also saves you the time and effort of doing these things yourself – or getting your accountant to do them for you. Improved Cash Flow A good bookkeeper allows you to more effectively control your business’s cash flow in several ways. Your bookkeeper can provide you with reports about your profit & loss, or even your current financial position at any time, allowing you to make management decisions based on accurate information. A bookkeeper can also chase up unpaid invoices, freeing up cash flow sooner, and may even offer services to reconcile your business banking accounts as well. Greater Control over the Business Having all your records organised by a good bookkeeper can increase the level of control you have in your business. When you have access to someone who can generate reports about the intricate details of your business at a moment’s notice, you can then work out where you might be able to improve. This might mean having a clearer image of where your expenses may be increasing. It may shed light on a better idea of where your sales figures may be suffering, or whether you’re holding too much stock or whether you haven’t been as diligent as you should have been in chasing up unpaid accounts. Expertise & Knowledge When you hire a bookkeeper that has lots of experience, you suddenly have access to someone with heaps of knowledge and expertise about helping you reduce your tax liabilities. That person should know exactly when certain tasks need to be completed and lodged so you don’t incur penalties for late lodgements for things like your BAS. With all these tasks taken care of by a top quality bookkeeper, it should be apparent how beneficial this can be for your business.

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