Accounting for Small Business

Our New Staff

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:04:00 GMT

The newest member to our team is Belinda. She has come on board as our Client Services Administrator and according to Keith “she’s responsible for client happiness”. That’s a big call, but her other tasks include touching base with clients and keeping the office running smoothly.

Earlier in the year our team grew with the addition of “The Brooke” (but you can call her Brooke). She does a superb job in her role of bookkeeper and is also our training provider for Xero and MYOB. Nothing sits idle with Brooke until everything is done and perfectly balanced!

To save the rest of us from feeling completely left out there’s the old-timer accountants Keith and Fritha, and Andrew who answers some of your calls and assists with online marketing.

Christmas Gifts - FBT & Deductions

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:57:00 GMT

A non-entertainment gift (such as a Christmas hamper or take-home bottle of wine) to an employee, providing the gift is under $300, is tax deductible, GST claimable and there is no Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) payable as this is considered a “minor benefit”. If the gift is $300 or more in value then Fringe Benefits Tax has to be paid. We therefore recommend that if you’re giving gifts that you keep each gift under $300 to avoid having to pay FBT.

If the gift is considered “entertainment” and worth $300 or more then FBT is payable and it is tax deductible. Entertainment is things such as theatre, sport, movie, venue or airline tickets. To avoid having to pay FBT it’s best to give non-entertainment gifts under $300 in value. However, please note that even if the entertainment gift is under $300, although you don’t need to pay FBT on the gift, it is also not available as a tax deduction.

Staff Parties - FBT & Deductions

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:56:00 GMT

If you’re holding a staff party this year (employees and partners only), it depends on where it’s held, the cost per head, and whether alcohol is involved. Unfortunately these are usually not tax deductible.

If you hold a party at your premises during office hours and no alcohol is involved then the cost is usually tax deductible and no FBT is payable (providing it costs less than $300 per person).

If you hold a party externally it is considered “entertainment” and is therefore not a tax deduction, and FBT is payable if it goes over $300 per person. Again, if you’re holding a party it’s best to keep your costs under $300 per person to avoid paying FBT.

Unfortunately it’s not very straight-forward! If you’re unsure about the tax deductibility or FBT on your intended gift/s or party please give us a call on (08) 9226 0332.

ATO tests compliance

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:53:00 GMT

The ATO tests compliance through the use of data matching and small business benchmarking.

Data from banks, government agencies, industry suppliers and other sources comes together to help identify who might not be paying their fair share of tax. This data helps identify businesses that might not be putting through all of their cash sales or are not reporting all of their income.

The ATO compiles small business benchmarks, or financial ratios, from information provided on activity statements and tax returns. These benchmarks are used to help identify businesses that might be avoiding some of their tax obligations by not declaring some of their income.

Time to rethink your tax deductions?

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 07:43:00 GMT

2011 might be the time to sit back and rethink your tax return deductions that you've been claiming year after year.

It seems that the tax office are hitting out hard with a campaign to review large deductions, and from what we've seen it doesn’t take much to tip the scales of review.

So what can you do?

The first thing to do is to check that the occupation code you are using is the closest match to what you actually do.
Ensure that all your deductions are directly related to your employment.
Make sure that you have receipts for all of your deductions, or where you have expenses that don’t require substainiation that you have a reasonable idea of how your claims were calculated.
Where you have large claims for travel or self-education look at having your employer reimburse you for the cost or salary sacrifice the costs where possible. This means that the deduction will be claimed via your employer instead of having a large claim in your individual tax return. If you have receipts you have nothing to worry about, this just takes the light off you.
If in doubt, get your tax return prepared by an experienced and professional tax agent in public practice. Remember, don’t hire a professional and then argue with them when they tell you something isn’t deduction! Your tax professional wants you to have the most deductions possible, they are not in business to tell you want you can’t claim, they do this out of their interest to protect you.

ATO now targeting online sales

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 06:06:00 GMT

The Australian Taxation Office is now assessing the taxation compliance from online sales made by businesses and individuals. The ATO has obtained data from classifieds site Trading Post Australia and the highly popular auction and shopping website eBay.

Under the program the ATO will identify and assess members of the websites who have sold in excess of $20,000 over the past three financial years. The ATO will use numerous methods to match online accounts to people including Tax File Numbers (TFN), Australian Business Numbers (ABN), addresses and dates of birth.

The aim of the data-matching is to identify businesses and individuals who have failed to report their full income or are running parts of their business off the books. Anyone who may have understated their taxable income over the past three financial years can make a voluntary disclosure which can reduce penalties by up to 80 percent.

Perth Accountant recommends Xero Online Accounting for all Perth Business

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 06:08:00 GMT

The team at Accounting for Small Business have recently become a Bronze Partner for the online accounting software Xero. While we are both MYOB and Quickbooks professional partners, we can see the benefits of Xero which has additional features.

Small and medium business owners, office managers and shareholders can benefit from Xero’s unique time saving features, such as automatically having your bank transactions feed into Xero, and automated coding.

What we love best is that it allows you to provide support to clients in real time. For example, no more sending your accountant your finance documents and waiting for them to email you a general journal that you have no idea how to enter or that just doesn’t make sense. Our professional accounting team can log in and input the transaction for you – now how is that for amazing service!

We are excited by the opportunity of online accounting software and no more having to worry about backups and software updates. What we like most is that we are always able to help you in real time, can have a look at how your business is performing on an ongoing basis, and can work with you to improve your financial systems and management.

For more information about Xero please visit www.xero.com.au or contact Keith Marshall at our office on (08) 9226 0332.

Big Tax Reforms – Landmark Year for Business in Australia

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 06:14:00 GMT

Perth Accountant recommends Xero Online Accounting for all Perth Business

For more information about Xero please visit www.xero.com.au or contact Keith Marshall at our office on (08) 9226 0332.