Blog

January 9, 2017

Business or Hobby?

What is a hobby? A hobby is a pastime or leisure activity conducted in your spare time for recreation or pleasure. Benefits of being a hobby Personal enjoyment and satisfaction. You can gift or sell your work for the cost of materials. You can do it in your own time or when people contact you. You don’t have the reporting obligations of a business. Find out about running a hobby or watch the Are you in business videos on the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website. What is a business? You’re in business, if your activity, as a whole, is commercial with an aim to make a profit. Benefits of being in business You can apply for an Australian Business Number […]
December 19, 2016

Outsourcing Bookkeeping

As a small business owner, you have many things taking up your time. You manage social media accounts and marketing plans and employees. Managing your company’s accounting may seem like one of the easier things that you do, so you may not notice how much time you lose keeping track of income and expenses in an old spreadsheet—or worse, with pen and paper. Here are some ways that outsourcing your bookkeeping services and choosing a cloud-based accounting program can make your job easier. Maintain mental energy and focus The phrase “multi-tasking” originated with computers, long before we ever talked about it in the context of people. As we as people pressed ourselves to do more and more tasks with fewer […]
December 12, 2016

5 signs of a great bookkeeper

A bookkeeper is a bit like a GP – there’s one on every corner but great ones are hard to find. And when you do find one, you should never let them go. But how do you know if your bookkeeper is good or even better, a great bookkeeper? Let’s start with what every bookkeeper should be before we look at what makes a great bookkeeper. 1. Training and accreditation Every bookkeeper should have some sort of formal bookkeeper or accounting training and preferably be a registered BAS Agent. A registered BAS agent means that the Tax Practitioners Board are satisfied that the bookkeeper has the required skills, qualifications and a minimum amount of experience to correctly account for GST and […]
December 5, 2016

Cloud Accounting

A survey involving more than 400 practices across Australia shows that accounting firms are embracing cloud technology for themselves and clients. According to The Cloud Readiness Survey from Digital First, 43 per cent of accounting practices are anticipating a shift to cloud software in the next 12 months. The survey revealed that accounting firms understood how cloud technologies had the capability to improve productivity and were therefore willing to spend more on software. One of the key findings highlighted that accountants were able to free up the transactional side of the business with cloud technologies to offer a more strategic level of service to clients. Alan Osrin, Managing Director, Sage Australia said “it is clear from the research the migration […]