Bookkeeping Advice

November 16, 2015

Your Retirement Checklist

Small business owners focus most of their energies on starting, running, and growing their businesses. Some do not plan to retire, but others assume that at some point they will retire … and, of course, they will die. Unfortunately, according to a study, nearly 40 percent of owners don’t have a retirement income strategy; they assume the proceeds from the sale of their business will provide them with financial security. This is so even though only half of all businesses have had any appraisal within the past three years. Assumptions and lack of action can undermine a secure retirement or cost heirs dearly. There are important things to do before you retire. Below are some actions to take – now. 1. Get […]

October 20, 2015

Royalties in Accounting

When a business owns a life insurance policy (BOLI) for a key officer, it pays the premiums itself and names the actual business as the beneficiary should the officer die while the policy is in place. These premiums are considered standard business expenses, with a debit to an insurance expense account and a credit to cash or a payable. There’s one additional facet of BOLI accounting to consider – the FASB has determined that the value of the policy on the financial statement date should be included as a balance sheet asset. That value refers to the cash surrender value, NOT the possible benefit paid should the officer die in the future. If the cash surrender value changes during the […]

August 5, 2015

Tackle the Hit List of ATO with These Tax Tips

It’s time to do some tax planning with the announcement the ATO made with their 2013-14 hit list. Here are a few tips to help you do some great planning: Nest Egg Building You can more quickly build your nest egg when you pay fifteen per cent rather than forty six and a half per cent. One of the most legitimate and best methods of minimizing your bill for income tax is by sacrificing your salary into superannuation with these terms. Getting a bookkeeper Melbourne will actually help you through the process. Offset Losses and Defer Sales With the gains you already make, offset losses and defer sales in order to minimize capital gains tax. In the year 2013-13, it […]

July 27, 2015

Hiring a Bookkeeper Melbourne: More Reasons Why You Need One

With all the available virtual software for accounting online these days, many individuals in Melbourne wonder whether or not they still need a bookkeeper Melbourne . After all, with all the competing apps and virtual services that are becoming more and more user friendly, perhaps it is going to be possible to get by without a bookkeeper Melbourne. But is hiring a bookkeeper now a thing of the past? Accounting Software For something as important as keeping your books straight, you may not want to solely count on software for accounting. For one, some of the system data may not updated. This means that the data could work on just a single computer and may bounce from one location to […]