If you run a small business, your ultimate goal is to attain business profitability that will make your business grow, expand, and flourish over time. But as you’re generating income now, how can you tell that your business is making enough money, or if it’s really that profitable? The answer is to take a look at your income statement more than your bank balance.

In this article, we’ll share with you what you need to examine in your income statement in order to gauge your business profitability. Keep on reading to see if you need to hire a small business accountant at this juncture.

What to check: Income Statement

In a nutshell, an income statement is one of your company’s financial statements showing the revenues and expenses during a particular period of time. It also shows how the revenues are turned into the net income or profit. There are two parts included in an income statement, as follows:

  • Gross Profit:
    Typically found at the top of the income statement, this refers to the profit your business makes after deducting the costs involved with doing business. In short, it pertains to your revenue minus direct costs (costs associated with making and selling your products or services). A very good example is your retail store where you sell goods. Your gross profit is the income you generate from selling your goods minus all the expenses involved in producing and selling them.
  • Net Income:
    Typically found at the bottom of your income statement, this refers to your gross profit after deducting the overhead expenses (anything not associated with generating revenue. Some examples of overhead expenses include facility rent and utilities, repairs and maintenance, salaries and wages for office staff, and professional fees. They may not directly generate sales, but they are vital in the overall business operation. Without them, your business won’t be fully operational.

If you’re doing the accounting for your small business on your own and these concepts are quite confusing, it’s best to hire a business accountant on the Gold Coast.

How to Tell If Your Business is Profitable

The biggest question is: how can you tell if your business is profitable? The answer to this lies in your income statement, particularly in your gross profit. For your small business to be considered profitable, it must generate enough gross profit, such as it is sufficient enough to cover all the overhead expenses.

It’s true that most small businesses generate more revenue than direct costs. However, they do not necessarily generate enough profits after covering overhead expenses. This is what every small business should be wary of in order to achieve real business profitability.

Conclusion

Overall, accounting is paramount for any given company, particularly for small businesses. Taking a look at the income statement and examining your gross profit and net income can make a difference in determining the actual status of your company. From there, you’ll see whether or not your business is indeed profitable. Ultimately, It’s best to hire a small business accountant for your small business to help you accurately gauge your business profitability.

We are an accounting firm in Gold Coast that helps businesses reduce taxes and augment profits. If you’re looking for a business accountant on the Gold Coast, get in touch with us today!

One of the increasingly growing problems of adulthood is debt. Whether as an individual or a corporate entity, paying off debt is a necessary task that many don’t like thinking of. When left untouched, debt creeps up on you and starts multiplying behind your back.

While many do not wish to think about it, there is much to know about debt that would change how you compute it. There are actually two kinds of debt: non-tax-deductible and tax deductible. Knowing the differences between the two will affect how you handle your finances, helping you manage your money better.

Non-Tax Deductible Debt v.s. Tax Deductible Debt

Non-tax deductible debt is money borrowed for a purpose that does not deliver a return. This “bad debt” are debts paid with your after-tax earnings, lowering the total amount of income you bring back to your household. These would include your home loan, car loan, and your credit card payments.

Tax deductible debt, on the other hand, is gained when the loaned money is instead used for an income-generating expense. A tax deduction can be claimed for this debt, minimizing the total costs by a small margin. These kinds of debt include loans for investment shares or properties. In layman’s terms, you get a tax deduction for “good” use of your money when investing in an asset that generates an assessable income.

What this means for you

For tax deductible debt, the interest is considered an “expense.” Since expenses are allowed to be tax-deducted, it can be set against your taxable income—therefore lowering the total taxable income. Depending on how you utilize it, various tax deductions and concessions can apply, helping you improve your cash flow. This is where the help of a well-versed tax accountant, to maximize your tax deductions while figuring out ways to pay off your non-tax deductible debt.

The Importance

Knowing this information, it is best to practice always paying your non-tax deductible debt first. This is for the reason that “bad debt” is paid with your after-tax income, meaning that the after-tax cost is higher. The total costs for paying tax-deductible debt, on the other hand, will be marginally lower, meaning the interest would not be as high.

To protect the tax-deductibility of your debt, keep your personal loans and income-generating loans separate. The trouble with investment properties is that it’s easy to mismanage, thereby affecting the interest’s status as being tax-deductible. Keeping an experienced accountant on hand is definitely the best practice when managing debt.

Conclusion

A good tax accountant will tell you, however, that regardless of the situation, debt is debt. The main goal is to avoid incurring debts, especially if your money returns aren’t high. Regardless, however, certain situations will find you in need of a loan—in which case, take note of the nature of your loan and whether it’s tax-deductible or not.

Looking for an end-to-end accounting and bookkeeping service that can help scale & grow your business on the Gold Coast? Contact us now, and see how we can help you today.

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has rolled out the Single Touch Payroll (STP). The recent regulation has changed when and how small businesses report their payroll activity, in which they are expected to send a report digitally to the ATO every payday. How will this affect businesses?

Streamlines the Reporting Process

STP now helps businesses align their reporting obligations to their processes. That said, companies can submit payroll information after payroll. Thus, this will make the process much easier and smoother, compared to fixing the reporting once a year.

Reduces the Error

STP allows ATO to pre-fill Business Activity Statements (BAS) for employers. In turn, this will help reduce errors, which can quickly occur when going back over finances. Errors may also incur fees for the employees, which is an additional cost that you can avoid.

Saves Time & Money

With STP, ATO will automatically track the figures and upload them online. Employees will have access to their payment information, including year-to-date tax and super information. In this case, employers will be able to save time and money because they no longer need to generate and distribute payment summaries to employees at the end of each financial year.

Makes Access Easier

Employers who hire new employees will not have a hard time acquiring the tax file number and superannuation information because they can get them directly from myGov. To make it even better, employers no longer need to chase employees that don’t provide them with these details because they will now be able to easily access the information.

Is Your Business Ready For STP?

STP looks promising, but is your business ready for it? Here are some of the ways that can help prepare your business for STP:

1. Choose the right software

To report STP, you need reliable software that will suit your business’ needs. Choose a service provider that has excellent customer support. Good customer support provides some peace of mind, knowing that you can reach them should you need anything in the middle of the day or night.

2. Hire a small business accountant

A small business accountant will help you navigate STP for your business. Your accountant may also guide you with compliance obligations and alternatives in STP reporting.

Conclusion

STP is an effective way to improve your payroll activities. With STP, you don’t have to worry about submitting payroll reports at the end of each financial year. By doing it every payday, you get to stay on top of your finances, becoming a more organized institution. Your employees, on the other hand, will also appreciate the fact that they’ll have easy access to their payroll information every payday.

All you need to find is a reliable software and a small business accountant that can guarantee you a smooth transition. Make the payroll easier on your end and use STP for your small business today!

If you’re looking for small business accountants in the Gold Coast that work with business owners efficiently, get in touch with us today to see how we can help.

With trade and construction being pegged as the cornerstones of the Australian economy year after year, firm owners and skilled workers continue to find themselves working under immense pressure to keep quality consistent.

From house painting and plumbing work to light installation and pipe laying, it’s easy to see the amount of work that skilled workers must deal with—which shows just how vital it is for anyone working in the trade and construction industry to get the job done properly.

Out of all the different components that anyone in trade and construction needs to deal with, however, there’s one aspect that may seem unimportant, yet bears a huge amount of significance: bookkeeping.

While it may not involve the kind of handiwork needed in woodwork or the arithmetics of levelling, it is no less important in the trade and construction industry, simply because it helps firms stay afloat.

The main problem with bookkeeping in the context of the trade and construction industry is that firm owners disregard it until their businesses end up falling apart. In reality, though, it isn’t nearly as hard as most people think it is.

As dreadful as bookkeeping may sound, all you have to do to save yourself from future headaches is to keep the following tips in mind:

1. Get an accountant— and work with them as much as possible!

Accountants are to proper bookkeeping as what site inspections are to long-lasting homes: you can’t have the latter without taking care of the former.

If you don’t have an accountant handling your firm’s finances right now, then act fast! Now, more than ever, is the right time to hire one. With the help of an accountant, you’ll be able to get a grip on your finances and ensure that every transaction is being handled and recorded as smoothly and accurately as possible. With this, you’ll be able to facilitate the implementation of easy, quick, and accurate daily book work with ease!

2. Stay as organized as possible when handling your paperwork

The main reason construction firm owners all over the Land Down Under struggle with keeping their books in order: They simply set their financial documents aside without taking the time to organize them properly.

Failing to organize your construction firm’s financial and transaction-related pieces of paperwork can easily put your entire bookkeeping regimen into disarray.

Besides ensuring accurate numbers daily and keeping track of your firm’s performance, organized bookkeeping also helps your business stay tax-compliant.

Doing something as simple as creating a few properly-labelled folders for your financial and transaction-related paperwork can keep your business in order— so make sure you take the initiative to organize your documents!

3. Invest in technology when you can

Last but definitely not the least: if you’re keen on keeping your trade and construction firm’s books in order without breaking a sweat, invest in bookkeeping software. Bookkeeping software platforms such as QuickBooks come with a wide array of features, from cross-application integration to real-time data tracking. Put simply, you won’t have to do things manually any longer.

Final words

Running a firm in Australia’s ever-demanding trade and construction industry entails dedicating a lot of effort and planning to ensure that everything runs smoothly— especially when it comes to bookkeeping. By following the tips in this article, you can make bookkeeping as easy as possible and keep the ball rolling for your trade and construction business until success is within reach!

If you’re looking to outsource accountants from the Gold Coast to handle all your bookkeeping, get in touch with us to see how we can help.

Maintaining the financial health of your business is no easy feat. At times, even bookkeepers and accountants find it challenging to keep financial records and crunch the numbers for accounting purposes. That is why proper and robust accounting of all financial transactions should be put in place.

If you own a small-scale business, the chances are that you don’t have an accountant and have been dealing with numbers on your own. It makes sense, however, to hire an accountant who can better manage your balance sheet and business transactions.

Below are some basic accounting equations that every business should know.

1. Basic accounting equation

In the basic accounting equation, the total assets of your business should be equal to the sum of your liabilities and equity. Below is the basic formula:

Total Assets = Liabilities + Equity

  • Assets:
    These refer to all the things your company owns. These can include property, cash, inventory, accounts receivable, and equipment.
  • Liabilities:
    These refer to the obligations that your company has to pay. These include lease payments, merchant account fees, accounts payable, and any other debt service.
  • Equity:
    This pertains to the portion of the company that belongs to the owner. For instance, if a number of shareholders own the company, then the stockholders’ equity will fall under this category.

2. Net income

Net income is basically a measure of the profitability of a business venture. The goal is to achieve a positive net income, which means that your business is profitable. Net income can be calculated by subtracting your revenue from your expenses.

Net Income = Revenues – Expenses

  • Revenues:
    These refer to the positive cash inflow that goes into your company as a result of the business venture.
  • Expenses:
    These pertain to the costs incurred to generate revenue.

3. Break-even point

Simply put, the break-even point indicates how much your business needs to sell to cover all your costs and generate a profit of $0.00. This means that if your sale goes over the break-even point, your business is generating a profit. Here’s the basic formula:

Break-Even Point = (Sales – Fixed Costs – Variable Costs = $0 Profit)

  • Fixed costs:
    These refer to recurring, predictable costs of your business. Examples of these are insurance premiums, rent, employee salaries, and others that your business must pay regularly.
  • Sales:
    These pertain to the sales prices charged multiplied by the number of units sold.
  • Variable costs:
    These refer to any changing costs based on the number of units produced or sold.

4. Cash ratio

The cash ratio aims to let you see how much cash your business currently has. It gives you a better understanding of how your business can pay its existing liabilities. As per the equation, the higher the number, the healthier your business is.

Cash Ratio = Cash ÷ Current Liabilities

  • Cash:
    This refers to the amount of money you have at your disposal, which can include the actual cash and cash equivalents.
  • Current liabilities:
    These pertain to the current debts of your business.

5. Profit margin

The profit margin records the net income earned on each dollar of sales. This can be calculated by dividing your net income by your sales. While a high-profit margin indicates a healthy financial, low-profit margin indicates that your business does not handle your expenses well.

Profit Margin = Net Income ÷ Sales

  • Net Income:
    This refers to the total amount of money your business has made after removing expenses.
  • Sales:
    These pertain to the operating revenue you generate from business activities.

Having a basic understanding of accounting is essential for your business. Knowing how to calculate accounting equations will help you achieve a more in-depth financial understanding. The numbers and results are vital in helping you come up with sound business decisions. This post will help you maintain the financial health of your company. If not, maybe it’s about time to hire an accountant for your business.

If you’re looking for a business accountant in Gold Coast, get in touch with us today to see how we can help.

When running a business, you might encounter a lot of questions regarding your operations and investment decisions. Naturally, those questions need some answers so you can continue with your business operations and plans for success. One of the many questions that are guaranteed to come up during your entire experience as a business owner is: “Should I do business planning or bookkeeping?”

Settling the score

Understandably, business planning and bookkeeping are treated as separate aspects, and each one has its own significant effort requirements to complete. As confident as you may be with how well your business plan could possibly work, becoming more aware of what your business needs also generates an overwhelming feeling of having to deal with your numbers. At one point, you may end up dealing with the overwhelming pressure of having to pick between business planning or bookkeeping due to qualms of long-term growth. To assure you, you can do both things at the same time.

“How is it even possible to do both?”

Admittedly, bookkeeping and business planning can come off as two equally complex tasks that require a certain level of meticulousness and full concentration. One deals with your business’s long-term goals and sustainability through better planning over incoming sales, expenses, and demands. Meanwhile, the other one is mainly concerned with all of your company’s numbers.

Both tasks, unbeknownst to most business owners, best work in sync with one another because they each yield vital information that the other can use. For example, you are going to need proper financial records in order to make better decisions during your business planning process. Conversely, keeping your books in order entails having a proper business plan that keeps all your company’s numbers accounted for with a proper logistical flow.

“Isn’t it exhausting to do both things at the same time?”

Doing bookkeeping and business planning at the same time without coming up short on quality, however, does not mean that you will have to stretch yourself thin. By bringing in the help of an outsourced bookkeeper and accounting software, it will be much easier to take care of everything that you have to do in a much more efficient manner that costs less.

When you have both an outsourced bookkeeper and accounting software (such as QuickBooks), you can streamline the entire process of gathering data and fixing them to fulfil the conditions of both bookkeeping and business planning. Additionally, taking on extra help through outsourced expertise and choice of software also eases up the load of doing bookkeeping. This essentially makes more time for you to focus on the more intricate parts of business planning as best as you can.

Final words

Taking on bookkeeping and business planning at the same time may seem overwhelmingly complex, but having the right help and tools will make the task a whole lot lighter. By outsourcing a bookkeeper and putting your selected accounting software into place, you would not have to overexert yourself while trying to achieve even greater business growth.

If you are looking for the best accountants on the Gold Coast for your small business, get in touch with us to see how we can help.

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101 Strategies for Business Owners To Save Tax

Save Tax helps business owners, entrepreneurs and commercial adventurers:
  • Pay only the tax that they need to
  • Find the right people to help you save tax
  • Simplify and demystify tax obligations

At the end of the day, and by the end of this book, you will have an understanding of how and why you should invest in minimising your tax and making the most of your business.

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