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The Australian Government has extended and expanded the Supporting Apprentices and Trainees wage subsidy, to include medium-sized businesses who had an eligible apprentice in place on 1 July 2020. This may be of particular interest to employers who are not eligible for the JobKeeper extension. What is the Supporting Apprentices and Trainees wage subsidy? The Supporting Apprentices and Trainees wage subsidy is part of the Australian Government’s COVID-19 Economic Response.…  Read more

Countries in recession, unemployment rates rising, multiple economic indicators at their all-time lows, increased market volatility– these are just some of the economic impacts we’re seeing as a result of the pandemic. As we continue to battle the COVID-19 crisis, it is important for everyone, especially those who have had their income stream affected, to keep their finances in check and proactively find ways to navigate to recovery. By creating…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are safe and doing well. Read on for this week’s update. $800m Digital Business Plan to Drive Economic Recovery The Australian Government has announced a Digital Business plan to enable businesses to take advantage of digital technologies to grow their businesses and create jobs in the wake of COVID-19. PM Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced the…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are safe and doing well. Read on for this week’s update. Queensland Border Zone Extensions from October 1st Queensland’s border zone will be extended to 5 local government areas in NSW starting October 1st. These areas include: Byron, Ballina, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Glen Innes councils. South Australia-NSW Borders to Open at Midnight South Australia will reopen its…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are safe and doing well. Read on for this week’s update. Melbourne’s Roadmap to ‘COVID Normal’ A staged plan to ease Melbourne out of tight COVID-19 restrictions has been released. Stage 4 restrictions will remain in place for another two weeks with some minor changes, and will start to ease further from 28 September. The final step should…  Read more

When you’re an entrepreneur, your to-do list is often long and constantly growing longer. There are an overwhelming number of things you need to do, and it can feel like they’re all urgent. In such cases, it’s easy to push important tasks to the side and focus on less-vital activities, but that often means you miss deadlines, make mistakes or always feel as though you’re trying to catch up. Here…  Read more

When you own a small business, it’s vital you understand how money flows into and out of it. At a basic level, you need to know where your income comes from and what your expenses are. At a deeper level, knowing how money moves through your business can help you make strategic decisions about growth, invoicing, and debt management. The consequences of not understanding money can be drastic—poor financial management…  Read more

In the lean, early years of running a business – that crucial time when most startups need capital – qualifying for a loan can be difficult. Step one is to build a solid credit rating, so a lender feels confident your company isn’t a high risk for repayment and can say “yes” to your application. Once you’ve established a positive credit score, the perfect time to take out a business…  Read more

Since the first internal corporate note was sent—probably reminding employees about casual Friday—companies and organizations have relied on written communications to keep employees up-to-date on company policies, procedures and changes happening within. These days, though, more companies are switching to videos to relay information to their staff. In a lot of ways, video is more effective than written communications. It grabs peoples’ attention, conveys important information quickly and is usually…  Read more

If you’re a small business owner whose company hasn’t gone through hard times, that’s great but it’s likely to happen at some point. As much as we dream about being brilliant enough at business that we’ll never face slow times, there are many things beyond our control that can negatively affect our business. Here are four tips for getting your business through difficult periods so you can look forward to…  Read more

There’s a new way to access online government services. The way you access government services for both business and personal matters is changing this month. myGovID and Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM) will replace AUSkey at the end of March 2020. We’ve detailed what you need to do and when, but please get in touch if you have any questions. What is AUSkey? AUSkey is a secure login that identifies you…  Read more

If your company relies on suppliers in various geographic locations, it’s likely that at some point your business will face a supply chain disruption. Whether that disturbance is caused by a virus, regulatory lockdown, international tensions, changes in local laws or a natural disaster, there will probably be scenarios in which your suppliers or transporters face obstacles that affect your company. Here are some steps you can take to respond…  Read more

It’s hard to escape the news of the Coronavirus as it continues to have a huge impact on people across the world. Closer to home, the Morrison Government has announced a stimulus package in response to the anticipated economic downturn. This package includes a number of economic stimulus measures, most targeted at helping small to medium-sized businesses. Here to help But first, please be assured that we are here to…  Read more

As a small business owner, you’re likely always looking for ways to achieve more. Maybe you made a New Year’s resolution about it. You might have resolved to make more money, find more clients, or grow your business. It’s fantastic to have an idea of what you want to do, but how will you know whether or not you’re successful? That’s where SMART goals come in. SMART goals help you…  Read more

Ask any successful entrepreneur about their path to greatness and you’ll get the same answer: failure is an inevitable part of the journey. It took Thomas Edison 1,000 failed attempts before he finally invented the light bulb. Tim Ferris received 25 rejections before his bestselling book, “The 4 Hour Workweek” was finally published and sold millions of copies. It’s a fact that 20% of businesses fail in their first year…  Read more

Think of your business plan as a roadmap designed to point the way to your current destination, knowing that where you land may not be your ultimate end point. After all, things are constantly changing in a healthy, thriving business. Market fluctuations, new competitors, changes in staffing or your sales figures may nudge you in a direction you wouldn’t have previously dreamed of, requiring new goals and strategies to achieve…  Read more

Many entrepreneurs believe that hard work and dogged determination are all it takes to build and sustain a successful business. But when you consider the pressures of running a company, it seems wise to add effective stress-management to the list. Left unchecked, stress can erode your passion and undermine performance – not to mention, take a serious toll on your health. Research compiled by Office Vibe reveals that over 70%…  Read more

No matter how much money you currently have in the bank, it’s a good idea to consult with a financial planner sooner than later. There’s no better way to start mapping out strategies for investing – and saving – so you can meet your short and long term financial goals. Financial planners are there to help you save time and money as you prepare to buy a house or commercial…  Read more

To many people, financial planning sounds like something for the very rich. The wealthiest people take their piles of money to someone who tells them where to invest it so they can make even more money. The rest of us just focus on saving what we can while paying off debt and hoping we don’t lose our jobs before we’re financially stable. In fact, financial planning is about having long-term…  Read more

Want to avoid paying more than you should come tax time? Or a frantic last minute search for missing financial records? New business owners have a lot on their plate, and can easily lose track of an approaching tax deadline or financial data needed to submit their return. Organization is key when preparing for tax time. As is taking advantage of the many tools and resources out there to support…  Read more