It’s time to upskill (or risk the consequences)

If you are a small business owner, an entrepreneur, a solopreneur, a mumpreneuer, the next Zuckerberg or a combination of all of these – you need to constantly upskill or fear getting left behind.  Or worse – get a knock on the door from the tax office because you have failed in some kind of business obligation that you had no idea about. And I am not just talking about…  Read more

Should you outsource work to offshore workers?

The rise of the global workforce and the choice to offshore: the debate will not go away, so it is time to be educated and assess if you should hire/outsource parts of your business offshore. If you’re wondering whether it’s worthwhile to hire overseas workers and offshore part of your business for virtual admin support or other business services, cost considerations alone can make the prospect quite attractive. Before you…  Read more

The Future of a Retail Store: Boom or Bust?

As we wake up to another Fashion Brand going into administration, the question needs to be asked: What is the Future of the Retail store? Is it possible that a physical retail store will exist in 20 years time? Or is a profitable shop front a thing of the past? Smart Company have just released today news of David Lawrence going into voluntary administration, and in the past twelve months it…  Read more

Constructive Criticism or Raving Fan

Customer Service is not something you set up when you start your business and then you forget about it. It is not programs and processes that you implement and you kick back and relax, simply because you assume your process is working. Recently we had a potential client contact us before Christmas and sadly the contact form on our website was not working. Cue customer service fail.  So their first…  Read more

What accounting system is right for you?

There is so much choice when it comes to accounting software. So how do you choose the right one? How do you choose the accounting system for your business – the one you really need. So not the one everyone tells you that you need – but the accounting system which is the right fit for YOUR business? We face this question with every new client we see. Not to…  Read more

You have a 20cm blood clot – (lessons from a horrible boss)

Coming up to 8 years ago I was faced with a health scare – 6 weeks pregnant (first time mum – I should have been so excited), I had developed a 20 cm blood clot in my lower leg, I was in agony, I had a job I loved – and I was told I was unable to reduce my hours to part time, as my condition didn’t warrant it.…  Read more

How to get value from your Accountant

We see posts all the time asking “How do I choose an accountant?” or even worse “My accountant is ripping me off, who can you recommend?”. I can’t stress enough that any service provider, whether it is an accountant or anyone else, needs to be offering you value. What you need to firstly understand is that there are various types of accountants. If you are looking to get a tax…  Read more

Qualified help is not free – Google is free and we all know where that leads

I know when you start a business finances are tight and every cent is watched like a hawk but if I had a dollar for every time I heard a startup say “I couldn’t afford an accountant so I just googled the answer…but I think I have stuffed it up…can you fix it” – well let’s just say I wouldn’t be sitting here at 9:05pm writing this blog post from…  Read more

How to Avoid the Christmas Credit Card Crunch

Well the festive season is in full swing – this means parties, gifts, eggnog, mistletoe, Santa and normally family feuds. But the thing causing the most stress at Christmas, is the level of credit card debt people put themselves in, which hangs over their heads for many months to come. Australians spent over $47 billion in the Christmas spending period between November 15th and December 24 (2015 statistics) according to Inside…  Read more

You want a business loan … who you gonna’ call??

As most of us in the startup phase of our entrepreneurship journey would know, getting cash to fund our dream is not an easy (or quick) task. There are many “No’s” before you hear the magical “Yes”. Or will you even hear the “Yes” at all? Your dream idea is only loved by a third party finance option, if it can see that the idea has the ability to generate…  Read more

Are you still deemed to be successful after going into Liquidation?

Why do I ask? Is my business in trouble? Hell no. But today I went to a Business Chicks breakfast where I heard from America’s original #girlboss Sofia Amoruso. She started the Nasty Gal empire along with a bit of a Girl Boss revolution in America. She has a podcast, fashion empire, books, soon to be released series on Net Flix – amongst other things. Well that was until a…  Read more

Business is booming – so where the F$%K is all your money?

Calling all business owners, entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, mumpreneurs, dadpreneurs – or any other fancy titles that are out there at the moment – the sooner you realise that profit is not the same as cash – the sooner you will start to plan for a fabulous financial future. You see here is the thing – I speak to business owners all the time who simply get frustrated (*insert swear words here…  Read more

6 tips to stay in Control of your Cash Flow with Confidence

Cash Flow is the major cause 56% of small businesses don’t survive past their 5th birthday. It is time to turn the tables on that horrific statistic and be in charge of your cash flow (with confidence) and remove the stigma and fear around asking for your invoices to be paid. The first thing to consider is that cash flow is not just chasing debtors. Cash flow is understanding – when…  Read more

Sun, Sea and Learning – The Importance of Investing in training and development

Why do I invest so much in training, education & development? This month alone I have two conferences which are interstate that I will be attending. And when I say I am going to the Gold Coast to attend the MYOB Partner Conference, people say to me, “Oh, you are just going for a holiday!” And I know they are only saying that in jest (well I think they are),…  Read more

To fraud or not to fraud….that is the question

As an accountant, fraud, and in particular financial fraud, really pisses me off. You see when you run a company you have obligations – morally and ethically, as well as financially and legally. “You can’t put your head in the sand and say “Sorry – I had no idea”.  That just doesn’t cut it as a company director.” So when I read this article from Smart Company today about the…  Read more

How inaccurate job costing can bleed your business dry

When you work in a service based industry, part of your life becomes focused on what you have quoted for a job and what it actually costs you. Well, let me rephrase that – it should be focused on that.  Fixed prices, monthly packages, paid upfront, deposits collected or a combination of all of these – if you are not accurately looking at and recording costs per job, you business could…  Read more

You don’t have to love numbers….but you should understand them

As a business owner – you have an obligation – part of that obligation is understanding what your numbers tell you.  You need to understand cash flow to pay your suppliers and the ATO.  Ignorance is not an excuse. I know what you are thinking….it is that harsh Stacey again throwing around her comments about numbers and ATO – blah blah blah.  Well yes – it is me. As soon…  Read more

Want to learn to love your numbers? yes please...Bookkeeping, Accounting & Tax services Australia wide