Expert Advice

One of the most polarising federal bud gets in decades, talk of double dissolutions and a unpredictable Senate - with an early election not out of the question, now is a good time to ensure that both you and your business are up to speed on your disclosure obligations when it comes to making financial or other donations to political...

In my last two columns, I introduced you to two of my favourite mobile applications - Xero and Receipt Bank. I use them on a daily basis and consider them to be part and parcel of my business. The growth in use of mobile devices has led to an explosion in the development of mobile applications. Small-to-medium businesses are using...

Redraw has become a standard feature of home loans, with many home owners taking advantage of accessing extra money at their home loan interest rate. 1 Simply put, redraw gives you access to additional payments you have made to your loan, allowing you to withdraw that 'extra money' if needed. 2,3 Many people choose to contribute additional funds to their...

Research has consistently shown that most Australians are underinsured and do not possess a level of cover sufficient to protect themselves and their family's way of life. In Australia, over 5 million families have dependent children but only 4 per cent of these families possess insurance which will allow them to maintain their current lifestyle for 10 years or more....

The goal of any online marketing or advertising is conversion. Small businesses spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on online advertisements to promote their products and services. Many of those adverts direct potential customers to the main website or a generic web page. The result is, poor lead conversion. Valuable leads are lost because of poor quality landing pages. Here...

Not many of us have a clear vision of what we want from our career at a very young age. However, somewhere along the way, we have to realise that unless we decide on our career goals and take action to achieve them, where we end up will be a matter of luck. Begin your career planning today with this...

Have you ever considered buying an investment property but have been daunted by the task and fear of getting it wrong? There are some fundamentals that you need to understand to be a successful property investor. This includes doing your research and finding a qualified property investment advisor who can help you through the process. You'll need to assess the...

When Google purchased YouTube in 2006 for a reported US$1.65b, I wasn't really sure what they had in mind, other than controlling the universe, one cat video, at a time. But now YouTube should really feel like part of the AdWords family, as Google opens up a whole new world of advertising possibilities with "Online Video" campaign options in the...

Intellectual Property (IP) may or may not be considered strategically important at the outset of developing new software or the latest smartphone application. However when it comes time to commercialise your products, get a 3 rd party to make amendments to code or graphics, or you need to register or confirm a clear chain of title to your IP, issues...

The new financial year brings in some changes to superannuation that everyone should be aware of. Superannuation guarantee For the 2014/15 year this has been increased from 9.25% to 9.5%. Both employers and employees should ensure this increase is being complied with. Concessional contributions Concessional contributions are those which are taxed at 15% upon entry into the fund. They encompass...

What is superannuation splitting? The trustee of one spouse's superannuation fund can be required either by Court Order or by agreement to split some of that spouse's superannuation interest to the other spouse on separation. Both spouses then have separate interests in the superannuation fund, which they can access on their retirement. In some cases, an interest can be 'rolled...

I recently attended the Entrepeneur of the Year awards hosted by EY and was reminded of the incredible success stories continually occurring in the Canberra business community. While our daily papers are filled with tales of woe on the state of the economy and the budgetary impact on the ACT over the next few years, these businesses are continuing to...

An organisation's board plays a critical role, and a good board can greatly increase an organisation's chance of success. The Board of Directors is charged with the responsibility of maintaining good corporate governance; it is the guardian of fairness; transparency and accountability in all of the major financial and business dealings of the company; and defending the interests of investors...

On 5 June 2014 the ACT Government introduced the Payroll Tax Amendment Bill 2014 that will remove the "genuine employer" payroll tax exemption on wages paid to subcontractors by employment agents and payroll agencies (collectively ""agencies"). The bill was originally slated to commence on 1 July 2014, however the Commissioner for ACT Revenue acknowledged this date would have been challenging...

The recent Senate Economics References Committee enquiry into the performance of ASIC has made recommendations to government in relation to Australia's insolvency laws regarding corporate restructure and reorganisation. The Committee took the view that greater provision should be made for access to measures to 'encourage and facilitate corporate turnarounds'. Particular reference was made in submissions to the Committee to US...

In the previous article, I mentioned Receipt Bank, an online tool that has revolutionised the bookkeeping/accounting industry. Now, I will take this opportunity to go into detail about its full features which can help you to reduce your bookkeeping costs and achieve a paperless office. Traditionally, a bookkeeper was considered as one who performed monotonous tasks such as data entry...