The Small Business Survival Guide

Introduction

Town & Country Bookkeeping and Business Solutions are professional bookkeepers. We offer bookkeeping and admin services that are tailored to suit your business whether that be a start up or you have been running your business for a while now and have been trying to do it all yourself.

There is a misconception that you will save money by trying to do this yourself. With compliance becoming more onerous, it is a cost effective solution to have a professional on board. This allows you to keep your staffing to what your business needs without having to employ an admin person or bookkeeper.

Whilst it might work for some businesses, it is not a good idea to expect that your partner will look after the books for you. They are generally not skilled and this will ultimately cause stresses between partnerships.

We have practical experience in, and work with many industries, including, building and construction and associated trades, earthmoving, manufacturing, import/wholesale, professional industries, transport and primary production.

This article is for guidance purposes only and should not be relied upon for advice.

Small Business Survival Guide

Thinking of starting your own business? Congratulations, that’s the first step! It is a daunting and overwhelming time. What do I need to do, what’s next, who can I trust to give me the best guidance? We have met many new business owners that have taken advice from friends, family and other business owners, all well-meaning but everybody’s circumstances are different and what works for one business owner, may not necessarily be what’s best for you.

Once you have decided to go ahead and start your business, we highly recommend that you talk to your accountant or contact us before diving in.

What business structure do I need?

• Sole Trader

• Partnership

• Company

• Trust

This will be dependent on several things and is best discussed with a trusted professional before you make the decision.

Do I need an ABN (Australian Business Number)?

Once you have chosen your structure, you will need to register an ABN. There are implications for not having an ABN, refer to the link below.

Registration Obligation for Businesses

Do I need to be registered for GST?

Just because you have an ABN, does not mean you are registered for GST unless you applied for this during your ABN registration. Whether or not you need to register depends on several factors, below is a link to give you more information.

Registering for GST

Do I need to register a business trading name?

f you want your business to trade under a name that is different from your legal entity name, then you’ll have to register a business name with ASIC. Your legal name is your personal name if you are a sole trader, or, if an entity, it is the partnership name, or your registered company.

Registering a Business Name

There are several important things to consider when planning your new business journey, some of these are legal or compliance requirements, some are to enable you to run an efficient business.

• Bank account

  You will need to open a bank account before you start trading. You will need to have your company/entity registered and business ABN before you can open the account.
  The main account will be a business operating account.
  Handy Tip – consider a separate savings account to quarantine the money for your compliances like the GST and PAYG/Super obligations so that you have the money available and are able to meet compliance deadlines.

• Will you have employees?

  There are strict compliances around employees. It is important that you are aware of the relevant award for your industry. There is a lot of good information available from Fair work. Other compliances include PAYG and when it is to be remitted to the ATO. Superannuation Guarantee Contributions including how much is to be held and when it is to be remitted to the employees’ funds, and what happens if you don’t. And, if that isn’t enough, the new compliance, Single Touch Payroll (STP) is now making sure that employers are looking after their employees correctly. It is important that you get this right! To find out more please visit
  www.fairwork.gov.au

• Do you have adequate insurances?

  It is important that you consider the insurances that you require, dependant on your industry, these may include, but are not limited to:

  • Public Liability

  • Professional Indemnity (if you provide services or products)

  • Business insurance

  • Workers compensation – this is a requirement if you have employees

• Other things to think about

  • Cashflow and funding, will you need lending?

  • Premises, will you need to rent premises to get started, do you need a warehouse, office space, manufacturing space? Where will you operate from, i.e. location

  • Policies and procedures – properly documented to protect both you and the employee.

  • Development of a business plan/budgets and cashflows.

The important day to day things

Record Keeping

We can’t stress enough how important this is! We find that businesses that set up their systems from the start and put processes in place for their record keeping, and run them properly, have a better chance of limiting their problems in the early stages of trading.

These days, there are several excellent record keeping software packages available such as XERO, MYOB and QBO, this, coupled with receipt collection apps like DEXT and Hubdoc can help automate this function and help create efficiencies. If you intend on having employees, because of the STP requirement, you will need to have a computerised system in place, all of the software mentioned above have this, and other options that can feed in your award like EmploymentHero.

There are also many other “add ons” that are industry or task specific to help with the running of your business, that can integrate into your record keeping software depending on the needs of your business.

Town & Country Business Services can look after this for you if you would rather stay out of the day-to-day administrative operations and concentrate on your business and what you know. We offer a tailored bookkeeping package to suit your business needs, or, we can support you with if you choose to do it yourself with support packages.

Software Implementation and Training

Town & Country Business Solutions use and recommend XERO, however we also work with MYOB and QBO. The choice of software will come down to your business needs. We are certified for all three platforms to implement and get you started in these systems.

We offer one on one training or can accommodate groups.

Compliances

Now that all your registrations are set up and your business is trading, there are several compliances and deadlines that you need to ensure that you meet. This is where your record keeping is critical. These include but are not limited to:

• BAS – quarterly lodgement GST and PAYG obligations by the due date

• IAS – monthly lodgement of PAYG obligations if you are over the threshold for quarterly

• SCG – quarterly lodgement and payment by the due date

• STP – pay day reporting and end of year reconciliation

• Workers Compensation – annual declarations

“We help busy small business owners by providing efficiency and automation with online systems and dedicated support”

Whether you’re a start up or on your way, Town & Country Business Solutions provides bookkeeping, accounting and tax services to cover all your compliance needs and delivers advice and support in a simple and uncomplicated way. We implement and set up of XERO , MYOB and QBO, as well as offer training in all three packages.

Freeing up you, as the business owner, to do what you started your business for, we form an integral part of your team.

Want to keep your own books? we offer a package for back up support for DYI bookkeeping.

Town & Country Business Solutions provides old fashioned country customer service, coupled with professionalism and care.

We are work remotely offering the highest level of security to ensure your business accounts are safe, all the while, still maintaining that personal connection. We do not offshore or outsource our services, all your information is kept in one place.

We are:

• XERO Certified advisor, XERO certified Payroll, XERO certified Migration

• MYOB Certified

• QBO Advanced advisor

• Registered Tax Agent

• CPA accountants

Feel free to contact us so we can discuss your needs.