Company Money vs. Your Money

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When you’re an owner, a shareholder, or director of a company, it’s easy to blur the lines between your company as a “separate legal entity” and yourself as a person. It’s important to remember that company money cannot be used flippantly for personal transactions, as the funds belong to the company, not you.

The Australian Tax Office requires that all company transactions are recorded and declared. It is not illegal to use company money for personal reasons, however, it’s important to make the distinction and keep all records. There are many ways that you can report these transactions, including dividends, fringe benefits, and salary payments.

For more information, read this article from the ATO Small Business Newsroom.

If you’re not sure whether you’re correctly keeping your records and reporting transactions correctly, get in touch with us to straighten things out.

Get in touch with us

Payroll Tax: Pay It!

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Account Daily’s article warns business owners of the increased penalties associated with avoiding payroll tax payments. Points to note from the article are as follows:

  • Penalties to increase by 400%

  • Penalties include jail time and fines of up to $110,000.

  • Revenue NSW may ‘name and shame’ offending businesses. This information is to be made available to Fair Work in supporting wage theft investigations.

  • Penalties will apply to those disposing of, falsifying, or poorly keeping their records.

  • Second-time offenders found avoiding payroll tax will incur harsher penalties.

The government is also calling for the establishment of a national framework to thwart wage theft.

Read the article

The end is nigh: JobKeeper.

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Due to the mounting needs of the workforce created by COVID-19, the end of JobKeeper was extended from September 2020 until March 2021. However, this still will come as a blow to several employers and employees who have relied on government funding for almost a year. The JobKeeper program is set to officially end with businesses receiving final payments in April. 

Are you an employer interested in other government funding schemes?

Learn about your options

Protect yourself against scammers with us

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Melissa Caddick was last seen in November and disappeared after accusations against her emerged about financial misconduct. Her case is one that has captivated the nation – not just because she is a missing person with evidence of her ill fate being found, but because her crimes are ones we’re all afraid of.

Although she made a living as a so-called ‘financial advisor,’ Caddick didn’t possess an Australian Financial Services License and fooled many who trusted her into losing millions of dollars. Bank statements, tax returns, spreadsheets, and other documents were all falsified by Melissa Caddick as manipulation tools.

The scam conducted by Caddick and her disappearance is tragic for her family and for those individuals and businesses that she received investments from. While all of us hope this never happens to us, employing the services of BAS, bookkeeping, and accounting to protect you and your business has never been more important.

We’re here to help you with our services and keep things safe and above board.

See our services

Phase two of Single Touch Payroll 

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In a year from now, the Single Touch Payroll system will enter its second phase of growth, requiring further information to be provided.

The increase in providing information to the Australian Taxation Office means that you will no longer be required to issue it to additional government agencies, as is the case currently. This means that the amount of reporting required of employers is reduced and condensed.

Services Australia is hosting a live stream ticketed event to inform employers about what the changes will mean for them.

Book now

New Year (sort of) resolutions

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We’re on the wrong side of mid-February, so everyone has run out of excuses as to why they haven’t implemented the fresh, new accounting habits they’d promised themselves.

You can find out what sort of shape your record-keeping systems are in by using the record-keeping evaluation tool provided by the Australian Tax Office.

Here’s what they say makes bookkeeping easier:

  • Keeping all records (tax invoices, stocktake records, a list of creditors and debtors, wages records, Superfund contributions) that are relevant to your business’s tax and super affairs

  • Safely storing your records in a way that protects them from being changed or damaged

  • Keep records for five years

  • To be able to show the Tax Office your records if we ask for them

  • They must be in English or easily converted to English

 

Read the article

JobTrainer

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After many changes in light of the ever-evolving COVID-19 situation in Australia, most of us have finally gotten our heads around JobKeeper, JobSeeker, and JobMaker: JobKeeper to help employers subsidise wages and keep their employees in work, JobSeeker to financially support those looking for jobs, and JobMaker to provide financial incentives to employers to create new roles.

However, here’s one you may not have heard about: JobTrainer.

If your business employs apprentices or trainees, this is something that you’ll want to get yourself up to speed with as soon as possible.

JobTrainer refers to the 50% wage subsidy that the Australian government is offering to employers for their apprentices and trainees, providing that you are a small business with fewer than 20 employees and that the employee whose wage is in question was doing their apprenticeship with you on the 1st of July 2020. Some claims may be eligible to back-date, and are valid up until the end of March 2021.

Learn more

Early superannuation withdrawals

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Early withdrawals of superannuation funds have been fairly uncommon in the past, but with many anxious about the security of their jobs and income, the Australian Taxation Office has seen an increase like never before.

Currently under review by the ATO are approximately 1,900 applications for early Super access, of which around 1,700 are flawed. Many conditions have applied in the several phases of applications, with the ATO receiving heavy criticisms around encouraging people to access their funds based on self-assessment rather than comprehensive income checks.

 

Read more

Trusted advisors

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COVID-19 has seen all of us confronted by an ever-changing nation, with restrictions and government support looking different from one day to the next. Bookkeepers and accountants have also found their roles and relationships with their clients are looking very different than before.

All around the world bookkeepers and accountants have taken on the role of ‘trusted advisor’ to their clients. Our services have been required more than ever before, with employers less sure of rules, regulations, and government incentives and grants.

Over in the US, bookkeepers and accountants have seen themselves giving more advice, whether moral or monetary, as well as a demand from clients for greater automation technology for their payroll system.

For advice, get in touch

Jobmaker

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We’ve all heard a lot about Jobkeeper and the increased funding to Jobseeker, both government responses to the job losses resulting from the pandemic. However, less has been discussed about Jobmaker.

Jobmaker was created as an incentive for employers to create new roles, with government contributions to these employees’ pays, keeping more Australians working as a result.

While there are conditions to the scheme, it’s worth finding out if Jobmaker can benefit your business.

Read more, or get in touch with us to see if Jobmaker could benefit you.