Change Accountants & Advisers, Brisbane

2013 Tax Planning

Tax Planning Starts Now!

There's 5 key things that all business owners MUST consider RIGHT NOW. 2 of them are brilliant wealth creation ideas.

Please click on the video below to watch



Please read on!

Introduction

30 June is only 13 weeks after the beginning of April. It's not a long time at all.
 
Too often, we end up suffering because we have procrastinated and not made a positive decision to do something. If we all leave your tax planning until the end of May and early June, quite frankly there may not be enough time to do anything significant to legally reduce your tax.
 
So for 2013, our invitation to you is to START NOW with your tax planning.

5 Key Tax Planning Strategies

Over the next 5 weeks, we will send you one e-mail per week covering one of our 5 key tax planning strategies. These are:
 
1. Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) - Avoid common traps, learn how to save $
 
2. Trust Distribution Resolutions needed BEFORE
30 June 2013 - or pay up to 46.5% tax
 
3. Big tax refunds for prepaid interest for a capital protected share portfolio (with NO cash required before 30 June)
 
4. Establish a Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF) - How to make it your family's wealth VAULT and legally pay NIL tax
 
5. General tax planning strategies - Key items that mean $ in your pocket
 
So look out in your inbox over the next 5 weeks, and we'll outline in detail for you how to save $ and at the same time grow your family's wealth in a low risk manner.

How our Tax Planning Process works

First of all, we request from you details of your expected income and business profits for the 2013 financial year (1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013). This includes all wages / employment income, interest and dividends and rental income received, business profits / losses, and any capital gains / losses you expect to make.
 
Based on this information, we estimate your taxable income and your tax payable BEFORE any tax planning strategies. For example, we may calculate (based on your information) that you may have a taxable income of $200,000 for 2013. This would result in $66,547 of tax and Medicare levy payable.
 
Secondly, we discuss all of your tax planning options. Some of these may be things to do in your business, and some of these may be investment / wealth creation options.
 
Third, we provide you with a report that explains in plain English the tax planning strategies we recommend and exactly how much tax you will save.
 
And finally, we provide you with an easy to follow Action Plan to ensure that combined we can accomplish everything that needs to be in place before 30 June.

Contact us TODAY to get started!

Don't wait until June. Contact our office TODAY to start your tax planning for 2013. 
 
And look out for our special e-mails over the next 5 weeks were we'll explain in detail how you can benefit from the above 5 key tax planning strategies!

With the year end holiday season fast approaching, here are 8 tips to ensure you have a smooth holiday break (and avoid potential problems)...

1. The January to March Cash Flow Crisis

After the rush of the Christmas period, cash seems to dry up for most business in early January. People are away, invoices don't get paid, and probably won't until February or even March.

You need to have a cash buffer leading into January to help you through these tight months. If you have customers on account, START YOUR DEBTOR FOLLOW UP NOW! The creditors who chase hard and early will get paid first. Don't be the last on the list to contact your customers for payment -- they may have no cash left to pay you by that stage.

2. Christmas Parties for your Team

The ATO has a "minor benefit" limit of $300 per employee for Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) purposes. If you keep the cost of your Christmas party to under $300 per employee, then this should be able to be viewed as a minor benefit and exempt from FBT.

Additionally, keep any Christmas presents below $300 per employee and ensure they are "one-off" gifts, and they should be exempt from FBT.

3. Christmas Party Policy

Employment laws are changing all the time, and recent changes confirm the need for employers to remind their employees about work policies in relation to responsible drinking and behaviour at work functions. Please feel free to contact us for an example E-MAIL for you to use to send to your employees to remind them of your work policies in this area.

4. Office Closure Dates

Do your customers know when your office is closing and when it is re-opening? You should update your web site with these details and put a sign on your front office door with an emergency contact number, just in case a courier tries to deliver anything to your office while it is closed.

5. Signature Lines on e-mails

Update the signature lines NOW for all of your employees. At the bottom of your e-mails during the month of December and early January, list the closing and re-opening times for your office, and even list an emergency contact phone number if you wish. This will encourage your customers to contact you well before you shut your office for any needs or enquiries they may have.

6. E-mail "Out-of-Office" Auto Reply

Ensure that your team updates and turns on their e-mail "Out-of-office" automatic reply during your last work day. Say something simple like "Our office is closed for the holiday break starting Friday 21 December 2012, and we will return on Monday 7 January 2013. For strictly urgent matters, please contact [TEAM MEMBER] on [i.e. 0400 111 222] and they will respond to your request within 24 hours."

7. Recorded Phone Messages

Prepare a recorded phone message for your phone answering system to let your customers know when your office is closing and re-opening.

8. After Hours Emergency Contact Details

Your customers may feel frustrated if they have an urgent need over the holiday break but cannot contact your office. You may decide to provide the mobile phone number or e-mail address of a Holiday Break Contact Team Member that can respond to customers within 24 hours. These emergency contact details could be left on your recorder phone message, e-mail signature lines and e-mail "out-of-office" replies.

Enjoy Your Break!

Above all, have a great holiday break and ... here's an item for your checklist ...  relax!

We've really enjoyed working with you this year, and we're very much looking forward to helping you next year too!

In Part 1 of this article we looked at the first two reasons your business needs a budget now.

The third reason is ...

3. Budgeting is not about accounting. It's about being accountable.

Once you are crystal clear on the handful of drivers that create your business' results, the next question is ...

What are you going to do about it?

Your budget won't just give you a monthly sales target, for example, it will help you quantify the drivers that will produce the result.

For example, if next month's sales target is $120,000, that figure is not your focus. Not on a day to day basis. Knowing the drivers, your focus will instead become 25 calls per day (Driver No.1) at 80% conversion rate (Driver No.2), with each customer buying an average of $300 worth of products (Driver No. 3).

Now you and your staff have crystal clear focus and are 100% accountable.

That's good for them, and good for you and your business. (Tip: People in a business want a clear scoreboard and a 'game to play' so they know whether they are winning or not. Research has found that a lack of measurement in a job is demotivating to a staff member. See Patrick Lencioni's books such as 3 Signs of a Miserable Job for more information on this topic.)

Knowing these drivers, and quantifying a target for each, you can ask questions like:

• Have the 25 calls been made today?
• If not, why not? Is the target realistic?
• Does the team need training?
• Do they need better telephone equipment or dialling software?
• Or just more focus?
• Or guidance on what their task priorities should be?
• Or a combination of these?
• Are we being effective and converting 80% of the calls?
• Again, if not, why not?

You can then decide to improve skills, or systems, or attitude, or all three! As you can see, the power of the budget is in the process of preparing it. The budget itself then becomes a tool to hold you accountable to the measurable indicators you've chosen.

An added layer of accountability is ... us.

We work with a number of clients where, on either a monthly or quarterly basis, we act as a sounding board and independent party to ask you the hard questions about the drivers and the results. This focuses your mind, allows you to form a clear Action Plan to improve results, and then increases your chances of success because you know you need to 'report in' to us next time.

It's a brilliant process, that our clients enjoy because it works wonders! To take more control of your business and its performance, make a time to come in and see us.

Depending on the size of your business, we might work out that a quarterly process would work best (and be the most feasible, cost-wise), or your business might be at a point where monthly or even weekly guidance would be ideal.

Either way, we'll outline your options and your costs so you know precisely what's involved.

We look forward to helping you 'chart your course', helping to get a clear direction, and then keeping you and your business on course.

After all, you won't end up at your ideal destination by drifting ...


Go to Part 1 of this article