#AccountingAnswers – Claiming GST on a new car

 

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How much GST can I claim on a new car?

When it comes to claiming GST on a car (Goods & Services Tax), it’s very similar to claiming GST on any other business expense.

You can only claim the GST to the percentage that it relates to earning an income in your business.

So you need to keep a logbook.

A logbook tracks the number of business-related kilometres that you drive, and your total kilometres in that time.  This will give you your ‘logbook percentage’.

Your logbook percentage will tell you the percentage of GST, and tax deductions for car related expenses that you can claim in your BAS and tax return.

When can I claim the GST on a new car?

This depends on how the business is registered for GST.

Small businesses are usually registered for GST on a cash basis.

Most larger businesses (turning over $2M in a year) will need to be registered for on an accruals ‘Accruals’ – or non-cash basis.

Small Business – under $2M turnover

If you’re like most small businesses, and GST is on a cash basis, then you can claim the GST on the new car in the quarter that you take delivery (or settlement) of your car.

This is because either your finance company has ‘paid’ for the car on that date.  Or, you’ve paid for that car in full from your bank account.

Big Business – over $2M turnover

When it comes to accruals GST, you can claim the GST when you sign the contract for the new car.

You put this claim in on your quarterly or monthly BAS (business activity statement).

 

Two closing points:

Your up front claim of the GST can be used to fund the first few instalments payable to your finance company.

As a small business, it doesn’t matter whether you or the finance company pays for the car – you can still claim the GST when you pick up the car!

 

Collaboration queen makes career out of passion

We believe that every business owner has an inspiring story to tell.  A story of how they began.  A story of how they overcame the odds.  A story of what drives them.  A story of when they had a breakthrough.  A story of who inspires them to keep going.  Entrepreneurs of Brisbane is where we tell these inspirational stories, one entrepreneur at a time.

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Hi Entrepreneurs Jessica Kate here, Editor of Entrepreneurs of Brisbane (EOB) and Community Manager at Inspire CA.

Anyone who has met me, knows that I’m a people person.

I get my energy from other people and I exist to share my own positive energy with the world.

I call this sharing of energy – collaboration.  And one of the Queens of collaboration is my friend Francesca Moi our EOB feature for this week.

Collaboration is one of the foundations of connection with other human beings.  It’s obviously an investment but I promise you, it’s worth the reward.

You probably already intuitively know this but shared experiences make you happier and are a key ingredient in social connection.

So what can you do with someone else that will make your connection stronger – Plan a group run, have a party, cook a meal, volunteer together or go to a networking event together?

With that action in mind, let me introduce you to our Entrepreneurs of Brisbane feature for this week.

I nominated Francesca to be featured on Entrepreneurs of Brisbane because in a world where there are lots of Life Coaches and people running networking events Francesca is one of the good ones.

In fact during her interview she told me an unforgettable story about not getting burnt.  It goes a little like this (sorry francesca if I get it wrong)…

“I think of Entrepreneurship as ‘Entrepreneur-SHIP’.  We are all on this ship together and we can look out into the ocean of all the people there are to collaborate with.  Some people are sharks and some people are dolphins.  From above the water all you can see is a Fin.  It’s not until you get closer, under the surface that you realise if someone is a shark or a dolphin.”

Well I can tell you that Francesca is definitely a dolphin!  Her energy is abundant and her pure vision for helping connect like minded people has both helped me and many I know.

So, introducing Francesca Moi –

“I have lived my whole life living the life that everyone else wanted for me, until I realised it didn’t have to be that way.  I found my true passion in connecting like minded people and forming communities.  Collaboration is a powerful thing!  Why try to do it on your own when we can work together. My advice is believe in yourself, find what you are truly passionate about and surround yourself with passionate people.  Only then you will live the life you want to live!”

 

Want more Inspiration?

• If you’d like to nominate an Inspirational Entrepreneur of Brisbane to be featured email me on  jessica@inspireca.com with who and why.
• Want to read more Entrepreneurs of Brisbane stories, like the Facebook Page and read more on the EOB Blog.
• Want to rub shoulders with fellow Entrepreneurs of Brisbane in person?  We run a monthly Inspiring Business Event just for you.
• Are you an Entrepreneur of Brisbane who needs help getting their tax sorted?  Book a 10 min chat with a Chartered Accountant (at no cost)
• Cashflow got you stuck?  Register for our next Become a Cash Rich Business [Workshop] on Mar 3, 6:30pm – 8:30 pm.

Do Cool Sh*t: Quit your day job.  Start your own business.  Live happily ever after.

by Miki Agrawal.

 

Build an Inspiring Book List with Harvee Pene (Partner & Business Advisor at Inspire CA) as he undertakes his 2016 Challenge:  Read (implement & review) a Book a Week.

I believe everyone wants to do cool shit in their lives.

Everyone wants to leave their mark.

Everyone wants to have the light turned on in their eyes.

Everyone wants to share stories that they care about.

So this is the guidebook to achieve just that.

Miki (the Author) seems like the perfect balance of fun loving hippie, crossed with super disruptive hippie.

There’s heaps of practical business stuff like how to start a business, fund it on a shoestring budget, brainstorm a

business plan, test a product, get great (free) press coverage.

But definitely told through the fun loving lense of a spirited girl who leading a life she can be proud of.

I found that really inspirational.

It’s definitely a refreshing change from some of the stuffy and heavy business books out there.

She’s very well accomplished –

She learned how to step out of her comfort zone in a foreign country.

She played soccer for the New York Magic

She partnered with Tony Hsieh of Zappos.com to launch her dream business.

My actionable takeaway this week is a little more light hearted compared to other weeks – it’s to find a girlfriend like Miki :).

If you like the happy ending stories of people who have no idea about business but just follow their heart and learn along the way – you’ll love Do Cool Sh*t.

Book Review: Daring and Disruptive: Unleashing the Entrepreneur by Lisa Messenger.

Give your Super a Boost!

An alternative way of building up your retirement savings.

While most of us will hopefully accumulate enough superannuation throughout our working lives to have a comfortable retirement, many of us simply won’t have the funds there to splurge on something nice every now and then.

What if we could tell you there’s a way to boost your superannuation earnings that reduces the amount of tax you have to pay on your contributions at the same time – would you be interested?

Who wouldn’t!

As one option to consider, by purchasing a commercial property within a Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF), you can use the power of leverage to boost the growth of your retirement savings.

The interest on the loan is 100% tax deductible which means not only will you be making more money; you’ll be saving tax at the same time!

The other benefit of investing in Commercial property through your SMSF is diversification.

Some people are tired of the share market going up and down like a yo-yo and prefer property as an investment. Investing in property in additional to shares will mean you won’t have all your eggs in one basket.

This gives you peace of mind knowing a sharp downturn in shares one day won’t be the end of your retirement savings.

Sounds good? Absolutely, but it isn’t something you should rush into without discussing your situation with your Accountant or Wealth Advisor first.

Investing in property through an SMSF can be complex and you will need to be confident in your numbers before you get started.

We’re here to help you!

 

Need to speak to an accountant? Book a ZERO cost 20 minute strategy call with an Inspire Accountant at https://inspire.accountants/chat

 

Ben Walker of Inspire SMSFS Pty Ltd (1243433) is an authorised representative of Finance Wise Global Securities Pty Ltd ABN 60 146 708 045.  Finance Wise Global Securities Pty Ltd holds an Australian Financial Services License (No. 397877).

Book Review: UNPROFESSIONAL by Jack Delosa – How a 26 year old university dropout became a self-made millionaire

Build an Inspiring Book List with Harvee Pene (Partner & Business Advisor at Inspire CA) as he undertakes his 2016 Challenge:  Read (implement & review) a Book a Week.

Happy pre-Australia Day people’s. Turns out this book a week challenge isn’t so hard, once you get your momentum up!

The key is in implementation, rather than passive reading. So here’s my review and an implementation point for this week. Jack Delosa Unprofessional.

It’s a brilliant ‘all rounder’ business book covering the key areas of business, Sales, Marketing, Vision, People, Online Strategies etc.

There’s a line in the book that I’ve never been able to forget which was (something along the lines of…) “most businesses are a solution looking for a problem”.

As an ideas guy …

(I think most Business owners are “Ideas People”, we all had the great idea to go into business for ourselves, dreaming of greater freedom and the ability to do things our way)

… I’ve been guilty of falling in love with my own products / services and trying to get everyone to do the same.

Jack teaches a great methodology of testing and iterating to ensure you achieve product to market fit, or put simply to ensure your product solves a need.

We applied this methodology 2 weeks ago in our own business and have since trimmed 3 service offerings from our menu enabling us to focus on the key 1 or 2 services that are both the most profitable and the most impactful for our clients. It’s also meant we could massively trim down our marketing activities pointing to these services – essentially saving us one Full Time person this year.

As the owner of an Accounting firm (but not an accountant) my favourite chapter that I recommend you read is Chap 7, “Know Your Numbers” as I know how many business owners struggle with this piece of their business pie and he explains the 3 things and the 3 people every business needs, so simply.
10 / 10 Jack. Looking forward to the next one, which I see is only a few months away ‪#‎unwritten‬ ‪#‎reinventtomorrow‬

Happy Birthday Inspire!

Our own start up story, told for the first time.

WOW it’s Inspire CA – Young Family Small Business 3rd Birthday today.

For the first time, I’m going to share the cool story about how Ben Walker and I met (and way later came to be in business together)

Help! My Cashflow is Killing Me

#AccountingAnswers:  3 tips to even out the ups and downs

Fixing cashflow problems is like dealing with the pain of a toothache.

1. Strong painkillers give immediate but temporary relief.
2. A filling or root canal can remove the problem of pain.
3. Improvement in Oral Health with prevent further decay.

In this week’s #AccountingAnswers you’ll get 3 practical step to relieve your business of the pain of cashflow, once and for all.

1. Painkiller – Chase and collect all the money that is owed to you.  Send invoices or statements out of Xero immediately or put debtor chasing on autopilot with Debtor Daddy.
2. Get a filling – Fill the hole and never let it form again by transitioning to charging for your projects upfront and collecting 100% or 50% of the payment upfront.
3. Improve Oral Health – Your throbbing pain is business feedback that you have excessive expenses.  It’s time to cut the fat, get back on the tools & embrace the frugality.  Do this and you’ll prevent further profit decay.

 

 

Each week Inspire CA brings you #AccountingAnswers.  Responses to the most important or most frequent Accounting questions we get from our community.  If you’ve got a burning question you want #AccountingAnswers to then email us on hello@inspireca.com.

 

 

Build an Inspiring Book List with Harvee Pene (Partner & Business Advisor at Inspire CA) as he undertakes his 2016 Challenge:  Read (implement & review) a Book a Week.

Book Review: UNPROFESSIONAL by Jack Delosa – How a 26 year old university dropout became a self-made millionaire.

Happy pre-Australia Day people’s. Turns out this book a week challenge isn’t so hard, once you get your momentum up!

The key is in implementation, rather than passive reading. So here’s my review and an implementation point for this week. Jack Delosa Unprofessional.

It’s a brilliant ‘all rounder’ business book covering the key areas of business, Sales, Marketing, Vision, People, Online Strategies etc.

There’s a line in the book that I’ve never been able to forget which was (something along the lines of…) “most businesses are a solution looking for a problem”.

As an ideas guy …

(I think most Business owners are “Ideas People”, we all had the great idea to go into business for ourselves, dreaming of greater freedom and the ability to do things our way)

… I’ve been guilty of falling in love with my own products / services and trying to get everyone to do the same.

Jack teaches a great methodology of testing and iterating to ensure you achieve product to market fit, or put simply to ensure your product solves a need.

We applied this methodology 2 weeks ago in our own business and have since trimmed 3 service offerings from our menu enabling us to focus on the key 1 or 2 services that are both the most profitable and the most impactful for our clients. It’s also meant we could massively trim down our marketing activities pointing to these services – essentially saving us one Full Time person this year.

As the owner of an Accounting firm (but not an accountant) my favourite chapter that I recommend you read is Chap 7, “Know Your Numbers” as I know how many business owners struggle with this piece of their business pie and he explains the 3 things and the 3 people every business needs, so simply.
10 / 10 Jack. Looking forward to the next one, which I see is only a few months away ‪#‎unwritten‬ ‪#‎reinventtomorrow‬

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Book Review: BUILD TO SELL by John Warrillow – Create a business that can thrive without you

Build an Inspiring Book List with Harvee Pene (Partner & Business Advisor at Inspire CA) as he undertakes his 2016 Challenge:  Read (implement & review) a Book a Week.

1st day back in 2016 and it was highly appropriate to ‘just’ finish this awesome book on the boat ride into the office this morning.

This was the first book in my ‘a book a week in 2016 challenge’ (which you’ll receive weekly reviews of here).

Built to Sell caught my attention as I’m 6 months into my ownership of Inspire and so far so great.

But to be honest I have been torn with what to do in the future…

Build and sell? Or build and hold (aka sit on a cash cow)?

Chances are you too aren’t sure about what to do with your business either?

Regardless of build and sell or build and hold, this is a brilliant read about how to make your business more saleable for the future and in so doing, way more profitable (and enjoyable) for the present!

I’ll take that.

Chances are you (like me) went into business for greater freedom.

But along the way we get caught up (or you could even say lost) in the many hats we have to wear. Sales, Marketing, HR, Cleaner, Bookkeeper etc not including our actual profession!

I’ll personally be implementing this book to help keep me on track with the end goal…

… A business that has massive impact on the world but isn’t solely dependant on me.

Which is a great prospect seeing as I’ve just come down off of a month holiday in NZ!

To me, extended holiday with friends and family is high on my priority list.

Built to sell – A brilliant and easy read (told as a very relatable story instead of the typical business ‘textbook’ style).

Highly recommended.

Ps I’m curious, is your plan to Build and Sell or something else?