Estate planning and will services
Estate planning involves much more than just having an up-to-date will, which is why we offer the services of experienced estate planning accountants to help ensure that your assets are distributed in the most effective manner, without adverse tax consequences for your beneficiaries.
As estate planning accountants, we can assist you with:
- Estate planning advice and strategies
- Creating and updating wills
- Trust establishment and management
- Business succession planning
- Estate and trust tax planning
- Superannuation planning and advice
- Power of attorney and guardianship arrangements
Death may be one of the certainties in life, but that doesn’t mean you have to face it alone. With the help of our experienced estate planning accountants, you can have peace of mind knowing that your affairs are in order and your loved ones will be cared for.
Do you know how your loved ones will be cared for if something happens to you? If the answer is “no”, then it’s time you took steps to put your affairs in order.
There are many good reasons for having an estate plan, these are just the top three:
Not wanting to add to your family’s anxiety or hardships while they are trying to deal with their loss
Your hard-earned assets to end up in the wrong hands or to cause friction between those named in your will, simply because your intentions weren’t properly documented; and
Your beneficiaries to pay more tax on their inheritance than they are obliged to.
That’s why proper estate planning, including having a will and keeping it updated, is essential.
In Australia, if you die without a valid will – known as dying ‘intestate’ – a court-appointed administrator could be charged with distributing your assets and even deciding who looks after your children if they are under 18. He or she may follow a pre-determined formula that could lead to a very different outcome to the one you wanted, which could cause delays in settling your estate. Studies show that 45 per cent of Australians don’t have a will so if you don’t have one, then it’s time to join the 55 per cent.
Drawing up a will is far more complex than merely deciding to whom you want to leave your assets to. An understanding of which assets pass into your estate is required and this is why seeking advice is important.
- assets owned as a joint tenant;
- assets owned by a company or held in a trust; and
- superannuation death benefits or life insurance proceeds that are paid directly to a beneficiary rather than to your estate.
Joint tenancy and tenancy in common
Jointly owned assets or property can be held in one of two ways – either as joint tenants or as tenants in common. If an asset is held as joint tenants, on your death, the surviving joint tenant automatically acquires ownership of your share of the asset (‘rule of survivorship‘). The asset won’t form part of your estate and can’t be dealt with under your will.
If an asset is held as tenants in common, your share of the asset (i.e. 50%) will form part of your estate and can be specifically dealt with under your will.
Assets owned by a company or held in trust
If you own assets via a company or trust, your estate plan needs to address how control of that entity will be passed upon your death. This will ensure the assets of the entity will pass in accordance with your wishes.
In the case of a company, this will involve considering who will be entitled to any shares you own in the company on your death. It may also require an examination of any rights you may have under the constitution of the company to appoint directors.
In the case of a trust, you will need to examine any rights you may have under the trust deed to appoint a replacement trustee and/or appointor or to wind up the trust and direct how its assets should be disposed of. If the trustee of the trust is a company, it will also involve considering who would be entitled to any shares you own in that company.
Superannuation & Life Insurance death benefits
Assets held by a superannuation fund usually bypass the estate and are paid to a dependant spouse or children, as are life insurance benefits with binding nominations (where you specifically name your beneficiaries). If there is no nomination or the nomination is faulty, the payment of benefits may be subject to the super fund’s rules, and this may not always be what you desired.
As part of your estate plan, you also need to consider the tax implications of how your death benefit is dealt with. Lump sum payments paid to dependents (as defined under income tax laws) are tax free. Taxable components paid to non-dependents are subject to tax.
Planning for your own future needs
You should also be planning for your own future requirements. For example, there may come a time when you’re unable to make decisions for yourself because of a loss of capacity. To assist here, you need to nominate an enduring power of attorney. This trusted person is someone you appoint to make financial and property decisions on your behalf.
Nominating an enduring power of attorney before you get to the ‘loss of capacity’ stage is important as you can’t nominate one after this happens. Remember that a regular power of attorney becomes invalid upon your death or if you lose the mental capacity to make your own decisions. An enduring power of attorney, however, will allow your trusted person to act on your behalf if this happens and you are no longer able to manage your financial affairs.
You may also wish to nominate a medical power of attorney, also known as an enduring guardian, who can make medical decisions on your behalf.
Testamentary trusts
A testamentary trust is a trust established by someone’s will. It comes into existence only when that person dies. Including a testamentary trust in your will can be useful for making tax effective distributions to beneficiaries under the age of 18, caring for children or a dependent who is incapacitated, and preventing beneficiaries from inappropriately spending their inheritance.
Tax effective estate planning
The disposal of assets in accordance with your will may have tax consequences, including CGT, that you should consider when drafting your will and creating your estate plan. There are many strategies you can use to help make your estate plan as tax effective as possible for your dependents and beneficiaries.
Some of these strategies include:
- ensuring the proceeds of an insurance policy paid from a superannuation fund is paid to dependents as this would be tax free;
- distributing an asset (rather than the proceeds of the sale of that asset) to a beneficiary to defer any CGT liability;
- using discretionary trusts can help minimise the tax a beneficiary pays on receipt of an inheritance; and
- using testamentary trusts can be an effective way to provide an inheritance to young children.
Tax:
There are many tax time bombs found in estate planning. For instance, an asset you leave one child may be subject to capital gains tax while an asset left to another may be exempt. This could result in each child receiving very different inheritances when you thought you were leaving them equal shares. Also, the tax payable on some benefits may depend on each beneficiary’s personal circumstances.
Asset ownership structures:
Different structures offer different benefits. For example, a testamentary trust comes into effect at the time of your death and can help protect your assets against any claims that arise if your children become divorced or bankrupt. They can also be used to reduce tax and provide for young or disabled children. Other structures include companies, self-managed super funds and family trusts.
Your wishes:
You may want to give additional direction to those you have given powers of attorney. A memorandum of directions is not a legally binding, but morally binding letter to your family of additional things you might want them to do after you pass away. You may also want to spell out your desires regarding your funeral arrangements, rather than have your family second guess what you would have wanted. Or detail what pieces of jewellery go to certain children. Even where the kids go to school.
Estate planning can be complicated, but it’s important to do things properly so that your family can avoid any potential legal or tax issues – especially as regulations change over time.
At a time when your loved ones are coping with a loss, don’t leave them with additional hurdles to overcome.
Our team at Inspire can help you coordinate your Estate Planning. As your accountants, we work hand in hand with our expert Estate Planning legal team to put together your Wills & Estate Plan.
Business structuring for your Brisbane business
Do you need help with business structuring? Getting your business structures right is an important part of asset protection, estate planning and tax planning.
With the right structure, you can rest assured knowing that you’re set up, ready for what business and life can throw at you.
A sound structure is usually made up of a number of entities including companies, trusts, individuals and self managed super funds.
You could choose a:
- Company;
- Trust (in its various forms such as family trust, discretionary trust or unit trust);
- Sole Trader;
- Partnership; or
- Self Managed Super Fund.
But it all comes down to the specific purpose for that particular entity. For instance, it is best practice to have business trading entities separate from those that hold assets like an investment property.
The choice of how to structure your business depends on a number of factors:
- The type of business you operate;
- The regulatory requirements for your industry;
- Your existing wealth and income levels;
- How large you intend to grow the business; and
- Whether you are building the business for lifestyle or eventual sale.
Your budget for a business structure depends entirely on your circumstances and the intended use for the structure. It can cost anything from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars to ensure you’re set up in the best structure for your circumstances.
It’s always best to keep the end in mind too when planning your structure out. And it is possible to set up structures in stages, where you can increase the level of asset protection, estate planning and tax planning as you progress.
Here’s a comparison table of the most common questions about Business Structures:
| A basic comparison of the most common business structures is provided below: | Sole trader | Partnership | Company | Trust |
| Cost to establish and operate | Low | Medium | High | High |
| Complexity | Simple | Moderate | Complex | Complex |
| Limited Liability | No | No | Yes | Yes (with a corporate Trustee) |
| Do I receive full profits made from the business? | Yes | No | No | No |
| Can I employ staff? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Do I have to pay myself superannuation? | No | No | Yes | No |
| Can I change the legal structure easily? | Yes | No | No | No |
| Good ability for tax planning? | No | Limited | Limited | Yes |
| Is it easy to raise capital? | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Is it easy to dissolve or exit? | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Each structure has advantages, disadvantages and responsibilities which need to be considered before making a decision.
The best bet is to engage an adviser who knows the ins and outs of business structures and can help apply their knowledge to your specific circumstances.
If you’re looking for an adviser for a structuring session, do drop us a note or give us a call on 1300 852 747. We can even organise a web session too.
A company is a separate legal entity to the individual business owner(s). Companies are the most familiar choice when business owners are interested in restructuring their operations.
It is fairly well known that a company owns the business assets and provides some form of protection for personal assets. However, there is far more to consider when choosing a business structure than asset protection.
A company is run by a set of rules called the constitution. The constitution is normally set in place when the company is established, which outlines the powers of directors, shareholders, things that the company can do and so on.
Companies are governed by the ASIC (or Australian Securities and Investments Commission) who ASIC also keep a public record of the company’s details on their system. You can access these details for any company in Australia by paying for a company search to be performed.
Each year, ASIC require that a Annual Review Fee is paid for each company in existence.
This fee is currently $243 payable two months following the registration date anniversary.
Companies are owned by members or shareholders.
Yes, certain types of companies are allowed by ASIC to only have one director. These include Pty Ltd companies.
It is also important to note that the constitution must allow for the company to have one director.
FAQs
Unfortunately companies aren’t eligible for the discount.
We would rarely recommend that an investment that was to be considered a Capital Gains Tax Asset (or CGT Asset) be purchased by a company. Ideally CGT Assets are held in the name of a family trust, individual, or self managed super fund which can all access the 50% CGT discount.
Yes, the ATO has made it clear that directors’ fees and/or salary require superannuation to be paid on them. This is regardless whether you are considered to be an employee of the business or not. Some directors are not considered employees.
There are a few ways of bringing money out of a company as the owner.
This also has to be done within the rules set out:
- Drawings – Drawings are easy to take out, although you must be sure not to treat the company as an atm without considering other consequences. The main consequence is what is called “Division 7A”. This is where there is an outstanding loan owed from a shareholder (or their associate) back to the company. If these loans aren’t treated correctly, it can mean a nightmare to the shareholder who has drawn the loan.
- Wages or Directors Fees – Wages or Directors fees are the most simple and straightforward way of bringing money out of a company. You are treated similarly to the company’s employees, where super is payable and tax is withheld from the payments.
- Dividends – Dividends require that there are retained earnings in the company. (Retained earnings are profits that the company has made in prior years.) This also in most cases creates franking credits, which attach themselves as a sort of prepaid tax to those who receive the dividend.
Discretionary Trusts, otherwise often known as family trusts, are a popular business structure in Australia.
The main advantages of a discretionary trust are the way in which the profits are distributed, while still providing for asset protection if you’re using a corporate trustee.
A discretionary trust also does not stand alone – it requires what is called a ‘trustee’. In simple terms, the trustee controls the trust. You can choose this to be you (or more than one person) as an individual, or you can choose to have a company act as trustee.
A discretionary trust is a separate entity to you as an individual as long as you have a corporate trustee. This means it runs its own books, and the business is distinguishable from the person running the business.
To distribute profits, the trust acts as a ‘funnel’ if you will. What I mean by this is that profits come into the trust, building up over the financial year.
They shouldn’t remain in the trust at the end of the financial year, otherwise the trustee of the trust will be responsible for paying the top marginal rate of tax (currently 47%) on the income of the trust.
Before the financial year finishes, a distribution minute is drafted and signed, which discloses to whom the profits are going to be distributed for the financial year.
This depends on the trust’s deed.
If the trust deed allows for separation and distribution of different classes of income, then this is acceptable.
You may be able to separate the income into groups like:
- Franked dividends;
- Business income;
- Capital gains;
- and a catch all “other income” group.
We wouldn’t recommend that you set up a discretionary trust on its own to work with a business partner.
There are other options for this such as a company, unit trust or even a partnership of discretionary trusts where you can set up the rules of working with the business partner.
Absolutely.
But please do not run a business AND hold investments in the same trust. This exposes the investments to the risk of the business, as it is controlled an existent in the same entity.
The Family Trust, commonly set up and sometimes referred to as a discretionary trust, are a popular business structure in Australia.
The main advantages of a family trust are the way in which the profits are distributed, while still providing for asset protection if you’re using a corporate trustee.
At the end of the day, “discretionary trust” and “family trust” are more often than not interchangeable.
For tax purposes though, a trust is not considered a “family” trust until a “Family Trust Election” is made.
A family trust election (abbreviated to FTE) is recommended in one of four scenarios:
- If the trust is carrying forward tax losses;
- If the trust owns a company that contains losses;
- If the trust receives franking credits on dividends; or
- If the trust distributes to another trust.
A Family Trust Election is something that your accountant prepares in your tax return in the year it is required as a once off. It is also disclosed each financial year after that on the front page of the tax return.
A family trust also does not stand alone – it requires what is called a ‘trustee’. In simple terms, the trustee controls the trust. You can choose this to be you (or more than one person) as an individual, or you can choose to have a company act as trustee.
family trust is a separate entity to you as an individual as long as you have a corporate trustee. This means it runs its own books, and the business is distinguishable from the person running the business.
To distribute profits, the trust acts as a ‘funnel’ if you will. What I mean by this is that profits come into the trust, building up over the financial year.
They shouldn’t remain in the trust at the end of the financial year, otherwise the trustee of the trust will be responsible for paying the top marginal rate of tax (currently 47%) on the income of the trust.
Before the financial year finishes, a distribution minute is drafted and signed, which discloses to whom the profits are going to be distributed for the financial year.
This depends on the trust’s deed. If the trust deed allows for separation and distribution of different classes of income, then this is acceptable.
You may be able to separate the income into groups like:
- Franked dividends;
- Business income;
- Capital gains;
- and a catch all “other income” group.
We wouldn’t recommend that you set up a family trust on its own to work with a business partner.
There are other options for this such as a company, unit trust or even a partnership of family trusts where you can set up the rules of working with the business partner.
Interested in this service? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team!
SMSF playlist
SMSF accounting services for Brisbane businesses
We are experienced Self Managed Super Funds (SMSF) accountants in Brisbane. Contact us today to learn how we can help your business succeed. In the world of superannuation, there are drivers and there are passengers. More and more passengers are opting to become a driver themselves in order to have better control over their financial future. Put simply, they are becoming SMSF millionaires.
Self Managed Super Funds are to retail funds what Uber is to the taxi industry – disruptors. As of June 30th 2021, there was $822 billion in SMSF assets and that number has increased $224.3 billion in the past 5 years.
There are many advantages of using a SMSF, and there are also many obligations that you need to be aware of.
If you proceed to set up a SMSF, your new SMSF can reimburse you for this amount so you won’t have to use any of your personal funds.
When we set up your SMSF, we will take care of the following for you:
- Establishment of SMSF Trust Deed
- Incorporation of a Trustee Company for your SMSF
- Setting up a Cash Management Account for your SMSF
- Preparation of Minutes of Trustees meetings
- Preparation of your SMSF initial Investment Strategy
- Lodgement of ABN / TFN / GST registrations (if required)
- Preparation and follow-up of rollovers from your previous super funds (up to 4 rollovers)
- Setting up “FundWeb” access for you to instantly view your SMSF details anytime, anywhere
SMSF Tax & Compliance
Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSFs) are a popular choice for many Australians who want to take control of their retirement savings. However, managing an SMSF comes with many responsibilities, particularly when it comes to tax and compliance.
SMSFs must comply with a range of obligations, including an investment strategy in line with the fund’s objectives, keeping accurate records, and conducting transactions on an arm’s length basis.
For assistance with SMSF compliance, Inspire Accountants can provide the advice and guidance you need. Our experienced team of accountants are well-versed in SMSF regulations and can help you develop a well-versed strategy.
Any information and content on our website is general in nature only. It does not take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person. So before acting on anything to do with your finances, you need to consider your financial situation and needs before making any decisions based on this information.
SMSF Resources
We have an abundance of free educational content to help support you in your journey
Looking into Property Development?
Learn what business owners need to be aware of before getting into land subdivisions, duplexes, knock down, rebuilds, speccies and splitters.
In the PDF we will cover:
🏘️ The top 3 structures to carry out property development.
💲 Tax implications of each (such as GST, income tax, land tax).
🏦 How to fund developments creatively, using superannuation.
Submit your details below and we’ll send it straight to your inbox!
READ
Why You Should Do Tax Planning For Your Healthcare Business – Ben Walker (Inspire Accountants)
How To Buy Your Clinic’s Premise – Inside or Outside SMSF
The Tax Benefits Of An SMSF
How Your Super Compares To An SMSF
How To Create An SMSF Investment Strategy
Federal Budget: Can A Couple Sell Their 10+ Year Home Into Their SMSF?
Tax Tip: Establish An SMSF
How Much Money Do You Need To Start An SMSF?
Is there any tax on transfer of listed shares to the SMSF?
Can You Only Withdraw Profit From SMSF After You Turn 60?
Use Your SMSF To Become and Angel Investor
The Rules For Lending Money With Your SMSF
Why You Should Never Set Up An SMSF Without A Corporate Trustee
What You Need To Realise Before Setting Up An SMSF
Is It Hard To Get Finance In An SMSF For Share Or Property Purchase?
Can I contribute more money to my SMSF than my $25,000 annual contribution?
When Does It Make Sense To Set Up An SMSF?
SAVING $8,000 A MONTH BY BUYING AN OFFICE (IN OUR SMSF)
How much do I need in super to start an SMSF?
SMSF Myths Busted! Self managed super fund
Give your Super a Boost! An alternative way of building up your retirement savings.
The 3 Different Tax Rates For Super Explained
Buying Commercial Or Residential Property In Super?
If you’re keen to explore changing accountants, we have a non-obligation process to do that. The first step is booking a strategy call with one of our accounting team. It’s a free 20-minute zoom or phone call where you get to meet us to manage your questions.
From that point, you can consider doing a “Look Under The Hood” with us. There is no obligation to change accountants, but we give you a second opinion if you’re paying too much tax.
Throughout that process, we can identify any problems we see with your current setup. Anything that your current accountant hasn’t claimed, or tax you may have overpaid, and strategies of how we might fix that going forward. We can run through with you once you book with us.
FAQs
Family means the world to us so we only work with business owners who believe that family is their most important business.
What’s the point of great financial success if it comes at the cost of precious moments with those who we love most?
We work with clients who want to better understand the numbers that grow their business and as a result we have clients who are –
- Dentists, Doctors, Psychologists, Physiotherapists and Psychiatrists
- Property Developers, Project Managers and Builders
- Personal Trainers, Gym Owners and
- Marketing Agencies, Educators & Online Retailers
- Lawyers, CFO’s, Directors and CEO’s
But most importantly our clients see themselves primarily as proud –
- Mums & Dads
- Husbands & Wives
- Boyfriends, Girlfriends & Life Partners
- Sons & Daughters
- Nans & Pops
- Cousins, Aunties & Uncles
In fact we don’t call our clients ‘clients’, they are affectionately known as our Inspire Family.
You might like to know that our clients are located all over Australia with a strong presence around Brisbane, Sydney & Melbourne.
We help entrepreneurs and business owners:
- Understand the Numbers that Drive their Business
- Structure Effectively for Business Growth
- Carry out Strategic Tax Planning
- Implement Cloud Business Solutions
- Keep Tax and Accounting Lodgement Obligations Squared Away
- Set up and Run Self Managed Super Funds
We’re best known for 2 game-changing small business services –
“It’s all sorted” – a proactive small business tax and accounting service that pays for itself in tax savings. Our average tax savings for 2017 was $27,000 per client which is a 3.5 x return on their investment in our service.
“Get Cashed Up” – an 18 month business development service for business owners to double their profit and double their days off. Based on the 7 step method to pull more money, time and happiness from your business from the book “Cashed Up: 7 Steps To Pull More Money, Time and Happiness From Your Business”.
Yes, we more than cover your standard accountant’s’ role, and our clients say we’re set apart by two main things:
- Our ability to provide peace of mind through explaining the why and not just the what; and
- That we’ve “bought in” to their business, shoulder to shoulder, with intention to grow together.
We have a unique approach to providing insight into the numbers for entrepreneurs and business owners.
We want you, the business owner, to really understand the numbers behind what is going on in your business.
We work with you either on a monthly or quarterly basis, not just providing the numbers to you, but helping you to be able to use them in a meaningful way in the day to day management of your business.
We do not charge by the hour (so we aren’t rewarded for being inefficient), but rather we charge a fixed price that you know up front for the value that we provide.
It’s a different conversation and the focus for both of us is where the value is (rather than ‘let’s be quick and get this over with’ under the archaic hourly rate model).
When you come to us, we will agree on a price for any work to be undertaken at the start, then agree to a monthly ongoing amount moving forward. If there’s anything that pops up along the way, we will always agree on a price before we begin.
Oh, and we do not charge for every little phone call and email – this is just part of a working relationship!
In fact 9 times out of 10 your investment in our Tax & Accounting service pays for itself in tax saved. Sometimes 5 – 10 x times over!
That’s taking money that otherwise would have gone to the tax man and putting it towards building a family first business. Woohoo!
p.s. the 1 out of 10 exception to this rule represent the startups who aren’t earning enough money yet to make a significant tax saving!
We’ve heard some pretty bad horror stories of old school accountants taking days, weeks and sometimes even months to get back to your questions.
Our response time to phone calls and emails is key number that we focus on – and we measure it in hours, live on our website.
We successfully keep this number less than 24 hours on average for our clients.
The dream that we are working towards is getting this response time down to zero. How? We’ve anticipated your needs so well, and provided so much proactive advice that you’d never have to email or call.
We’ll get there one day!
‘Turnaround time’ is another key number that the team measures closely.
We aim to have any urgent projects and work turned around within 10 business days, so that we’re able to achieve the outcome without ridiculous delays.
Like a workflow tango, turnaround time on your tax work is a two way street – we need you to work with us too when it comes to getting us the info we need on time.
Cloud accounting
The adoption of cloud accounting software is saving businesses thousands of dollars, and hours of bookwork every week.
We work with multiple cloud accounting providers and dozens of their add-ons but we believe Xero are the absolute best solution for small business.
As a result almost all our clients are use (and love!) XERO so our team know it like the back of our hand (Xero even certified Inspire CA as their Gold Partners)
Ultimately the smart use of technology is all about saving you time.
We go into a bit more detail on cloud accounting over here.
We’re big fans of throwing around ideas on a whiteboard in the boardroom. But what about for the in between time?
We use technology such as Zoom to enhance web meetings and to describe concepts and run scenarios from our computers. We can share our screens and run you through diagrams using LucidChart.
We’ve also adopted online signing software, DocuSign, which is a dream to get documents signed and lodged.
To be able to provide real insights to your business, we need to be in contact with you many times over a year.
Ideally, we would catch up in some form at least every month, but if that is too regular for your stage in business, we can also catch up on a quarterly basis. (Any less than every quarter and we can’t provide as much value to you.
We’re a team of 20 who punch well above our weight in terms of adding value. Amongst our team are chartered accountants, business owners & serial entrepreneurs, ex-bankers, bookkeepers, CFO’s & educators.
We also engage a global team of experts when we need some extra hands on deck.
Why don’t you come on over and I’ll introduce you to the team…
Inspire Accountants was founded by Ben Walker at the age of 23 with nothing but a borrowed printer, a laptop and a simple idea: what if, instead of just doing tax and reporting on history, accountants could give game changing advice that could help people write a better future for their business and their family?
Four years on, Inspire Accountants has been showcased as a global example of what an Accounting firm should be, thanks to Ben’s disruptive approach to throwing out timesheets & charging by the hour, his challenge of the traditional ‘old school’ model of the accounting industry and belief that Accountants change lives.
Ben is a winner of the coveted Anthill Online 30under30 award for 2014, was named a finalist in the Brisbane Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards and has been featured in many publications including the Courier Mail, Small Business Big Marketing Podcast with Tim Reid, Brisbane Business News & the Dent Podcast.
Today, while he continues to lead Inspire Accountants as CEO & Founder, Ben’s goal is to inspire others create a business that gives them the freedom to put family first and to make a positive difference in the world.
Budget $500 / month for our proactive tax and accounting service called “It’s all sorted”. We aim for this service to pay for itself in tax savings and in 2017 Financial Year our average tax savings per client was $27,000. That’s a 4.5x Return on Investment.
So my question to you is, is your accountant taking money or making money?
We are proud of our team of 20; 12 Accountants, 4 Admin team, 3 Marketing team, and 1 Executive Assistant. Although we are small (compared to the faceless monoliths the founders used to work in before starting Inspire) we truly believe in the words of Margaret Mead who said “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” In fact in 2016 we were the ONLY accounting business to be named Top 100 Companies in Australia in the coveted annual anthill online Cool Company Awards.
Yes absolutely. We have access to a team of qualified accountants offshore who help us churn through all the low level data entry work. Unfortunately this outsourcing model is no cheaper to us than having more local accountants but it does enable us to be free of all the lower value transactional tasks, leaving us free to do higher level tax and profit strategy with our clients.
Interested in this service? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team!
Brisbane-based BSA Accounting
The government requires small business owners to prepare certain forms and reports throughout the year to calculate how much tax you either need to pay or that the ATO owes to you.
The business activity statement (BAS) is a tax reporting requirement for businesses issued by the ATO on either a monthly or quarterly basis. It’s used for reporting and paying goods and services tax (GST), pay as you go (PAYG) instalments, PAYG withholding tax and other tax obligations. Inspire Accountants are your go-to BAS agents in Brisbane.
When you register for an Australian business number (ABN) and GST, we will automatically send you a BAS when it is time to lodge.
All businesses registered for GST are required to lodge a business activity statement by the due date.
Inspire Accountants can help you with your business activity statement. Contact us today.
Tax Returns & Financial Statements
Tax can either been seen as a necessary evil or an opportunity. When prepared, financial reports and tax returns can be seen as a snapshot of your business and can prompt a number of questions of which the answers can potentially save you money. Accurate and detailed financial information gives owners the information and confidence they need to make the right decisions.
When you are a client of Inspire we include the preparation of all the info the ATO requires, which is why we say “we’ll keep you out of jail, and help you keep as much of your hard earned cash as possible”.
FAQs
Family means the world to us so we only work with business owners who believe that family is their most important business.
What’s the point of great financial success if it comes at the cost of precious moments with those who we love most?
We work with clients who want to better understand the numbers that grow their business and as a result we have clients who are –
- Dentists, Doctors, Psychologists, Physiotherapists and Psychiatrists
- Property Developers, Project Managers and Builders
- Personal Trainers, Gym Owners and
- Marketing Agencies, Educators & Online Retailers
- Lawyers, CFO’s, Directors and CEO’s
But most importantly our clients see themselves primarily as proud –
- Mums & Dads
- Husbands & Wives
- Boyfriends, Girlfriends & Life Partners
- Sons & Daughters
- Nans & Pops
- Cousins, Aunties & Uncles
In fact we don’t call our clients ‘clients’, they are affectionately known as our Inspire Family.
You might like to know that our clients are located all over Australia with a strong presence around Brisbane, Sydney & Melbourne.
We help entrepreneurs and business owners:
- Understand the Numbers that Drive their Business
- Structure Effectively for Business Growth
- Carry out Strategic Tax Planning
- Implement Cloud Business Solutions
- Keep Tax and Accounting Lodgement Obligations Squared Away
- Set up and Run Self Managed Super Funds
We’re best known for 2 game-changing small business services –
“It’s all sorted” – a proactive small business tax and accounting service that pays for itself in tax savings. Our average tax savings for 2017 was $27,000 per client which is a 3.5 x return on their investment in our service.
“Get Cashed Up” – an 18 month business development service for business owners to double their profit and double their days off. Based on the 7 step method to pull more money, time and happiness from your business from the book “Cashed Up: 7 Steps To Pull More Money, Time and Happiness From Your Business”.
Yes, we more than cover your standard accountant’s’ role, and our clients say we’re set apart by two main things:
- Our ability to provide peace of mind through explaining the why and not just the what; and
- That we’ve “bought in” to their business, shoulder to shoulder, with intention to grow together.
We have a unique approach to providing insight into the numbers for entrepreneurs and business owners.
We want you, the business owner, to really understand the numbers behind what is going on in your business.
We work with you either on a monthly or quarterly basis, not just providing the numbers to you, but helping you to be able to use them in a meaningful way in the day to day management of your business.
We do not charge by the hour (so we aren’t rewarded for being inefficient), but rather we charge a fixed price that you know up front for the value that we provide.
It’s a different conversation and the focus for both of us is where the value is (rather than ‘let’s be quick and get this over with’ under the archaic hourly rate model).
When you come to us, we will agree on a price for any work to be undertaken at the start, then agree to a monthly ongoing amount moving forward. If there’s anything that pops up along the way, we will always agree on a price before we begin.
Oh, and we do not charge for every little phone call and email – this is just part of a working relationship!
In fact 9 times out of 10 your investment in our Tax & Accounting service pays for itself in tax saved. Sometimes 5 – 10 x times over!
That’s taking money that otherwise would have gone to the tax man and putting it towards building a family first business. Woohoo!
p.s. the 1 out of 10 exception to this rule represent the startups who aren’t earning enough money yet to make a significant tax saving!
We’ve heard some pretty bad horror stories of old school accountants taking days, weeks and sometimes even months to get back to your questions.
Our response time to phone calls and emails is key number that we focus on – and we measure it in hours, live on our website.
We successfully keep this number less than 24 hours on average for our clients.
The dream that we are working towards is getting this response time down to zero. How? We’ve anticipated your needs so well, and provided so much proactive advice that you’d never have to email or call.
We’ll get there one day!
‘Turnaround time’ is another key number that the team measures closely.
We aim to have any urgent projects and work turned around within 10 business days, so that we’re able to achieve the outcome without ridiculous delays.
Like a workflow tango, turnaround time on your tax work is a two way street – we need you to work with us too when it comes to getting us the info we need on time.
Cloud accounting
The adoption of cloud accounting software is saving businesses thousands of dollars, and hours of bookwork every week.
We work with multiple cloud accounting providers and dozens of their add-ons but we believe Xero are the absolute best solution for small business.
As a result almost all our clients are use (and love!) XERO so our team know it like the back of our hand (Xero even certified Inspire CA as their Gold Partners)
Ultimately the smart use of technology is all about saving you time.
We go into a bit more detail on cloud accounting over here.
We’re big fans of throwing around ideas on a whiteboard in the boardroom. But what about for the in between time?
We use technology such as Zoom to enhance web meetings and to describe concepts and run scenarios from our computers. We can share our screens and run you through diagrams using LucidChart.
We’ve also adopted online signing software, DocuSign, which is a dream to get documents signed and lodged.
To be able to provide real insights to your business, we need to be in contact with you many times over a year.
Ideally, we would catch up in some form at least every month, but if that is too regular for your stage in business, we can also catch up on a quarterly basis. (Any less than every quarter and we can’t provide as much value to you.
We’re a team of 20 who punch well above our weight in terms of adding value. Amongst our team are chartered accountants, business owners & serial entrepreneurs, ex-bankers, bookkeepers, CFO’s & educators.
We also engage a global team of experts when we need some extra hands on deck.
Why don’t you come on over and I’ll introduce you to the team…
Inspire Accountants was founded by Ben Walker at the age of 23 with nothing but a borrowed printer, a laptop and a simple idea: what if, instead of just doing tax and reporting on history, accountants could give game changing advice that could help people write a better future for their business and their family?
Four years on, Inspire Accountants has been showcased as a global example of what an Accounting firm should be, thanks to Ben’s disruptive approach to throwing out timesheets & charging by the hour, his challenge of the traditional ‘old school’ model of the accounting industry and belief that Accountants change lives.
Ben is a winner of the coveted Anthill Online 30under30 award for 2014, was named a finalist in the Brisbane Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards and has been featured in many publications including the Courier Mail, Small Business Big Marketing Podcast with Tim Reid, Brisbane Business News & the Dent Podcast.
Today, while he continues to lead Inspire Accountants as CEO & Founder, Ben’s goal is to inspire others create a business that gives them the freedom to put family first and to make a positive difference in the world.
Budget $500 / month for our proactive tax and accounting service called “It’s all sorted”. We aim for this service to pay for itself in tax savings and in 2017 Financial Year our average tax savings per client was $27,000. That’s a 4.5x Return on Investment.
So my question to you is, is your accountant taking money or making money?
We are proud of our team of 20; 12 Accountants, 4 Admin team, 3 Marketing team, and 1 Executive Assistant. Although we are small (compared to the faceless monoliths the founders used to work in before starting Inspire) we truly believe in the words of Margaret Mead who said “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” In fact in 2016 we were the ONLY accounting business to be named Top 100 Companies in Australia in the coveted annual anthill online Cool Company Awards.
Yes absolutely. We have access to a team of qualified accountants offshore who help us churn through all the low level data entry work. Unfortunately this outsourcing model is no cheaper to us than having more local accountants but it does enable us to be free of all the lower value transactional tasks, leaving us free to do higher level tax and profit strategy with our clients.
FAQs
Family means the world to us so we only work with business owners who believe that family is their most important business.
What’s the point of great financial success if it comes at the cost of precious moments with those who we love most?
We work with clients who want to better understand the numbers that grow their business and as a result we have clients who are –
- Dentists, Doctors, Psychologists, Physiotherapists and Psychiatrists
- Property Developers, Project Managers and Builders
- Personal Trainers, Gym Owners and
- Marketing Agencies, Educators & Online Retailers
- Lawyers, CFO’s, Directors and CEO’s
But most importantly our clients see themselves primarily as proud –
- Mums & Dads
- Husbands & Wives
- Boyfriends, Girlfriends & Life Partners
- Sons & Daughters
- Nans & Pops
- Cousins, Aunties & Uncles
In fact we don’t call our clients ‘clients’, they are affectionately known as our Inspire Family.
You might like to know that our clients are located all over Australia with a strong presence around Brisbane, Sydney & Melbourne.
We help entrepreneurs and business owners:
- Understand the Numbers that Drive their Business
- Structure Effectively for Business Growth
- Carry out Strategic Tax Planning
- Implement Cloud Business Solutions
- Keep Tax and Accounting Lodgement Obligations Squared Away
- Set up and Run Self Managed Super Funds
We’re best known for 2 game-changing small business services –
“It’s all sorted” – a proactive small business tax and accounting service that pays for itself in tax savings. Our average tax savings for 2017 was $27,000 per client which is a 3.5 x return on their investment in our service.
“Get Cashed Up” – an 18 month business development service for business owners to double their profit and double their days off. Based on the 7 step method to pull more money, time and happiness from your business from the book “Cashed Up: 7 Steps To Pull More Money, Time and Happiness From Your Business”.
Yes, we more than cover your standard accountant’s’ role, and our clients say we’re set apart by two main things:
- Our ability to provide peace of mind through explaining the why and not just the what; and
- That we’ve “bought in” to their business, shoulder to shoulder, with intention to grow together.
We have a unique approach to providing insight into the numbers for entrepreneurs and business owners.
We want you, the business owner, to really understand the numbers behind what is going on in your business.
We work with you either on a monthly or quarterly basis, not just providing the numbers to you, but helping you to be able to use them in a meaningful way in the day to day management of your business.
We do not charge by the hour (so we aren’t rewarded for being inefficient), but rather we charge a fixed price that you know up front for the value that we provide.
It’s a different conversation and the focus for both of us is where the value is (rather than ‘let’s be quick and get this over with’ under the archaic hourly rate model).
When you come to us, we will agree on a price for any work to be undertaken at the start, then agree to a monthly ongoing amount moving forward. If there’s anything that pops up along the way, we will always agree on a price before we begin.
Oh, and we do not charge for every little phone call and email – this is just part of a working relationship!
In fact 9 times out of 10 your investment in our Tax & Accounting service pays for itself in tax saved. Sometimes 5 – 10 x times over!
That’s taking money that otherwise would have gone to the tax man and putting it towards building a family first business. Woohoo!
p.s. the 1 out of 10 exception to this rule represent the startups who aren’t earning enough money yet to make a significant tax saving!
We’ve heard some pretty bad horror stories of old school accountants taking days, weeks and sometimes even months to get back to your questions.
Our response time to phone calls and emails is key number that we focus on – and we measure it in hours, live on our website.
We successfully keep this number less than 24 hours on average for our clients.
The dream that we are working towards is getting this response time down to zero. How? We’ve anticipated your needs so well, and provided so much proactive advice that you’d never have to email or call.
We’ll get there one day!
‘Turnaround time’ is another key number that the team measures closely.
We aim to have any urgent projects and work turned around within 10 business days, so that we’re able to achieve the outcome without ridiculous delays.
Like a workflow tango, turnaround time on your tax work is a two way street – we need you to work with us too when it comes to getting us the info we need on time.
Cloud accounting
The adoption of cloud accounting software is saving businesses thousands of dollars, and hours of bookwork every week.
We work with multiple cloud accounting providers and dozens of their add-ons but we believe Xero are the absolute best solution for small business.
As a result almost all our clients are use (and love!) XERO so our team know it like the back of our hand (Xero even certified Inspire CA as their Gold Partners)
Ultimately the smart use of technology is all about saving you time.
We go into a bit more detail on cloud accounting over here.
We’re big fans of throwing around ideas on a whiteboard in the boardroom. But what about for the in between time?
We use technology such as Zoom to enhance web meetings and to describe concepts and run scenarios from our computers. We can share our screens and run you through diagrams using LucidChart.
We’ve also adopted online signing software, DocuSign, which is a dream to get documents signed and lodged.
To be able to provide real insights to your business, we need to be in contact with you many times over a year.
Ideally, we would catch up in some form at least every month, but if that is too regular for your stage in business, we can also catch up on a quarterly basis. (Any less than every quarter and we can’t provide as much value to you.
We’re a team of 20 who punch well above our weight in terms of adding value. Amongst our team are chartered accountants, business owners & serial entrepreneurs, ex-bankers, bookkeepers, CFO’s & educators.
We also engage a global team of experts when we need some extra hands on deck.
Why don’t you come on over and I’ll introduce you to the team…
Inspire Accountants was founded by Ben Walker at the age of 23 with nothing but a borrowed printer, a laptop and a simple idea: what if, instead of just doing tax and reporting on history, accountants could give game changing advice that could help people write a better future for their business and their family?
Four years on, Inspire Accountants has been showcased as a global example of what an Accounting firm should be, thanks to Ben’s disruptive approach to throwing out timesheets & charging by the hour, his challenge of the traditional ‘old school’ model of the accounting industry and belief that Accountants change lives.
Ben is a winner of the coveted Anthill Online 30under30 award for 2014, was named a finalist in the Brisbane Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards and has been featured in many publications including the Courier Mail, Small Business Big Marketing Podcast with Tim Reid, Brisbane Business News & the Dent Podcast.
Today, while he continues to lead Inspire Accountants as CEO & Founder, Ben’s goal is to inspire others create a business that gives them the freedom to put family first and to make a positive difference in the world.
Budget from $600 p/m for our proactive tax and accounting service called “It’s all sorted”. We aim for this service to pay for itself in tax savings and in 2017 Financial Year our average tax savings per client was $27,000. That’s a 4.5x Return on Investment.
So my question to you is, is your accountant taking money or making money?
We are proud of our team of 20; 12 Accountants, 4 Admin team, 3 Marketing team, and 1 Executive Assistant. Although we are small (compared to the faceless monoliths the founders used to work in before starting Inspire) we truly believe in the words of Margaret Mead who said “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” In fact in 2016 we were the ONLY accounting business to be named Top 100 Companies in Australia in the coveted annual anthill online Cool Company Awards.
Yes absolutely. We have access to a team of qualified accountants offshore who help us churn through all the low level data entry work. Unfortunately this outsourcing model is no cheaper to us than having more local accountants but it does enable us to be free of all the lower value transactional tasks, leaving us free to do higher level tax and profit strategy with our clients.
Interested in this service? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team!
We are known for our quality tax planning and advice.
Tax planning is a proactive process whereby our Brisbane accountants will sit down with you and explore every available strategy to legally reduce your tax.
Unfortunately not many accountants proactively do a tax planning process with their clients and as a result, small business owners pay millions in tax that they don’t need to. Remember that paying tax means that you are earning profit so the goals isn’t to pay ZERO tax, but rather the intention of proactive tax planning is to ensure you don’t pay a dollar more than you need to.
Popular tax planning strategies that will save business owners tax include:
- Contributing profits to superannuation or an SMSF.
- Writing off bad debt prior to 30 June.
- Distributing profits via a discretionary trust to other people or entities who pay tax at a lower rate than you – e.g. retired parents, kids / siblings at university or a spouse.
- Distribution profits to a bucket company.
- Paying Income Protection Insurance from your super.
When you are a client of Inspire, Tax Planning happens in April, May and June of each year. While you will make a small investment into our tax advice and lodgment service, we aim for our services to pay for themselves in tax saved. Tax Planning is the time of the year and the way that we have saved our clients on average $27,416 in tax in 2016.
FAQs
Family means the world to us so we only work with business owners who believe that family is their most important business.
What’s the point of great financial success if it comes at the cost of precious moments with those who we love most?
We work with clients who want to better understand the numbers that grow their business and as a result we have clients who are –
- Dentists, Doctors, Psychologists, Physiotherapists and Psychiatrists
- Property Developers, Project Managers and Builders
- Personal Trainers, Gym Owners and
- Marketing Agencies, Educators & Online Retailers
- Lawyers, CFO’s, Directors and CEO’s
But most importantly our clients see themselves primarily as proud –
- Mums & Dads
- Husbands & Wives
- Boyfriends, Girlfriends & Life Partners
- Sons & Daughters
- Nans & Pops
- Cousins, Aunties & Uncles
In fact we don’t call our clients ‘clients’, they are affectionately known as our Inspire Family.
You might like to know that our clients are located all over Australia with a strong presence around Brisbane, Sydney & Melbourne.
We help entrepreneurs and business owners:
- Understand the Numbers that Drive their Business
- Structure Effectively for Business Growth
- Carry out Strategic Tax Planning
- Implement Cloud Business Solutions
- Keep Tax and Accounting Lodgement Obligations Squared Away
- Set up and Run Self Managed Super Funds
We’re best known for 2 game-changing small business services –
“It’s all sorted” – a proactive small business tax and accounting service that pays for itself in tax savings. Our average tax savings for 2017 was $27,000 per client which is a 3.5 x return on their investment in our service.
“Get Cashed Up” – an 18 month business development service for business owners to double their profit and double their days off. Based on the 7 step method to pull more money, time and happiness from your business from the book “Cashed Up: 7 Steps To Pull More Money, Time and Happiness From Your Business”.
Yes, we more than cover your standard accountant’s’ role, and our clients say we’re set apart by two main things:
- Our ability to provide peace of mind through explaining the why and not just the what; and
- That we’ve “bought in” to their business, shoulder to shoulder, with intention to grow together.
We have a unique approach to providing insight into the numbers for entrepreneurs and business owners.
We want you, the business owner, to really understand the numbers behind what is going on in your business.
We work with you either on a monthly or quarterly basis, not just providing the numbers to you, but helping you to be able to use them in a meaningful way in the day to day management of your business.
We do not charge by the hour (so we aren’t rewarded for being inefficient), but rather we charge a fixed price that you know up front for the value that we provide.
It’s a different conversation and the focus for both of us is where the value is (rather than ‘let’s be quick and get this over with’ under the archaic hourly rate model).
When you come to us, we will agree on a price for any work to be undertaken at the start, then agree to a monthly ongoing amount moving forward. If there’s anything that pops up along the way, we will always agree on a price before we begin.
Oh, and we do not charge for every little phone call and email – this is just part of a working relationship!
In fact 9 times out of 10 your investment in our Tax & Accounting service pays for itself in tax saved. Sometimes 5 – 10 x times over!
That’s taking money that otherwise would have gone to the tax man and putting it towards building a family first business. Woohoo!
p.s. the 1 out of 10 exception to this rule represent the startups who aren’t earning enough money yet to make a significant tax saving!
We’ve heard some pretty bad horror stories of old school accountants taking days, weeks and sometimes even months to get back to your questions.
Our response time to phone calls and emails is key number that we focus on – and we measure it in hours, live on our website.
We successfully keep this number less than 24 hours on average for our clients.
The dream that we are working towards is getting this response time down to zero. How? We’ve anticipated your needs so well, and provided so much proactive advice that you’d never have to email or call.
We’ll get there one day!
‘Turnaround time’ is another key number that the team measures closely.
We aim to have any urgent projects and work turned around within 10 business days, so that we’re able to achieve the outcome without ridiculous delays.
Like a workflow tango, turnaround time on your tax work is a two way street – we need you to work with us too when it comes to getting us the info we need on time.
Cloud accounting
The adoption of cloud accounting software is saving businesses thousands of dollars, and hours of bookwork every week.
We work with multiple cloud accounting providers and dozens of their add-ons but we believe Xero are the absolute best solution for small business.
As a result almost all our clients are use (and love!) XERO so our team know it like the back of our hand (Xero even certified Inspire CA as their Gold Partners)
Ultimately the smart use of technology is all about saving you time.
We go into a bit more detail on cloud accounting over here.
We’re big fans of throwing around ideas on a whiteboard in the boardroom. But what about for the in between time?
We use technology such as Zoom to enhance web meetings and to describe concepts and run scenarios from our computers. We can share our screens and run you through diagrams using LucidChart.
We’ve also adopted online signing software, DocuSign, which is a dream to get documents signed and lodged.
To be able to provide real insights to your business, we need to be in contact with you many times over a year.
Ideally, we would catch up in some form at least every month, but if that is too regular for your stage in business, we can also catch up on a quarterly basis. (Any less than every quarter and we can’t provide as much value to you.
We’re a team of 20 who punch well above our weight in terms of adding value. Amongst our team are chartered accountants, business owners & serial entrepreneurs, ex-bankers, bookkeepers, CFO’s & educators.
We also engage a global team of experts when we need some extra hands on deck.
Why don’t you come on over and I’ll introduce you to the team…
Inspire Accountants was founded by Ben Walker at the age of 23 with nothing but a borrowed printer, a laptop and a simple idea: what if, instead of just doing tax and reporting on history, accountants could give game changing advice that could help people write a better future for their business and their family?
Four years on, Inspire Accountants has been showcased as a global example of what an Accounting firm should be, thanks to Ben’s disruptive approach to throwing out timesheets & charging by the hour, his challenge of the traditional ‘old school’ model of the accounting industry and belief that Accountants change lives.
Ben is a winner of the coveted Anthill Online 30under30 award for 2014, was named a finalist in the Brisbane Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards and has been featured in many publications including the Courier Mail, Small Business Big Marketing Podcast with Tim Reid, Brisbane Business News & the Dent Podcast.
Today, while he continues to lead Inspire Accountants as CEO & Founder, Ben’s goal is to inspire others create a business that gives them the freedom to put family first and to make a positive difference in the world.
Budget $500 / month for our proactive tax and accounting service called “It’s all sorted”. We aim for this service to pay for itself in tax savings and in 2017 Financial Year our average tax savings per client was $27,000. That’s a 4.5x Return on Investment.
So my question to you is, is your accountant taking money or making money?
We are proud of our team of 20; 12 Accountants, 4 Admin team, 3 Marketing team, and 1 Executive Assistant. Although we are small (compared to the faceless monoliths the founders used to work in before starting Inspire) we truly believe in the words of Margaret Mead who said “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” In fact in 2016 we were the ONLY accounting business to be named Top 100 Companies in Australia in the coveted annual anthill online Cool Company Awards.
Yes absolutely. We have access to a team of qualified accountants offshore who help us churn through all the low level data entry work. Unfortunately this outsourcing model is no cheaper to us than having more local accountants but it does enable us to be free of all the lower value transactional tasks, leaving us free to do higher level tax and profit strategy with our clients.
How can a business improve profit?
We all went into business to make a profit, enjoy more freedom and build our wealth. But chances are you are not making the profits that you wanted to. If left unchecked, the growing expenses of a small business can quickly chew away at all your precious profit margins leaving you little or no profit leftover.
There are three things every business needs in order to boost profits (that we can do with you as a client of Inspire).
1. Profit Improvement Potential Plan
Every business needs to know the NEW formula for profit and how much potential their business has to improve its profit and business value. The OLD formula for profit is Sales – Expenses = Profit. This implies there are only 2 ways to boost your profit – increase sales or decrease expenses. The NEW formula for profit provides 7 inspirational ways to boost your profit. It says that,
Leads x Conversion = New Clients + Existing Clients = Total Clients x Retention x How Much x How Often = Revenue x Margin = Profit x Multiple = Value.
When you run your business numbers through the NEW profit formula you get a real command for how your business can actually make a profit. The NEW Profit formula allows you to forecast what small incremental improvements to each of the 7 levers of profit, can make to your overall profit. The future is quite exciting once you know your profit improvement potential and the 7 ways you can make that profit a reality!
2. Profit Assessment
There is a healthy amount of profit based on your revenue. Take too much profit and you’ll starve your growing business of its growth potential. Take too little profit from the business and you’ll starve yourself and your family of a valuable reward for all the effort and hard work you put in. This could lead to burnout and stress. So every business needs a Profit Assessment. A review of the business numbers each quarter to see, as a percentage, how much profit was actually set aside in the profit war chest. Let’s say that last quarter, 15% of every dollar that the business earned went to the profit war chest. But this business could ideally afford to set aside 25% profit. A profit assessment will help assess the profit target for the coming quarter, making sure the profit allocation is the right balance of healthy and sustainable.
3. “Profit War Chest”
A profit war chest is a separate bank account where a small percentage of every dollar that the business earns goes to and is stored safely for distribution to the owners each quarter. Failure to protect your profit in a separate account leaves your profit at risk of being eaten up in your growing day to day expenses. At the beginning of each quarter it is important to budget for all your expenses, including profit. A budget is like you telling your money where to go, instead of wondering where it went. Rather than hoping that we have a profit leftover at the end of the quarter, your projected profit budget is put aside into your profit war chest with each transaction.
What Is Cash Flow?
Most business and personal stress can be related to low, lumpy or lacklustre cashflow. If you’ve ever had your credit card bounce for example or had to ‘duck’ a phone call from someone you owe money to, you know that intermittent cashflow can cause sleepless nights and anxiety. So in the pursuit of stabilised cash flow it’s important to understand that your speed of cash flow is driven by 4 cycles, measured in days.
Sell it.
How many days does it take for me between first presenting my value and to when the client says YES?
Make it.
How many days does it take to either produce my product / service or how long does it sit on the shelf?
Deliver it.
How many days does it take us to deliver the final product from when the client said YES?
Bill it.
How many days does it take for us to bill the client after they say YES and then how long does it take for the money to arrive in the bank?
So how many days is your cash flow cycle?
Remember: What you measure you treasure.
So let’s crunch some numbers to understand the impact of Cash Flow Days. Here’s a business who has counted the days of their 4 cycles.
That’s how many days they’re out of pocket. SO let’s brainstorm some ways to reduce those days. Most ideas will fall into one of 3 categories –
Shorten Cycle Times
Eliminate Mistakes
Change the Business Model
If the consistent struggle and grind of living cheque to cheque wasn’t enough, think about what a cash flow day costs you.
So how many days is your cash flow cycle?
So a 119 day Cashflow cycle means that you are out of pocket by $321,300 ($2,700 x 119). That’s a lot of money, stress and pain. But imagine for a minute that we found a smart way to reduce your cash flow days by just 15 days.
Reducing your cashflow days by 15 days would mean an extra $40,500 in your account.
And with that, you can:
- Are you paying too much tax? If so, why?
- Can we reverse any overpaid tax?
- How to best pull money out of your business structure.
- Here are the ATO issues we found, and how we plan to solve them.
- What your numbers say about the business.
- Overview of your business plans & goals.
- Walk through of “It’s all sorted” - our small business tax advice and lodgement service, that aims to pay for itself in tax saved.
- The process of changing accountants.
- Any final questions before you come on board?
But it all starts with knowing your days.
When you work with Inspire we not only help you know your cashflow days, but work with you to implement new technologies or business processes to dramatically reduce your cashflow days, leaving more money in your bank account where it belongs.
FAQs
Advisory services for Brisbane businesses
Our Brisbane business advisors and accountants will help give you insight into your business numbers and more importantly improve those numbers. In business the most dangerous thing you can do is coast from month to month without truly knowing how much money you have made or lost.
Some people do this for years, working around the clock on a business that in reality is less profitable than a well-paying job.
Not having an accurate financial picture of what they achieved each month means they have little visibility over whether the business is progressing or whether they are simply maintaining the business year to year.
One of the most crucial things to have in business is a financial scorecard–something that tells you every month whether you have gone up or down, and will paint a picture of why you have gone up or down.
A great business advisor and accounting will help give you insight into the numbers of your business and more importantly keep you accountable to the methods that will help improve those numbers.
Budget planning for Brisbane businesses
Often the word “budget” seems like a dirty word, or a bit of a task that we often procrastinate on. However, the one thing that we need to do regularly is to review expenses. Now to review expenses, we need to know the context of the purchase.
For example, we might spend X amount on a certain expense this month – but do we ever ask what should that amount we spent have been? This comes back to budgeting for our expenses.
To make better business decisions, we need to have a target (in accounting land, we call this target a “budget”) to aim for, so that we know if we’ve hit that target or not.
Budgeting doesn’t have to be too crazy, but one way to set your first budget is to go through your actual expenses, line by line to identify any expenses that you don’t necessarily need – whether you cancel them or reduce them to get what your future number of that expense item should be. Then you set your target for that expense each month going forward.
The other thing you want to do, based on your total expenses, is to build your weekly “Magic Number” of sales to ensure everyone gets paid. Things to make sure you include in your magic number is:
- Cost of goods sold - especially if you’re a product business
- Your own pay/salary
- The businesses wages (usually a big expense)
- Other overheads and suppliers
- The profit target - and we need to make sure you’re making a decent profit, and as Accountants we can help you determine what that profit target might need to be
- Paying debt repayments
The goal for budgeting is to ensure everyone gets paid, but also so that we’ve got clarity on how much our weekly sales target needs to be to make that happen.
To learn more about this, you can watch our webinar recording on “Total Financial Control” OR, you can book a strategy call with an Accountant by clicking HERE.
Get Cashed Up
