Sydney-Bookkeeping.Com.Au

Had a call from a lady asking about Panania Bookkeeping Services. Her husband is a sole trader in the construction industry, with an ABN.

Does he need a Bookkeeper? Good question. He’s got an ABN, and he’s only got one client. In effect he’s a subcontractor. He’s providing labour for a construction company. He doesn’t provide any materials – he simply shows up for work on the job site.

We are not registered tax agents, so we cannot give advice in such matters. We are bookkeepers servicing clients in Revesby, Panania, Padstow, Picnic Point, and suburbs to Liverpool and Bankstown.

We cannot give advice on whether this subcontractor can claim fuel for going to his different jobs. He needs to speak to his accountant or tax agent.

It would seem that he really has no expenses, no suppliers, and only one customer. The Australian Taxation Office have a checklist on their website to determine whether he’s a sub-contractor or an employee.

If he’s only got one client, and only providing labour, then chances are that he’s entitled to Superannuation.

Going back to the original question: As a tradesman in these circumstances, does he need a bookkeeper to do his book keeping?

Maybe the best thing he can do is to get himself a cash book from the local newsagent and just write down his expenses each month. At the end of the year we can then collate his records and produce the necessary reports for him to take to his tax agent.

As his business grows, then he may need some bookkeeping. It’s not really worth his while (or ours) to be outsourcing his bookkeeping under his present circumstances.

When potential clients contact our Revesby, Panania, Padstow, Picnic Point, and suburbs to Liverpool and Bankstown book keeping service, they often ask us: “what is your hourly rate for bookkeeping?” Read more… »

Why does good book keeping mean good record keeping for businesses in Revesby, Panania, Padstow, Picnic Point, and suburbs to Liverpool and Bankstown? Well, we’ve talked many times previously about the importance of good record keeping to save money on your bookkeeping fees.

Recently a client from Liverpool approached us with an A4 archive box full of suppliers’ invoices, and a coupe of bank statements, for the 2008 – 2009 financial year.

We were just given the box, and asked to record all the transactions – we had no idea of the nature of the business, no opening balances – nothing. We looked through the paperwork and proceeded to find a pattern of transactions.

how good record keeping can save money on your bookkeeping fees

We’ve many years experience as bookkeepers, and were able to work out how many of the payments were made, though it proved to be quite a challenge, owing to the way that the client has been keeping the paperwork, such as:

• Incorrect cheque numbers were written on invoices
• Statements marked “paid” with no amounts detailed
• Cheques written with no payee
• Invoice amounts altered by hand
• Invoices marked “paid by Cash”
• No record of cash income from sales
• No record of what the cash deposits into the bank account represent
• Bank statements missing
• Cheque books missing
• Deposit books missing

A simple extra 30 seconds each time the client made a payment would have saved us a few minutes in trying to track down what the client had done. All those extra minutes turn into hours, and turn into increased fees for their book keeping

Secretarial Service wants MYOB training

Had an email from a secretarial service in Parramatta – that’s how it works with your online admin. The lady wants some MYOB training, so that she can “do the bookwork” for one of her clients. Read more… »

Business Activity Statements, for business owners reporting quarterly, are due on 28 July 2009.

For many small business owners and especially for their bookkeepers, July is always a busy time of year in Australia.

With end of financial year reporting, together with reporting of the 01 April to 30 June quarter, businesses that are behind in their paperwork can struggle under extra pressure that they really do not need

Cash flow has certainly tightened up in the economy. As bookkeepers, we’ve seen that invoice payments are being dragged out longer and longer, as suppliers wait to be paid by customers, and service providers wait to be paid by their clients

The phone’s been ringing as desperate business owners in a panic wanting help with their MYOB and Quickbooks files. In most cases, they can simply email us the files and we’ll have a look at their reporting and can generally work out where the problems are within a short time

One lady contacted us after spending two days trying to reconcile her Quickbooks bank accounts. We had a look at her file and solved the problem in 35 minutes. Look at the time and stress she would have saved if she had contacted our bookkeeping company when she first noticed that there was a problem

As a small business owner we encourage you to focus on what you do best, and we’ll do the rest

July and August are busy months for many registered tax agents and bookkeeping services around Campbelltown and Bankstown – as individuals hurry to lodge their income tax returns in the hope that they’ve been paying too much PAYG tax and hope to get a tax refund.

Wham, Bham, thank you, ma’am, and it’s all over!

This time of year brings many enquiries for our bookkeeping service. The main questions are, for a basic Tax Return: “How Long, and How Much Fees?”

Stroll through any large shopping centre around Campbelltown and Bankstown, and you’ll see that centre management have rented out the floor space in the middle of the mall to tax agents who’ve set themselves up like a fast-food outfit.

Wham, Bham, thank you, ma’am, and it’s all over!

Get ‘em in, sit ‘em down, fill in a form, and click a button …. Gone!!

We get quite a few enquiries from individuals, on a salary, with little expenses that they can claim, so their tax return is very straight forward. We are not registered Tax Agents and cannot advise / lodge tax returns on their behalf.

Normally if you go to Bankstown shopping centre you’ll most likely find a registered tax agent – they’ll most likely set up a table at this time of year, and be sitting with their laptop waiting for the next customer to come along – costs about $100 and takes about 20 minutes, with about 3 or 4 weeks to get answer from ATO

Some of these tax agents only operate for a few months of the year, specifically to help individuals with their tax returns.

Small business owners may find that the service offered by these quick-fix-tax-return booths are not set up to handle your needs, and that’s where a mobile bookkeeping service such as ours can be of great benefit to you

As bookkeepers, we can help with any bookkeeping requirements you may have, so please feel free to contact us to discuss your bookkeeping setup

Desperate phone call from a bookkeeping client in Bankstown: What to do about unpaid accounts? Our professional bookkeeping can help small businesses chase up unpaid accounts.

You know the “good cop” / “bad cop” thing. Get the bookkeeper to get on the phone and chase up those unpaid accounts before it’s too late. As the recession that we had to have deepens, more small businesses will experience bad debts. It even happens at the big end of town.

If you don’t have a handle on your bookkeeping, then you can quickly find that those clients owing you money have nothing left to pay you with. Many operators get caught up in getting the job done, and forget to chase up payments of previous jobs.

Our bookkeeping service can help you keep a closer eye on your unpaid accounts. We can get on the phone for you. We can reconcile your accounts, track all your payments and receipts- and do so many other things to ensure that you have your financials in order.

Don’t get caught in the trap of skimping on your bookkeeping – it can be a false economy to look at saving money by spending so much time on your paperwork. Hand it over to the professionals and focus on what you do best: running your business. Contact us today for a free quote.

Bookkeeping – Tax- Free Stimulus Package Bonus to $900

Bookkeeping: A Tax Free Lunch on the ATO? As bookkeepers around Revesby, Panania, Padstow, Picnic Point, and suburbs to Liverpool and Bankstown, NSW, Australia, our clients often ask about meals as a tax deduction.

With the new Australian Government Tax- Free Stimulus Package Bonus to $900, how many free lunches would that get?

So if you want a free lunch, then the Australian Government one-off tax-free payments of up to $900 for eligible taxpayers, could be your ticket

As bookkeepers, we can sort out the documentation, set up a bookkeeping system, key the relevant data into an accounting software package, and get all the figures ready for your accountant or registered tax agent to then assist you with lodging your tax return. Contact our mobile bookkeeping service now to get your bookwork up to date.

We often get calls from bookkeeping clients requesting a bookkeeper to sort out their bookwork and get them upto date so that they can lodge their tax returns.

Our bookkeeping service can go to your premises and work on-site, or we can organise pick-up of your documentation and work at our offices.

The Australian Government Stimulus package of Tax Bonus payments refers to your personal tax return. So if you are self employed sole-trader, have a business partnership or a small business owner, you’ll need to have the figures prepared for your business so you or your accountant can calculate your earnings for the year 2007-08. Contact our mobile bookkeeping service now to get your bookwork up to date.

The ATO advises that you won’t have to pay tax on your payment nor will you need to report the receipt of your tax bonus on your income tax return. The tax bonus won’t be included in your separate net income for tax purposes.
To benefit from the Australian Government’s Tax Stimulus Package Bonus you’ll need to get your bookkeeping upto date and have your 2007/08 tax return lodged by 30 June 2009

Is the ATO using this to chase up tax returns, or is the government trying to stimulate the economy?

Apparently already 7.4 million people have already lodged their 2007-08 tax return, and they’ll start receiving their payments from Wednesday 8 April 2009.
If your 2007-08 taxable income was $100,000 or less and you paid tax, you could be eligible to receive a tax – free bonus payment of up to $900.

Is the Government trying to stimulate the completion of tax returns, or is it trying to stimulate the economy?

We should stress that we are not registered tax agents, and so any matters regarding taxation must be referred to your accountant or tax agent.

Contact our Revesby, Panania, Padstow, Picnic Point, and suburbs to Liverpool and Bankstown mobile bookkeeping service now to get your bookwork up to date, so you can lodge your tax return and benefit from the Tax- Free Stimulus Package Bonus to $900, and have a tax-free lunch on the ATO

We’ve spoken on a number of occasions about the proposed changes to tax legislation, and how that affects bookkeepers, and ultimately the effect it will have on the small business owner.

We received a response from Matthew, Executive Director, Institute of Certified Bookkeepers Ltd:

I came across a recent article you have posted. Feel free to accept or ignore my thoughts below but I did think I would pass on a few responses

I share many of the concerns your article makes reference to and a review of
recent newsletters and comments, submissions about the proposed law will see that we have been making the same comments to government that they are not prepared to listen to nor accept.

By and large bookkeepers are not the problem, they aren’t always 100% perfect but most bookkeeping is performed by the owner or employee. Accountants are not perfect either.

I am concerned about the underground bookkeeper and that many will become
more underground.

I am concerned about the cost increase to business that will be necessary
for the Bookkeeper now BAS Agent to meet all their regulated obligations.
(Interesting that some others feel that costs should go down as a result of
this new system…)

Keep up the good work

Thanks
Matthew
——————–
Executive Director
Institute of Certified Bookkeepers Ltd

Are you struggling to complete your BAS form?

No sooner have we finished lodging BAS for the December Quarter, to find the January – March 2009 Quarter will soon be due. Contact us for HELP

Quarterly BAS
Most businesses submit quarterly, and the 1 January – 31 March 2009 (Quarter 3) BAS is due 28 April 09 for lodgment and payment with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

A new client contacted us out of desperation. Struggling to prepare all the documentation for the Business Activity Statement, she could not get the figures to balance.

We suggested she email us the MYOB data file, so that we could get a clearer understanding of where she was at with her bookwork. Contact us for HELP with your BAS

“I had trouble with my MYOB files and contacted Carol and her team and they were just excellent.
They listened and then explained what they could do to help.
Everything was done speedily, efficiently and most of all cost effectively.
They emailed me how to send my files and worked on them that day!
Most of all “they listen” and don’t treat you like a dummy!
It got me out of a potentially tricky situation and literally saved the day!
Thanks Carol.
Liz Bird”

Monthly BAS
If your business submits the (BAS) Business Activity Statement monthly, then 21 March 09 was the due date for lodgement and payment of the February 2009 monthly activity statements

Superannuation Guarantee Contributions
Also on that date are due the Quarter 3 Superannuation guarantee contributions (1 January -31 March) contributions to be made to the fund by this date.

If you are struggling to complete your BAS form, contact our team of Panania Bookkeepers for HELP