Published GST Reports

Click Publish to save the reports that make up the current Business Activity Statement in Xero in your list of Published Reports in order to keep a record of your GST for the period.  Once published, reports can not be edited, but you can run it again by choosing the dates of this period.

Publishing your report also triggers Xero to update the default Activity Statement to the appropriate Activity Statement for the next period, this way you don’t have to remember where you’re up to or what the dates of the next period are.

To view your Published Reports go to  Reports > All Reports > Published Tab

As usual, if you have any queries please feel free to give our Bookkeeping Team a call on (07) 5585 8555

• liquid fuels (eg diesel, petrol or fuel oil) used in some off-road business activities
• the introduction of a carbon charge
• possible change for heavy vehicles travelling on a public road
• gaseous fuels (eg liquefied petroleum gas (LPG))
• some blended liquid fuels.

For more information http://www.ato.gov.au/content/00318033.htm

As usual, if you need any advice or clarification on issues raised in our blogs, please don’t hesitate to contact one of the JWA Team on (07) 5585 8555

The levy will also apply to employment termination payments and certain Superannuation benefits paid to you if they are included in your taxable income. The ATO  tables at http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.aspx?doc=/content/00318722.htm  will help you work out which payments the flood levy applies to and the percentage of that payment that is included

Note: If you receive an assessable lump sum payment in 2011-12, the flood levy may apply to the payment if your taxable income (including the lump sum payment) exceeds $50,000.

Call our tax team now on (07) 5585 8555 if you need more information or wish to discuss your Flood Levy liability.

Modern tax schemes can be very sophisticated and may masquerade as complex investments or other arrangements that can appeal even to experienced investors.

Just like genuine investments, these schemes might promise you ‘wealth creation’ or financial security. Others can exploit your social or environmental conscience by promising you large up-front tax deductions for donations to charity or ‘green initiatives’.

Many are marketed via social media or glossy promotional brochures, with offers of exclusivity and the stamp of approval from so-called ‘experts’.

As appealing as an investment opportunity may sound, sometimes the promised tax benefits might not be available under the law.

If you’re considering entering into an arrangement that will affect your tax liabilities, it’s important to carefully investigate and understand the tax consequences before making your investment decision.

If you have been approached to participate in any tax minimisation scheme, give us a call and let us check it out thoroughly for you. Or better still – make an appointment today for a Tax Planning consultation.  

The research and development (R&D) tax incentive provides a targeted tax offset to encourage certain companies (R&D entities) to conduct R&D activities that benefit Australia.

It provides generous benefits for companies performing eligible R&D activities and has the following two core components:

• a 45% refundable tax offset for eligible entities with an aggregated turnover of less than $20 million – unless they are controlled by tax exempt entities
• a 40% non-refundable tax offset for all other eligible entities.

For eligible entities, aggregated turnover must be under $20m and notional deductions in most cases, must be at least $20,000.

It replaces the R&D tax concession from 1 July 2012 and is jointly administered by Innovation Australia (assisted by AusIndustry) and the ATO.

More information is available at http://ato.gov.au/content/00316094.htm

Here’s 4 simple tips from our arsenal that we believe will help to grow your business:

1) Whoever learns and acts faster, wins. A lifetime dedicated to learning and then acting on what you learn is the best (and quickest) path to success.

2) The power of ideas. The most important thing an executive of a growth firm can provide the company is ideas, which germinate from learning. The more free you are from the day-to-day firefighting, the more you can contribute to the essential vision and strategy for success.

3) Whoever taps into the most brains wins. Surround yourself with lots of people smarter than yourself and your business will thrive!

4) Routine sets you free! We believe in the power of discipline. And one of the disciplines we subscribe to — priorities, metrics and meeting rhythm — lead to greater freedom, more money, and more time.

4 simple beliefs,  that in conjunction with our Strategic Programs, will help you grow your business intelligently.

We are committed to your success. All you need to do is commit to the first steps. So give us a call to arrange a free Strategy Consultation and let’s get to work growing your business! Call 5585 8555 or email paul@jwa.com.au to make a booking for your free consultation today.

Consider the following statistics:

• For every customer who bothers to complain, there are 26 others who remain silent
• The average ‘wronged’ customer will tell 8 to 16 people
• 91% of unhappy customers will never purchase services from you again
• It costs about five times as much to attract a new customer as it costs to keep an old one
• Each one of your customers has a circle of influence of 250 people or potential customers who hear bad things about you

Lack of quality customer care could be costing your business thousands of dollars!  Kelly Sims in her article ‘5 Ways to Keep Your Customers Coming Back For More’ (Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com) has these suggestions for improving customer care:

Say thank you

This is the simplest possible way to keep your customers happy, but it is all too often overlooked.  A customer who feels appreciated is much more likely to bring you repeat business and/or refer you to a friend.

Respond to enquiries promptly

People simply don’t like to wait.  Today’s world of high speed Internet, microwaves and mobile phones is evidence of this.  If a customer has to wait days to have questions answered by you, they will likely take their business to a company that responds to their enquiries quickly.

Know when to say sorry

Learn to be accountable, not only for your own mistakes, but for those of your employees as well.  When you consider that it is estimated that 35% of dissatisfied customers would not go to the competitors if they received apologies, you realise the true value of “I’m sorry”.

Give your customers a little extra

Value your customers by giving them a little extra.  This is a small step that doesn’t have to cost you a fortune.  It can be as simple as a small free gift after a purchase.

Personalise your service

Call your customers by their names and ask them how their day is going.  Even if you conduct business over the Internet, there are ways to personalise emails to let your customers know that you care about them.

Your Action Plan:

• Put in place a method of obtaining regular and reliable feedback from your customers.
• Actively promote high quality service and ongoing improvement in your business.
• Perhaps tailor some of the ideas on these pages to your own business and put them to good use!

If you’d like assistance putting YOUR Action Plan together, call the JWA Business Strategy team today on 07 5575 8555 and arrange a FREE consultation.

Bin It! – is the name of Galway-based The City Bin Co.’s latest growth theme. Notes CEO Gene Browne, “Most of the time we’re adding to our team’s workload with new initiatives, ideas etc. (recently I discovered that my assistant was updating a spread sheet each morning just as I asked her to do three years ago. The only problem is that I stopped needing it two years ago!). Most of the time, particularly in service businesses, employees just assume someone somewhere requires the output of what they are doing.” Here’s the visual they are using for the theme”

Three Key Questions — continues Browne, “Our theme seeks to root out these wasteful activities. They’re usually small but when added up across the firm they waste a lot of time, energy, money or space. Now we are rewarding employees to eliminate activities that waste time, money, energy or space. Basically there are three criteria:

• Question every activity you do that involves time, energy, money or space.
• Ask yourself, who would be negatively impacted if you weren’t doing this?
• If the answer is nobody, then stop doing it.”

Fun Rewards — wraps-up Browne, “They fill out a suggestion card and hand it to their manager for immediate approval or an explanation of why it’s needed. We reward based on the number of approved cards. 5 = Two Cinema Tickets. 10 = Shopping Voucher, 15 = Meal for Two etc. It’s been a great success so far. We will make this theme a permanent feature going forward.” There is no better time to start Spring cleaning (or Autumn for our Southern Hemisphere friends). If you haven’t picked a growth theme for April – June yet, shamelessly steal The City Bin’s!

Contact us soon to discuss your tax planning options prior to 30 June 2012

Jo-Ellen Hutchison | Tax Manager