New Business Start Ups
Business Start Ups and Sales
Starting a business can be like a game of chess: to succeed you need to make the right opening moves. It necessitates risk, research, passion and planning and the harsh reality is that enthusiasm, money, talent or a great idea will not be enough to guarantee success. The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics suggest that 42% of new businesses won’t be around in 3 years time.
There are numerous issues to consider such as:
- Business Structure
- Finance Requirements
- Software Selection
- Employer Obligations
- General Tax Advice
- Bookkeeping Training
- Business Plan
- Business Evaluation
- Registrations
- Cashflow Forecasts
- Budgets
Compliance
We endeavour to make sure all our business clients are structured correctly for taxation purposes taking into account financial and legal considerations. When staring or buying a business or franchise, the wrong advice can be very costly.
There is an old saying, ‘people don’t plan to fail, they just fail to plan.’ This is both valuable advice and a warning for people intending to start a business. A business plan that incorporates a marketing plan and projected cashflows will not only help you raise finance but should also be the blueprint for your business’ future. Many business owners underestimate their costs and overestimate their income which puts them under financial pressure from the outset. We can help you prepare some ‘what if’ financial scenarios to assess the viability of your business and identify your finance requirements.
Too often people starting a business simply end up creating a ‘job’ that denies them the freedom and flexibility they set out to achieve successful businesses have clear objectives, produce quality products or services, understand their market, manage their money properly and are good employers. They also keep quality records and have a close relationship with their accountant. When establishing your business it’s important to seek sound professional advice from qualified accounting and legal sources.
One of the most important decisions you need to make when starting a business is the choice of accounting software.
Ranging in price, features, support and training requirements it is easy to become confused with so many options. We therefore provide the following guidelines:
- Don’t buy software beyond your business needs. If you don’t need inventory or a fully integrated general ledger system, then don’t buy a complex accounting program.
If you don’t understand double entry accounting (i.e. debits, credits and journal entries) then avoid the sophisticated accounting software programs. If you need to use such a program then consider undergoing a training course at a local TAFE. - Your software should be compatible with our general ledger system to allow easy transfer of electronic data. This can save time, money and assist with meeting lodgement deadlines.
In Australia, the 3 most popular accounting packages are MYOB, Quickbooks and Cashflow Manager.
Cashflow Manager looks and operates just lie a manual cashbook and requires no understanding of accounting debits and credits. The program comes complete with ‘Invoice Manager’ that lets you generate Tax Invoices, track your debtors and produce statements. The Cashflow Manager ‘Gold’ package also includes the payroll module ‘Wages manager’ to process pays, print payslips, PAYG Payment Summaries and track staff entitlements.
If your business specifically needs the stock control function, a full general ledger or point of sale solution – MYOB and Quickbooks are very popular. These packages have additional features including multi-user licences, time-billing for professionals, job costing, lay buy control and can produce over 100 analytical graphs and reports. Because of their relative complexity you may need to undergo training to understand and use these software programs. Most TAFEs provide structured training courses that run for between 14 and 20 hours at a cost of around $350.
Contact Us For Advice
We urge you to contact this office regarding your choice of accounting software because the wrong package can lead to a ‘computerised shoebox’ records that can be more difficult to process than the traditional shoebox full of receipts!
We also play an integral role with our clients who are in the process of selling a business. There are a range of issues to consider including Capital Gains Tax and tax concessions. We aim to ensure the correct outcomes are always achieved.
We are here to support and guide you through the challenging but rewarding small business journey. Having previously assisted so many clients in your situation we would like you to benefit from our experience. Working together we can combine our knowledge and experience to help you make the right opening moves and ensure that you create a solid foundation for success.
We are not your average accounting firm that just keeps the score. Our clients enjoy a ‘business coach’ relationship and we work on your business to develop strategies, systems and processes to ensure your marketing generates a better return and repeat business. We use tools and techniques to monitor sales, productivity and make your financials more meaningful.
Your business success is important to us because Small Business is Our Passion.
Call us now for a free, no-obligation 30 minute consultation where we can discuss your next business move.
