Category: Business

$20,000 instant asset write-off for small business extended to 30 June 2025 (May 2024 Federal Budget Update)

The Government will extend the instant asset write-off concession for small businesses for another 12 months. This will allow small businesses with turnovers capped at $10 million to immediately deduct the full cost of eligible depreciating assets costing less than $20,000 that are first used or installed ready for use for a taxable purpose between […]

Payday super: no further details but funding to improve unpaid super in bankruptcy (May 2024 Federal Budget Update)

The Budget papers did not reveal any further details on the Government’s proposal to require all employers to pay their employees’ super guarantee (SG) at the same time as their salary and wages from 1 July 2026. However, the Government said it will provide $111.8 million over four years from 2024-25 (and $12.4 million per year […]

ATO Crack Down on Family Trust Distributions

The ATO has been trying to crackdown on the use of trusts for many years and has recently released the following draft ruling, guideline and taxpayer alert relating to trust distributions that have associated reimbursement agreements: Draft Taxation Ruling (TR 2022/D1) – this deals with the ATO’s views on when section 100A will apply; Draft Practical Compliance Guideline […]

Four Things Every Employer Should Know About STP Phase 2

The expansion of Single Touch Payroll (STP2 / STP Phase 2), significantly increases the amount of payroll information that needs to be reported to the ATO. It is hoped that this additional reporting will assist in ensuring employees are paid correctly as well as reducing the need for employers to report information about employees to […]

Scale Up Exits

A recent ‘Exit Story’ Panel Discussion was held at Perth-based co-working space Flux. The panel participants were Glen McIvor of Solv, Stephen Langsford of TyreConnect, Olivia Humphrey of Kanopy, and Doug Fitch of Agworld. The interviewer was Derek Gerrard of Purpose Ventures. Here are a few of the key points The time between startup and […]

Tax Concessions Associated with Early Stage Innovation Companies Under Review

There are generous tax incentives currently available which are designed to attract and encourage investment into early-stage Australian companies (i.e. Startups & ScaleUps). The Government has announced it will review these tax incentives. These tax incentives include: The Early Stage Innovation Company (ESIC) Tax Offset, which is a non-refundable carry forward tax offset equal to […]

laptop and business man

A Question of Value

The vast majority of my career of 40 plus years, has been spent in professional services firms. I wouldn’t have had it any other way, because the notion of service is very important, but there have been times when I was tempted to leave the professional life behind, because much of what goes into a […]

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What is Single Touch Payroll?

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO ALL EMPLOYERS Single Touch Payroll (“STP”) is a new compliance obligation for employers regarding the transmission of payroll information to the ATO (employee name, TFN, wages, tax and super). To satisfy the Single Touch Payroll obligations, employers will either use their own payroll software or engage a third party (e.g. accountant) to […]

handshake and skyline

Doing Business in International Markets

Recently I had the pleasure of attending the ASNAF conference in Goa, India. ASNAF is an alliance of accounting firms in various countries across Asia and Australasia; and Munro’s is the only firm in the alliance from Western Australia. Through the ASNAF alliance, Munro’s leverages the local expertise of member firms from countries in Asia […]

business migrant working on computer

Managing Cash Flow for a Small Business Startup

Starting a small business usually means taking some financial risks, and for a while, some financial hits.  Apart from the initial investment, there may be inefficiencies or errors made during the crucial startup days.  According to Dun & Bradstreet, 90% of the small business failures are caused by poor cash flow.  For small businesses, the […]

Fraud in Your Business

Sadly, it is not uncommon to hear about fraud affecting small and larger businesses alike.  I have certainly heard a few stories over the years!  And fraud doesn’t discriminate, it can happen anywhere, anytime, no matter how big or small your business is.  For every minute fraud goes undiscovered, your business pays! So what do […]

a visit to the station

A Visit to the Station

I was invited to visit with one of our long standing station clients last week, ostensibly to start the process on how and when to hand on the station business to the next generation. For our client, they had been mulling over this dilemma for quite some time and they were unsure on what steps […]

cogs of the machine

Las Máquinas

So here is what I Googled: “what is ‘the machines’ in Spanish?” and the answer I received instantly was: “The machines – Las máquinas”.  And just below that, was a preview of a translation service website: “The new machine helps us do the work much faster.  La nueva máquina nos ayuda a hacer el trabajo mucho más rápido.” […]

business migrant working on computer

Coming to Australia as a Business Migrant

The Australian Government welcomes business migrants and recognizes their contribution to local employment and the economy.  Perth, as one of the world’s most livable and globally connected cities, has a dynamic business environment and is the home city of a third of ASX listed companies.  It is also located in the same time zone as […]

downturn clip art

Coping with Downturn

Like everything in life, there will be highs and lows and business is no exception. When business declines, you may instinctively cut costs, but there may be other actions you could take and some of the following may be helpful in a downturn. Promotional Strategies Put some time and effort into broadcasting your value proposition […]

lightbulb idea

The Suggestion Box

There was a time when businesses were largely “top-down” affairs run by managers who knew how to run things.  They had the knowledge, the experience, the education and so on and it was their job.  Employees lower down the ranks were expected to follow instructions and customers were expected to choose from products or services […]