Trying to get a perfect work/life balance can be a cause of stress in itself. If you are feeling the strain of building your business and maintaining your life, the good news is that stress and a productive existence can go hand in hand. Be mindful and you can find the balance that’s best for you.
How much stress is good for you?
The Yerkes-Dodson law shows that an individual’s performance increases with stress (arousal) until cortisol levels get too high. Then performance decreases again just as sharply. The secret is to stop your stress levels from sending you down the other side of the bell curve. How much is too much varies for everyone, but understanding and managing your stress levels allows you to use them for good.
How to manage your stress
Take Control – Feeling in control can decrease stress from harmful levels by presenting the stress causes as surmountable challenges. Get a handle on your project, tasks, or day by breaking them down into achievable goals and choosing what to prioritise.
Get positive – Your perception of your stress is important. Rather than leading to panic and inertia, calmly recognise the first quickening of your heart rate as something powerful, making you more alert and capable.
Connect – Social support reduces stress, so good relationships within a team and the wider office environment make everyone more resilient to stress.
Exercise – A good workout reduces bad stress and is good for the brain, heart, and lungs.
Sleep – Poor sleep is bad for stress levels and health, so be disciplined about getting a good night’s rest. Being exhausted will increase susceptibility to further stress and damage productivity.
If work stress is getting too much, talk to us.
We can help manage systems, technology, payroll, or other financial and administrative management. We can help with your business worries so you can get back on track.
When you run a small business, the amount of work can ebb and flow. Unexpectedly busy periods can create too much work and stress for a small team or one-person business. But if a surge is seasonal or unreliable, you don’t necessarily want to commit to taking on another employee. One solution is to use outsourcing to give you some flexibility during busy periods.
What could you outsource?
Several types of jobs can be ideal for outsourcing:
Tasks you dread, usually procrastinate, or that cause you massive stress
Tasks where you or your business have low expertise
Those tasks which don’t require the contractor or freelancer to access your systems or deal with your clients.
For example, outsourcing your social media management could work well if you aren’t managing your digital marketing. Or it might be branding, HR, or customer service. And if you need help with your payroll or accounts, we’re only a phone call away.
If you can take stressful tasks off your plate or reduce your workload at peak times, you can increase your revenue and productivity without overcommitting to payroll.
Who could do the work for you?
We’re here to support you with your accounting and payroll requirements. You could consider a local or an offshore provider for other types of work. Plenty of platforms and organisations will help you, but do shop around as the quality varies enormously.
The advantages of a local provider are that they’ll be in the same time zone, with no language barrier, and operating under the same regulations. International providers, on the other hand, can be considerably cheaper.
Need help getting started?
Are you considering outsourcing and wondering how much to spend or where to start? Or do you need help with accounts and payroll? Get in touch. We’d love to help.
When your business needs new plant or equipment, what’s the best choice – buy or lease? The answer will depend on your circumstances, but the following considerations can help you weigh the options.
The advantages of buying
Buying gives you certainty and ownership at a higher upfront price but a lower total cost. Owning an item of plant or equipment gives you unrestricted use for the item’s lifetime. You can alter it to suit your business and sell it if you need to free up some cash. The total cost is paid upfront, so you have no ongoing payments, and there may be opportunities for tax depreciation.
Ownership can be a particularly good choice when equipment lasts for a long time and maintains its value. Overall, the total price of ownership is usually lower than the total cost of leasing the item.
The advantages of leasing
Leasing tends to give you more flexibility at a higher cost. It spreads out the cost of an expensive item – you don’t need to save or borrow the purchase price; instead, you make regular payments. You can return a leased item if it’s not working out or upgrade to a better model as your business grows.
If the equipment or plant quickly becomes obsolete, you’re likely to upgrade, or you’re not totally sure it is right for your business, leasing could be ideal. While leasing is generally more expensive across the item’s lifetime, it also frees up your money to invest in other areas of the business.
Running the numbers can help you find the right decision
The decision to invest in new plants or equipment can be tricky, but we can help. We can tally up the upfront and ongoing costs and weigh these against the economic benefits you might get from the new equipment. We consider your cash flow, the cost of borrowing, and sales projections so that you can make an informed choice.
We all know that positive cashflow is the beating heart of any successful business. And with so many external pressures on your cash right now, it’s important to have one eye on the future. Cashflow forecasting is an increasingly important tool for any finance team. You can make well-informed financial decisions with a better view of your future cashflow position.
But how does cashflow forecasting work? And how does it help you maintain a positive cashflow position throughout the year?
What does a cashflow forecast tell you?
The cashflow process is all about balancing your income (cash inflows) against your expenditure (cash outflows). This is called a ‘positive cashflow position’, if your cash inflows exceed your cash outflows. In other words, you have cash left over, even once you’ve covered your costs and paid your bills – cash that can then be reinvested in the business.
Forecasting apps like Float, Fathom, and Futrli use historic cash data to project your cash position forward in time. This helps you see where your cash may be in future periods.
Running detailed cashflow forecasts means you can:
Understand your future operational cashflow – helping you spot any cashflow holes, seasonal dips, or predicted months of high expenditure before they become an issue.
Plan your costs and expenditure effectively – allowing you to stick to your planned budgets, manage your expenses and plan for any steep price increases.
Avoid the cashflow issues before they happen – using your forecasts to look ahead, plan and get tighter control over your cashflow management.
Talk to us about setting up cashflow forecasts
Staying in a positive cashflow position is challenging in the current economic situation.
When supplier prices and operational costs fluctuate, and revenues are hard to predict, it is difficult to juggle your inflows against your outflows.
We’ll help you get a tighter grip on your cashflow. Setting up detailed forecasts enables you to understand your financial story and puts you back in complete control of your cashflow.
What is the $1,500 low and middle income tax offset (LMITO), and how will it affect my tax return in 2023?
As you may have heard through various news channels and articles, millions of Australians are due to feel a sharp increase in their taxes which will result in lower tax returns in 2023. Why? Because the generous ‘LMITO’ of up to $1,500 has expired and will not be available for the 2023 financial year. It’s important to note that there is a difference between the low income tax offset (LITO), which is still available, and the low and middle income tax offset (LMITO), which has expired.
Overview of the low and middle income tax offset (LMITO)
The low and middle income tax offset (LMITO) is a tax benefit that has been available to eligible Australian taxpayers since 2018.
Taxpayers earning between $37,000 and $126,000 for the 2021-22 financial year could benefit from this offset for up to $1,500. However, this offset is no longer available for the 2023 financial year. In turn, this will lead to smaller tax returns for millions of individuals and sole traders compared to last year.
Overview of the low income tax offset (LITO)
The low Income Tax Offset (LITO) has been available for many years, is still available, and has not expired like the LMITO. This tax benefit will still provide some relief to those who earn less than $66,667 for the 2022-23 financial year.
Eligible taxpayers can claim the LITO when they file their tax returns. For the 2022-23 financial year, the maximum LITO amount is $700.
We certainly understand that some of our clients will greatly feel the affect of LMITO expiring. We appreciate your understanding that this change is beyond our control.
Need some extra cash to take your business to the next level but daunted by the loan process? You’re not alone. There’s a lot of paperwork and number-crunching involved.
Before you start, remember that banks want your application to succeed, as the interest you pay is a vital revenue stream. So it’s up to you to make their job easy by turning up with a good business case.
Connect the dots for them. While banks are money experts, they’re not necessarily knowledgeable about your area of business. Remember to present a clear story and demonstrate how the loan will unlock your growth, ultimately ensuring the bank gets paid back.
When applying for a business loan, ensure you have the following:
income statements and balance sheets for the past two years
up-to-date financial statements
business plans or project plans to show the direction your business is taking
