Australian Tax Planning

“If you’ve built a small business from the ground up, you probably know your industry, customers, and products or services like the back of your hand. When it comes to the ins and outs of taxes, accounting and finance, however, it never hurts to have an experienced professional to turn to for guidance.”

Mark McKee,

President and COO of OnPay

As a small business owner, working with an experienced and trustworthy tax agent ensures that all your taxes and documents are in order. Tax laws are very complex and they often undergo sudden changes. Doing taxes by yourself, on top of managing most other elements of your business, can make you prone to costly mistakes.

In fact, a study by Australian Taxation Office (ATO) shows that approximately 96% of small businesses consult with a professional tax practitioner. The random enquiry program they conducted then showed that while most business owners pay their taxes properly, a small percentage makes mistakes or avoids paying the right taxes. And the latter group actually contributes to most of the small business income tax gap.

This indicates that the majority of small business owners recognise the importance of experienced tax agents and that using their services pays off.

What is good cash flow management in a small business?

Incorporating the best financial practices in your cash flow planning will improve the finances of your small business. Regularly monitoring and reviewing your cash flow allows you to accurately predict how much money your business will bring in and how much you can spend on growth and investment opportunities.

Rigorously reviewing it also ensures that you don’t overspend and that you stay within your budget. Without proper cash flow management, it’s easy to find yourself guessing how much money you have and end up overspending it. Or worse, spending money that was already allotted for something else.

These are some of the tax responsibilities a small business owner will handle without a tax agent:

Registering an Australian Business Number (ABN).
Registering a tax file number (TFN)
Registering for Goods and Services Tax (GST) (i.e. if your business has an annual turnover of $75,000 or more)
Record keeping, in case the ATO requests for documents
Submitting a Business Activity Statement (BAS) to the ATO either monthly, quarterly, or yearly depending on your business’ annual turnover
Managing the payroll tax, lodging the annual tax return, and ensuring that the financial statements are prepared in accordance with tax and accounting standards

The complexities of tax compliance and tax planning can lower your own productivity, which then negatively impacts your business’ overall growth. Without the help of a professional tax agent, it’s easy to get your taxes and numbers wrong if you don’t have experience with the laws and basic accounting.

While tax laws and regulations differ depending on region, one thing remains the same: A small business needs a professional tax agent to continue growing and maintain their financial security.

Why use a tax agent in a small business?

Not every accountant is a tax agent but plenty overlap. A tax agent is a specialist in Australian tax law and needs to be approved by the TPB. They can help support your business by identifying your liabilities, obligations, and entitlements based on taxation laws. They protect your financial interests by ensuring that you comply with the regulations set by ATO.Cash flow management in small business (Clone)

Some of the general services a tax agent offers include:

Tax compliance - Your tax agent ensures that you pay your taxes accurately and in a timely manner while also educating you about the laws and regulations your business must adhere to. An experienced tax agent will explain this to you in an informative (but not condescending) way.
Tax planning - It’s important to develop a financial strategy that maximises your tax efficiency. This will allow you to legally minimise the taxes you need to pay at a given time.
Tax advisory - Your tax agent can help you implement an actionable plan that aligns with your business goals and improves your tax position (despite how the laws constantly change).

Outsourcing professional and experienced tax agents is an option that small business owners should consider. It saves time and stress because it allows you to focus on other business aspects while your agent handles your taxes. The other benefit is that tax agents also get an extension on the standard deadlines because if you lodge your tax return with an agent, then the October 31st deadline doesn’t apply to you.

Most of all, outsourcing a tax agent gives you the flexibility and space to grow your business without the anxiety of tax errors (and its subsequent costly or legal consequences) hanging over your head.

How our small business tax services work

a man standing in front and discussing to his colleagues

Our tax services ensure that you can build your small business and keep it financially secure. We want to help you achieve your business and financial goals so we tailor our services specifically to your needs.

With more than 20 years of experience, our tax specialists have the knowledge and skills to understand the changeable tax laws and help our clients understand how it affects their business and their own tax requirements. We pride ourselves on improving your tax position in the best possible way within the law so that we don’t put you and your business at risk.

Each year we return millions in refunds to our clients and our complimentary tax planning meetings create hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax savings each year.

We know that, as business owners, you have other priorities that need your attention. So, it can be difficult to track if you’re accurately filing your documents in a timely manner and if you’re paying the right amount (not more or less than what’s required). After we study your business and financial situation, we provide the proper tax planning and advisory that is best suited to your needs.

Here’s how we’ll work with you:

We conduct an initial conversation with you.
We ask questions to better understand you, your business, and the pain points that you are experiencing.
We have a formal meeting with you once you’re comfortable with us and perform an audit of your current financial practices and position by looking at profits and losses, balance sheets, and financial projections. We ask about any insights you may have on your cash flow.

For businesses, we include a complimentary basic tax planning annually prior to the June 30 deadline to help you better prepare for any potential additional tax and strategies available to optimise your tax position.

We create a workable solution based on our review and walk you through our proposal so you understand what you’re investing in.
We create a workable solution based on our review and walk you through our proposal so you understand what you’re investing in.
We help you achieve your goals by creating the space for growth. When you’re not stressed about your accounting, you have more time to worry about growing your business.

“Before working with HY Accounting we thought our business strategy and accounting was up to speed—wow, we were wrong. Michael and the team delivered a real and achievable growth plan which is driving us to double digit growth month-on-month. Thank you.”

Nathan Butcher, Founder of Spinfluence Marketing Agency.

If you want a trusted and experienced specialist in improving your tax position and ensuring that your business is financially secure against costly tax errors, we’re ready to partner with you.

Book a call and let’s achieve your goals together.

You’re about to take the first step towards becoming a better business.