Accounting

@Deborah Vella @Carmen Morris and @Michelle Maynard , you probably have some experience with this too!

Similar to a BAS agent, a registered tax agent can prepare, lodge, amend and pay your BAS statements on your behalf. As your registered agent, they can also view any correspondence sent to you by the ATO. Tax agents and BAS agents share similar knowledge and skills, except tax agents are qualified (and authorised) to advise you on a broader scope of tax law and issues such as income tax returns, reviewing annual income and expenditures and determining the relevant tax deductions to your business.

Gregory - great to hear your success with a non-bank.  

The large institutional players still tend to play pretty tough and rigidly stick to their lending criteria when things are not going in the right direction (for either party), and one or two get very tough indeed when things are not going right.  

The non-bank sector is significantly under-rated in terms of product offering and service.  Pity  they don't have the same advertising budget as the majors for market awareness purposes.  Great that you had a good outcome after an un-welcomed experience.

I have found in the greater majority of instances that practically all institutions (whilst they may at first be a little 'blinkered' by their lending/operations manuals) do [eventually] have that required commercial /common sense application to clients that are: a) reasonable/logical/communicate; and b) genuinely have a position (ideally of tangible net-worth) that can be defended.  The challenge for most individuals is compiling a sensible proposal for the bank that is supported by a validated/current Statement of Position - this is what the bank is often searching for.  If we make it easy for the institution, then they are more than happy to contribute to a well thought-out plan. 

I would like to hear more about your financier and the terms offered as this is great market knowledge that I know would benefit a couple of my clients.  

Often it is also about the individual at the institution and the preparedness to go that extra mile for viable business.

Interestingly that you used the expression "near death [business] experience".

Great to hear a good outcome.

Craig

No.
And your last question is a good one - why do you need one?

It all depends how much you know about your business. Writing  a plan can certainly concentrate the mind and make sure you've covered all the basis. However, I'd head out and see how many people will buy the product first. If you're in the latter categories, work out who the business plan is for and write it for them!

There are a couple of ways to check if someone is a verified chartered accountant:
 

• Look out for their membership number/credentials on their website or email signature. If you can't find it, ask. If they can't provide you with this number see it as a big red flag. 
• Search using the membership details or by entering their name on the Chartered Accountants ANZ website (https://www.charteredaccountantsanz.com/find-a-ca) or the ICAS website (https://www.icas.com/members/manage-my-membership/proof-of-membership).

Great question Michael. It's a personal choice but I think a 'done-for-you' service offerings makes sense with a few caveats. I'd suggest that the scope of processes included should be those either inextricably linked or has plenty of scope for synergy, such as what you have suggested for bundling tax, accounting and bookkeeping services. Secondly, bundling these processes should bring about operational efficiencies and therefore economy of scale, which in turn works out to bring better value for client businesses. Better value can also translate into additional services, such as business advisory services, which helps accountants to be more intrinsically involved in their clients business as partners, especially with the opportunities cloud accounting brings. It's helping businesses to gain another trusted advisor who has just been freed up from otherwise more mundane work. So that's a good thing in my books. The other consideration for me is about quality of work and serviceability. Will the work be outsourced to partners, or will it be all done in-house? If it's the latter, then can a single accountant or firm do better, say in both bookkeeping and tax accounting, than individual bookkeepers and tax accountants? So I think it depends on who is offering the services and how. It's a challenge to be able to consistently provide both the breadth and depth of capability, without compromising on quality - but none of these challenges are insurmountable and if executed well, goes a long way to reduce operational risks whilst increasing efficiencies and value to clients.

Fast asnwering of what you need is to keep working and increase the cashflow to get bigger limits 

I switched from MYOB to Rounded because MYOB had all these features I just wasn't using. I just wanted to send out invoices, keep track of my profit and loss, and generate expense reports. Rounded was simplified to my needs. If you're using Xero or MYOB et. al. and haven't clicked on tabs in years (or ever), it might be worth switching to something streamlined.

As Kirsty said, the easiest accounting software package for small businesses boils down to personal preference and what you are using it for. Xero, QuickBooks, Reckon, Sassu (and many other accounting software programs) are designed with small business owners in mind and have excellent resources to equip you with what you need to use the various tools and functions. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, Xero is arguably one of the easiest accounting programs for small business owners.

Some of the features that make Xero such a user-friendly accounting package include:

1. It’s cloud-based - meaning you can access it from any computer or mobile device with an internet connection

2. There are 500+ tools available to tailor the program to your business’s requirements

3. It’s very easy to collaborate with your bookkeeper or accountant

4. Automatic currency conversion

5. Automated bank statement feeds

6. User experience is on point - Xero has one of the prettiest user interfaces which makes accounting far less daunting 

7. It has an award-winning 24/7 email support team

The key is to read comparison guides and user reviews to help you decide on the right package. I would also second taking advantage of free trials to get a feel for different programs and how they work for you. Hope this helps.