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Businesses across industries have been affected dramatically by the pandemic. As a result, many entrepreneurs are resorting to selling their businesses.

Have you been considering the same thing but don’t know how to go about it? Before doing anything else, here are some things to think about to prepare yourself for the process.   

Keep Emotions at Bay

For some, the decision to sell a business is often an emotional one. This COVID-19 situation across the globe has pushed and pulled all of us in different directions. And many are left feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and burned out. Selling their business is often seen as a way out of a dreary situation. 

But when it comes to your business, it’s always wise to keep your emotions at bay. Take a moment to really understand why you’re thinking of selling and if it makes sense to do it now. Try to see the full picture of where your business stands today. 

Reach Out to Your Team

Before making a financial decision to sell your business, consider talking with your team, especially those who have been with you for a long time. You may feel like you’ve run out of ideas. But your team may have valuable suggestions that could open up new opportunities for your business and save your company. 

Know the Value of Your Company

Don’t be in a rush to place a value on your company. Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of using a flawed valuation model or doing the valuation on their own. Additionally, keep in mind that your company’s valuation isn’t fixed. It may not be the same as it was three years ago. 

Focus on Your Cash Flow

Many entrepreneurs focus on profits, losses, and balance sheets when selling their company. With the pandemic, it’s a good idea to also focus on your company’s cash flow. This will give buyers a sense of certainty in terms of how your business is financially performing. 

Understand Your Intangible Capital 

Other factors you should significantly consider when selling your business are your intangible Capital. These include your business structure, customer-base, and human capital. 

Is it a good time to sell your business, or are you just feeling the pressure of the pandemic? 

In this challenging time, consider consulting professionals who can help you understand business valuation, cash flow, and succession planning. When it comes to the future of your business, don’t leave any stones unturned. 

Let our professionals at Glance Consultants help you. We offer strategic business advice and planning, business performance management, and succession planning. Call us at 03 9885 9793 or fill out our contact form.

This Budget certainly featured many announcements aimed at encouraging hiring, investment and spending. The Government’s task now is to encourage businesses and households to take advantage of the new programs to deliver stronger economic growth and more jobs. 

The three pillars of the Budget, that will underpin jobs, investment and household spending are:

• Significant personal income tax cuts (paid early)
  
• JobMaker Hiring Credit for businesses employing new staff under 35
  
• Immediate write off for any business assets purchased from 6 October 2020 7:30PM

Please check the following link for our report on the Budget:

Federal Budget 2020-2021

“Buy a stock the way you would buy a house. Understand and like it such that you’d be content to own it in the absence of any market.”

— Warren Buffett

The same goes when building your investment portfolio. Do not make rash decisions. Take your time to learn about it just as you would when checking a property you would like to purchase. Understand the market and consult experts before buying your first investment.

Are you ready to get started with building your investment portfolio? Here are some tips.

Review Your Finances

You’d want to make sure that you are not sacrificing anything financially when building your investment portfolio.

Take stock of your liabilities and assets to determine how much you could invest. Writing down what you own and what you owe lets you see how you could diversify your investments.

You could also use a budget planner or net worth calculator to assess your financial situation.

Set Your Goals

Goals help you focus on the steps you need to take to build your investment portfolio. Furthermore, they help you choose the most appropriate investment products according to your needs and risk tolerance.

Once you’ve set your financial goals, take them a step further by categorising them into:

• Short-term goals — those you would like to achieve within two years
• Medium-term goals — those you want to accomplish in three to five years
• Long-term goals — those you want to achieve within five years or longer

Understand Your Risk Tolerance

Every investment decision carries its own risks.

Do significant market movements bother you? Would you like to maximise your returns over a long period? If you answer yes to both, you may be a high-risk investor. If you don’t worry about small market changes but stress over large ones, you may be a moderate-risk investor. However, if even the slightest market changes stress you out, you may be a low-risk investor.

Choose the Best Options for You

Many low-risk investors often start with certificates of deposits, money market deposit accounts, and basic savings accounts. Moderate-risk investors, on the other hand, may be comfortable investing in mutual funds and buying stocks of financially stable companies.

Those with a high-risk investment appetite may find themselves drawn towards more sophisticated investment products and stocks of start-up businesses.

Building your investment portfolio doesn’t have to be complicated. However, it does require due diligence and careful consideration of your finances.

Let Glance Consultants help you achieve your financial goals. We offer end-to-end investment advice. Our team is ready to answer your questions and help you make informed decisions.

Get in touch with our office and team of financial planning partners to obtain further information.

 

If cash is king in business, then cashflow is queen.

Cashflow is the amount of money that goes in and out of your company. It includes payables, receivables, operating expenses, and other financing activities.

For continuous business growth, make sure to manage your cashflow properly.

How do you do it? Here are some tips.

1. Always update your books

As they say, “you can’t manage what you don’t measure.”

While some see bookkeeping as a monotonous, boring task, it’s an essential part of a company’s financial process. It allows you to collect data that would help you make sound business decisions in the future. Furthermore, accurate bookkeeping makes you more confident in managing your cashflow as you have up-to-date records to back you up.

2. Monitor payments and invoices

Late payments could throw your working budget off track. Make sure your clients pay for your products or services on time. Additionally, always settle debts with your suppliers on or before their due dates.

Are you having a difficult time tracking and following up on invoices? Think about using a bookkeeping app or software that lets you set invoice reminders.

3. Keep your financial processes as simple as possible

You could do bookkeeping, accounting, and cashflow management in many ways. When setting up your processes, remember that the less complicated the process is, the more you’re likely to stick with it.

4. Make technology your best friend

Your time is precious. Make sure you are using it efficiently. To do that, consider integrating the latest technology into your business.

For instance, you could automate specific bookkeeping processes by using an accounting application. You could also create financial reports instantly. This makes it easier to perform cashflow forecasting and management.

5. Think about having a cash reserve

You know you’re managing your company’s cashflow properly when you’re able to build a cash reserve. It doesn’t have to be a huge amount — just enough to keep your business afloat for a few months and weather the storm.

Cashflow management is the key to your company’s long-term success and survival. It could help you sustain sufficient working capital to get your business through any financial roadblocks or market changes.

Learn more about cashflow management and forecasting with the help of Glance Consultants. Our team works with small to medium businesses and support entrepreneurs in achieving their goals.

For more information on cashflow management, please fill out our contact form or send your questions to enquiries@glanceconsultants.com.au.

Do you spend more time managing your books than managing your business?

Cloud accounting could automate and simplify your financial processes so you could get your time back without worrying about keeping your records up-to-date.

What is Cloud Accounting

Cloud accounting is an application you could access online. It is hosted on a remote server where all your accounting processes are done. Because all tasks are processed remotely, you won’t have to worry about security issues, which could be a concern if your employees are sharing office computers.

Unlike a desktop accounting program, cloud accounting frees you from the hassle of maintaining the software and making sure you’re using the latest version. Furthermore, you won’t have to install the software on multiple computers so other people in your office could use it. All authorised personnel could access real-time data anytime and anywhere they need to.

What Makes It Different From Traditional Accounting Applications

Cloud accounting streamlines business processes to help you get a better view of your company’s overall financial status.

What makes cloud accounting different from traditional accounting is that it offers more than just accounting and bookkeeping tools.

Today’s cloud accounting software encompasses a wide array of solutions that are perfect for both SMBs and large enterprises. From bank account and credit card reconciliations, and payroll processing, to invoice creation, and inventory and time-tracking, cloud accounting increases business efficiency.

How Could Cloud Accounting Help Your Business

Here are some of the benefits you could get from cloud accounting:

• Secure Data Storage — Because your data are stored remotely, you won’t have to worry about losing your files when your computer breaks down. Furthermore, you won’t have to think about unauthorised access to your information. Cloud accounting comes with robust security systems.
• Third-Party Service Integration — With cloud accounting, it is easier to integrate other applications into your account. This helps you maximise your time and boost your productivity.
• Multi-User Access — Your team will grow as your business thrives. When that happens, you’d want to have systems in place that can accommodate this growth. Cloud accounting makes it more convenient to collaborate and communicate with your growing team. You could provide access to multiple users as needed.

Are you ready to try cloud accounting? Glance Consultants offers Xero accounting software integration. With Xero, you get timesaving tools that could help you manage and grow your business. Call us at 03 9885 9793 or fill out our contact form to learn more about our bookkeeping and accounting services.

 

Did you know that the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is implementing tax changes this year?

Whether you’re a small business, an enterprise, or an individual taxpayer, these changes apply to you. But don’t worry, there’s still time to learn about them and find out how they could affect you.

Here are some of the tax changes you should know.

 

For Small Businesses and Enterprises

1. Immediate Asset Write-Off — If you have a turnover of less than $10 million and assets worth $30,000 or less, you could now claim a deduction for every asset installed or used within the following threshold:
   • Before January 29, 2019, for assets worth less than $20,000
   • From January 29, 2019, until 7:30 pm (AEDT) of April 2, 2019, for assets worth less than $25,000
   • From 7:30 pm (AEDT) of April 2, 2019, until June 30, 2020, for assets worth less than $30,000
   • On July 1, 2020, the threshold for assets will return to $1,000
2. The general rules for depreciation would continue to apply for assets that cost more than $30,000
3. Starting April 2, 2019, small businesses with a turnover of anywhere between $10 million and less than $50 million would also enjoy an immediate write-off for their assets.
4. Tax offset for small businesses has increased to 13% for the 2020-2021 tax year. The offset will further increase to 16% for the tax year 2021-2022.
5. Base rate entities (or companies with a turnover of less than $50 million) now have a 26% tax rate for the 2020-2021 tax year. Their tax rate was previously at 27.5%. For the tax year 2021-2022, the tax rate will further be reduced to 25%.

For Individual Taxpayers

1. Foreign investors with properties acquired before May 9, 2017, may claim the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) main residence exemption if the disposal of the property happened before June 30, 2020.
2. Foreign investors who acquired properties on or after May 9, 2017, are no longer qualified for the CGT main residence exemption.
3. The Personal Income Tax Plan has been expanded as announced in the 2019-2020 Budget. From $530 per year, the Low and Middle Income Tax Offset (LMITO) is now $1,080 annually. Furthermore, the base amount was also changed from $200 to $255.

Are you still confused about these changes? Glance Consultants can walk you through them and provide sound taxation advice. Please send an email to enquiries@glanceconsultants.com.au or give us a call at 03 9885 9793 for a confidential discussion of your needs.