Do you want to do it cheap or do you want to do it right?

By Alexi Boyd | Tuesday July 16

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd from Boyd Office Management Services
Date: 16 July 2019

Do you want to do it cheap or do you want to do it right? In discussion with an expert bookkeeper Michele Grisdale A question bookkeepers get asked all the time: what is it going to cost to get it right? And that is the crux of it. It DOES take time, money, expertise and sometimes a whole lot of patience to support small biz as they navigate (or rather trip) their way through the maze that is small business compliance. Take Single Touch Payroll for instance (and if you just asked what that was you need to change jobs). It is a big change for the 2.2million small businesses and is just one example of compliance which you need to know about. So the solution is make sure you have got the right expert to help you. How do you find them? What or who do you need to avoid? And what should and should you NOT expect them to do for you? Michele Grisdale is a BAS Agent with clients in all sectors of small business, a speaker and proud advocate for bookkeepers.

Let’s chat about the big change that is Single Touch Payroll and what your employees need to know. What’s changed and what’s the right/mandatory thing to do?

  • Group certificates or payment summaries and now called income statements
  • Payslips must be issued each payrun on the day
  • Allowances, super, PAYGW need to be clearly shown on payslips
  • Don’t forget all the minimum awards all went up on 1Jul19
    • How to search on PACT
  • What if I’m a husband & wife business owner. Now needs to be quarterly and you need to apply for a concession to report quarterly as a minimum?
    • ATO says not a long term solution
    • Only an agent or business owner can lodge it

Just because it’s the way you’ve always done it, doesn’t mean its right.

Why a good bookkeeper is so important for your business?

  • Would you hire an untrained mechanic?
  • Ask about their experience, their qualifications. As you licenced?
  • Read their emails…
  • Business owners, contractors, admin support people are being pressured into doing payroll. They are untrained, and the biggest risk is the business owner because unless you authorise someone else in writing to lodge for you

CPE constantly. It takes us hours each week to keep up with this. How are you, the business owner going to understand all that’s required?

  • Bookkeepers can:
    • Follow systems designed by others
    • Process
    • Reconcile & produce results but not if client is relying on them to make financial decisions
    • Raise questions but not answer them
    • Can NOT submit payroll, STP reporting, super, TPAR, BAS, ATO, Tax Decs, arrange payment plans. THAT is a BAS Agent

You have an admin support > Bookkeeper > BAS Agent > Tax Agent

So why are we having this chat and Michele why are you so passionate about this issue in small business? What is a bad or unqualified bookkeeper costing you and your business?

  • Time, money, relationships
  • More importantly what is NO bookkeeper costing you
    • Your relationships

With allowances, super, PAYGW being reported to the ATO each payrun now in your experience as a bookkeeper what do you think the ATO will be looking for with STP?

  • The main thing is matching super liabilities with what the
  • Correct entitlements data matching with industry benchmarks