Beacon Advisory

Business owners often struggle to make the right decisions when it comes to managing their finances. 'Set and forget' often takes precedence over 'review and manage'. Without regular, relevant financial information, directors don't have the adequate data and insights needed to inform their decision-making processes.

Producing regular financial management reports can provide company leaders with vital information about the state of their business and its finances, allowing them to make sound decisions about investments and resource allocation. This helps to ensure that businesses are properly equipped to weather any storms that may come their way. Having a range of lead and lag indicators provides a description of the past that informs quality decision-making whilst also capturing information that enables planning and forecasting with some reliability.

How do you make that happen? Invest in data collection and financial systems that can produce regular management reports for your business. These systems can be quite simple and inexpensive but yield information that is invaluable to the survival of your business. By taking small steps like this, you can be sure that you're making informed decisions when it comes to managing your business and ultimately increasing your chances of success as a company leader

Need help? Speak to us at Beacon Advisory; we have a wealth of knowledge and experience when it comes to managing business finances and can help you maximise the value of

We're not talking about the time you spend putting out fires or dealing with problems. We're talking about the time you invest in making your business better – improving its culture, systems, finances and processes.

Investing time in your business will help make it stronger for years to come, and operations will be more efficient. If you want your business to be around for the long haul, you need to start investing time in it now.

So we challenge you – to make a commitment to set aside at least 5 hours a week working on your business. You’ll be amazed at the difference it makes.

If your business isn't measuring its expenditure against budgets or forecasts, it's likely that costs are rarely reviewed. As a result, your business may be bleeding cash without realising it. This can quickly put your business in jeopardy, as cash is the lifeblood of any organisation. To prevent this from happening, make sure to review your expenditure regularly and make adjustments where necessary. Your costs should be contestible. This will help ensure that your business is on track and avoid any nasty surprises down the road.

If you would like assistance in reviewing your business's expenditures or creating a budget/forecast for your business, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at Beacon Advisory.

A payment arrangement is not a cure-all for unmanaged tax debts. You need to consider these issues before you choose to go down the path of a payment arrangement.

Understand your rights and obligations under the law. Knowing the pros and cons of payment arrangements and what the outcome might be in the event one fails is vital.
Be aware that any payment arrangement will generally have to come from 'uncommitted cash' - funds available over and above the existing cash flow requirements of your business. Drawing back on equity (if you even can) is dangerous ground.
Always be transparent and honest with the ATO about your financial situation. Trying to downplay your financial insecurity could lead to much bigger problems later on.
Make sure that you can afford all the payments you are proposing to make under any arrangement - not just the first one or two. Plan for what you know and can reliably predict, not what you think might happen or what you ‘wish’ the future to look like. Remember, hope is not a strategy!
Be aware of the possible consequences of defaulting on a payment arrangement, which can include civil penalties and even personal liability.
A failed payment arrangement may lead a liquidator to recover an unfair preference against the ATO, which may ultimately lead to you as a director having to pay that money again.

Whilst a payment arrangement may appear attractive on first glimpse, understanding the full impact on your business may need more than just a chat with y