Frequently Asked
Questions

Technology savvy and our response time is faster than the average accounting practice – we operate as a practice of the future. We also provide our clients with our special app for faster communication and delivery of information.

Superior service levels – Our friendly and knowledgeable representatives view our relationship with you and your business as long term. We get to know you and your business well so we really do understand what you need to make it a success. After all, your success is our success.

One-stop shop – To help you to unleash your business’ potential, we provide a great range of services. This comprehensive approach means that we always see the big picture and you get great support services for your business all under one roof, saving you time and money.

Peace of mind – Time is precious for all businesses, particularly for small and medium sized businesses. More often than not owners and employees are juggling a number of roles and day-to-day tasks. The last thing you want is to worry about your business’ financial health. You can be rest assured that your tax, accounting, financial and business needs are taken care of properly and in a timely manner. 

Costs agreed upfront – Concerned about consultancy fees mounting up? Don’t be! We want you to be able to contact us any time with questions or queries without having to worry about being billed for every minute of our time. We can provide the option of Fixed Price Arrangements allowing you to stick to your budget and still have access to first class advice, enquire about this today. 

Please also have a read of our client testimonials as a stamp of approval.

Also watch our Company Video in the About Us section of our website when you have a free moment.

For business owners, we provide a 15-minute free initial discussion by appointment to understand your needs and provide a quotation.

For individuals, we provide short free email estimate quotation.

Please see our services page on our website, however we aim to be a one-stop shop for all our our clients needs, so if we have not listed your requirement, please ask to see if we can help!

We even have a network of professionals and advisers to provide ancillary services to help your business – so we really are a one-stop-shop!

We service all clients Australia wide, we also can service international clients who would like to do business or work in Australia. Technology has changed the way of working to assist more clients in different locations.

We believe in the power of technology which allows us to “e-meet” at any time or location by appointment, providing flexibility and efficiency for our clients.

We also provide by appointment mobile visits for small to large businesses in the metropolitan area, as we understand that some business owners may not be able to leave their business premises during working hours. Additionally, we feel that by visiting business owners, we gain a better understanding of their business operations, as well as getting to know their staff and the issues they face, all of which equip us to be in a better position to help our clients to succeed.

We can work in house by appointment as well from time to time, where time permits, as long as our client understands that we operate a business and work for a variety of clients.
We can also provide individual staff to work in house to assist with your needs, however this request needs to be pre-arranged to allow for availability.

There will be a call out fee based on travel time to and from the office, we will also charge for our time based on our standard hourly rates or a fixed fee if agreed per our agreement terms.
Any disbursements in relation to attending onsite will also be oncharged to the client.
Onsite visits are strictly by appointment and availability. Should we be unable to work with you onsite during business hours, we are able to arrange appointments via teleconferencing, and calls or weekend/after hours appointments.

For our business tax and accounting services, all costs are agreed upfront. Whilst we do offer fixed fee and hourly fee arrangements, we believe that hourly rates encourage inefficiencies and do not directly align to results. We prefer to base our fees aligned to the value we create, and the service products we deliver.

We assess fixed fee arrangements on a case by case scenario. All fixed fee arrangements are also subject to our fair use of services policy. If the service is not fairly used, further fees apply.

We prepare tax returns for individuals as well as businesses. All tax returns are prepared by qualified accountants and checked before they are lodged. You can be assured of our quality in the delivery of our services and your tax position is the best it can be without breaching taxation laws.

We offer free initial discussion so that you can get the right advice before you embark on this exciting journey of becoming your own boss. During this initial meeting, we assess your personal circumstances and risks profiles of the business. Together with you, we work out the best business structure(s) for you and the steps to take to hit the ground running. We apply for ABN and TFN for you and can assist or point you in the right direction for ancillary services such as business logo creation, trademarks, graphic design, web design, marketing, operational requirements, administration services and more.

Yes of course we can. We know what accountants require in Australia and we get it right the first time! If we do both, this also means no rework costs as you will not have an accountant disputing the work undertaken by an external or inhouse bookkeeper. We find that clients find it more efficient to give us the whole lot.

Not directly, however we have access to industry contacts to assist with your financial planning needs. This includes a wide range of services in areas such as personal and business superannuation, investments, insurance and finance.

We have access to home & commercial loans offered by banks and other leading lenders. This means we can find the right loan for you. In addition, we’ll help you complete all the paperwork and assist you in assembling the documentation required by the lenders.
We can advise you on other strategies which can help you to save a lot of money by accelerating the reduction of your debt.

You should be issued the PAYG Payment Summary at the end of the financial year generally by the 14th July. If, however, you are leaving prior to the end of a financial year, you may request a statement of earnings or similar statement from your employer upon termination, where it should usually be sent to you within 14 days.

Please note that we will not be able to answer this question, nor provide an estimate till you lodge your tax return.
A tax refund depends on many factors including your residency status, income and tax you have paid. We also need to consider the work related expenses you have incurred.

We do not provide “same day refunds”, but general turnaround time from the ATO is approx 7-10 days. Once your tax return has been prepared, and subsequently reviewed by the Tax Agent, it will be sent out to you for review and signing. Upon receipt of your signed Tax Return and Electronic Lodgement Declaration, your return will be lodged with the Australian Taxation Office (“ATO”).

A: Not necessarily as we touch base with our clients while we complete your work if required. If you have trouble fitting an appointment into your busy schedule, please ask us for our checklist and forward your information to us to commence work.

A: Five years from date of issuing your Notice of Assessment for individual returns and seven years for Company returns. Paperwork for the purchase of property, shares or items being depreciated, must be kept for the nominated period after the sale or depreciation has been completed.

Of course, we aim to respond to our clients within 24 to 48 hours, if not much sooner. A faster response is received if contact is made by email due to the nature of our business. Calls which are expected to be over 5 minutes need to be booked by appointment.

We suggest you print off a copy of our individual or business tax check-list for a comprehensive listing of the things you might need. Some of the most common items you will need include: personal details (plus spouse and dependent), income (wages, investments), interest, work related expenses, charitable contributions, medical expenses and childcare expenses. If there is something that you feel is relevant, but is not on our checklist, please let us know and we will advise you on whether those particular documents are needed by our office.

A Business Activity Statement, or commonly known as BAS, is a form issued by the ATO (Australian Taxation Office) to all GST registered entities to facilitate the reporting of the entities GST related activity for the period.

Where necessary, the Business Activity Statement also facilitates the reporting of small businesses PAYG withholding obligations, fringe benefits tax obligations and any PAYG income tax instalments that may apply to a business entity. The Activity Statements are normally issued quarterly, however in some circumstances, a business may be required, or may volunteer to, complete monthly Business Activity Statements.

The amount of tax that a business is required to pay is dependent on many variables.
For a business that uses a company structure, the tax will be 30% of the businesses net profit.
For a superannuation fund, the tax rate is 15% of the net profit.
The amount of tax that’s required to be paid for an individual will depend on where the income level sits within the progressive income tax scales, but can range from 0% to 46.5%.
It is imperative that the right advice is sought before commencing a business structure as this can have a significant impact on the amount of income tax an entity is required to pay.

As your business prospers you will find that your time becomes increasingly valuable to you.
We are here to lift the burden of the administrative side of your business away from your shoulders. This allows you to focus on running your business, and we hope, becoming more successful in the process. We can tailor our accounting packages and support to suit the level of involvement that is recommended for your business.

We most certainly can. We have clients in all states across Australia, and given current technologies such as Xero accounting software, we are more than happy to assist you, no matter where you are located. Modern communication makes this process pain-free as we are only ever a telephone call or email away from your business. We can also establish facilities whereby we can log into your business computers, to assist you.

There is no easy answer, as this will largely depend on your personal situation. With our many years of experience, we will guide you in the right direction in this regard to ensure that you or your entity is claiming all possible deductions that it is legally entitled to do so. If you have any questions on this topic, we are always willing to listen.

No matter the scale of the business, and in order to support our office in regards to the ongoing maintenance of your accounting affairs, it is imperative that every client has systems in place for filing their paperwork.

If we feel that you could do with a ‘helping hand’ in this regard, we will gladly provide the right advice to ensure your records are maintained in an orderly, systematic manner.

A business is only required to be registered for GST with the ATO if their annual turnover/income exceeds $75,000.00 per annum at the time of writing. Once you are registered for GST, you must, by law, add 10% GST to all of the invoices that you issue to your customers.

There are many accounting packages on offer to businesses in the current market. Here we specialise in using Xero cloud based software for the majority of our existing clientele. We are also able to assist you in the use of QuickBooks, MYOB, Netsuite, and other large ERP scale systems if they are a more suitable package for your business.

Generally, our clients are fixed with us for 12 months and the timing of payments is agreed per our contractual agreement.

Dependant on your needs, we supply an all encompassing service that allows you, the client, to get on with what you’re great at.

Your easy payment methods are as follows
– Direct Debit
– Credit Card – Visa or MasterCard
– EFT Bank Deposit

For any further questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

We like to keep things simple where possible; we don’t introduce convoluted entities you don’t understand or need! Our goal is to make you feel comfortable & in control of whatever entity structure is right for you.

Individual tax returns are due on October 31 each year; however, if you are using a registered tax agent, the due date will be later (contact us to find out exactly when).

You should lodge your outstanding tax returns as soon as possible and before the Australian Taxation Office takes any action to have you lodge these tax returns. Once they have begun any action, it could result in a court conviction. 
In addition, the ATO will charge interest. This is called the general interest charge and is levied on any outstanding monies. We can assist you to lodge your late prior year returns.

It is necessary to complete a tax return to date of death if a return has been lodged in past years. This return, marked final, must show all income received to the date of death.

If you are interested in changing accountants, please contact us to arrange a initial discussion. The initial interview provides an opportunity to get to know each other. In particular, it allows us to get a better understanding of your needs and how we can satisfy those needs. If we agree that our practice should be appointed as your Accountant, we will advise your previous accountant and arrange to collect any information or documents that they may be holding for you. It is also good practice for you to give them a courtesy email or call to advise you have decided to change.

Registered Tax Agent’s are regulated by the Tax Practitioner’s Board and are required to have a certain level of qualifications and experience in preparing a variety of tax returns to gain their registration. Tax Agents are required to have professional indemnity insurance and must adhere to a code of professional conduct. By using a registered Tax Agent, you are ensuring that your return is being prepared by a suitably qualified person for peace of mind.

No, we do not offer this service due to the onerous requirements and cost involved in doing so, which would have to be passed on to clients. You are able to pay our fees by bank deposit, direct debit or credit card.

There have been new ATO regulations that require tax agents to verify all clients ID. Thus, to protect your potential refund, we are required to ensure that it is you who is lodging your tax return, and that you get your refund.

Today’s accountants aren’t simply figures people. An accountant can provide your business with the peace of mind that not only are your financial requirements being covered, but that there is wider support available for business advice and consultancy.
A good accountant will take care of your accounts but also offer advice on how to free up cashflow, make savings and raise capital for expansion. They’ll know tax laws and legislation well and will be able to suggest ways that you operate more efficiently and tax savvy. A good accountant will help to free you up to concentrate on what you are good at, running your business!

We provide businesses with unlimited email contact so that you can ask quick questions without having to worry about sudden charges.

However, this is subject to our Fair Use Policy, please see our Policy page on our website.

Whilst we may not be able to speak to you immediately when you ring due to the nature of our business, we will endeavour to contact you within 24 to 48 hours if not sooner. If you would like a quicker response we recommend you send us an email.

We suggest if you don’t have an appointment to send us an email where we aim to respond within 24 to 48 hours if not much sooner, you can also call our office on 1300590088 and our reception will take a message if unavailable.