Holidays are nearly here, we understand how busy this time of year gets, especially if you own a business. To help you get organised so you can hopefully enjoy a well earned break this Christmas, here are some key dates for your diaries regarding Jobkeeper payments. 4 January 2021 – JobKeeper extension 2 starts The second extension period covers the JobKeeper fortnights between 4 January 2021 and 28 March 2021. To claim JobKeeper payments for this period, you will need to sho

Have you heard about this new initiative to help kickstart the dining and tourism business in NSW? If you are a restaurant, pub or cafe owner or have a business related to tourism and are registered as COVID safe - you will want to get involved! For everyone else, make sure you have a MyServiceNSW account ready for when it launches outside Sydney in late January 2021. There are more details on nsw.gov.au The NSW Government is launching Dine & Discover NSW to encourage the co

Over the next couple of months, we have a number of public holidays. We have been receiving some questions about how you treat these in JobKeeper, so we have summarised some useful information for you below: Public holidays (extract from Fair Work Ombudsman) Public holiday pay needs to be included when calculating an employee’s usual pay if the employee: Would normally have worked on the public holiday if the JobKeeper enabling stand down direction hadn’t been given. W

With cases across the country slowly coming back under control and the emergence of several vaccine options, it seems as through there is finally some good news! As we slowly look forward to further lifts in restrictions, businesses need to consider how they are going to implement a COVID Safe environment as part of the road to recovery. The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers recently published some tips to help business owners through this process. We have summarised them fo

Time off is essential for everyone's health and well being. When employees have had a break from work, they come back more focused and productive. Understanding the different types of leave and holidays and the rules around them can help you better manage leave for your staff and keep them happy. Annual leave Employees take annual leave for rest, recreation, or other personal reasons. Certain conditions apply on when employees become entitled to annual leave, and employment l

Payroll can become messy and stressful when you have several employees, but getting it right is essential. Paying your employees on time and at the agreed rate is important to maintaining a productive relationship, it's also a legal requirement! What is payroll? Payroll is a list of your employees and the total amount of money you pay them. It includes salaries or wages, bonuses, allowances, and benefits. Deductions such as tax are also part of payroll. Different Ways to run

With great employees comes great responsibility! The time before your new employee starts is an opportunity to check your employer responsibilities and make sure you’re well prepared. Always act in good faith and treat employees fairly When interacting with employees, every action must be done in good faith. Follow a fair process and be honest at all times. Allow employees to raise concerns and respond to them immediately. If you have an issue with an employee, discuss it wit

Hiring is a big move. From setting a salary, to recruiting, onboarding, and payroll – there’s a lot to get right. We have put together some tips and links to help you though the process. Are you ready to hire your first employee? Or do you have a few employees but want to improve your hiring process and find more good ones? Firstly, congrats! Hiring is a challenge but is a huge milestone and a sign that your business is growing. Hiring is about finding good employees, getting

In June this year, the Fair Work Commission announced the result of their annual wage review: a 1.75% increase to minimum wages. While the increase is usually applied to all awards from 1 July, the extraordinary events of 2020 led to the Commission deciding to increase groups of awards in three separate stages. Group 1 Awards: including frontline health care, social assistance, teachers, childcare and other essential services were increased on 1 July 2020. On 1 November 2020,

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has set some expectations for energy companies to protect small business during the COVID-19 pandemic. This extends important protections for energy customers and encourages retailers and customers to stay in touch and communicate if they need help. The protections for small business during COVID-19 have been extended to 31st October 2020. Expectations for Energy Providers (taken from The Australian Energy Regulator AER) All residential

The ATO will be getting in touch with any business not using Single Touch Payroll (STP) to report payroll. They will send SMS and emails at first, followed up with letters for those that do not respond. Small employers with only closely held payees have until 1st July 2021 to start STP reporting, but if you are ready you can start earlier. A closely held payee is someone who is directly related to the entity from which they receive payments including family members, directors

The regulatory relief for businesses that have been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis has been expanded with temporary insolvency and bankruptcy protections extended until 31st December 2020. As the economy begins its long road to recovery, businesses experiencing financial hardship need support and flexibility to restructure, or in the worst case, be able to wind down their operations in an orderly manner. Part of that support is to lessen the threat of actions that could unne

1st Quarter of FY 2021, July to September 2020 – contributions must be in the fund by 28th October 2020. As an employer, your obligation to pay your employees’ superannuation contributions on time and in accordance with their choice of fund is just as important as paying their wages. Failure to meet your obligations could attract unwanted attention from the Australian Tax Office (ATO). It is essential that employers pay super contributions on time to avoid penalties. The law

Over 100,000 business loan deferrals to small and medium businesses will be assessed over the next few months as the initial six-month deferral period comes to an end. As part of ongoing COVID-19 strategies, banks have begun the process of contacting customers to discuss the next stages in support and assistance. Banks have warned extensions will not be automatic and any customer who can afford to start repaying their mortgage or business loan will be expected to do so once t

Even if you cannot pay the ATO on time, it is important that you lodge activity statements or tax returns on time. This will show the ATO that you are aware of your obligations and are doing your best to meet them. Depending on the circumstances, The ATO may be able to: Set up an affordable payment plan. Fast track any tax refund owing. Defer a compulsory repayment (for example – Higher Education Loan Program). Prevent any tax refund that may be due from being used to pay deb

This year’s Federal Budget includes more detail for business owners to digest than has been in a long time. The full report is available here, but we have been busy reading though the detail and have provided you with a summary on some of the key points. This Budget is aimed at encouraging hiring, investment and spending. This includes wage rebates, investment incentives, new skills initiatives, direct support for employers, business tax cuts and strategies to boost our manuf

COVID-19 is creating a huge challenge for all of our daily lives, particularly for those of us that own or work in small business. As Business Owners, it is especially important to learn how to lead and manage your business successfully through these times of change. Having a clear picture on outcomes, creating a change management plan, communicating with staff and actively encouraging a culture of change can help you have a smooth transition in times of change, strengthen yo

JobKeeper Extension is fast approaching us. If you have not received an email from us yet in regards to your current turnover and predicted eligibility after 28th September, please get in touch ASAP. We have prepared a list of important dates for you and your business to be aware of so there are no surprises over the next few weeks. 28 September 2020 – JobKeeper extension 1 starts From 28 September 2020, JobKeeper 2.0 begins. The first extension covers the JobKeeper fortnight

Is your small business experiencing disruptions resulting from the global outbreak of COVID-19? Facebook are offering approximately AUD $3 million in grants to approximately 465 eligible small businesses. Each grant amounts to AUD $6,400 comprising of AUD $4,000 in cash and AUD $2,400 in optional ad credits to help during this challenging time. They are now accepting applications for eligible small businesses in Australia. You can use money from these grants to keep your work

A quick update for you on important changes that may impact your access to Jobkeeper 2.0. If your business qualified for the first round of JobKeeper, but you no longer satisfy the 30% decline in turnover test to qualify for Jokeeper 2.0, you may be able to access temporary Fair Work Act provisions for a further six months if your business is experiencing a 10% decline in turnover. Update: On 1 September 2020, legislation to extend the JobKeeper scheme passed Parliament. As