Tag: customers

Happy friends enjoying on terrace. Smiling man and women are celebrating together during sunset. They are wearing casuals in party

FBT treatment of work Christmas parties and gifts

Posted on | by Allan Hall

Fringe Benefits Tax — What business owners need to know this Christmas

As the festive season approaches, you are likely planning your end-of-year functions and perhaps even thinking about Christmas gifts for valued customers and employees for another year.

During this period, it’s important to understand and be mindful of the implications of Fringe Benefits Tax on gifts and parties, to ensure that your generosity doesn’t cause unwelcome tax consequences for your business.

To help, we have set out the following guidelines to assist you:

Fringe Benefits Tax at Christmas

Christmas Parties

If your business lodges an FBT return calculating entertainment using the 50/50 method, then 50% of the cost of your Christmas party will be subject to FBT.

If you do not lodge an FBT return using the 50/50 method then the cost of your Christmas party will be exempt from FBT provided one of the following applies:

  • The Christmas party is held on business premises on a working day for current employees only, OR
  • The Christmas party costs under $300 per head.

If your business entertains your employees frequently (more than 10 times per year) then your Christmas party may be subject to FBT regardless of the cost, so please discuss this with your Allan Hall advisor first.

Example

  1. A law firm holds its Christmas party for employees only on a Friday afternoon in the office garden complete with marquee, live band, premium alcohol and a delicious banquet cooked by a celebrity chef. The cost comes to $490 per head. This will be exempt from FBT.
  1. An electrical company holds its Christmas party at a local restaurant with food, drink and entertainment. Ten employees and their spouses are invited making a total of 20 people. The total cost comes to $5,000. As this equates to $250 per head it will be exempt from FBT.

Customer Gifts

Gifts to customers are tax deductible and not subject to Fringe Benefits Tax, provided they are a genuine gift e.g. a Christmas hamper or a bottle of wine.  If you choose to take a customer out for a Christmas drink instead, your portion of this may be subject to Fringe Benefits Tax.

Staff Gifts

Gifts are a great way to show your employees how appreciative you are of their efforts whilst still attracting a tax deduction for your business. However, it’s important to understand that staff gifts over $300 will be subject to Fringe Benefits Tax.

Further, staff gifts under $300 should be eligible for the minor benefits exemption from Fringe Benefits Tax, but if they are recreational gifts (such as concert, cinema or sports tickets) then no income tax deduction or GST can be claimed.

Understanding the intricacies of Fringe Benefits Tax and the implications of FBT on your Christmas entertaining — gifts and parties — can be challenging. Many of our team offer skilled and highly experienced advice in all aspects of Fringe Benefits Tax, so please contact your Allan Hall Advisor for specific assistance before planning your Christmas functions and/or staff and customer gifts.

NOTE: If your business is a tax-exempt body or charity then a separate set of rules applies so please consult your Allan Hall Advisor.

CONTACT ALLAN HALL BUSINESS ADVISORS

computer security

Enhancing cybersecurity with MFA

Posted on | by Allan Hall

Adopting a multi-factor authentication (MFA) strategy

With technology advancing, it has become easier for hackers to gain access to our personal data.

In the past, passwords were considered the best line of defence against cybercriminals, but times have changed.

That’s why adding an extra layer of security to your online accounts is essential, not just for your information, but for your customer information too.

That’s where multi-factor authentication (MFA) comes in.

MFA is a security measure that combines two or more ways to prove your identity to allow access to an account. By doing this, it makes it much harder for cybercriminals to steal or compromise your credentials. MFA types include:

  • something you know such as a password, PIN or response to a challenge like naming the first street you lived in
  • something you have such as a physical token, smart card or an SMS sent to your phone containing a code
  • Something you are for example a fingerprint, facial recognition or iris scan.

Cybercriminals may still get their hands on your password, but they will need your biometrics or a code to fully unlock your account. While MFA is not available for every online account, it’s becoming a more widely-applied way to verify your identity. Banks, social media platforms and software providers are adopting this measure to protect their users’ information.

Enabling MFA on your email accounts and computer software, especially if working remotely, is crucial. Adopting this practice in a work capacity strengthens the protection of your systems and sensitive information.

Implementing this strategy, alongside the other cybersecurity best practices, gives your systems a greater line of defence in the event of a cyber incident. By taking proactive steps to secure your online accounts, you can help safeguard your personal information and that of your customers. So, take the time to set up MFA on your accounts and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing your information is secure or visit the ACSC website to find out more about implementing your MFA strategy.

CONTACT ALLAN HALL BUSINESS ADVISORS

computer security

Make cybersecurity a priority for 2023

Posted on | by Allan Hall

Recent cyber-attacks have shown how important it is to have robust cybersecurity practices in place to protect both your business and customer information.

The Australian Cyber Security Centre’s essential 8 strategies provide guidance on how you can create a baseline of protection against cyber incidents.

Their first topic covers application controls. 

Application control strategy

Put simply, application control involves you putting together a list of computer apps and/or downloadable programs that are ‘authorised’ as being legitimate and safe to use.

You then add these authorised apps to your computer’s application control feature. These features act as your computer’s security guard, ensuring that you can only download and use the approved list of apps that can be on your computer.

Doing this can minimise the risk of malicious code (also known as malware) being downloaded onto your systems, which can then disrupt, damage or even gain unauthorised access to your computer systems.

It’s important that you regularly review the list of approved apps and remove any you no longer need. It’s also crucial that you test the application control to make sure it works. Simply try and download an app that isn’t on your authorised list and make sure your system blocks the download.

CONTACT ALLAN HALL

using xero on an iphone

5 tips for Xero users

Posted on | by Allan Hall

Five tips from this year’s Xero quarterly product updates

Did you know that Xero has an inbuilt calculator? Are you across Xero’s inbuilt timesaver features? Across useful ways to use contact groups?

1. Save time with the inbuilt calculator 

Did you know that Xero has an inbuilt calculator? It allows you to calculate amounts as you create transactions. When you are in a numeric field in Xero, you can enter a calculation and then press Enter or Tab, and Xero will calculate the result. For example, entering 7+2 and then Enter will display as the number 9 in the field. 

The calculator is available in the Quantity, Unit Price and Disc % fields in transactions, and the Debit and Credit fields in manual journals.

In new invoicing, discount percentages are calculated automatically, so the calculator isn’t needed.

2. Add planned payment dates from the Awaiting Payment tab in bills 

This tip helps you manage cash flow and plan when to pay bills. You can add a planned date to a purchase invoice in the Awaiting Payment tab to create a planned payment schedule. 

This is great for businesses with a daily payment limit on their bank accounts, because Xero totals the bills as you select them — so you can see if the total exceeds your daily limit. If you’re using short-term cash flow in Xero Analytics, this also makes it easy to keep your planned payment dates up to date, so your cash flow forecast is more accurate. 

3. Use keyboard shortcuts to navigate around Xero 

Here’s a great timesaver which you can use from most screens in Xero. If you enter the forward slash (/), you’ll open the global search. You can then type a letter to navigate straight to a page. 

For example, entering ‘/b’ will take you to bills,  ‘/c’ will take you straight to contacts and ‘/d’ will take you to the dashboard. 

4. Use repeating invoices for customers who pay a monthly fee

For businesses with regular sales to particular customers, repeating invoices can be a big timesaver. Let’s say one of your customers pays you a monthly fee. You can set up a repeating invoice template so Xero automatically creates a new invoice each month.

Set how often you want Xero to create the invoice, choose the date of the first invoice and then select when the invoice is due. If it’s the same amount each month, click ‘Approve for Sending’. Then each month, Xero will create the invoice, approve it, and email it to your customer.

5. Add suppliers to contact groups for the method of payment

This is a useful way to use contact groups. If you pay some suppliers by bank transfer and others by direct debit, add them to contact groups for the method of payment. 

This lets you search the bills ‘Awaiting Payment’ page by payment type and you can sort, group, or filter the Payable Bills reports to make managing your bills payable and generating bank transfer payments easier.

Got a question about making the most of accounting or bookkeeping in your business? Get in touch with our Xero specialists who will be able to assist you with all your cloud accounting queries.

CONTACT ALLAN HALL

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Christmas Party

FBT Implications of work Christmas parties and gifts

Posted on | by Allan Hall

FBT Implications of Work Christmas Parties and Gifts

Fringe Benefits Tax — What business owners need to know this Christmas

As the festive season approaches, you are likely planning your end-of-year functions and perhaps even thinking about Christmas gifts for valued customers and employees for another year.

During this period, it’s important to understand and be mindful of the implications of Fringe Benefits Tax on gifts and parties, to ensure that your generosity doesn’t cause unwelcome tax consequences for your business.

To help, we have set out the following guidelines to assist you:

Fringe Benefits Tax at Christmas

Christmas Parties

A number of factors determine the application or exemption of Fringe Benefits Tax on your staff Christmas party and associated benefits, including your business type, where and when your function is to be held, your invitees and cost.

Example

If your business is not classified as a ‘tax-exempt body’, then the costs (such as food and drink) associated with Christmas parties are exempt from Fringe Benefits Tax, as long as they are provided on a working day on your business premises and consumed by current employees.

However, if you invite associates, customers or suppliers, Fringe Benefits Tax would then be determined by the per-head cost of the function. And if your event is hosted offsite, a new set of Fringe Benefits Tax implications arise.

Customer Gifts

Gifts to customers are tax deductible and not subject to Fringe Benefits Tax, provided they are a genuine gift e.g. a Christmas hamper or a bottle of wine.  If you choose to take a customer out for a Christmas drink instead, your portion of this may be subject to Fringe Benefits Tax.

Staff Gifts

Gifts are a great way to show your employees how appreciative you are of their efforts whilst still attracting a tax deduction for your business. However, it’s important to understand that staff gifts over $300 will be subject to Fringe Benefits Tax.

Further, staff gifts under $300 should be eligible for the minor benefits exemption from Fringe Benefits Tax, but if they are recreational gifts (such as concert, cinema or sports tickets) then no income tax deduction or GST can be claimed.

Understanding the intricacies of Fringe Benefits Tax and the implications of FBT on your Christmas entertaining — gifts and parties — can be challenging. Many of our employees offer skilled and highly experienced advice in all aspects of Fringe Benefits Tax, so please contact your Allan Hall Advisor for specific assistance before planning your Christmas functions and/or staff and customer gifts.

Contact Allan Hall Business Advisors today!

Cost-Reduction-Tactics-1

Cost pressure continues to impact business

Posted on | by Allan Hall

Australian Bureau of Statistics survey findings

Over one-third of all businesses expect to increase the price of their goods or services over the next three months by more than usual, a similar result to March 2022, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

ABS Head of Industry Statistics, John Shepherd, said: “Most of these businesses were finding that increases in the cost of products and services and fuel and / or energy costs were leading factors for planned price increases.”

The survey results also showed nearly half of all businesses have no plans to increase their prices over the next three months.

Of these businesses, nearly half said it was to retain customers and 46% said they had fixed-price contracts in place.

The results also provided information about planned capital expenditure over the next three months. Almost one in five businesses have planned capital expenditure in May 2022, consistent with findings in May 2021.

Nearly half of businesses planning capital expenditure indicated it would be higher than what is usual for this time of year, fewer than a year ago when 59% planned for higher expenditure. 

The biggest Influencing factors on whether businesses were planning for capital expenditure were uncertainty about the future state of the economy and supply chain disruptions. 

CONTACT ALLAN HALL