If you are one of the many Taxpayers hoping for a tax refund it is crucial to submit your return ‘right’!

That is, submit it with all the necessary supporting documentation. This step can save you and the ATO time and effort.

And with Tax Time fast approaching,

• it is a timely reminder to start now and get your ‘paperwork in order’.  
• Also, make sure you have all the ‘evidence’, such as receipts, to substantiate your claims for deductions.  This applies to all claims.
• Be aware, the ATO recently announced it is putting the microscope on tax deductions. Remote workers, landlords and workers taking a liberal approach when claiming travel expenses can expect scrutiny as part of a compliance crackdown. 
• Have a job second that generates income remember to declare it! Freelancers, Influencers are also on the ATO's radar. 
• Taxpayers, those ‘work-from-homers' are reminded of the changes to the generous tax concessions offered during the pandemic. Changes, effective from March 1 this year. Anyone making these claims must now prove how much time they spent working from home and what were actual work expenses, not to be confused with household expenses.

 To claim or not to claim! 

It’s important to know what a legitimate claim is and isn’t and that can be confusing. Avoid mistakes, if you need advice contact Blackburn Accounting, we are experienced and available to help you maximise your return within the ATO guidelines.   

With costs of living spiraling what better way to add to your cashflow than with a tax refund cheque! 

The Festive season is upon us! A time of celebration and giving of gifts! 

As a Business, an Employer you might be planning a Christmas party and the giving of gifts to employees and Business Associates.

There are associated costs, and you might not be sure what falls under the ATO Rules. Here are some helpful tips. 

Christmas Parties and Gifts 

If your business holds a Christmas party:

• on a working day, on your business premises, and only for your current employees, you don’t pay fringe benefits tax (FBT) for the food and drink
• off your business premises, or the party includes associates of employees (such as their partners), you don't pay FBT if the party is a minor benefit – that is, the cost for each person is less than $300 and it would be considered unreasonable to treat it as a fringe benefit
• that includes clients, you don't pay FBT for the costs relating to the clients.

If you give your employees a Christmas gift, you don't pay FBT if the value of the gift is less than $300 per person and it would be considered unreasonable to treat it as a fringe benefit.

If the Christmas party is not subject to FBT, you can't claim income tax deductions for the cost of the party.

Have questions, want guidance or assistance contact Blackburn Accounting.  

We can help you with tax matters, decorations and gifting of gifts. 

Read the story! You decide!

The Big Mac Index so described by the Economist has seen the price of McDonalds burgers more than tripled in the 40 years of reporting. And they are still in the business of selling burgers to the masses!

What is this index? The Big Mac Index published since 1986 measures the cost of a Big Mac in different countries and indicates the difference in purchasing power parity between them.  

How did McDonalds do it!

McDonalds generic competitive and growth strategies are designed to maximize efficiency, minimize costs and ensure profitability. Its pricing strategy includes price bundling along with psychological pricing that encourages customers to buy more products. Its a formulae for success as profits indicate.

 A different approach is used by another mega US retailer. Their strategy aims to keep prices steady following a business model, described by the company’s finance boss as ‘arrogantly simple’, to hook shoppers by offering high-quality products at the lowest prices.’  The company attributes its enduring success to this approach.  

What’s your Business model?  What Strategies do you use to be competitive!

During this period of inflationary pressures and price increases running a successful Business is challenging for most, whatever your industry.

You may be one of them, a small Business owner, faced with the rising costs of doing business. Increased costs for supplies, commodities, labour and energy. How do you tackle setting price points that keep customers happy while still maintaining reasonable profit margins.  It's push - pull economics! 

For example, a recent news headline ‘price hike on the menu for Aussie pub classic’ suggests possible further price increases to menu favourites Burgers, nuggets and chicken fillets. This follows as a major poultry producer warning of higher production costs that will need to be recovered.

Similar sentiments expressed by a local hairdresser, saying he was forced to absorb rising costs to avoid passing them onto his customers and possibly losing them as price can be the difference between someone coming to his salon or going somewhere else. He cited increased cots of electricity, rent, products and superannuation, and is the hardest time we've ever known at running a business. 

 Are there any answers, solutions! 

Yes, consider these Strategies.

Look at margins: Most retailers boost profits by marking up prices. Short term cost impacts can be managed thru margin initiatives, but these need careful planning to avoid losing customers.  Engaging with your customers is critical during these times

Even the most successful of Businesses and Business Leaders will share their experiences of setbacks, mistakes and sometimes failures along their journeys. The common thread is their willingness to speak of ‘lessons learned’ that turned these stumbles into opportunities. Opportunities for growth, improvement and overcoming challenges.

Capturing lessons learned provides a valuable opportunity to reflect on past events and experiences and identify areas for improvement. This allows Business and Teams to gain insight and understanding into what worked well and what didn’t.  

Most importantly how and what can be done differently next time to avoid making the same mistake twice. 

3 Reasons Why Lessons Learned are Important 

1. Avoids Reinventing the Wheel – saves money! Reflect, evaluate and record lessons learned to guide the future. Essential to document the tools and techniques used to help you and others save time and money going forward. 

2. Don’t Make the Same Mistake Twice – it’s been said a million times before but still resonates.  To quote Albert Einstein ‘if we cannot remember our past mistakes and avoid them, we are simply going to make the same mistakes again.’  The key is to document the lessons learned, sharing and revisiting them to ensure the same mistakes are not repeated. 

3. Reflection – provides the opportunity to review both ‘failures and successes’.  It's important to relive success as a reminder of how to succeed and how to build on that.  Analyse what made the venture a success to take to future projects.

No matter what the Project, Business venture, or Political Campaign undertaking a Lessons Learned exercise is invaluable in understanding what went wrong, and critically how to avoid making the same mistakes in the future. 

Are you losing the art of connecting with meaning and feeling!  

With our communications predominately driven by technology now more than ever is there a need for connecting effectively. 

Connecting! it's more than clicking a button!

And in a time when we are experiencing challenges every day, many testing our capabilities and vulnerabilities, meaningful connections are vital. It’s all about feelings, and when under continual pressure it is easy to feel alone, disjointed and isolated. To overcome this we need to connect and share experiences with others. Importantly, understand the power of meaningful connections, what, why and how they enhance our lives!

Meaningful connections impact our mental and emotional well-being. This is about our need for human connection, a sense of belonging, connection and happiness that underpins our mental health and well-being. 

4 Features of a meaningful connection are! 

1. Going beyond the scripted dialogue, trivial talk.  It’s about having authentic conversations, being genuine by sharing our stories and experiences.  It's about putting in the effort to build and improve relationships, our willingness to be involved, ’show up’ and engaging with empathy. These are the ingredients for better connections. 

2. Listening, actively listening is the key to authentic connections. Hear what others have to say, their opinions. Paying attention and being prepared to acknowledge others' points of view and beliefs and being respectful and understanding of our differences.   Read more...

The importance and power of a positive Business image can’t be understated or underestimated.  This is how the world, and your customers, see you, and relate to you or not.  

No matter if you are a corporation giant or family small Business corner store, it's important to show what you stand for and what you stand by. Your Business principles, core values, and goals.  Your public image should be reflective of your Business.

Why it's important to build a strong brand image and identity

• A strong brand identity helps raise awareness about your services and products to customers and potential prospects. 
• Creating a positive Business image is vital as public perception helps build a customer following.
• Your corporate identity, brand reputation, and how you are perceived by your customers, potential clients and community are critical to your success. 

And in a time of economic challenges, and market uncertainty consumers are looking for Businesses they can trust, believe in and respect. 

Customers want a feeling of stability and security during these turbulent times. 

In this environment, your brand IMAGE is crucial to building loyalty, positive relationships, relationships that see customers coming through your door and returning for more! Your words and actions need to resonate with your customers and deliver what you promise. Personal and Business credibility is key to your success.

The alternative, as we often see, is damaged reputations due to various misadventures that have customers abandoning you.

How to Build a Strong Brand Image 

Follow these steps: 

In a time of conscious consumerism and cost of living pressures we are now seeing what is called the ‘lipstick effect’. 

This economic and retail theory proposes that cash-strapped consumers are more likely to purchase affordable brand lipsticks, beauty goods and luxury items during an economic downturn. In this environment Consumers still want their small indulgences and to treat themselves even when faced with financial challenges and their money is tight.  

This phenomenon was reportedly suggested by beauty giant Estee Lauders former chairman, Leonard Lauder, who noticed an increase in sales of lipstick during the US recession in the late 1990’s.

More recently, this 'theory' gained attention with the headline ‘cosmetics at face value’ ‘cost of living pressures make big retailers unlikely beneficiaries of the lipstick effect’.  The article included comments from various sources including leading supermarkets, experts and everyday consumers.

Comments reported as, ‘consumers are starting to explore alternatives that represent better value for them’ ‘beauty retailers have to grab people's attention, you’ve got to entertain them, you’ve got to excite them’. ‘it was important how beauty retailers brand themselves as a necessity for consumers’! ‘I've just started looking at what I was paying for if it was marketing or pretty packaging’! 

Another example. The lipstick effect is proposed as one of the reasons movie complexes and fast-food casual restaurants do well during hard times. Cash-strapped consumers want to treat themselves to something to help them forget their financial worries. Not an overseas holiday but a treat, a cheap night out!

This pattern is also a manifestation of something economists call the income effect. And there is more, much more,. Search this subject with the click of a mouse on the web.

So, what does the lipstick effect mean? What does it mean to you, your Business!

More specifically, what is the post-COVID New World Order of Doing Business and How do we Prepare for it! 

Simply put, the world has changed! It’s a new world economy and how we do business has changed!

• COVID brought about changed conditions, unforeseen factors and influences that affected what is and how we do Business. Stalled supplies, isolation and restrictions, production, labour shortages, the Ukraine conflict, and inflationary pressures were some of the compounding setbacks.  
• Adaptability, flexibility and creativity kept many small Businesses alive! Some enjoyed increased demand with the opportunity to explore new ways of doing things, discovering new products and thinking differently. Looking outside the box!
• Post COVID, in Australia how we live and conduct our Business has changed bringing with it the emergence of entrepreneurship opportunities, optimism and resilience not seen in the past 50 years!   

With the rapidness of change trends are emerging; technological, cultural and societal. Smart Businesses are preparing by accepting change is inevitable! They see change as opening doors and view challenges as opportunities. 

• Areas of change include: Technology, Workplace & Work practices and ECommerce. 
• Key Challenges: identifying growth Industries, making new trading alliances and securing safe Supply chains.

Technology: is redefining the way we do Business.  Digital transformation incorporates computerised technologies into their business processes, products, structures and systems thus providing more streamlined operations and ensuring Business continuity.  Businesses that undertake digital transformation are better equipped to engage and respond to their customers and workforce needs and further increase their market competitiveness. 

The Workplace: the definition of workplace has, will change as we see different working patterns and habits adopted, including around remote working practices. As new norms are established the workplace will no longer be an office, a place of daily attendance. Workplaces, whatever their description will be a collaboration, concerned with achieving common objectives.

Remote Working practices: Employees doing their jobs from home or locations away from the traditional central office place.  Offering ‘remote’ flexible arrangements is the new norm for attracting employee engagement and retention. Conducting business this way requires implementing virtual team collaboration and setting up remote business operations to suit all parties. 

What does it take!

Is there a secret recipe?

 No secret but there is a recipe. It's a mix, by combining the ingredients of experiences, wisdom, little gems, mistakes and lessons learned that make successful relationships in marriage, Business or both! 

A secret recipe! Add these 8 Ingredients. 

1. Have a Vision, Belief and Goals. Share your dream with loved ones and your associates to bring it to fruition, and make it a reality! Be an entrepreneur of your ideas, add passion, commitment, creativity and innovation. Think Blue Sky and dream Utopia! 

2. Develop your Pitch. To get buy-in and attract partners you need to promote, sell and clearly articulate your dream. Keep your message simple, avoid jargon, frills and whistles! 

3. Build relationships on strong foundations: Develop trust and build bridges and bonds with partners by finding common ground and mutual interests. Together, develop a roadmap, a guide to know where you, your Business, and your partner are going, how and what it takes to get there. 

Heed the warnings, watch for signs of deceptive behaviour and importantly do what you can to avoid becoming a 'scam' victim! 

Scammers are busy ramping up their criminal activities as we lead into the Christmas festive season.  Their fraudulent repertoire includes various tactics and tricks and teasers, invitations to entice the unsuspecting and innocent. Sounds too good to be true, best avoid it!

Currently, the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are in their sights using scam websites impersonating high-profile Retailers. Shoppers' favourite and well known footwear and fashion labels are the focus in this scam. And look out for bogus stores set up on social media platforms to advertise these fake websites.

Impersonation scams accounted for more that 70% of the 234,672 reports to Scamwatch in 2023 according to National Anti-Scam Centre.

The experts have spoken.

• Online scams are amongst the fastest growing crime types in Australia!
• Our personal data in this digital age has become highly valuable and sought after by cyber criminals who use it as information they can exploit for financial gain. 
• The Australian communications Consumer Action Network anticipates more scamming through the Christmas period and the ACCC revealed Australians lost a record $3.1 billion to scams last year!
• Australians via Scamwatch have reported losing nearly $400m to September this year. Not very jolly news!

Tips for avoiding scams: 

Stop and Think before you proceed. Don’t feel pressured to make quick decisions, to rush in and throw caution to the wind. Scammers will make you feel like you have to act quickly, using special short time deals to trick you.

Don’t give your personal details to anyone unless you have verified and are satisfied they are legitimate and the purpose is legitimate. Copies of passports, birth certificates, and bank account details are highly sought after by scammers for their criminal activities. 

Protect yourself. Act quickly if something feels wrong. Take action and contact your bank immediately if you have lost money to a scammer.

Here are my 3 things to look out for at this time of year! 

1. Online shopping scams: Fraudsters are creating Online stores that are replica, look-alikes of major retailers websites.  They use sophisticated designs and often stolen logos to look like the genuine thing. Well-known brands also feature in this scam. Big discounts and rewards are used as attractions. Consumers can easily be fooled.

Whatever your line of Business being up to date is not only a good idea but is also essential to stay in the game! In our fast -paced ever evolving world, to succeed, keeping abreast of changes, trends and issues is critical. Ignore and you, we are left behind!

It's no secret this is the key to success. Read the bulletins, smart Business owners and leaders are always searching for an edge and ways to take and set them apart from the competition.

Is that you or are you a Business struggling to keep up and overwhelmed by it all! If you are, don't despair, boosting and improving your Business can be achieved with some simple steps and techniques that will take you on a journey of transformation towards greater prosperity. 

Start your journey now,

with 7 Steps to Transform Your Business in 2024.

1.  Invest in Staff Development and Wellbeing: Happy motivated staff are key to a thriving Business. Providing skills training, development opportunities and mental health initiatives, will support and nurture them. Give credit when due with recognition and rewards to develop a well-equipped workforce. A productive team also increases customer customer satisfaction by meeting their needs and expectations.
2. Develop a Robust Marketing Strategy: Develop Strategies aimed at capturing and engaging with existing, new and potential customers across various advertising mediums. Your webpage is your showcase and window of opportunity. Develop a strong online presence to raise visibility and boost brand awareness. Be bold, harness the power of social media platforms to promote your products and sell them. Entice and engage with lasting impact!
3. Foster a Positive Culture: Lead by example by encouraging innovation, adaptability and flexibility.  Be open and honest. Seek staff ideas and input and foster an agile mindset. Read more...

Have you been a victim of scammers!

Yes or No, most likely you know someone who has!

This is our tally, what have you experienced?

Can you add to the list!

Scams from A to Z 

• ATO – tax scam. Send your bank details to receive your refund cheque.
• Charity – send your donation to help the needy!
• Disaster appeals - fake websites, and messaging appealing for donations for disaster relief help.  Examples, recent bushfires and flood are targeted, preying on the generosity and kindness of fellow citizens.
• Family impersonation – Hi Mum send me money now!
• Flubot – has been scamming mobiles phones. A text is sent with a device link, often a missed call or voice mail or parcel delivery. Click on the link and it will attempt to install malware to gain your personal info.
• Grandparent scam – Gran send me money, your loving grandson.
• Holiday vacation rentals – send deposit asap. magnificent photo image, but no actual bricks & mortar!
• Impersonation - with hitech imagery well known identifies are 'voice dubbed over' promoting great deals and investment opportunities. Opportunities that don't exist!
• Investment – Preys on your trust in online connections promoting a wealth growth opportunity such as gold or Crypto currency. Persuades using fabricated celebrity endorsement.
• Lottery Congratulations you’re a Lotto winner in an overseas Sweepstake! Send your bank details to collect your prize
• Missed delivery notification - send your personal details to arrange delivery.
• Phishing - ‘fake’ emails & texts from Businesses you know and trust asking for your personal info.
• Puppy scam – best in breed for a bargain price. So cute, send your deposit now to avoid missing out!
• Recruitment – Job ad. Bogus Recruitment agency asks for payment in exchange for guaranteed income.
• Remote Access - phone call, Hi I’m from your Telecommunications company to conduct offsite maintenance. Please give me remote access to verify your details... and the rest is history! Scammed!
• Romance – online dating, let's get together. I'm overseas, send me money for my plane fare!
• Work from Home opportunities - identity theft asks applicants to provide ID information, or request payment for services, Fees and equipment for work and positions that don’t exist.

Check our Tips to help avoid being scammed. 

Go to our website Blogs https://blackburnaccounting.com.au/blog

'Tis the Season to be Jolly and Watch out for Scammers'!