Hawkesbury Bookkeeping

Affordable Bookkeeping Solutions for your Small Business

Hawkesbury Bookkeeping

Christmas Parties and FBT

By

‘Tis the season to be jolly! But ho-ho-hold up before you start making spirits bright and rewarding your employees with gifts or parties this Christmas, as fringe benefits tax may apply when providing all the trimmings.

So you don’t get your tinsel in a tangle for your work Christmas party, consider:

  • how much it costs
  • where and when it is held – a party held on work premises on a normal work day is treated differently to an event outside of work
  • who is invited – is it just employees or are partners, clients or suppliers also invited?

Similarly, where you provide Christmas gifts, you’ll need to consider:

  • the amount you spend
  • the type of gift – gifts such as wine or hampers are treated differently to gifts like tickets to a movie or sporting event
  • who you are giving the gift to – there are different rules for employees and clients/suppliers.

Find out more about Fringe Benefits Tax and Christmas Parties

Find out more about Fringe Benefits Tax and Entertainment for small business

Information provided by the ATO Small Business Newsroom

Stay Smart Online Week

By

7-13 October 2019

If your organisation uses the internet for email, banking, accounting, running a website or other activities, you need to know how to keep your information and assets safe. Many small businesses don’t realise they could be an attractive target for hackers – but the good news is that you can take simple steps to protect your business and customers.

You may not think that your business could be a target, but cybercriminals are motivated by a variety of factors – most of them lead back to money!

Cybercriminals make money through holding data to ransom, stealing funds from bank accounts, identity theft and sale of stolen information. Profits from these activities are highly lucrative and can be fairly easily obtained from unprotected businesses.

It’s easy for a business to underestimate the potential harm that a cyber incident could cause. Loss of revenue, damage to equipment and reputation are some of the concerns that can come from cybercrime and other malicious online activities. Even if no data is lost, the impact can still be detrimental for organisations. Don’t think that it can’t happen to you.

By acting now to prepare your business, there is a good chance that you can protect your interests and recover from an incident. 

Investing in your online security will almost certainly save you money in the long run – even if you suffer a cyber incident, the cost and time of any recovery is likely to be less if you have good measures in place. 

Every day we take measures to safeguard ourselves and our businesses in other areas. Likewise, protecting your business information should become part of normal day-to-day activities.

For more important information on how to protect your business, visit https://www.staysmartonline.gov.au/protect-your-business

Information provided by Stay Smart Online

Is your employee super up-to-date?

By

Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting, combined with improvements in super funds’ reporting through the Member Account Transaction Service (MATS) means that the ATO now has near real-time data to show employers’ compliance with their super guarantee (SG) obligations.

The ATO will use this data to help prevent and correct late or under-payment of employer superannuation guarantee contributions.

If you have not met your SG obligations, the ATO may be making contact to:

  • request lodgment of super guarantee charge statement(s), if you have paid late or under-paid SG obligations in a previous quarter
  • remind you to pay their current quarterly SG obligations by the due date

If you need help in getting your superannuation in order, please Contact Us or Book a Chat.

Information provided by the ATO