Advice

Running your own business is enormously rewarding but it’s also hard work. Not only do you have to be your own accounts department, you’re also the sales team, human resources manager and paymaster. The good news is that expert financial advice is closer than you think, and it comes in the form of your local business banker.

Seeking finance can be a daunting task, even for the most confident business owner. With careful planning and a clear view of what the banks are looking for, however, the burden of obtaining finance can be greatly reduced.

A large part of business efficiency is ensuring that any expense incurred is spent in the best way possible to progress the business. The idea of cutting expenses endlessly may well not prove the best way forward – instead, expenses should be carefully monitored at all times.

The issue of Personal Service Income (PSI) will continue to be a major focus of ATO compliance activities in 2012. Here’s what you need to know.

The lead up to the end of the financial year is a great time to understand how well your business has performed this past year, and what your targets are for the next year. This is where a financial roadmap, which incorporates a budget and a cashflow forecast, comes in handy.

After focusing on getting yourself up and running, looking at sales and working on the front end, it’s likely your administration and accounting practices have been left somewhat forgotten. With more customers defaulting on payments, now more than ever is the time to get your business’ accounting practices into shape.

The Australian Taxation Office has more government funding than ever before, intended to help it ensure all taxpayers pay what they’re obliged to. To avoid unwanted attention, an expert is urging all businesses to check the ATO’s benchmarking records, to ensure their percentages are in the acceptable range for their industry.

What you see on the surface is not always what you get, especially when it comes to other businesses. Here’s why doing your due diligence is an important step in a business relationship.

It’s only logical to want to be paid for the work you complete as quickly as possible, but this just isn’t always the way it happens. Here are four simple strategies to shorten the length of time between completing a job and getting paid.

Customer credit terms are a negotiation not to be to be taken lightly, and a selective procedure is vital for business protection, success and longevity.

A great deal of the literature around credit focuses on helping struggling debtors, so as businesses and creditors we often forget that giving credit where it isn’t due is an early part of the problem. Here’s three credit management best practices every business can follow to protect cashflow.

Cashflow shortages, interest rates hikes and increasing global economic concerns are all threatening the livelihood of local SMBs, a new survey has found.

The latest industry statistics show high wage costs, a strong dollar and interest rate pressures are causing Australian businesses to turn to debtor finance to ease cashflow problems.

Risk management and good credit management are key to keeping a business healthy. Before signing up new creditors, every business should follow the five C’s of credit checklist.