Cashflow

Did you know that if you don’t manage your superannuation properly now, you could end up living below the poverty line later in life?

October’s Commonwealth Bank Business Sales Indicator (BSI) remained flat in October after contracting for ten consecutive months, suggesting retail spending has hit a plateau prior to the the Christmas retail period.

Rather than waiting for the “good old times” to come back, it really is time for retailers to adapt to a new reality. In some market segments trading conditions will remain tough and may deteriorate further.

The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is urging its members to consider their right to apply surcharges for credit card purchases, with consumers who pay in cash likely to welcome the practice.

Jump On It, one of the myriad Groupon clones in Australia yesterday announced it has secured nearly $5 million in funding from US online group buying company LivingSocial.

Victorian SMEs have the potential to save on average almost $850 on their annual electricity bill and 40 tonnes of carbon emissions an initiative delivered by the Victorian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) reveals.

The Better Regulation Office and the Department of Justice and Attorney General are undertaking a joint review of the debt recovery process in New South Wales and need to hear from NSW businesses.

I get that “Mum and Dad homeowner” are an important segment and a huge proportion of society, but why don’t hear commentators discussing the impact on “Mum and Dad business owners”?

When it comes to interest rates, small businesses have had a rough time lately. They’ve had to cope with tough lending conditions from the big banks and now another interest rate rise.

Does the thought of a tax audit make you break out in a cold sweat?

Small businesses are urged to start preparing for the Christmas shutdown period now to avoid traditional post-Christmas cash flow shortages that are often to blame for a spike in insolvencies in February.

The Australian dollar has slipped below parity with the US dollar overnight, trading as low as US 99.961c overnight, remaining below parity in morning trade.

Fraud prevention, risk management, taxation and superannuation will be topics covered at the 2010 National Institute of Accountants NSW State Congress and Business Expo in Sydney.

As a small business owner you would understand the accumulative effect of every dollar. If your business were to save $5 each working day (assuming you work 250 days a year), it will have saved $1,250 – enough for a new laptop.

The Australian Bankers’ Association (ABA) has come out and labeled the current debate on banking regulation in Australia spearheaded by Labor’s Wayne Swan and the Liberal’s Joe Hockey as “long on rhetoric but short on facts”.

With the increasing number of small business owners reaching retirement age and looking to sell their business, owners should ensure they properly deal with tax considerations or they may end up with a great deal less than they expected.

CreditorWatch is a new service that lets small business expose clients who have not paid invoices on time and monitor current and potential clients credit ratings to avoid bad debt.

“I never pay retail!” might be the proud catch-cry of the modern consumer, but it can also be the death knell for small businesses.

The Aussie dollar has surged past parity with the US dollar, reaching as high as US1.0062 after the US Federal Reserve announced that it would buy $600 billion in treasury bonds in an additional round of ‘quantitative easing’ to prevent deflation.

Australians receiving tax advice from their financial planner should be aware that they will continue to remain unprotected for a further three months with delays in the recently introduced Tax Agent Services Regime, warns the National Institute of Accountants (NIA).