For business owners, EOFY can be one of the most overwhelming times of the year, with seemingly endless paperwork to gather and confusion over business tax requirements and the grants and deductions available for small businesses. Elise Balsillie, Head of Thryv Australia, shares three things you should definitely do to make it easier in the future.
With End of Financial Year (EOFY) just around the corner, our small business customers tell us that it’s one of the most stressful times of the year for them.
With small business owners already working the equivalent of one extra day (7.5 hours) per week outside of their regular business trading hours[1], carrying the extra burden of manually completing EOFY paperwork can seem never ending.
At tax time, business owners are tasked with fulfilling their financial obligations (such as bookkeeping and tax returns) in addition to their already demanding list of day-to-day responsibilities.
3 top tips to make EOFY easier every year
But what if next financial year, tax time was seen as a triumph, not a travesty? My challenge to small business owners around the country is to re-think their approach to next financial year … now.
Here are my top three tips on how to alleviate the burden of BAS (and potentially minimise the amount of money owed in tax) in 2022/23 and beyond, with ease.
1. Go digital
The crux of EOFY pain points for small business owners is often due to the lack of digitisation in their business processes. After all, the reason they started their business in the first place was due to a passion for their craft (and in more cases than not, it wasn’t a passion for technology).
However, much of the overwhelm can be alleviated by going digital. One of the many benefits in doing this is having soft copies of receipts and invoices that can be quickly and easily accessed by your accountant or bookkeeper.
2. Integrate your software
In today’s world, there is an app for everything. Finance is no exception. Although these apps might help to save precious time, having so many can be a hassle. In fact, more than half (59 per cent) of the small business owners we surveyed as part of our Thryv Small Business Insights Research said they’d welcome a one-stop solution for software tools.
Small business owners can avoid the last-minute scramble by integrating their much-loved apps with an all-in-one digital tool. By the time EOFY comes around, their paperwork will be ready to go at the click of a button.
3. Review your business plans
A task that many small business owners overlook or deprioritise, reviewing their business plan at this time of year is essential for growth and success. Why? The answer is simple. More than ever before, the economy is in a volatile state. What worked for a small business last financial year may not prove effective next financial year, or even the one after that.
Reviewing business plans in tandem with a professional (such as an accountant) will set small business owners up for the year ahead. In addition to assessing whether their existing plan or strategies are working, this will help small business owners to identify changes and opportunities that could impact the bottom line for the better.
And remember that hectic to-do list we spoke about earlier in this piece? This can help to ensure you’re spending your time wisely.
[1] The Thryv Small Business Insights Research evolved from the Sensis Business Index, Australia’s longest running survey of its kind having been established in 1995. The September 2021 Insights Study involved 1,010 business owners/managers during the last week of September 2021. It was conducted by research platform Glow.
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How to work with your accountant or bookkeeper to make smart digital decisions
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