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A bookkeeping client asked whether he should pay his supplier from the invoice, or the statement.

As bookkeepers we always say pay from the invoice - NEVER pay from the statement.

Why not pay from a statement?
When you always pay from an invoice, then there’ll be no risk of wondering whether you’ve paid that invoice or not - and when your bookkeeper comes to enter the data into the accounting software package, be it MYOB or Quickbooks, the bookeeper will know what you’ve paid and waht you haven’t.

When you receive a statement, it may list invoices that you have since paid, and you could end up paying them twice.

But surely the supplier would tell you that you’ve paid the invoice twice. Maybe, or maybe not.

By sticking to the rule of always paying from an invoice, and never a statement, you can see what the invoice relates to, and you’ll know what the GST component is.

Surely the GST is always 10%?
Not necessarily. Take a food outlet, such as a cafe. The onwer buys unprepared food that is free of GST from a supplier, such as milk - and there’s also packets of biscuits included in the order which are inclusive of GST

What’s the statement for?
The supplier will send out a statement advising you of which invoices have been paid and which are outstanding in that reporting period.

Nothing wrong with attaching the invoices that you are going to pay, and put them with the statement - as long as you ensure that the amount you pay is not the amount requested on the statement, but the total amount of the invoices that are attached to that statement.

When cash flow is tight, you want to do everything you can to ensure that you are not paying invoices twice - and one way of doing that is never to pay from a statement.

Whether you use MYOB / Quickbooks, or you need Software Training for your small business in and around Pascoe Vale South, Coburg North, Keilor East, North Essendon, Doncaster, Ringwood Suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, we are here to help. Contact our Melbourne team of mobile book-keepers now Read more… »

Business Activity Statements, for business owners reporting quarterly, are due on 28 July 2009.

For many small business owners around Doncaster and Ringwood, and especially for their bookkeepers, July is always a busy time of year in Australia.

With end of financial year reporting, together with reporting of the 01 April to 30 June quarter, businesses that are behind in their paperwork can struggle under extra pressure that they really do not need

Cash flow has certainly tightened up in the economy. As bookkeepers, we’ve seen that invoice payments are being dragged out longer and longer, as suppliers wait to be paid by customers, and service providers wait to be paid by their clients

The phone’s been ringing as desperate business owners in a panic wanting help with their MYOB and Quickbooks files. In most cases, they can simply email us the files and we’ll have a look at their reporting and can generally work out where the problems are within a short time

One lady contacted us after spending two days trying to reconcile her Quickbooks bank accounts. We had a look at her file and solved the problem in 35 minutes.

Look at the time and stress she would have saved if she had contacted our bookkeeping company when she first noticed that there was a problem

As a small business owner we encourage you to focus on what you do best, and we’ll do the rest, contact us now

Our team of bookkeepers will travel to your premises and work on your computer helping you keep your bookkeeping up to date.

Whether you are based in Pascoe Vale South, Coburg North, Keilor East, North Essendon, Doncaster, Ringwood Suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, we can service all your bookkeeping requirements

Our mobile bookkeepers can assist you with all aspects of your bookkeeping. You may be using MYOB or Quickbooks, or other accounting software. Read more… »

Use an efficient and simplified system to keep your book keeping in order, your books upto date and produce reports so that you have an accurate and current record of where your business is each week.

Do you know that saying:”A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing”? When applied to an accounting software package like Quickbooks or MYOB, it can become costly.

Many clients around Pascoe Vale South, Coburg North, Keilor East, North Essendon, Inner Northern Suburbs of Melbourne have contacted our professional bookkeeping service after having difficulties keeping on top of their bookkeeping. Contact us for more details

They’ve been shown just enough to be able to enter data and produce reports. However the reports that are generated are not a true reflection of their business.
Read more… »

We’ve had a number of potential clients contact us, surfing the internet to find the cheapest bookkeeper.

Is a cheap bookkeeper cheap because they themselves do not value their work/worth?

We’ll save you time, the cheapest bookkeeper is probably one who is straight out of TAFE and has got a piece of paper to say that they can do bookkeeping. Maybe the cheapest bookkeeper has done a MYOB course, or a Quickbooks course. Contact us for more details

Maybe the cheapest bookkeeper is just “starting a bookkeeping business” and does not feel confident in “charging too much”

It seems that these days you can get a bookkeeper around Melbourne Inner Suburbs, Fitzroy, Richmond, Toorak, or Pascoe Vale, and Essendon from Read more… »

Many people are returning to work today after the Christmas / New Year break.

With lower interest rates, lower fuel prices and Kevin Rudd throwing money around like it’s burning a hole in his pocket, what is in store for 2009?

The Australian Taxation Office continue on their relentless search to hammer small business owners and squeeze every last cent out of them. Meanwhile, at the big end of town, multi-nationals and large corporations seem to get away with paying very little tax in comparison.

We’ve seen an increase in small business owners receiving the dreaded ATO letter chasing possible outstanding taxes. Maybe you’ve been a little slack in submitting your Business Activity Statements (BAS) lodgments, and need some help in preparing the paperwork to complete the returns. Contact us here for details

Next Quarterly BAS due 28 February 2009
There’ a few more weeks before the December 2008 quarter is due to be lodged, but bear in mind that the following quarter is then only due a few weeks later, 28 April 2009. It sounds like there’s plenty of time in between, but in Australia there’s a few short weeks in April with Good Friday, Easter Monday and ANZAC day

Don’t get stressed about your bookwork, leave it to professional mobile bookkeepers like us. You can outsource your bookkeeping needs, in the know;ledge that it will be taken care of in a speedy and efficient manner.

Who knows, we may even find some extra income in your business that you were not aware of. Don’t be fooled by believing that bookkeeping is an expense for your business.

Having a good bookkeeping service such as ours, can be a great asset to your business, and you’ll find that our service far exceeds the level of fees.

Smart business operators around Pascoe Vale South, Coburg North, Keilor East, North Essendon realise that an outsourced bookeeping service is an excellent investment for your small business. Contact us here for details

12 Jan 09The ATO advises that:” if you make monthly payments, the PAYG is due on 21 January 2009, while most small businesses that report quarterly, this instalment is due on 28 February 2009
Note that as the date falls on a long weekend in some states, the lodgement and payment deadline has been extended to 3 March 2009 Australia Wide)

With Christmas out of the way, and many small businesses returning to work, it’s time to get all your paperwork together and get it to your bookkeeper or outsourced bookkeeping service- to report on the 2nd quarter (1 September to 31 December 2008) to get your BAS lodged on time.

Maybe the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) does have a heart, after all. Rather than asking for lodgements on 28 January, they automatically give everyone an extension to the BAS lodgements to 28 February.

However, don’t be fooled by their grace, because there is NO WAY that they’ll consider granting an extension after that date. So you need to ensure that you have your Business Activity Statement lodged by 28 February 2009

If you are struggling and need help, if you do not have a bookkeeper, or are looking to outsource to a mobile bookkeeping service, then contact us now

Our bookkeeping Service has clients in and around in the City of Moonee Valley, Pascoe Vale South, Coburg North, Keilor East, North Essendon, Inner Northern Suburbs of Melbourne. Contact us here for details

We are constantly amazed by the attitude of some small business owners towards their finances.

Whilst it may be true that you can get a friend or relative to do your bookkeeping, how can you be sure that they are doing the job correctly?

When the going gets tough, they see their bookkeeper as an unnecessary expense. Some small business owners do not have a bookkeeper, believing that their wife, partner, husband, aunty,cousin or friend can do the books at “mates rates” or even at zero cost.
Read more… »

One advantage of the introduction of the GST was initially to force you to review your finances on a quarterly basis resulting in a greater awareness of your ongoing financial position.

This has led to many small businesses around Ormeau and Yatala utilising a computerised accounting software package such as MYOB or Quickbooks to do the hackwork and present you with the necessary reports and if required even the BAS itself.
However, owning the software does not make you a bookkeeper, and whilst the software companies have done their best to make the packages easy to use, the operator still needs a basic understanding of bookkeeping.

Outsource your bookkeeping to free your time to do what you do best

We’ve helped many small business owners with book-keeping, and we can help you. By outsourcing your bookkeeping needs you can free up your time to do what you do best in working your business, while we do what we do best, working on the bookkeeping side of your business

The work of a bookkeeper is not the same as that of an accountant. Indeed, many accountancy firms employ or subcontract bookkeepers to prepare the figures for their financial reports.

Bookkeepers enter all the data, invoices, receipts, dockets, and match up the money that comes into a business with the money that goes out of the business.

The bookkeeper will reconcile the bank accounts, make sure that all the figures entered into the general ledger match the figures on the bank statement.

Accountants will look after the taxation matters of a business – they are professionally qualified and keep upto date with all the updates and changes in tax laws and rulings from the Australian Taxation Office

The finer points of accounting and taxation are best left to the professionals whose job among other functions is to keep you updated with changes in taxation as well as maximise your deductions. Your book keeper should be able to prepare a reconciled trial balance.

You can do the bookkeeping yourself if you have some knowledge of simple bookkeeping and know your way around a computer, but many small business owners do not have the time or the inclination to do the necessary bookwork each week

Contact us for more details.