Back to Blog

5 tips for running good performance reviews

When times get tough, it can be easy to let some of your people processes fall away as you concentrate on the basics of the business.Take the performance review. They can be unpopular, sucking up a lot of time and making employees and managers stressed. So why not skip them?Because good performance reviews work. They’re an effective way to track people's progress, provide feedback, gain insight, support development, and align individual performance with company goals, which helps the business ...

Top tips for building a strong company culture

Like it or not, all companies have a culture.While it might be easy to define culture in nice words, it can be much harder to grab hold of in daily business, especially when times get tough.A strong company culture is a driving force, underpinning a successful, resilient team. It shouldn't be ignored, especially during testing times.But what are the best ways to develop and manage a good company culture? Here are some top tips:Get the basics right - sorting out the basics is critical to est...

How to grow your Trade Business

Ready to scale your trade business? Imagine it as climbing a challenging peak – your venture starts at the base, and ascending to the summit demands smart strategies. This summary is your roadmap, leading you step by step towards success.Let’s talk about staff. Hiring matters – from apprentices to subcontractors and full-timers, each has perks. Financials are crucial. Understand your cash flow and set optimal rates for sustainable growth.Streamline admin. We explore easy quoting, invoicing...

Flat Rate vs Hourly for Trade Professionals?

Attention all trade professionals! Do you have your skills & services down pat, but pricing is giving you a headache?Hourly rates might secure every minute worked, but flat rates offer predictability—just watch for undercharging pitfalls. The hybrid method, a dynamic fusion, caters to diverse jobs. However, each has nuances, like client concerns or the pressure of fixed rates.Tailored for your trade, discover which pricing strategy suits your business best. If job hours are your strong sui...

10 hot questions to ask yourself as a business owner

Running a busy and successful business means you often don’t have the time to step back and work ON the business. This can be a challenge if your aim is to grow and scale the company.As experienced professional business advisers, we know the value of taking the time to ask yourself some pertinent questions. Holding yourself and the business to account is something we can help with. And there's never a bad time to pose a few questions and gauge where you're at with your planning, strategy, fina...

Can business automation streamlines your business?

How can business automation streamline your business? Business automation uses technology to streamline and simplify all the repetitive manual tasks, processes and workflows that are part of the everyday running of your business.Instead of spending hours of business time doing everything manually, automated systems can take on most of the heavy lifting. You can automate the data-entry of your bookkeeping, the sending of recurring invoices or the coding of transactions when doing your bank reconc...

Fringe benefit tax - The cost of employee perks

Rewarding your team with vouchers or trips? Providing a car or a gym membership? FBT can be tricky, so make sure you’re calculating the true cost of employee perks.What is fringe benefit tax?Fringe benefit tax, or FBT, is a way of taxing employee benefits. It’s designed to make sure people are paying tax on all types of income, including perks.The single-rate FBT is 63.93%. The short form alternate rate is 49.25%. There are four options for calculating FBT, and you can read about FBT rates i...

Which employee gifts are tax exempt?

Whether it’s for reaching a sales target, a birthday, Christmas or just to say thanks, sometimes you want to buy gifts for your employees.Although it’s a nice gesture, as a business owner it can be unexpectedly complex to provide staff perks. Perks like subsidised gym memberships and discounted products will attract fringe benefit tax, while cash and cash-redeemable vouchers are taxed as part of PAYE.Any cash, or vouchers redeemable for cash, are taxableA gift that comes in the form of cash,...

Take care of yourself, not just your business

Being a business owner can be stressful. When the buck stops with you, it can be easy to let the pressure mount up and to discount your own wellbeing.But taking care of your own mental health is equally as important as taking care of the business – research from MYOB showed that 53% of business owners suffer from stress and anxiety relating to the running of their business So, what can you do to take care of your own mental health and work mindfullness into your usual life routines?W...

Keeping your business cash liquid – the difference between cashflow and profit

The foundational goal of any business is to make a profit. As a business owner, that’s one of your key financial aims – to make enough sales, at a big enough margin, to generate profit from your enterprise. But how does profit differ from cashflow? And why is cash king?How do profit and cashflow differ?To really understand the difference between generating profit and managing cashflow, we need to look at what both these terms mean. You might think that delving into the accounts is a job for ...

5 challenges for small business - and how to beat them!

Founding, building and growing your own small business is a hugely rewarding experience for many entrepreneurs. But the road ahead isn't always smooth.There are common challenges that crop up and ongoing issues that need to be factored into your business plan, your strategy and your own personal thinking.So, what can you do to beat these challenges and make the journey as frictionless as possible?5 proactive ways to overcome your business challengesWe’d all love to know what lies around the co...

Go walking: keep you and your business healthy

Being able to run a business from a laptop is an amazing thing. But it does mean that you spend a LOT of time sitting in front of a screen not being very active. Research shows that office workers spend 75% of their waking hours sitting down – and that’s not great for your health.A good walk may well be the answer to this issue, with walking being a great way to get yourself fit and to add some energy to your business thinking too.Get active and become a more effective leaderSitting down for...

How humour can increase your bottom line

You want to be taken seriously as a business, right? But did you know that many customers and consumers actually want you to give them a laugh as well? 91% of people globally prefer brands to be funny, but 95% of business leaders fear using humour in consumer interactions.So, how do you overcome the worry about using humour in your sales and marketing? And what are the benefits of a brand that uses humour in an effective way?5 ways that humour improves your customer experienceBeing funny in a bu...

5 questions to ask when you are buying a business

Purchasing an existing company is a great way to expand your business empire. You can buy out a close competitor, or dip a toe into a new industry and expand your reach as a business group. But whatever the reason for the acquisition, you need to ensure you’re not buying a lemon!Doing your research is a crucial part of the purchase process. As is asking some probing and insightful questions to help you determine if this acquisition is a good (or bad) idea.Questions to ask before you make an of...

Proving your ongoing business viability through 5 financial reports

Whether you’re applying for government subsidies, taking out a business loan or seeking investor support, you need to be able to demonstrate your ongoing viability as a business.To prove this viability, it’s important to have the right financial information at your fingertips. This information is also just as important for your own internal planning and decision-making.So, where do you start and what are the reports that you’ll need?The numbers that prove you’re a business with a futureA...

5 top lead magnets for your marketing

Bringing leads into your business is what drives sales. So, how do you create the most effective lead magnets to draw potential customers into your sales funnel?Yes, we know, there’s a lot of jargon in sales and marketing. But, ultimately, every business wants to attract customers, get their details and try to convert them into a sale. It’s this continual process of pulling leads into your funnel that gives you stable sales and solid revenues.To help you, we’ve highlighted five of the top ...

Prepare your business for the new energy economy

Our economy is undergoing an energy transformation, as we move away from fossil fuels and begin to embrace renewable energy and decarbonisation. Will your business be ready for the new energy economy?Electricity demand will increase – and costs may also riseThe price of renewable power is falling, thanks to the massive proliferation of wind, solar and hydro projects worldwide. However, demand is rising rapidly. Fossil fuel cars and gas fires are being replaced with EVs and heat pumps. Building...

5 vital things to set up before you pass away

No-one wants to spend too much time thinking about their own mortality. But the reality is that forward planning removes a lot of the uncertainty for your loved ones in the event of your death. The following guidance may also be useful to help you guide others.Passing on without any clear legal instructions regarding your finances, assets and estate can leave your nearest and dearest in a very difficult position. It’s far better to make plans well in advance and to have these documents safely ...

The value of a good UX: user experience

Your end users are the life and blood of your business. They’re the drivers of your relationships, sales, income and end profit. So, having a good user experience (UX) isn’t just a ‘nice to have’, it’s actually a critical requirement for any ambitious business to aspire to.Understanding what your ‘UX’ is, and how it can be improved, is vital business knowledge. So, let’s dive in and find the important UX areas you should be focusing on.4 ways to enhance your UXYour ‘user experi...

Can ChatGPT replace your marketing team?

Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll have heard about the ascendant rise of Open AI's ChatGPT and GPT-4 (plus other similar tools). These natural language processing tools have brought AI content writing to the masses – but does this mean that your content marketing team is now defunct?The short is no. For a start, great marketing has always been much more than just promotion. The traditional 4 P’s include Promotion but also, Product, Price, and Place. When these three work togethe...

It's tough at the top (and that's why you need a business coach)

Being a business owner can be immensely rewarding. But it's also a highly pressurised and stressful vocation to choose. The business journey can be full of pitfalls and challenges that make it more difficult to meet your goals and turn your enterprise into a success.The good news is that you don't have to travel this road alone. A business coach is your companion on the journey. A coach will help to shoulder some of the load, so you can get where you're going faster and with all the personal and...

The financial advantages of buying a New Build Rental

If you are thinking about buying a rental property, you might be wondering if it’s worth paying extra to buy a new build. Though they tend to be more expensive, there are several important financial advantages, including:You can buy with a smaller depositYou can claim the loan interest as a tax deductible expenseMaintenance and energy costs are lower.You only need a 20% depositNew builds aren’t bound by the same loan-to-value restrictions as existing properties, so you can buy one with a sma...

The pros and cons of managing your own rental property

Investing in rental properties can be a great way to grow your wealth over the long term.But it’s not a passive investment – you need to maintain your properties and take care of your tenants. You can do that work yourself, or you can employ a property manager who can do the job for you. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each approach.Why manage your own rental property?Are you great with people, have excellent attention to detail and a willingness to keep up to date with regulatio...

How running a lean business model improves your cashflow and efficiency

Keeping your operational expenses under control, while also remaining efficient and meeting customer demand can be a challenge – one that can catch out many new business owners.This is why running your enterprise using a lean business model is such a good idea. By keeping operations, stock and processes to a minimum, you reduce your outgoings, speed up efficiency and improve your cash position. But how does the lean model work?5 core elements of a lean business modelIn essence, a lean business...

What makes you a good entrepreneur?

Do you dream about starting our own business? And, can anyone become an entrepreneur?When you look at the research, there are certain aptitudes, personality traits and business skills that tend to make you a more successful entrepreneur. But can you learn these skills? Or are these innate abilities that some entrepreneurial people are just born with?Let's take a look at what makes a good entrepreneur.What drives someone to become an entrepreneur?There are upwards of 582 million entrepreneurs in ...