Accounting for Psychologists Newsletter #16

I hope you’ve had a productive first month of Spring. 

I’ve just returned from a long weekend at the Archery National Championships at the Samford Valley near Brisbane. My daughter and son did very well representing South Australia and I’m pleased to say that I did my best and did not embarrass myself!  It was a great experience to be with archers from all over Australia and a few from overseas. 

It's been a great month at Sheridans with more psychologists coming on board. Thank you for your continued support and referrals.  You can rest assured that our high level of personalised service will remain.

I’ve had some interesting discussions with psychologists recently about personal finances.  If you’d like to learn more about personal finance, my book Sorted is available from the Sheridans’ office (for more see below) or online at  Visit Website

If you like to listen to podcasts while you commute or exercise Victoria Devine is a 30-something financial planner with a very relatable style.  Her podcast  “She’s on the money” has a lot of useful information about personal finance. You can find it at Visit Website, on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This month’s newsletter continues on with the theme of Spring cleaning.  Last month it was personal finance,  this time it’s Spring cleaning your business finances. I’ll also give an outline of the Small Business Skills and Training Boost which , for those of you with employees, can give you additional tax deductions on staff training.

Important Dates for Tax

Spring Cleaning for Business Finances

Spring cleaning your business finances is a great way to ensure your financial records are organized and up-to-date giving you a strong foundation for your business.

• Review Outstanding Invoices and Payments: Check for outstanding invoices that haven't been paid and follow up with clients or health care providers as necessary. Also, ensure you've paid all your bills and suppliers.
• Get your cashflow sorted – Start building up the cash reserve in your business.  Having two to three months of cash in your bank account gives you an excellent buffer to cover any unforeseen issues that may arise.
• Keep your personal and business financial data separate- If you’re a sole trader it’s easy to be tempted to use your business account to pay for personal items.  However, the  challenge of deciphering the information at the end of the year adds significantly to your accounting bill. 
• Organize Tax Documents: Ensure all your tax-related documents are in order and easy to find.  Keep your receipts.
• Automate Where Possible: Consider automating recurring financial tasks like bill payments, invoicing, paying super to yourself and payroll to reduce manual work and minimize errors. 
• Assess Your Budget and Financial Goals: Think about what you really want from your business.  Evaluate your personal and financial goals and make adjustments, if needed, to align with your business's current status and future plans.  If you’d like to talk through your earnings forecast and your business aims, I’d be happy to discuss these with you.  Just get in touch.

Spring cleaning your finances is not only about tidying up, it's also about setting a strong foundation for your business's financial success.

Small Business Skills and Training Boost

Small businesses with a turnover under $50 million can claim a 20% bonus deduction on eligible training expenditure for their employees. 

This Small Business Skills and Training Boost applies to spending on external training courses delivered to employees by registered training providers between 29 March 2022 and 30 June 2024.

This training can be face to face or online and would already be deductible. Training expenses, such as equipment or books that are charged by the registered provider can also be deducted.

It’s important to note that this Small Business Skills and Training Boost is only for your employees.  Unfortunately, if you’re a sole trader or a partner in a partnership then you cannot make the claim, nor can independent contractors.

If you paid for staff training in 2021 or early 2022 this would have been claimed as a regular deduction in your  21-22 tax return. Now,  in your 22-23 tax return you can add the 20% bonus for the training that took place in 2021-2022 .

For eligible expenditure incurred between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023 you claim both the regular deduction for the expenditure and the 20% bonus deduction in your 2022–23 tax return, and similarly for 2023-24.

Hope you have a great month,

Fairuz and the Accounting for Psychologists Team