Happy New Financial Year! To make the next year a seamless transition, Locumsgroup is sharing eight key tips and recommendations that you can implement now to help you get ahead of your financial plans, your resolutions and your commitments this year. These eight key tips include simple and comprehensive steps to help you take charge of your finances and minimise your tax liabilities for the year ahead.
1) Review Last Year’s Results
It’s a healthy habit to analyse your income, expenses, debts and investments. Create a balance sheet detailing your assets, liabilities, including stock and money owed to you, as well as a profit and loss statement that you can update throughout the year.
2) Stay Up-To-Date With Tax Changes
Stay informed about the latest tax regulations via the ATO’s website. While not all the rules may apply to you, it’s important to be aware of them and understand the impact the rules may have on you or your business. Our tax advisors are vigilant in keeping on top of the latest regulations and can notify you of any new tax rules, specific to your situation or your industry.
3) Create Financial Goals
What are you saving for? Are there personal goals you would like to achieve this year, like buying a house or joining the rest of Australia on a holiday in Europe? Maybe there are areas in your business you want to invest in or do you have debts you would like to pay off? By identifying what your goals are, we can create and implement a clear and tailored financial strategy. One of the steps needed to create this strategy is to get clear and understand what your current after tax income and expenditure is, and what has worked well for you in the past.
4) Stay Organised
Efficient tax filing can help your accountant provide an accurate tax return. Whether you prefer to digitally capture that information through software like Excel or Xero, or would rather opt for good old fashioned pen and paper, a basic system is better than no system at all. Have a safe place to store your receipts, invoices and statements, purchase orders, letters etc, and digitalise important items as print copies can fade.
5) Track Tax Deductions
Using the system above, note your tax deductions throughout the year. These could include any charitable donations that you have made, paying any interest that may be claimable, medical expense or even education.
6) Spring Clean Your Utilities
Are you getting a good deal on your insurance arrangements? Are your policies covering enough or too much? If you have a business, could you negotiate a better price or payment plan with your suppliers? An easy way to ensure your utilities are up to date is through an Insurance Health Check, a service Locumsgroup specialises in.
7) Play A Long-Term Game
While you might only be planning to manage the next financial year, looking ahead, even as far as your retirement plan is essential for any stage in life. The sooner you start planning for retirement and considering it in your finances, the more your future you will thank you.
8) Play It Safe
Do you have an emergency fund? Have you considered how you could gain quick access to capital without it affecting any long term investment arrangements? The ideal contingency is to have enough ‘accessible’ capital for three or up to six months worth of living expenses.
To better understand how you can start the financial year well and optimise your current financial situation best, start a conversation with our team of specialists today by emailing us here. With a wealth of experience in all of the areas discussed above, it might be the conversation you need to start the new financial year with confidence.
