7 signs you are going to burn out in your accounting practice

Article by exit strategist and business coach for SMEs Sarah-Beth Cleaves 

Running an accounting practice is hard work. You have 15 clients with urgent queries at any one time, 12 work files half finished because the client hasn’t sent in all their information, 2 staff that are unhappy and want more money, you are doing all the work, you haven’t had a date night with your partner in 2years and holidays are just something your staff take!

Even though you are feeling like you are managing it at the moment, the sad reality is you could be just one action away from a disaster.

• What would happen if a key employee left with client notes in limbo?
• What would happen if you took a week off work?
• What would happen if a few of your key clients left tomorrow?

In Sarahs experience with helping accountants in the past she has identified 7 warning signs that you are about to burn out

1. Your revenue relies on a small number of clients

The majority of your revenue comes from a minority of your clients. If one or more of these clients suddenly left it would have a devastating impact on your business

2. Your top clients only want to deal with you not your staff.

This results in your mobile being glued to your ear and constant interruptions for questions and conversations that you didn’t necessarily need to get involved in

3. You are working more than 70hours a week

You probably justify this by telling yourself it’s the price of being a business owner and just the way it goes.

4. You are unable to take longer than 1 week off work

When you do take holidays you need to check your emails and do at least 1-2hours of work a day while you are away. You worry about the billings whilst on holidays and are concerned if you are not in the office to drive it then the wheels may start to fall off.

5. Your staff are ok at their jobs.

That’s the problem though isn’t it? Just ok. They take no initiative, they have limited ownership and as soon as a client has a problem they come straight to you to sort it out.

6. You haven’t had a date night with your partner in 2 years

Your wife or husband is constantly complaining about you working too much and when you are at home you are still checking emails as opposed to enjoying switching off.

7. You secretly know you are under-servicing your clients.

The bulk of what you do is reactive. You know you could be helping your clients at a higher level than just straight compliance and tax advice. You are so flat out with being reactive and running the business that this is just one more thing you wish were doing.

 It doesn’t have to be like this. Do you want to get out of this reactive space and ramp up profitability in your practice ?  One of her clients went from working 60 hour standard weeks to now taking Wednesdays off, doubling net profit and most importantly having a fortnightly date night with his wife!

30 Best Tax Tips from Australia’s Adviser of the Year

“The end of financial year is rapidly approaching and now is certainly the time to take steps to reduce your tax bill and put yourself in the best position for the next financial year” says Olivia Maragna, named Australian Adviser of the Year.  “All too often tax planning is left to the last minute which makes it difficult to minimise tax.” 

To ensure you are in the best possible shape by June 30, Olivia has provided her top 30 tips for your personal tax, business and superannuation fund. 

Your personal tax return

1. Prepay your expenses: By prepaying 12 months of tax-deductible expenses, you can bring the deduction forward into the 2012/2013 financial year.  A good example of this is income protection insurance but other options are prepaying interest on margin loans or investment loans.
2. Delay income: If you are able to, try to defer income until after June 30 to avoid paying tax this financial year.  As an example this may be done by reviewing term deposit maturity dates or legitimately deferring income by holding off issuing invoices until July 1.
3. Charity: If you are thinking of donating money, you may be able to receive a tax deduction for gifts and receive that deduction this financial year.
4. Repairs and Maintenance: If you hold an investment property, consider doing minor repairs and maintenance prior to 30 June.  
5. Buy health insurance if you are a high-income earner: To avoid the Medicare Levy Surcharge, high-income earners should take out private health cover.  To avoid the surcharge for the entire year, the insurance needs to be held for the entire year otherwise it will be prorated.

For your business

1. Pay super early: Superannuation guarantee payments for your staff aren’t due until July but paying these in June will give you a deduction for them in this financial year as opposed to next financial year.
2. Do you have any trusts and companies? Trusts and companies can distribute funds to recipients on lower tax brackets to minimise tax payments.  Ask your financial adviser to review your options.
3. Structure: Whether you operate as a sole trader, partnership, in a trust or company, it’s always a good idea to review your current business structure and whether this is still appropriate for your current situation.  
4. Immediate write offs: For eligible businesses, assets costing less than $6,500 can be written off immediately and applies to the purchase of assets used in a business.  Check with your accountant as to whether you are eligible.
5. Bad Debts: If you are not going to get paid, then it is best to write these off as a bad debt prior to June 30 in order to claim the tax deduction.  
6. Trading stock: A stock take is the best way to write off any lost, damaged or obsolete stock and can reduce your taxable income.
7. Stationery:  Stocking up on stationery and other consumables before June 30 can help offset profits.

Your super contributions

2013/14 Australian Federal Budget: how it affects me!

The recently announced Budget delivered no real surprises after the majority of the proposed changes had been drip-fed to the market in previous months. Wayne Swan blamed a stubbornly high Australian dollar and lower commodity prices for a dramatic fall of some $17 billion in forecasted tax receipts, leading to an estimated budget deficit for 2012/13 of $18 billion. And that was why there wasn’t the $1.5b surplus promised. He knew there was a high dollar and lower commodity prices a year ago... why did he not make appropriate changes then? Or tell us then that there would not be a surplus? If I gave this excuse to my board, I would be fired on the spot!

Profit V Cash

Why am I profitable but have no cash?  

In the 22 years I have worked with small and medium business’ owners, managers and team members I have observed with great interest what they do and don’t understand about business finances.

From my observations I believe one of the most common misunderstandings is that of the difference between profit and cash flow.

Focus on Systems Critical

This month we are going to delve deeper into one of the critical success factors of businesses who are high performers from a financial perspective.

Systems, specifically accounting systems, are absolutely essential to the accelerated success of any business, be it large or small. Now before you roll your eyes in boredom or reach for the tweezers because plucking nose hairs would be more fun than reading about accounting systems, please bear with me for a moment. This could be one of the most important decisions you will ever make!