MYOB Training

The stores are frantically offloading goods at discounts of 80%, there’s a scurry of planning among friends about what they’re going to spend their tax return money on and everyone you know in finance or accounting has that slightly manic look around the eyes and hasn’t slept in a week. Yep, it’s tax time again, and with the end of the financial year comes that slow-burning dread in the pit of your stomach when you think of how much you have to get organised. While you’ve probably developed a personal relationship with the person on the other end of the MYOB support line, there are ways that you can prevent this headache recurring at the end of next financial year, and here’s how you can prepare to make sure you do:

Get Disciplined

While we start off with the best of intentions and vow to keep every receipt we get, this good behaviour usually goes out the window by mid-July and we’re back with a drawer-full of crumpled receipts and parking stubs. Scheduling in 10 minutes at the end of each day to sort through your receipts and organise them into some semblance of a system will make a monumental difference when it comes to tax time again. Have different plastic sleeves/folders/shoeboxes that correspond with the different categories of your costings. Trust me.

Keep two records

At the end of every week or so, make a record of all your expenditures in whatever business software you use. This not only makes life ten times easier when the time comes to do your taxes, but can provide a running tally of how your business is faring profit-wise from month to month, letting you identify the indicators of success or challenge in the running of projects.

Know what’s claimable

There is nothing worse than reaching the end of financial year and realising that you’ve been forking out money on things all year that are tax-deductible—and you haven’t recorded any of them. Nobody likes feeling they’ve lost money, so learn your business and tax rights inside and out. Talk to an accountant and other business-owners.

Be friends with your computer

Keep your MYOB training up to date—this type of computer program can save you time not just on your taxes but in most areas of your small business. Being able to immediately pull up graphs that can tell you how you’re going means constantly being able to improve and strive towards success.

Preparation is the number one factor in helping your taxes run smoothly—it’s just a pity it’s not possible to do it in hindsight!