The ATO’s Top Tips for Running a Small Business

Australia’s small businesses are the power behind our economy. Small businesses (employing less than 20 people) added nearly $590 billion of value in 2022, making up around a third of all Australian gross domestic product (GDP) for the period.

But keeping on top of your financial management, accounting, and tax planning can be a major challenge for some owners.

With this in mind, the ATO has set up a new advice portal for small business owners, giving you tips and advice on everything you need to know about your finances and business taxes. Strengthen Your Small Business

Essentials to Strengthen Your Small Business

The ATO’s Essentials to Strengthen your Small Business portal is your first stop for business advice. There are helpful tips covering everything from having your first business idea, through to founding a startup, growing a business and even help on exiting the business.

From a tax perspective, there are several courses to help you keep your taxes on track:

• Starting a business – this course helps you set up your first business, with advice on common business structures and the registrations you need to run a small business.
• Using your business money and assets – this course gives an overview of paying yourself, with advice on the different options and the records you must keep.
• Record-keeping – advice on using technology to help your mandatory record-keeping, and an overview of the tax and super records you’ll be required to keep.
• Claiming small business tax deductions – this course covers expenses you can deduct immediately, expenses you can deduct over time, and expenses you can never deduct, as well as motor vehicle expense deductions.
• Growing your small business – This course helps you plan the growth of your business, alongside other considerations like GST and capital gains tax (CGT).
• Goods & Services Tax (GST) – an overview of who must register for GST, how to calculate GST on sales and purchases, as well as other requirements such as invoicing, record-keeping, and reporting GST to the ATO.

The ATO’s online resources are incredibly helpful when you’re starting out as a business owner. But if you need deeper advice on mandatory record-keeping and tax, come and speak to us.

We’ll be glad to take you through all elements of your tax requirements and record-keeping.