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Wages theft, are you underpaying your employees?

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Wage theft refers to when an employer fails to pay the minimum monetary amounts due to an employee. Underpayment of wages is when an employer fails to pay the minimum monetary amounts, including allowances, prescribed under an award, agreement, employment contract or the National Employment Standards.

While Woolworths is back in the spotlight again, small business cannot ignore their responsibilities in ensuring staff are paid correctly.

Employees are encouraged to keep detailed records of their rosters / shifts and diary entries in relation to their employment. Fair Work may start an investigation or take other steps when they become aware of an underpayment arising from non-compliance with Australian workplace laws, even if the affected employees have been back paid.

Maree Punzet | Maree’s Mobile Bookkeeping | 0429 363 047
You didn’t go into business to do your Payroll and Bookkeeping, BUT WE DID

The most common accounting errors all small businesses should avoid.

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What do you think Number 1 would be, can I hear you….yes, your right?
BAD BUDGETING.

Bad budgeting might sound cliché but budgeting can make or break any business. A budget needs to give you a clear idea of how your business is tracking, whether you are breaking even or making a profit.

The next one is UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EMPLOYEES AND CONTRACTORS.

Hiring staff can sound exciting, when you tell your friends and family, I’m hiring staff because my business is going well. There are many pro’s and cons to both. Hiring an employee or a contractor has massive differences in terms of insurance, payroll tax, legalities and when it comes to staff who are actually employed by you, then you need to review if you need this help temporarily or on a long-term basis. Remember contractors are businesses themselves, they invoice you for the hours spent on the agree job.

The next one is NO ORGANISATION OR PAPERWORK.
It is so important to make sure your paperwork is in order, especially when it comes to tax time. Have a checklist of tasks to complete and keep your paperwork organised, legally you might hold files either digitally or physical for seven years in Australia

Oh, this one I see way to often MIXING PERSONAL FINANCES WITH BUSINESS

Many businesses say they don’t have a separate bank account for their business and that is a risky situation. Mixing up financial accounts for their business is difficult when you are trying to sort out your personal expenses (which are not tax deductible). Unless you are a sole trader, opening up a separate business account and not mixing business and personal expenses is a good idea, though I do suggest sole traders to separate the two as well.

The last one is NOT HIRING A BOOKKEEPER OR ONE AT ALL.

Many small businesses think that it will cost the earth to outsource, but there are so many benefits to outsourcing help, from saving time doing the books, hiring someone that knows the ins and outs of business finance, they will get to know your business and help you achieve your goals and address any weak areas in your budgeting or cash flow. They will keep you organised and your documentation will be correct and in order. Lastly, they take away the stress out of money management.

If this resonates with you, give me a call on 0429 363 047.

Maree Punzet | Maree’s Mobile Bookkeeping | 0429 363 047
You didn’t go into business to do your Payroll and Bookkeeping, BUT WE DID

We are a full service, insourced Payroll and Bookkeeping business that puts money back in your pocket. Our team works like a full-time employee and part of your business when it comes to processing your Payroll and bookkeeping, but without the cost or other concerns full time employees bring.   When compared to a full-time employee, we give you all the benefits and more but save you around $60,000 a year in costs, makes good financial sense!!

Job Keeper Applications are now ‘live’

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So what is Job Keeper?

It’s a payment of $1500 per Fortnight to help you keep your staff employed. It is also applicable to sole traders, one Beneficiary of a trust or one partner in a partnership.  The business needs to apply through the ATO, this can be done either through the business Portal or through your Tax Professional such as Maree’s Mobile Bookkeeping.

These are the steps involved.

Step 1. Work out if the business is eligible to be eligible the business you must

– on 1 March 2020, have carried on a business in Australia or were a not-for-profit organisation that operated in Australia.

-Have employed at least one eligible employee on 1 March 2020 or been active in your own business.

– Your eligible employees are currently employed by your business for the fortnights you start to claim for, and continue to claim for (including those who are stood down or re-hired)

– your business has faced a

  • 30% fall in turnover (if their aggregated turnover is $1 billion or less)
  • 50% fall in turnover (if their aggregated turnover is more than $1 billion), or
  • 15% fall in turnover including donations and gifts (if they are an ACNC-registered charity and not a university or school)

Once you have determined your business meets the eligibility requirements.

Step 2: Identify your eligible employees

They are eligible if the employees:

  • are currently employed by the eligible Business (including those stood down or re-hired)
  • are either
    • permanent full-time or part-time employees of your Business or another entity in your wholly owned group) who were employees as at 1 March 2020
    • casually employed by you (or another entity in your wholly owned group) on a regular and systematic basis for at least 12 months as at 1 March 2020 and not a permanent employee of any other employer,
  • were at least 16 years of age as at 1 March 2020
  • were an Australian resident as at 1 March 2020 within the meaning of the Social Security Act 1991, which requires that they reside in Australia, and are one of an Australian citizen, the holder of a permanent visa, a Protected Special Category Visa Holder
    • the employee can also be an Australian tax resident who is a Special Category (Subclass 444) Visa Holder
  • we’re not in receipt of any of these payments during the Job Keeper fortnight
    • government parental leave or Dad and partner pay
    • a payment in accordance with Australian worker compensation law for an individual’s total incapacity for work
  • have not agreed with any other employer to be nominated as an eligible employee for the Job Keeper payment
  • complete the Job Keeper employee nomination notice.

Step 3: Pay your employees the min $1500 gross ie before tax per fortnight

  (starting with the fortnight 30 March – 12 April) to claim the Job Keeper payment for that fortnight.

  you need to continue to pay employees that you are claiming for either

  • every subsequent fortnight until 27 September 2020
  • until their employees stop being eligible or you opt out.

  For the first two fortnights (30 March – 12 April and 13 April – 26 April), The ATO will accept the minimum $1,500 payment before tax has been paid for each fortnight even if it has been paid late, provided it is paid by the end of April. This means that they can make two fortnightly payments of at least $1,500 per fortnight before the end of April, or a combined payment of at least $3,000 before the end of April.

Eg: employer has casuals and they have been paid $300 a week as that is what they have worked up to last pay week in april so over that 3 weeks they have been paid $900 then they need to make sure that week 4 they pay them $2100 to make the $3K for the month ie the equivalent of the $1500 per fortnight

  • The Job Keeper payment is a reimbursement from the ATO to your business and cannot be paid in advance.

All Job Keeper payments are assessable income of the business that is eligible to receive the payments. The normal rules for deductibility apply in respect of the amounts a business pays to its employees where those amounts are subsidized by the Job Keeper payment.

The Job Keeper payment is not subject to GST.

You can enrol for the Job Keeper package from 20th April, if you don’t meet the 30% Drop in March or April but do in  May you can enrol in the program once you meet the eligibility.

You must have the nominations forms filled out by all eligible employees before you apply for the job keeper.

If you need help in this area, please do not hesitate to contact me anytime.

Maree Punzet

Maree’s Mobile Bookkeeping

0429 363 047