I know I’ve spoken about First Aid in the past, and I’ll probably talk about it again in the future – but today I want you to ask yourself…do you need it?

I’m heading off to teach my first course for 2015 today, so I thought it was an appropriate time to remind you all to have a serious think about First Aid.

As a business owner, you should have a policy in place to regularly review your First Aid needs. Do you need a First Aid Room, or will a First Aid Kit suffice, and is it fully stocked?  Do you have up to date policies and procedures? Do you have adequately trained personnel?

The Victorian Workcover Authority advises that while each workplace is different, the answers to the above questions may be impacted by the following:

• the nature of hazards and the severity of risk
• the size, layout and location of the workplace
• the number of employees and their work arrangements, including location, shift work, overtime and flexible hours
• access to medical services
• any previous injuries or illnesses

As an employee, you too should want to have the required knowledge to act in First Aid situations, or at least know who to turn to for help – and for some occupations, a valid First Aid certificate is a requirement!

I’m currently teaching Fist Aid for Western District Employment Access in Warrnambool. Drop them a line if you are interested in attending one of our courses.

Regards

It’s Frivolous Friday – now…I don’t have kids and I can’t be sure exactly when the school holidays finish…but I’ve seen all the “back to school” catalogues in my letterbox so it must be soon right?

I’ve absolutely loved seeing my news feed in Facebook and Instagram filled with the school holiday activities of friends and relatives with kids.

I don’t envy you having to keep them occupied for such an extended period of time, but I do marvel at the various activities you participate in – especially given the weather we’ve experienced!

If you’re struggling for ideas to get through these last few days…I googled the following tips for school holidays:

• visit the playground or beach
• swim at the beach or the pool
• attend a movie or create your own home theatre (or even a mini drive-in)
• check in with your local art gallery for free activities
• create a mini book club – read a book and discuss among friends
• practice a favourite sport…or learn a new one

If all else fails there’s always ironing school uniforms, covering books and labelling everything!!

Sorry, I’m not much help am I??

Regards

Since heading out on my own in business, I have been extremely lucky that my clients have always paid me…and I hope that continues!

Unfortunately I see many times when other businesses are not so lucky – and today I witnessed a client terminate a relationship with a customer who simply wouldn’t uphold their end of the bargain.

Many businesses incur bad debts that need to be accounted for in the profit and loss statement, as well as recording the GST impact.

A bad debt is an amount due to a supplier that is unlikely to be paid.  The reasons for bad debts are many and varied – but at some point, if the amount is not recoverable, the supplier needs to make the decision to write it off.

Before writing off the bad debt, the supplier, or business can take a number of steps to recover the amount, including:

• send a reminder notice
• send a written letter requesting payment
• phone the customer and request a payment plan (any plan agreement should be followed up in writing)
• engage the services of a debt collector (assuming the cost does not out-weigh the benefit)

During the negotiation process, it is acceptable for the supplier to cease supply until payment is made or alter credit terms.

At all stages of the debt recovery process I encourage you to be calm, polite and reasonable…but at the end of the day you need to look after yourself and your business.

Good luck!

Regards

I’m sitting here preparing this blog entry and feeling a tad “woe is me…” – you see I woke this morning having slept “funny” and have had a crook neck all day!

As such, I am eagerly looking forward to my standing chiropractic appointment this week…especially since private health insurance operates on a calendar year and all claim thresholds have been reset!

One of the most common questions I am asked as an accountant is “should I have private health insurance?” – of course, I cannot answer that!

Whether or not you should have private health insurance is dependent on your own personal circumstances – both health and financial…what I can do is explain the impact of having or not having private health insurance in regards to the financial side of things…

Often, taxpayers are confused between the “Medicare Levy” and the “Medicare Levy Surcharge”:

I imagine that most of you have heard of Medicare, being the scheme that provides residents of Australia with access to health care.  This scheme is funded by the Medicare Levy whereby most taxpayers make a contribution of 2.0% of their taxable income (in some cases there are reductions and exemptions, however these will not be discussed here).

The Medicare Levy Surcharge is different altogether and is in addition to the Medicare levy.  If your income is above a certain threshold, and you do not have private hospital insurance, then you may be liable for the Medicare Levy Surcharge.

If you are unsure if the Medicare Levy Surcharge applies to you, please discuss the matter with your accountant, or Contact us for an assessment.

Regards