The Australian Tax Office is honing in on small businesses failing to comply with guidelines regarding appropriate record keeping.
Findings from the ATO’s Protecting Honest Business campaign indicated that one of the leading factors for small business failure is their poor record keeping practices. Small business owners are required to disclose particular information, and keep records of the following:
Income tax records
Income and sales records
Expense or purchase records
Year-end records
Bank records
Goods and services tax records
Employees and contractors records
Fuel tax records
By law, all Australian businesses must keep these records for a period of five years. These records must be in writing, either on paper or electronically. Dedicating time each week, fortnight or month to compile all the above-listed information will prevent you incurring fines and possibly losing your business.
Setting up an SMSF fund is the simplest step. Establishing a fund which delivers you consistent returns from your investments is much more difficult.
Investing successfully involves determining precise goals and picking investments which will effectively achieve those goals. The advantage of SMSFs is that you can build a portfolio which reflects your short-term and long-term goals in response to changing market conditions.
In an SMSF fund, your investment options are:
Australian and international shares (listed and unlisted)
Residential or commercial property
Cash and term deposits
Fixed income products
Physical commodities
Property
Collectibles
Before you begin investing, consider what might be the best way to diversify your portfolio. How you portion your investments will depend on your funds, the market, and your goals. Regardless of what your plan is, diversification should be a priority.
Choosing an SMSF as opposed to an industry or retail super fund provides you with more flexibility, but also with more responsibility. Researching before investing is key if you want the best out of your SMSF.
