A great tax accountant will ensure that they review your financials regularly, help you set up budgets so you can compare your actual results against your budget plus ensure that you are not missing any expenses you could be claiming.  They can also help you ensure that your service or sales prices are covering your expenses and giving you the profit margin you are wanting.  Everyone of my clients want to pay less tax (and so do I) - so I will review each transaction of my business clients to ensure we are not missing any obvious expenses plus having a knowledge of how to apply tax legislation to achieve the best tax results is a plus.

Very good question! Let’s face it, we’ve all been there thinking we can save money by handling tax ourselves. It’s easy to overlook the benefits of hiring an accountant when you see the costs quickly adding up, but from experience, tax accountants are worth their weight in gold. Navigating tax as a small business owner can seem like a minefield and there are so many deductions, offsets and tax minimisation strategies that many people are unaware of. Unless you have extensive knowledge of tax regulations or have the time and headspace to sit down and go through your books with a fine toothcomb, you may be paying a much higher tax rate or have a considerably smaller tax refund than what are eligible for. It’s also worth thinking about the time it would take you to prepare your tax return forms and documents. This is time that could be reinvested in your business by meeting clients, spending time in your shop or working on other projects. 

As well as helping you claim all eligible expenses and maximising your refund, tax accountants can help you develop tax minimisation strategies throughout the year to reduce your tax liability. The problem of doing this yourself is that you run the risk of implementing unlawful strategies that could get you in trouble with the ATO. Tax accountants are experts in building tax planning within the law and can help you review your operating costs, assets and investments to find ways to save or reinvest money. They can also determine the financial risk of your cashflow and any capital investments you have and how to best protect them. 

Here are a few extra ways tax accountants can help your small business:

1. Stay up to date with the latest tax regulations 

2. Lodge your tax returns correctly and on time to avoid penalties and fines from the ATO

3. Tax accountants have extended deadlines which gives you more time to prepare your documents 

4. Get advice and representation if you are audited by the ATO

Hope this helps!