1. What Does Charltons Charge?
2. Will Charltons Bill Me Every Time I Contact My Accountant?
3. Should I Set Up A Company Or Registered Business Name?
4. I Have A Great Idea For A Product / Service, Can Charltons Help Me With Protection, Like Patents And Copyright?
5. Should I Lease, Hire Purchase Or Buy My Vehicle?
6. Should I Buy A Negatively Geared Property To Increase Tax Deductions?
7. I Run A Home Office, How Much Can I Claim?
8. The Bank Refused My Business Loan Application, What Should I Do?
9. My Business Debts Are Getting Out Of Control, Can Charltons Help?
10. Can Charltons Refer A Bookkeeper To Manage My Daily Accounts?
11. Can Charltons Review My Historical Tax Returns?
12. Will I Be Assigned A Particular Contact At Charltons?

What Does Charltons Charge?

Charltons fees are based on value rather than hours.  For deeply complex and urgent work on large corporations, Charltons fees represent the effort and dedication undertaken to present accurate and timely results.

For a simple personal tax return, with minimal complexity, Charltons fees are very reasonable.

However, if you are seeking fees comparable to many suburban practices or cut-price volume driven tax agencies, Charltons is not for you.

Charltons delivers Middle Tier expertise at very attractive rates for businesses and individuals looking for a great deal more than average accounting and tax advice.  Once we have discussed your individual needs, ask us to provide a fees estimate and decide for yourself.

You will have the choice of paying via 2 methods;

• Fee for service: where you require certain work and we charge fees based on time, care and expertise.
• Retainer: where you agree  to pay a monthly pre-agreed instalment for a period of 12 months

Will Charltons Bill Me Every Time I Contact My Accountant?

No.

Charltons don’t believe in billing you for every minute we work for you.  However, we do ask that your expectations are reasonable and you exercise a fair and reasonable use of our professional relationship.

We have a strong and friendly relationship with most of our clients and find that ‘helping’ from time to time is a great thing to do.

Should I Set Up A Company Or Registered Business Name?

If you are starting a business, or thinking about leaving your employer and heading into the SME market, you will need some advice about structuring.

There are good reasons to establish a company in many cases, particularly if you plan to sell the business in time, or it represents a degree of risk.  Establishing a company can also provide for shareholders or different owners of the business simply.

Of course running costs of a company are a good deal more than simply trading under a registered business name, so your ideas and risk profile will need discussion prior to making a decision.

Charltons is the registered office for hundreds of client’s companies, so you can be sure we have a wealth of knowledge to support your decisions.

I Have A Great Idea For A Product/Service, Can Charltons Help Me With Protection, Like Patents And Copyright?

In most cases, “ideas”, even if they are advanced and well planned are simply that… ideas.  Without a sound business plan, financial support and high level expertise, intellectual property protection is something that may prove to be far too costly.

Once your idea has progressed to ‘proof of concept’, has a prototype or manuscript ready, then protection can be considered.  Trademarks and Patent are very expensive and take a long time to put in place.  For practical reasons, it can be argued that a Patent or Trademark is only as good as the funds available to support a legal conflict to enforce it.

For information regarding Patents and Trademarks visit www.ipaustralia.gov.au then come to Charltons to discuss how this information is relevant to you.

Copyright protection in Australia is free and automatic, with no need to publish or place a copyright mark on work to assume protection.
Visit www.copyright.org.au for more information

Should I Lease, Hire Purchase Or Buy My Vehicle?

If you are in the market to purchase a new vehicle, it would be very wise to chat to Charltons before making a decision.  Financing your vehicle the correct way and in the right entity can be highly beneficial to you and your financial position.

Consider some of the options below and each have a benefit for your individual needs;

• Commercial Hire Purchase
• Operating Lease
• Novated Lease
• Chattel Mortgage

Then you’ll be happy to know there are at least three different ways of claiming expenses and deductions for your vehicle, plus Fringe Benefits Tax and GST implications.

So, please let us know your thoughts before you sign on the dotted line.

Should I Buy A Negatively Geared Property To Increase Tax Deductions?

The property investment landscape is evolving and so should your strategies.  For many people, Superannuation contributions may represent a more sound investment strategy than negatively geared property, depending on your individual personal tax bracket.

However, investment property is still a wonderful plan for many provided you undertake some research and invest not gamble.  Investing in property successfully requires analysis of the numbers, so you have a clear idea about the risk and likely growth.

• Is the property in a growth area?  How do you know?  Have you obtained 3rd party, independent advice from a professional (not just a real estate agent)?
• Is the property likely to sustain good rental income?  Again, how do you know?  Have you researched the area?
• Have you got the right loan?  This is something that you might not have considered and is really important.  Make sure you can pay out early and redraw if you want to without penalties.
  Its also wise to consider if the loan is connected to your home and how.  You can potentially get into trouble or limit your finance options later by settling for the easiest type of finance.
• Are you holding for long or short term? Have you thought about protecting the asset?  Have you considered Interest Only loans as opposed to paying off the capital?

I Run A Home Office, How Much Can I Claim?

Well there are a few things to work out first.

• Are you employed full time and just work from home on occasion?
• Do you run a business 100% from home?
• Do you own your home where the business is operating from?
• Are you renting the home where the business is operating from?

Important things to know:

• If you run your business from home and you own (or are paying off the mortgage) you should be very careful what you claim.
  If you are claiming a percentage of all bills and interest on the loan, when you sell the property, that same percentage will be subject to Capital Gains Tax
• Are you claiming all you can?  Electricity, gas, internet, parking, waiting room items – such as magazines, newspapers, flowers, tea and coffee and nibbles for clients
• Are you leasing equipment such as computers, software, printers, office furniture and other items?  Spending your capital on these items may not be the best idea if you are small and rely heavily on positive cash flow

The small business sector and increasingly home office professionals are a growing market.  If you are prepared with great financial and tax knowledge, you will give yourself a strong chance of success and the independence you seek.

The Bank Refused My Business Loan Application, What Should I Do?

Business finance is not as straight forward as property finance, however planning and good financials go a long way to getting attention.

In most cases banks and finance companies will require assets or collateral to support the business finance you might be seeking.  However, there are factors that go a long way to helping your case.

You must realise that the contact at your bank/finance company must understand your business and the need for finance well, to be able to ‘sell’ it to the decision makers in the credit department.  Yes that’s right, it will almost always be a faceless, nameless person that will ultimately decide whether you get the funds or not.

So, having a squeaky clean story and clear financials helps your account manager argue your case to the credit manager.

Different Banks/Finance Companies Have Different Risk Profiles

Finance is big business and not all finance companies have the same rules.

So don’t give up when one company says no.  It does not mean that you can’t get finance, rather, it means you’ll have to look for a credit department that understand what you’re trying to do.

Even if you do get a ‘yes’ the first time you ask, always seek an alternate deal and don’t be afraid to transfer all your banking to another firm.  The banks know this is a painful experience, and will do almost anything to get your business.

There are always options to obtaining finance, but as the credit risk increases, so too will the cost of the finance – being the interest rate and associated fees.

Your financials are your best friend

Having a trading history with up to date tax returns, solid cash flow projections and realistic profit and loss statements, even if they’re not spectacular, will go a long way to helping your case.

If the credit department in a finance company can’t see where you have been and where you are going, the answer will usually be ‘no’.

My Business Debts Are Getting Out Of Control, Can Charltons Help?

In 99% of cases, yes absolutely Charltons can help you.

Cash flow in small business is absolute KING and if you don’t know where your cash is going or where it can come from and when, you might as well shut the doors.

Charltons staff work with businesses of all sizes and industries.  They can often tell at a glance what the financials are doing and what can be done about it.

Don’t panic, you can turn things around quickly with professional advice.

Unless you are a management accountant, you may not have the experience and knowledge to stabilise your financials yourself.  There are so many things that can be done when working with ‘crisis’ situations, you’d be very surprised.

At Charltons, its not over till its over – and that can be a long and fulfilling way down the track.

Can Charltons Refer A Bookkeeper To Manage My Daily Accounts?

No, but we can help the one you have… probably.

Most professional accountants will agree that many bookkeepers, though well meaning, can often create certain complexity to managing business financials.  The trick to accurate reporting and useful accounting data is having the chart of accounts and general ledger established by a management accountant.  That way, the data going in and coming out can be of use to a management accountant and ready for analysis.

Yes, bookkeepers can operate MYOB and other packages, but many do not have the advanced knowledge and experience about cost centres, specific balance sheet journals, tax implications and many more details.  Charltons prefer to work with business owners in the first instance to set up the accounts at an agreed period, and train someone to input data when needed.

This system also saves an enormous amount of our time and your money at tax time, when reconciling your financials and planning for tax.

Can Charltons Review My Historical Tax Returns?

Absolutely.  Up to four years worth can be reclaimed and if necessary we can audit as many years as you’d like.

In fact, when we see your most recent returns and have an idea of what you do and what you earn, we may already suspect that something may have been missing from previous returns.

We are confident you’ll be pleasantly surprised when you receive your first tax return and adjustments.

Will I Be Assigned A Particular Contact At Charltons?

Yes.

As a Charltons client, you will be allocated a primary contact for your accounting and tax work.  This does not mean that you can’t discuss ideas or raise questions with other staff members if you need to.

If you need more information, please complete the ’10 hardest questions’ form - then we can get very specific about helping you where possible.