WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
If you haven’t registered – then register – now! Even if you are thinking you may not opt in to the scheme, register anyway. Here is the link: https://www.ato.gov.au/Job-keeper-payment/. Have you registered? Great! If not, as a registered BAS agent, I can register on your behalf – so contact me if you need any help
“Hello is it me you’re looking for?”
If you have registered for JobKeeper, be AWARE that it is likely the tax office will send you a SMS and then may RING YOU! SO PICK UP ALL PRIVATE NUMBERS!
Get organised Part 1 – Are you an eligible business?
The ATO will be looking for evidence that your GST turnover has decreased or is expected to decrease by at least 30% from this time last year. Here’s a link in case you don’t know what is included in your GST turnover: https://www.ato.gov.au/…/Financial-services—questions-a…/…
My tips:
💲Make sure that your tax return for 2019 has been lodged as they may use this as a basis of assessment.
💲Make sure that your accounting software system is up to date. At the very least ensure your banks are reconciled and keep them reconciled, at least monthly, because if you don’t fall eligible this month you may become eligible next month.
💲Ensure you BAS’s are up to date! The ATO has access to your sales turnover figures and may use that also as a basis of assessment.
💲Start preparing your sales forecasts now because if you haven’t suffered at least a 30% decline, you may in the future and the ATO need to know this.
If you are unsure about how to get the financial information out of your accounting system that you need, if you want to get your March BAS lodged asap, if you have overdue BAS’s that need lodging, or if you need help preparing sales forecasts – hit me up – I can help with all of this 
Get organised Part 2 – Who are your eligible employees?
Find out who you think are your eligible employees. Don’t know if they are eligible employees?
Check out the list below – eligible employees are employees who:
🧐are currently employed by the eligible employer (including those stood down or re-hired);
🧐were employed by the employer at 1 March 2020;
🧐are full-time, part-time, or long-term casuals (a casual employed on a regular and systemic basis for longer than 12 months as at 1 March 2020);
🧐are a permanent employee of the employer, or if a long-term casual employee, not a permanent employee of any other employer;
🧐are at least 16 years of age at 1 March 2020;
🧐are an Australian citizen, the holder of a permanent visa, or a Special Category (Subclass 444) Visa Holder at 1 March 2020;
🧐were a resident for Australian tax purposes on 1 March 2020; and
🧐are not in receipt of a JobKeeper Payment from another employer.
The ATO will be pre-populating lists of who they believe are eligible employees based on your Single Touch Payroll reporting – but have your list ready to cross check. Know your employees employment conditions, how long they have worked for you and how much they are getting paid.
Not sure how to get this info out of your payroll system, I’m here to help – so don’t hesitate to contact me and i’ll give you a hand.
IS IT RIGHT FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
As a business owner you have a fiduciary duty to your business first and your employees second. That may seem harsh, and from my experience, my clients are devastated by the impact that their business downturn is having on their staff and their staff families. But unless you have a very solid handle on your 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰, your 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 and a solid idea of 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 when this is all over, taking on the financial risk of jobkeeper could cause more damage to your business than good.
Remember Jobkeeper is reimbursed in arrears, meaning you will need to find the cash required to pay all your eligible staff upfront (and for some this may mean more than you were paying them before), including superannuation, for a month.
TIP 1: Know your cash flow – every single cent of it. Exactly when money is coming in and how much, exactly when money is going out and how much, know the terms of suppliers, know the terms of your customers, if you still have loan repayments, know when they are coming out and how much – all of it. A cash flow forecast would be ideal for this – hit me up if you would like some help putting one together.
TIP 2: Be sure, that if you are going to opt in immediately, ask the ATO when they ring you that would like an advance payment! The factsheets from treasury are now stating ” for the month of April, the Commissioner can make an advance payment”!
TIP 3: Ensure your accounting/payroll system is set up for JobKeeper. Your payroll module will probably need a pay category added and set up correctly to ensure super/leave entitlements etc are recorded correctly. JobKeeper payments will be recognised as assessable income and with be GST Free. The JobKeeper payment will attract normal deductibility rules. If you’re not sure that you’ve set it up right, or if you’re not sure what you’re doing – shoot me a message, and i can talk you through it.
TIP 4 :Ensure you are willing and able to report on a monthly basis to the ATO, they will be looking for information each month to ensure you and your staff continue to be eligible.
TIP 5: Never before has it been more important that your accounting system is maintained and is up to date. I am a xero certified advisor, and highly experienced in MYOB and Quickbooks – and can quickly tell you how to get the most important information out of your accounting system.
TIP 6: Stay informed – the best source of information currently regarding jobKeeper is here: https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus/jobkeeper. The fact sheets are constantly being updated. Also visit ato.gov.au/jobkeeper
TIP 7: Enrolments for the scheme can be made through the ATO website from Monday, 20th APRIL 2020.
It’s an unprecedented, stressful and scary time we live in. But we are all in this together – so please reach out if you need help.
