The stories are always similar. Your friends mother, who’s either elderly, or doesn’t speak English as her first language, get’s a call around 7pm. The caller advises they are from the Australian Tax Office (ATO), and that she owes a large amount of tax debt.

They are very demanding and hostile. They say they will call the police if she doesn’t pay her debts now. She is worried – she doesn’t want to go prison. She asks how she can pay her debts back. They advise her she can pay it off using gift cards. She drives to the nearest supermarket and purchases several gift cards – JB Hi-Fi, Google Play, even cards for Woolworths and Coles, amounting to the $4000 she owed.

She then receives text messages – The ATO wants photos of the gift cards, showing the validity codes. She sends them and thinks it’s finally over.

The next day they call her again – They request more money, and more cards. She realizes she is being scammed.

It’s probably happened to someone you know. They contact you or someone you love via email, or phone or mail demanding money, and threaten you if you do not meet their request. When the demands are met, the consequences are devastating.

Types of Tax Scams

Now that tax time is here, criminals may attempt to access individuals’ and businesses’ money and information. It’s so prevalent during tax time, in fact, that in 2021, the ATO received over 50,000 reports of scams, with $800,000 reportedly lost!

Here are three main types of scams that involve criminals impersonating the ATO.

Tax refund scams

Scammers contact you, usually via text, or e-mail, claiming that you’re owed a tax refund. They require you to click a link that takes you to a website that mirrors MyGov or the ATO. From here, you are advised to input your personal details, and then pay a processing fee to release your funds.

The scammer uses this information to siphon funds from the bank account and personal information provided on the fake page. They further use your ‘processing fee’ as a bargain point to either harass you to pay any more ‘hidden fees.’ They also threaten you against calling the police by arguing the processing fee was consensual upon you realizing this was a scam.

In worst case scenarios, the scammer will use your personal information for identity theft.

Tax owed scams

These scammers contact you pretending to be the ATO and claim that you have a tax debt. They then demand that you pay the debt immediately to avoid being arrested. They may ask you to pay by credit card, money transfer, or ask you to pay it back using gift cards.

These scammers are often demanding and very hostile. While the ATO does from time-to-time contact people who are owing debt, they will never –

• Call you with a pre-recorded message
• Threaten you with immediate arrest or use profanity
• Demand payment through gift cards or to personal bank accounts
• Insist you stay on the line until a payment is made

• Call with Caller ID.

It can sometimes be useful to familiarize yourself with what a fake call from the ATO will sounds like. You will find many recordings of them on YouTube, such as this one from 2018.

Tax File Number (TFN) and Australian Business Number (ABN) scams

These scams are often found on social media, promising to set up a TFN and ABN for a fee.  Instead, they steal your money and personal information.

Applying for a TFN or setting up an ABN is free. If you are applying through a tax agent, however, you may be charged a fee. You should always check if they are registered with the Tax Practitioners Board.

How To Sniff a Scammer

Don’t get caught up in a scam. Below are some tips to stay safe and wary of scammers around tax time.

Email or Text Scams

If you receive an email or text message from a number claiming to be the ATO, and they ask for personal or financial information – do not respond. Additionally, avoid clicking any links, or downloading attachments from suspicious text messages.

Phone Scams

If you receive an unexpected call from someone claiming they’re from the ATO, threatening you with arrest, asking for money to pay back a refund or debt, or asking for personal information – hang up. It worth noting also that the ATO will call from a private number – not from Caller ID.

Ask the ATO

If you’re concerned about the authenticity of a call or text from claiming the ATO, hang up and call the ATO on 1800 008 540. You will also find detailed information about various scams on their website.

Remember, that the ATO will never –

• Ask you to pay your debt into a non-ATO bank account, via gift cards, or with cryptocurrencies
• Threaten you
• Ask you to pay a fee in order to receive a refund
• Ask you for personal information via email or SMS
• Ask you to download, or open attachments, from the Internet

Most of us have lost a bit of money at some point. A coin at the laundromat. $20 that fell from your pocket. It’s inconvenient, sure, but not necessarily life altering.

However, imagine losing 1.5 billion dollars. This is no Elon Musk losing a few dollars – this is how much Australian’s have lost, collectively. According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Australian’s have around $1.5 billion in lost shares, bank accounts, life insurances, trust money, wages, rent, and superannuation waiting to be claimed.

That’s a lot of lost treasure

Many Australian organizations and government agencies will attempt to return lost money to their rightful owners, but have been unsuccessful because the owners –

• Have moved homes
• Have changed their names
• Misplaced a cheque
• Have just…forgotten it’s there.

Seriously, it happens more often than you think.

How do you find – and claim – any lost money in your name?

This is your official notice to head to the Moneysmart website, the unsung heroes for finding lost money, and use its unclaimed money search tool. The service is free and takes less than two minutes to do.

Alternatively, you can also use the Unclaimed Monies tool through your relevant state or territories Treasury Departments. Click on your state or territory to search.

• Western Australia
• Australian Capital Territory
• New South Wales
• Northern Territory
• Queensland
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Victoria

Why does the Government hold on to unclaimed money?

The short answer – because your accounts have been inactive, and money can’t simply just disappear.

The long answer – After seven years, the remaining balances of inactive bank accounts, super funds, shares, and insurance policies are transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia Consolidated Revenue Fund. There, it collects interest until it is claimed.

Why does it hold onto all this money? Because it’s someone’s lost treasure, is why. Would you like your money to disappear into thin air, or sold off elsewhere? Or would you prefer it to be held onto safely – and still earn interest?

It’s an easy choice.

It takes less than two minutes to check if any of this lost and unclaimed money is in your name, and it’s completely free to do so. Take a look now, and don’t forget to encourage your friends and family to check as well.

Didn’t find any lost money?

Don’t fret! You can search for other types of unclaimed money on other government websites:

Australian Taxation Office – You can search for any lost or unclaimed Superannuation in just a few minutes.

State government – Search your state government’s treasury websites for deceased estates, lost shares, salaries or wages. They have been linked above.

Services Australia –If you have changed bank accounts, then you may have lost some benefits along the way. Likewise, your Medicare benefits.    

Want to start a new business with that unclaimed cash of yours? Auditax Accountants can help you set up your business, and ensure your business is off to the best possible start. Call us today on (08) 9358 5599 and ask to speak with one of our business specialists.

When you start a business, the biggest concern is managing the financial records. Earlier, accounting ledgers were handled manually. Today, technological advancements have made it possible for modern businesses to digitally manage their accounts. This approach has definitely reduced the extra efforts and eliminated the chances of errors. Thus, it would be ideal to say that accounting software is indispensable to streamline any business.

However, organizations are often perplexed about which accounting software to go for. Needless to say, the primary goal should be choosing a software program that’s quick, efficient, accurate, and reliable.

Let us put an end to your search with our compilation of the top three free-of-cost accounting software programs. The free tools are no less than the paid ones and offer several useful features.

Why Do You Need An Accounting Software?

Accounting software programs are highly useful for assisting accountants and bookkeepers in reporting and recording a company’s financial transactions. They offer several benefits, including:

• Getting the business reports ready
• Save a lot of time
• Help in managing taxes
• Serve as a cost-efficient option
• Highly accurate and swift

3 Best Free Accounting Software Programs For Small Businesses

Here is our hand-picked list of free accounting software in Australia that every small-sized business should consider!

1. Slickpie

This cloud-based, easy-to-use accounting software is perfect for small-scale businesses. The free-of-cost software allows the users to create personalized online invoices with their logos, and share them automatically with their clients.

Further, the users can generate financial reports, manage sales tax and execute bank reconciliation. The best part is, you get complete online and mobile support, ensuring a seamless user experience.

Remind your clients about the pending payments via email and put an end to the constant chase! SlickPie can be integrated with other applications such as inventory systems, CRMs, POS systems, and payroll.

• Set auto-reminders for late payers
• Consistent support
• Keep your sales taxes organized
• Monitor your bills from a single place
• Enjoy bank reconciliation and keep track of the live updates
• Get comprehensive financial reports
• Instant payments using PayPal, credit card and Stripe
• Guaranteed security with 256-bit encryption

2. Wave

An integrated platform for a complete accounting solution, appropriate for small businesses looking for free software. It is user-friendly and highly functional, making it a perfect option for inexperienced users. Get hold of your bookkeeping processes and streamline your business.

Now, manage invoices, payroll, finances, and billing- everything with a single tool. Further, Wave takes care of receipt scanning and credit card processing, too. Keep a real-time track of all your bank accounts and credit card details with bank reconciliation.

The users can utilize customizable templates and payment terms as per their business requirements. Also, add unlimited users without any issue! Notify your customers about the payments by sending invoices via email.

• Automatic payment features for regular customers
• Keep a track of your expenses and income
• Bank reconciliation
• Customizable templates
• Double-entry accounting
• Connect an unlimited number of users

3. Sunrise

Now, enjoy simplified accounting and bookkeeping via this cloud-based accounting application. It offers a comprehensive GST solution to the bookkeepers.

The software is loaded with highly beneficial and feasible features including invoicing, quote management, accounting, billing, refund processing, etc. Not only that, you can manage financial reports and contacts under a single roof.

The smart recurring invoice feature auto-generates invoices shares them with your clients and charges their credit cards. Sunrise is empowered with a tax management module that automatically adds taxes as per the customer’s location. Enjoy real-time monitoring of your profit and loss, customer statements, balance sheets, tax summaries, etc.

• Multi-currency support
• Cash flow reports generation
• Customized invoices
• Automatic payments for regular customers
• Get monthly wellness reports
• Monitor your income and expenses

Final Words

Selecting an accounting software could be made easier by assessing your business needs. The market is flooded with options. Hence, we have curated a list of our favorite three high-performing software that handle small-sized businesses’ accounting functions properly. We hope you found this blog helpful!

An Ultimate Guide of SMSF Investments in Cryptocurrency

 Self Managed Superfund or SMSF is a private fund, introduced and designed only for those people who want to control and manage all their ongoing investments and long term retirement returns, and nowadays you also can use SMSF to buy and invest in digital cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum and others. 

But, before jumping into this blockchain industry, you need to clear some of the doubts to understand the market and to perform the task, reading and exploring the topic is a must. 

That’s why we have crafted this guide through which we show you how you can Buy Cryptocurrencies using a Self Managed Superfund. So just stick to this blog post and dig all you need to obtain regarding the advanced way of digital money investments. 

“A Self Managed Superfund (SMSF) is a retirement fund that is chosen by some investors to give more control to their retirement plans but it has some restrictions around investing which you need to know before making a decision. “

How to Buy and Invest in Crypto Using SMSF? 

Before delving into the vast array of SMSF investments, it’s important to clear some basic things about Cryptocurrencies and other digital money platforms; you should know what they are, how do their markets work and other important aspects. 

So let’s dig into all the questions which may occur in your mind before making Self Managed Super Fund investments in Cryptocurrency. 

Cryptocurrency- Step-by-Step Explanation  

A cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that is secured by cryptography, which makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit or double-spend. Many cryptocurrencies are based on decentralised networks based on blockchain technology. I.e. They use a distributed ledger enforced by a disparate network of computers. 

A defining feature of cryptocurrencies is that they are generally not issued by any central authority, rendering them theoretically immune to government interference or manipulation.

Note: Choosing a cold wallet with a private key, rather than a default wallet offered by crypto exchanges or a hot online wallet, will provide additional security for your crypto investments. 

How to Make Cryptos investments through SMSF?

First of all, you need to create an online trading account and join an online exchange. Now sign up in your SMSF account using your login credentials. Now it is time to get a verified business account. 

In the second step, you need to fund your account and there are several methods you can use to perform the task. But remember always choose a verified and trusted online exchange which provides you with a secured payment method. 

The exchange for the SMSF is identified as the SMSF trustee of the owner of the account. So remember to link the right bank account to both SMSF exchange accounts.

Ideally, you should set up a single digital wallet for all your fund’s cryptocurrency transactions to make record-keeping as simple and transparent as possible.

Note: There are dozens of digital wallet providers, but only a handful is suitable for SMSF investors.

Now after checking and accepting all the details including the email address used for SMSF, ask for permission to fund your account through SMSF auditors. You should need to follow the SIS act and regulations to complete this process. 

Invest Strategy and Fund’s Governing Rules

As per the reports, in 2014, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) ruled that cryptocurrencies are a legitimate form of investment for SMSFs. It has proposed the following set of new rules and conditions.

• They are allowed for under the fund’s trust deed
• They comply with the fund’s investment strategy
• They comply with all relevant super legislation, just like any other SMSF investment must do. For example, SMSF cryptocurrency investments must be:
• Held in the fund’s name (not in the names of individual fund members)
• Valued according to ATO guidelines (explained later in this article)
• While the number of SMSFs investing in cryptocurrencies is rising, the latest ATO statistics show the value of cryptocurrency assets held by SMSF was $137 million in June 2020. That’s a drop in the ocean of total SMSF assets of $733 billion.

What is the Sole-Purpose Test? How does it link to Crypto?

The sole purpose test needs to be met in order for a Self Managed Superfund to be eligible for tax concessions. Not only that, failing the sole purpose test can not only mean losing the concessional tax treatment for the SMSF, but also civil and criminal penalties for trustees. In order to satisfy this test, you will need to ensure that neither you, nor anyone else can benefit from the investment decisions you make in your SMSF – ofcourse, other than the SMSF itself benefiting from your investments.

So, as you guessed it – keep your SMSF Crypto account separate to any personal investment accounts to ensure you do not fail the Sole-Purpose Test.

Note: Like all SMSF investments, your SMSF cryptocurrency must be kept separate from your personal cryptocurrency assets.

Tax Consequences and Valuation 

ATO considers all the cryptocurrencies as assets because when you sell digital coins, you generate more profit leading to you incurring capital gains tax. Conversely, you can offset your capital gains through capital losses. These are the tax consequences you will get after investing in digital currency through SMSF. 

While talking about the valuation, you should know that any crypto assets held by a super fund will also be valued. It’s a legal requirement for SMSFs to value their assets according to ATO guidelines as part of their annual reporting, and cryptocurrencies are no different. They must be valued at their current market rate as at midnight of June 30 at the end of each financial year – as opposed to stocks where you would get the market rate at the time of the market closing. 

What is the value of cryptocurrencies?

Like any currency, cryptocurrencies only have value if enough people recognize them as an acceptable form of payment in exchange for goods and services. And like any currency, the value of cryptocurrencies can rise or fall over time based on the forces of demand and supply as well as investor sentiment.

For example, a single Bitcoin was worth $458 in September 2014. Three years later the price hit a peak of $25,506, before dropping back to earth. In October 2020, bitcoin was trading around $15,000. As of November 2021, the price of a single Bitcoin is around the $80,000 mark. This makes cryptocurrencies highly volatile and may lead to either extremely large gains or losses.

“That is not to say that cryptocurrencies do not have a place in a well-diversified SMSF investment portfolio. They are best thought of as an alternative asset class with little or no correlation to traditional asset classes such as shares, property and bonds. But diversification and knowledge are keys to reduce potential risks.” 

What are some of the risks of SMSF cryptocurrency Investments? 

Cryptocurrencies are not legal tender in many countries, even though they can be used to pay for goods and services if a seller is prepared to accept them. It simply means that cryptocurrencies do not have the backing of any bank or the Australian Government – unlike the Australian dollar, which is backed by the Reserve Bank and the Australian Government. 

So investors are unlikely to receive government support if a cryptocurrency they hold ceases to exist for any reason. Digital currency can also potentially be stolen from your fund’s digital wallet by online hackers, though you can (and should) arrange for insurance against this happening. 

How to find instant and round the clock SMSF Solution? 

Investing in cryptocurrency using your Self Managed Superfund is not a hectic task but at the same time, it is not the bread and butter of many seasoned investors. So, you need some sort of expert advice to finish the task sometimes and that is where you need to connect to the trading professionals. There are multiple traders and investors you can find but the problem is how you can choose the best and trusted one? 

Don’t need to think much, we also offer a blend of services related to SMSFs and cryptocurrencies so, you can get in touch with our team of SMSF advisors to find out more about how you can invest in Crypto through your SMSF and what the key limitations are.

The Final Thoughts- 

After gathering a lot of advanced information from different sources about Self Managed Superfunds and Cryptocurrencies, we hope to have cleared all your doubts related to digital money and how you can easily buy and invest in Cryptocurrencies through SMSFs. If you still have any doubts, contact us today for expert advice. 

 

What Are Interpersonal Skills And Why Are They So Important? 

 Communication and understanding others are achieved through the use of interpersonal skills, which are often referred to as people skills. When you connect with others face-to-face, you put these abilities to use on a daily basis. Among the many examples of interpersonal skills are: 

• Active listening is essential. 
• Teamwork 
• Responsibility 
• Dependability 
• Leadership                       
• Motivation 
• Flexibility 
• Patience 
• Empathy 
• Dispute Resolution  
• Negotiation 
• Communication  

What is the significance of interpersonal skills?  

The ability to communicate and collaborate with others is critical for successful communication and teamwork in both the personal and professional realms. People with great interpersonal skills have a tendency to form positive relationships and collaborate effectively with others. They have a good understanding of their family, friends, coworkers, and clientele. Working with coworkers that have strong interpersonal skills is something that many people look forward to doing. 

 Some of the other advantages of communication skills include the capacity to handle problems and make sound judgments under pressure. You can use communication skills and the capacity to comprehend others to come up with the greatest resolution or decide what is best for everyone involved in a situation or situation. 

 The majority of employers look for employees who have great interpersonal skills since these individuals are more likely to work well in groups and cooperate successfully with their coworkers. Due to their capacity to interact with and inspire those around them, people who have strong interpersonal skills are also likely to be effective leaders. 

Interpersonal abilities that are necessary for success at work  

While all interpersonal abilities can be beneficial in the job, interpersonal communication is particularly important when it comes to working as a team and achieving common objectives. Listed below are six social effective communications that are especially important at work. 

Verbal communication  

Having the capacity to communicate clearly, confidently, and suitably for the scenario will assist you in communicating effectively with others. Consider your audience's tone and terminology when crafting your message. 

 During meetings and presentations, for example, it is appropriate to speak in a formal and professional manner. When explaining something to someone or when speaking with a consumer, avoid using complicated or technical vocabulary. When you require clarification on information, you should ask questions. 

Active listening  

 Listening actively is defined as the ability to pay complete attention to someone while they speak and to comprehend what they are saying completely. Show that you are interested in what the speaker is saying by making eye contact with him or her and delivering nonverbal responses such as nodding and smiling. Besides paying attention to what someone is saying, active listening also requires paying attention to their body skills and language cues. Asking and answering questions demonstrates that you are paying attention and are interested. 

 Active listening is critical for efficient communication and for avoiding misconceptions at work, according to research. It enables you to comprehend the information and instructions provided to you by your coworkers or supervisor. It can also motivate employees to collaborate and share their thoughts with one another.