Sharp Accounting

21/10/2026

We manage a lot of SMSFs, and regularly come across members who either don’t have a Binding Death Benefit Nomination (BDBN) in place or aren’t sure whether they do.

Your Will doesn't automatically determine what happens to your super, so you shouldn't assume this has been covered as part of your estate planning.

In our latest article, Julian explains what a BDBN does, why it can be particularly important for SMSF members and what to check if your arrangements were put in place some time ago.

If you’re unsure what documentation your SMSF currently has in place, we can check what we hold and identify whether anything needs further attention.

Read the article here:

Does your SMSF have a Binding Death Benefit Nomination? Learn why it matters and what to check as part of your SMSF and estate planning.

19/10/2026

A profitable year for your business doesn’t automatically mean every dollar of profit is available to spend or reinvest.

You might be considering new equipment, additional staff, debt reduction, dividends or drawings, while tax and other commitments still need to be funded from the same pool of cash.

This is where tax planning and business planning need to happen together. Knowing the likely tax position early helps you understand how much cash is actually available for the decisions you want to make.

At Sharp Accounting, we want clients making those decisions with the full picture in front of them, rather than discovering later that the same cash was needed for something else.

14/10/2026

Labour overruns, extra materials, return visits, delays and work completed outside the original scope can gradually strip the margin from a quote.

The problem is that many trade businesses do not see the final result until well after the job has finished. By then, the team has moved on, and the same costing or margin issue may already be affecting the next five jobs.

Reviewing estimated and actual costs job by job helps show which work is delivering a worthwhile return and where profit is being lost.

If the business is flat out but the financial result doesn't reflect the effort, start by looking at which jobs are actually making money.

12/10/2026

A business can have plenty of work coming in and still struggle to pay its tax and super obligations.

Revenue alone doesn't tell you whether the business is generating enough cash. Higher wages, materials, finance costs and other expenses can gradually reduce margins, particularly if pricing has not kept pace. Add slow-paying customers, loan repayments and owner drawings, and a business that looks busy can quickly become cash constrained.

If tax and super payments are becoming harder to meet, the issue may be bigger than the next amount due. Looking at profitability, margins and cash flow together can show where the pressure is coming from and what needs to change.

09/10/2026

Could the proposed CGT changes make selling your business before 1 July 2027 more attractive?

Possibly, but tax should not determine the decision on its own.

Bringing a sale forward before the business is ready could mean accepting a lower price because profitability needs improvement, systems still rely heavily on the owner or the management team is not ready for buyer scrutiny.

If a business sale is on your horizon, we can model the likely sale value and tax outcome under different timing scenarios, so you can see what each option could actually mean for you before making the decision.

07/10/2026

Some of the most valuable accounting conversations happen before a business owner makes the decision.

Before the new employee is hired, the equipment is financed, the premises are purchased, another shareholder comes in or a major contract is accepted.

Once the decision has been made, we can explain the financial and tax consequences. Before it is made, we can help test whether the numbers actually support it and what else the decision may affect.

That’s a big part of how we work with established businesses at Sharp Accounting. We would rather help you think through a significant decision before you commit to it than explain afterwards why cash flow or profitability became tighter than expected.

30/09/2026

A job can look profitable when it's quoted but tell a very different story once it's finished.

Extra labour hours, material price changes, rework, delays, uncharged variations and subcontractor costs can all reduce the margin that originally made the job worthwhile.

For trades and construction businesses, the quoted margin is only part of the picture. Comparing it with the actual result shows whether the job delivered the profit you expected and, just as importantly, where that margin was lost.

If the same gap keeps appearing across jobs, it can point to an issue with estimating, pricing, project management or the way variations are being captured and charged.

Reviewing completed jobs regularly gives you much better information for pricing the next one and making sure the work you are winning is actually producing the return you need.

We help our trades and construction clients understand where profit is being made and lost across jobs, so pricing and growth decisions are based on what is actually happening in the business.

28/09/2026

A payment plan can help manage ATO debt, but it doesn't explain why the debt built up in the first place.

If a business regularly uses money intended for GST, PAYG withholding or super to cover wages, suppliers or other operating costs, the issue is bigger than the tax bill.

It may mean cash flow is too tight, margins have reduced, customers are paying too slowly, or the business is carrying commitments it can no longer comfortably support.

We need to look at the debt alongside cash flow, profitability and current commitments to work out what is putting pressure on the business and what needs to change. A payment arrangement only solves part of the problem if new debt keeps building.

23/09/2026

September is a useful point to check whether the business is actually tracking the way you expected at the start of the financial year.

By now, you have two months of real numbers to work with. Revenue may be ahead or behind plan, costs may have shifted, staffing decisions may have changed, and some of the assumptions made in June may already look different.

Rather than waiting until the end of the quarter, compare what has actually happened with what you planned and consider what needs to change for the months ahead.

A forecast is most useful when it changes with the business. If the numbers have moved, the plan should move with them too.

21/09/2026

A business structure chosen when you had few assets, no employees and relatively little risk may look very different once the business has grown.

There may now be employees, valuable equipment, retained profits, property plans and greater commercial exposure. The owners may also have personal assets, family considerations and longer-term wealth goals that were not part of the picture when the original structure was chosen.

That doesn't automatically mean the structure should change. Restructuring can bring tax, duty, legal and administrative consequences of its own.

It does mean the current arrangement should be reviewed against the business you operate today, rather than the business you started years ago.

For established businesses, structure should not be something that is set once and forgotten. We review it as the business, the risks and the owners’ plans change.