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Getting started solutions

Structuring

The legal structure of the business has a critical impact on taxation and asset protection. It needs to take account of the personal and family situations of the owners and the future vision for the business. A one-size-fits-all approach is not how we deal with this very important issue. You need a structure that delivers the best tax outcome and asset protection; you also need to be able to understand it and ensure it is relevant to the personal position and ambitions of the owners and their families.

Once the form of the structure has been determined we arrange for the formation of the entities.

Registrations

We assist you with registering the business as required by various regulations; including Tax File Number; Australian Business Number; GST; PAYG withholding for employers; fringe benefit tax; payroll tax (where applicable) and Workcover.

We can also arrange registration of business names, domain names, trademarks and other intellectual property.

Business plans and budgets

Every business needs a business plan – ideally this should be done well before the business is established.

We can assist you in preparing your business plan using an established simple template that streamlines the process and produces a clear, meaningful plan that can be used both as a road map for management and the basis for raising debt and/or equity capital.

The business plan requires you to determine

  • precisely what is the business you will conduct;
  • what your sustainable competitive advantage will be;
  • the business strategies that will support your sustainable competitive advantage;
  • your objectives over a period of 3-5 years;
  • the critical success factors; and
  • the resources that the business will need to reach its targets.

We can prepare the profit and loss and cash flow budgets and projected balance sheet in accordance with the business plan.

Shareholder agreements

Where there is more than one owner it is vitally important to lay the ground rules of your relationship with each other at the earliest possible stage.

Preparing a shareholder agreement ensures you address such critical issues as:

  • agreeing where you want to take the business. If one person wants to build for a quick sale and another wants long-term or even intergenerational continuity this will have a quite different impact on how the business is run and you need reach to a consensus early – before the business is torn into two or more directions;
  • agreeing on what input, financial or otherwise, the equity holders will make;
  • what would happen if one equity holder dies or becomes ill and whether insurance is required;
  • what would happen if one party wanted to leave or the relationship simply breaks down
  • what are the compulsory triggers for one party to sell its equity and the other to acquire it
  • how the business would be valued for this purpose
  • would payment terms be offered and would interest by payable
  • what entitlements will the equity holders have from the business in terms of salary, dividends, superannuation and drawings.

We have established standard templates to enable clients to work through these issues and we have made special arrangements with selected lawyers who are able to prepare simple low-cost legally binding shareholder agreements for our clients.

Accounting Systems

We recommend that our small business clients use accounting software systems that are simple and standardised. We assist you in setting up charts of accounts, fixed asset registers and subsidiary ledgers that will produce the financial information you need, not just for compliance purposes, but also to enable you to closely monitor your business plan and your business strategy.

We provide training to your own accounting staff on using the accounting system or we can provide you with bookkeeping services at bookkeeper’s rates.

Alternatively we can review the system you already have in place and recommend changes to ensure that it produces accurate and reliable financial reports that will enable the business to efficiently meet its compliance obligations and form a sound basis for management decisions. 

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More Information

Sue Prestney
Principal - Family Business Services
t: +(61)3 9521 3000

Dani Di Blasio
Manager
t: +(61)3 9521 3000