Twenty wonderful years - The Catherine Zenner Story

It is July 1st in the year 2000, and the then prime minister of Australia, John Howard, had successfully introduced the tax that he said he never would – The GST.

This meant that the days of businesses bringing their shoe boxes filled with receipts, into their accountants at the end of the year, had finished. Some businesses tried to do the work themselves, others didn’t have the time, most were simply confused.

This sparked an idea in the mind of a young mother of three. There must be a better way. Businesses need my help. Let’s start a business where I can help businesses with their bookkeeping. And so, in July 2001, a bookkeeping business was born.

From the humble beginnings of a desk at home, Elite Bookkeeping now has grown to two offices and 13 team members. The clients continued to pour in as word had gotten around that Elite was the place to go if you need bookkeeping help. Catherine and her team will always look after you and your business.

Fast forward 20 years, and it’s now time for Catherine to take time for herself and Jack. Catherine, thank you for your professionalism, support, care, friendship, mentorship and hard work over the years. We wish you well and hope you have a long and happy retirement.

Linda Gell and Shaun Sullivan with our fantastic team of remarkable bookkeepers at Elite Bookkeeping and Business Solutions continues Catherine's legacy and business philosophy into an exciting future.

Join our team

Another exciting opportunity has been created in our growing practice. We are looking for a bookkeeper with varied experience and the ability to provide our clients with exceptional service.
This is a full-time or part-time role at least 30 hours per week that requires a professional, confident, and strong attention to detail individual. It is critical that the successful candidate takes ownership of their clients.

2020 - What a year!

During this most challenging of years, we were privileged and humbled to witness so many acts of kindness and support.

We were amazed by the heroics of our emergency services and defence forces during the January bush fires.

How inspired we were by the extraordinary community spirit and support to local businesses during the Covid-19 lockdowns from both the public and between local businesses.

#Support Local became the catchphrase to follow and was promoted at no cost by our friends at SignTorque. We all adapted to order takeaway from our favourite venues and restaurants and loved to consume fresh produce from our outstanding Gippsland farmers and producers.

The Elite Bookkeeping team became overnight experts in new government programs such as JobKeeper and Business Support Grants, making sure all our clients had access to much needed financial support. We cannot thank our team enough for their fantastic work over the year.

Finally, thank you! Without our beautiful clients supporting and encouraging each other and ourselves, this year would have been unbearable.

Can we ask a small favour from you – when you have a moment spare to give us a review or testimonial on Google or Facebook. For those in Wellington Shire https://bit.ly/3aCbANY and for those in Latrobe City https://bit.ly/3rjwib7 . We appreciate all your feedback.

Wishing you and your loved ones a blessed and safe Festive Season and let’s welcome a prosperous 2021.

Best wishes from us all,
Catherine, Linda, Helen, Amanda, Claire, Michelle, Maria, Dannielle, Nicolle, Amelia, Vanessa & Shaun.

Business Support Fund

The Victorian Government has announced a third round of the Business Support Fund to provide direct financial support to businesses impacted by restrictions in Victoria. We'll be in touch with all our clients to assist as we have with previous rounds. We are with you as always

Sole Trader Support

The Sole Trader Support Fund has $3,000 cash grants for sole traders, however only for those who operate from commercial premises or as a tenant or licensee. We'll be in touch with our sole trader clients once the final application details are released. 

Don't be late!

Think you might owe unpaid super to past or present employees?

Time is running out for the one-time opportunity to pay the super you owe without penalty.

The amnesty closes on the 7th September 2020. It will not be extended.

Amnesty relates to Superannuation due for periods from 1992 up to March 2018 quarter and was due before 24th May 2018. 

The ATO takes the issue of unpaid super very seriously, and if you don’t take action now, you could find yourself paying substantial interest and penalties. At the minimum, you will face double the amount owed and lose the ability to tax deduct. Continued failure to pay can result in further fines and imprisonment.
That said, the ATO is willing to look into flexible payment plans if you report by the due date. However, only payments made by 7th September 2020 will be deductible. 

We urge you to take action now.

The ATO now actively monitors employer superannuation commitments are being met. To avoid fines and penalties, make sure you meet your obligations by the due dates.

Contact us if you require any assistance or have questions regarding the amnesty or need help with the administration of your superannuation payments.

Changes to JobKeeper

Changes to JobKeeper have been announced. We'll continue to support you to navigate the changes coming end of September. Keep posted for details as they become clarified. 

Increase to minimum wages

The Fair Work Commission has announced a 1.75% increase to minimum wages. This will apply to all award wages.

Increases to awards will start on 3 different dates for different groups of awards. See When will my award increase for information on when the awards will increase.

For anyone not covered by an award or an agreement, the new national minimum wage (NMW) will be $753.80 per week or $19.84 per hour.

GRANT CLOSING 1ST JUNE

Just a reminder Vic Business Support Fund Stream Two is available to small businesses in any sector that meet the standard eligibility criteria and are enrolled as eligible participants in the Commonwealth Government’s JobKeeper payment scheme. Almost all businesses who are eligible for Job Keeper should be able to access this one-off grants of $10,000. Speak with us today.  #elitebookkeeping #supportlocal #traralgonbookkeeper #salebookkeeper

JobKeeper payment

Do you know a business struggling to see if they are eligible or need assistance to set up their software to get the JobKeeper payment; Elite Bookkeeping can assist. Even sole traders who do not have employees can be eligible. However, the ATO requires businesses to do particular tasks to receive payments, including having your payroll and accounting software set up correctly. The team at Elite Bookkeeping has the resources, training and expertise to make this a smooth operation for any business of any size. Trust who you have always trusted. #jobkeeper #elitebookkeeping #supportlocal #traralgonbookkeeper #salebookkeeper

Business Support Fund

Grant made available by the Victorian Government of up to $10,000. Eligibility and applications use this link.

Hospitality Award flexibility

The Fair Work Commission made a determination varying the Hospitality Award adding award flexibility during the outbreak of coronavirus for:

• employees’ classifications and duties
• full-time and part-time employees' hours of work
• directions to take annual leave.

Covid-19

We are here for you.

We are keeping up to date with Federal and State Government announcements, employment issues and cash flow planning options. We are also in regular contact with the multiple professional bodies, financial and workplace relations consultants to stay informed about issues affecting business like yours.

The Cash Economy

The ATO are putting a large amount of resources into trying to eliminate the Cash economy.
So much so they have setup the Black Economy Taskforce to combat the problem.

GST and Food

Do you remember hearing people talking about going to the vat at a farm and getting a jug of milk, skimming off the cream and drinking the fresh milk?

Ever wonder why we don’t hear of this happening now?

Believe it or not, GST had something to do with this.

GST is easy .... right?

GST is easy …. So they say

As a registered BAS Agent that deals with GST every day, we often hear people say that GST is easy – just add 10%.

In fact it is so easy, that 19 years after it was introduced, changes and corrections are still being made, and even more concerning, business people are still getting in wrong.

So, let’s look at some of the “easy” parts of our GST system for a builder who decides to build a house to sell.

Public Holidays

Who doesn’t like some time off!

As we approach Easter we are receiving a lot of calls around which days are declared Public Holidays.

A common question we get is what the rules around Public Holidays are. This can lead to a lot of confusion.

Basically, there are two scenarios, did the employee work?

We can’t live without them, but how much do we hate them… PASSWORDS

Our heads swim with passwords. Some want capitals, some want numbers, some want characters, some want to be changed every month.

Apart from having to remember all those passwords, they are generally not a great concern. That is until you have been hacked. .

New Fairwork conditions and a must read if you employee casual staff

Within the first 12 months of employing a casual staff member, an employer must now provide them with a written copy of the casual conversion clause within their award.

Once an employee has completed 12 months employment, they have the right 

When can an employee take family and domestic violence leave?

As sad as it is, this is a great incentive by Fairwork.

Every employee in Australia is now entitled to 38 hours per year of unpaid Domestic Violence Leave.

The ATO is finally taking Superannuation seriously.

Superannuation is one of those entitlements that employees generally aren’t too worried about when they start work, but fret about as they get closer to finishing their working lives.

Unfortunately, it is also one of the most common entitlement not to be paid by an employer.