What these business insights cover
Our insights are written around the questions clients actually ask. Not the ones that make a tidy blog category, but the ones that come up on a strategy call: How much is my business worth? Should I be a trust or a company? What should I be doing before 30 June?
Each piece is practical, general and written in plain Australian English. No rates, thresholds or dollar figures, because those change and your situation is specific. The aim is to help you understand the shape of a decision before you make it.
Topics follow our services: accounting and tax, Virtual CFO and cash flow, structuring and asset protection, mergers, acquisitions and exits, and self-managed super. If we advise on it, sooner or later we will write about it here.
Who the insights are for
If you own or run a business that is growing, restructuring or heading towards a sale, these are for you. The same goes for investors assessing an acquisition and founders building a multi-entity group.
They are not for people chasing a quick tax hack. There is no such thing, and we would rather you spend ten minutes understanding a structure than an afternoon chasing a loophole that the ATO closed years ago.
Advisers, bookkeepers and lawyers who work with our clients are welcome too. A shared vocabulary makes every conversation about structure, value or timing faster and less expensive for the owner in the middle.
- SMEs scaling up or restructuring
- Entrepreneurs building multi-entity groups
- Founders preparing a business for sale
- Investors assessing an acquisition
- Businesses in complex or high-growth phases
Start here: the three questions we hear most
Three guides cover the questions that come up on almost every strategy call. Read them in any order.
The business value guide explains how buyers actually think, which is rarely how sellers expect. The EOFY guide separates housekeeping from planning so you know which jobs have a deadline and which have a payoff. The structure guide compares trusts and companies on the things that matter as a business grows, and explains why the answer is often both.
Alongside the guides sits our illustrative exit-value calculator, a sandbox for seeing how profit, growth and risk interact. It is for curiosity, not for pricing a sale, and it says so on the page.
- How much is my business worth? The methods buyers use, what moves the number and the first five things to fix
- How to prepare for end of financial year: a practical checklist for Australian small business owners
- Trust or company? A general comparison of the two structures and why the answer is often both
How to read them: general information, not advice
Everything on these pages is general information. It is not advice and does not take your circumstances into account. Australian tax law changes, and the ATO's current rules are what apply, not whatever was true when a page was written.
Use the insights to get oriented, write down your questions and bring them to a strategy call. The reading does the groundwork. The conversation does the rest.
If something you read here contradicts what another adviser has told you, that is worth a conversation too. Sometimes there is a good reason. Sometimes there is not.
One more note on tone. We write the way we talk, which is plainly and with the occasional joke. That is not a sign the subject is being taken lightly. It is a sign we think you are busy and would rather understand something the first time.
Insights by service area
Each guide connects to the service it sits under, so if a topic lands, the next step is obvious.
More guides are added as new questions come up. If there is a topic you would like covered, tell us on your next call and it may well become the next one.
Each guide also links to the related service page and to our contact page, so there is always a clear path from reading about a problem to doing something about it.
- Business value and exits: Mergers, Acquisitions & Exit Planning
- EOFY preparation: Accounting & Tax and tax planning
- Trusts and companies: Structuring & Asset Protection
- Cash flow and forecasting: Virtual CFO & Business Advisory
- Super and investment structures: Self-Managed Super Funds
Questions we get asked
Are these insights tax advice?
No. They are general information written to help business owners understand how a decision works. They do not consider your circumstances, structure or objectives, and tax law changes over time. Before acting on anything you read here, talk to an adviser who knows your situation and can apply the ATO's current rules to it. A strategy call is a good place to start.
How often are the insights updated?
We review them periodically and update them when the underlying rules or common practice change. Because we deliberately avoid quoting rates, thresholds and dollar figures, the guides age better than most. Even so, always check the current position before relying on anything, and treat the date on a page as a reminder rather than a guarantee.
Do the insights apply outside Queensland?
Mostly, yes. Income tax, GST, capital gains tax and superannuation are national, so the principles apply across Australia. Some matters are state-based, including payroll tax, land tax and transfer duty, and those differ between states. Where a guide touches on those, we write with Queensland in mind and flag that other states have their own rules.
Can I request an insight on a specific topic?
Yes. The best guides come from real questions, so if there is something you want explained in plain English, let us know on a strategy call or through either office. If it is a question we hear often, it is a strong candidate for the next guide. If it is specific to you, we will answer it directly instead.
Where should I start reading?
Start with the question that is closest to a decision you need to make. If a sale or a buyer is on the horizon, read the business value guide. If 30 June is approaching, read the EOFY checklist. If you are setting up, adding an entity or wondering whether your current structure still fits, read the trust or company comparison.
