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Small Business

Empire Partner in Business Feature: GRAF-X Design Suite

GRAF-X Design Suite is a graphic design agency based out of Brisbane servicing clients anywhere and everywhere.  Their clients vary widely, both in size (micro and small businesses through to large multinationals) and across a huge range of industries

Empire Partner in Business Feature: The Talent Playbook

The Talent Playbook is a specialist in human resources and recruitment, catering to a wide array of industries within Brisbane and Australia. Their forte lies in forging strategic partnerships with businesses in the Food and Beverage sector, delivering comprehensive recruitment solutions and unwavering support.

Trust Resolutions and Why They Are Important

With the end of the tax year just around the corner, it’s time for those with a family or discretionary trust to start thinking about their trust resolutions.

The true cost of Fringe Benefits Tax on a small business

The area of tax law that addresses the tax impact of providing benefits is the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) regime.

Practical solutions in managing stress in your small business

Does stress impact your small business? Small business life can be known to be quite stressful. 

What’s the Difference Between Tax Offset and Tax Deduction? The Distinction is Important!

We’ve all heard the terms “tax offset” and “tax deductions.”  While many use these terms interchangeably, the reality is that they have two different meanings. As such, they have varying impacts on your tax result when it comes to completing your return! It’s true that both tax offsets and tax deductions can help you reduce […]

Is Your Business Ready for STP Phase 2? We’ve Got your Back!

Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 was designed to require businesses to report additional information to the ATO each time payrun is filed. Therefore, every business in Australia with staff members are required to comply with STP reporting requirements. Notably, the government has provided businesses utilising Xero payroll an extension to 31 March 2023 to report […]

How Happy Employees can lead to a more profitable business

This blog has been prepared by one of our team who really wanted to share her experience from working at Empire and how she can see firsthand a happy employee translates to a happy workplace and ultimately better performance for the business. 

Profit Planning with Empire Accountants

Here at Empire Accountants, we are committing to providing comprehensive accounting solutions that bypass traditional accounting services. We believe that knowing your numbers empowers you to grow your business profitably. As such, we have developed three superior solutions to help you streamline your progress in further developing and growing your thriving business. Our Empire Accountant […]

ASIC Annual Reporting Obligations and why it’s so important!

As a company owner in Australia, it is important to be mindful of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) requirements. All companies established in Australia will be issued an Australian Company Number (ACN).  This will be advised to you upon setting up the company but is also publicly available online.  If you have an […]

2022-23 Federal Budget Update

The 2022-23 Federal Budget is a safe, ballot box friendly Budget as expected with a focus on cost of living, home ownership, and health. Key initiatives include: A 6 month, 50% reduction in fuel excise with effect from midnight Budget night $420 cost of living tax offset for low and middle income earners from 1 […]

Effectively Preparing Your Business for STP Phase 2

It’s time! Starting in mid-April, Single Touch Payroll (STP) Phase 2 will be rolling out to make it easier for Australian businesses to ensure they are reporting accurate information to the Australia Tax Office (ATO). Businesses have already been using STP Phase 1 to help employees report their taxes and superannuation to the ATO. Now, […]

The Challenge of Growing a Business During COVID Lockdowns

It is no secret that the global pandemic of COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the consumer and business industries across the world. Most tragically, the pandemic has hindered the growth and even closed the doors of many small businesses. Those small businesses that were thriving pre-COVID, may now be fearing that continuous lockdowns […]

Small Business Success and ATO Compliance

How do you define your business success? It could be an obvious measure like growth, hitting a certain profit margin, getting an ideal number of staff, or maybe just having a well-oiled machine that doesn’t rely on you to manage absolutely every aspect. In whatever way you measure your business success, the parts of the […]

5 Simple strategies for business growth in the 2022 financial year

Happy New Financial Year! We know, a bit late but can you really blame us? It is tax season after all! Here we are, with a fresh P&L ready to make the 2022 year a focused, positive, and profitable one. 

Empire Times Client Feature: The Stoic Dog & Origin K9

Team Empire have had the pleasure of working with Tom Brown who is the Owner/Director of The Stoic Dog & Origin K9. After returning from serving in the Australian Army as a Specialist Operations Military Working Dog Handler, Tom started his own business in 2019 offering effective dog training solutions for Brisbane residents. To learn […]

Federal Budget 2021-22: The Balancing Act Budget

The 2021-22 Federal Budget is a balancing act between a better than anticipated deficit ($106 bn), an impending election, and the need to invest in the long term. Key initiatives include: • Extension of temporary full expensing and loss-carry back providing immediate deductions for business investment in capital assets • Introduction of a ‘patent box’ […]

Empire Times Client Feature: Get Mentally Fit

Team Empire have had the pleasure of working with Emily & Scott from Get Mentally Fit, assisting with their accounting requirements since their establishment in 2019. Get Mentally Fit have been doing some really important work with small businesses in the wellbeing and mental health space. To learn more about their business and get some […]

Grow your business and make more money in 2021

Let’s talk about business growth. Not only is it natural to focus on sales and marketing strategies to grow your business, it’s necessary. Why? Because more sales equals more growth, right? Well, sure. However, if the only thing you measure is your sales increase on your P&L, it won’t give you a holistic understanding of […]

2020, that’s a wrap!

As most small business owners run around frantically finishing off to-do lists, getting products out and completing the last jobs before Christmas, we would like to invite you to stop (just for a second), take a deep breath… and start a slow clap for yourself! 2020, you made it. What an achievement. Thank you for […]

Shopfront Grant Available in Brisbane - Empire Announcement

The Brisbane City Council has released a Suburban Shopfront Improvement Grant to assist local businesses. The Council’s grant program has allocated $50,000 per annum over four years to assist eligible businesses in refreshing the façade of their shop, with the goal of improving customer appeal. What are the specifics? > this is a matched grant, […]

Keeping up with the cash-flow

It’s a fine art balancing the incoming and outgoing expenses in your business. Your business performance might seem like it fluctuates depending on what due date is next. Your next BAS lodgement, superannuation payable, project claim, finance repayment, incoming invoice and so on. At times it might look like you’ve got a lot of cash […]

Risk Mitigation and Asset Protection

The blame game! We all play it, even if we are not the instigator. Fun if you win, but not if you roll the dice and lose. And this is why statistically, Australia is one of the most litigious environments in the world. When you open your mailbox and you find that lovely statement of […]

Refocus Your Business

Refocusing on what’s relevant in your business this financial year The reset button has been hit and we are now almost through the second month of the new financial year. This is the time to use some of that new year motivation, revisit your plans and make some goals for the months to come. Understandably, […]

Preparing for uncertain times

What a contradiction! How can we prepare for the unknown? While you may never be fully prepared for unexpected circumstances in business, there are ways to soften the impact of a crisis should it arrive. Of course we’re not suggesting you should hoard toilet paper and Nespresso and start building a bunker in the basement…  […]

COVID-19: Round 2 Small business grants up to $10,000

Update (17.6.20): The Qld Government is extending the Small Business COVID-19 grant program. up to $100 million is being made available to deliver the second round of grants. This round will be equally divided between SEQ and regional Qld and will commence 1 July 2020. Further eligibility requirements for round 2: > Only 1 application […]

COVID-19: Latest Update on the JobKeeper Payment

$1,500 JobKeeper subsidy to keep staff employed What we know so far We have compiled a summary on what we know so far in relation to JobKeeper. Whilst the summary is countless pages long, we promise you, this is the short version! Few important dates to note > From 20 April 2020 – ATO Online […]

The impact of decision making in your business

As a business owner you make hundreds of decisions on a daily basis… What task should you prioritise…? How should you respond to a particular email…? How can you increase your sales…? Is it wrong to take Christmas holidays in July…? The list is endless. Because we are frequently making these decisions, we don’t often […]

5 Reasons Why You Should Outsource Your Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping; the strong beating heart of not only your business but the whole accounting industry! As accountants, we are solid advocates for keeping air tight financial records as it allows us to provide accurate and helpful advice that assists small business owners in understanding their numbers and identifying areas of opportunity. That being said, we […]

Empire Times Client Feature | Friends with Fur Brisbane

Our client feature this quarter is the lovely Lori from Friends with Fur. Empire Accountants assisted Lori in the initial stages of her business with her company structure set up and have since been working together over the last few months, assisting with compliance requirements and watching her business grow. We sat down with Lori […]