[
{
"post_id": "202",
"post_category_id": "14",
"post_title": "Can You Claim GST Credits Before Company Incorporation?",
"post_content_short": "Starting a company is an exciting step, but the order in which you register your business and make purchases can affect your GST claims. If\n\tyou have paid for equipment or start-up expenses personally before your company was incorporated, you may be wondering whether those GST\n\tcredits are lost.\n",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/202\/Image-3.jpg",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/can-you-claim-gst-credits-before-company-incorporation\/",
"post_date": "2026-10-19 00:45:00"
},
{
"post_id": "201",
"post_category_id": "14",
"post_title": "First Employee vs Contractor: When Should You Hire?",
"post_content_short": "Starting a business can be equally exciting and daunting. What may have begun as a side hustle can grow into something much bigger - and\n\teventually, you may reach the point where doing everything yourself is no longer sustainable.\n\n
\n\tFor many small business owners, that next stage of growth brings an important question: should you hire your first employee or engage an\n\tindependent contractor?\n",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/201\/Draft-Pic-2.jpg",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/staff\/first-employee-vs-contractor-when-should-you-hire\/",
"post_date": "2026-10-14 04:36:00"
},
{
"post_id": "199",
"post_category_id": "19",
"post_title": "How to Use an SMSF to Buy Your Business Premises in Brisbane : The 2026 Compliance Guide",
"post_content_short": "With the 2032 Olympics on the horizon and a decade of infrastructure spend rolling into the River City, Brisbane commercial property is\n\thaving its moment in the sun. And for business owners, one of the smartest wealth moves on the table is buying your own business\n\tpremises<\/strong>\n\tinside your Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF) – then leasing it back to your business. Rent you’d otherwise pay a landlord ends up building your<\/em>\n\tretirement nest egg instead. Genuis!\n\n
\n\tBut – and it’s a big but – the rules changed on 10 August 2026. So before we get to the good stuff, let’s clear up exactly what you can and\n\tcan’t do now.\n",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/199\/point3d-commercial-imaging-ltd-YUeWruccqr4-unsplash.jpg",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/how-to-use-an-smsf-to-buy-your-business-premises-in-brisbane-the-2026-compliance-guide\/",
"post_date": "2026-09-16 05:32:08"
},
{
"post_id": "198",
"post_category_id": "14",
"post_title": "QBCC Annual Reporting: What Contractors Need to Know",
"post_content_short": "For Queensland builders, tradies and construction businesses, QBCC financial compliance is about more than completing another annual\n\tform. <\/strong>The\n\tfinancial position of a licensed business can affect its ability to continue operating under its contractor licence and take on work.\n",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/198\/Ivonne-Blog-Pic-1.jpg",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/qbcc-annual-reporting-what-contractors-need-to-know\/",
"post_date": "2026-09-01 01:35:52"
},
{
"post_id": "192",
"post_category_id": "14",
"post_title": "Who Is the Best Accountant in Brisbane? What Business Owners Should Really Look For",
"post_content_short": "Looking for the best accountant in Brisbane? Learn what to look for in an accountant, from proactive advice and communication to tailored\nsupport for growing businesses.",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/192\/Team-Empire-Screenshot-from-Video.png",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/small-business\/best-accountant-in-brisbane\/",
"post_date": "2026-06-02 23:31:04"
},
{
"post_id": "191",
"post_category_id": "14",
"post_title": "Challenges Holding Australian Small Businesses Back (and How to Fix Them)",
"post_content_short": "If you’re a business owner, chances are you’ve felt it. You’re busy. You’re doing the work. You’re bringing in revenue. And yet… cash flow\n\tfeels tight, decisions feel heavy, and it’s hard to tell whether you’re actually moving forward. Rather than taking the next step you’re\n\toverthinking everything.
\n\tSo if you’re feeling stretched, uncertain or stuck in reactive mode - you’re not behind. You’re normal. But you can<\/em> fix it. That’s\n\texactly why we created Empire Launchpad<\/strong>: a structured, numbers-led planning session that helps business owners step back,\n\tregain clarity, and build a practical plan that supports both profitability, life and long term planning for your business.\n",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/191\/Laura-Blog-Image-1.jpg",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/small-business\/the-core-challenges-holding-australian-small-businesses-back-and-how-to-fix-them\/",
"post_date": "2026-05-21 05:24:13"
},
{
"post_id": "184",
"post_category_id": "17",
"post_title": "Payday Super - What You Need To Know",
"post_content_short": "If you haven’t started thinking about Payday Super<\/em> yet, now’s the time.
\n\tThis is one of the most significant changes to employer superannuation obligations in over 30 years and it officially starts on 1 July\n\t2026<\/em>\n\t(tick tock tick tock, that date will be here before we know it!).\n",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/184\/Payday-Super-Time-is-Ticking.png",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/superannuation\/payday-super-what-you-need-to-know\/",
"post_date": "2026-02-22 23:43:00"
},
{
"post_id": "183",
"post_category_id": "18",
"post_title": "All You Need to Know About the FBT Exemption for Non-Electric Vehicles",
"post_content_short": "Many small businesses provide company vehicles for employees to perform their duties.",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/183\/Tina-Blog-FBT-Ute-Image.jpg",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/tax\/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-fbt-exemption-for-non-electric-vehicles\/",
"post_date": "2026-02-03 23:14:00"
},
{
"post_id": "179",
"post_category_id": "2",
"post_title": "Why Your Accountant Should be Involved In Your Business Strategy",
"post_content_short": "Traditionally, many business owners only speak to their accountant once a year, and it’s usually right before tax time. If that’s the only\n\ttime you’re checking in, you could be missing out on game-changing insights and support that could help you make smarter decisions all year\n\tround.\n",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/179\/curated-lifestyle-OnN-V9O9lSs-unsplash.jpg",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/advisory\/why-your-accountant-should-be-involved-in-your-business-strategy\/",
"post_date": "2025-08-04 14:00:00"
},
{
"post_id": "175",
"post_category_id": "14",
"post_title": "Understanding Director Loans for Small Businesses",
"post_content_short": "Let’s break down director loans, how they affect your business, and what you can do to avoid common pitfalls. By following this article, you\ncan understand more about Director's loans and why its so important it's done right so you don't land yourself in hot water with the ATO!",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/175\/division7ablog.jpg",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/small-business\/understanding-director-loans-for-small-businesses\/",
"post_date": "2025-02-05 12:59:00"
},
{
"post_id": "161",
"post_category_id": "12",
"post_title": "Empire Partner in Business Feature: GRAF-X Design Suite",
"post_content_short": "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",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/161\/GFX-Tagline-Copy-res.png",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/about\/partners-in-business\/empire-partner-in-business-feature-graf-x-design-suite\/",
"post_date": "2024-02-15 05:55:00"
},
{
"post_id": "1",
"post_category_id": "6",
"post_title": "Empire Client Feature: The Talent Playbook",
"post_content_short": "The Talent Playbook is a specialist in human resources and recruitment, catering to a wide array of industries within Brisbane and\nAustralia. Their forte lies in forging strategic partnerships with businesses in the Food and Beverage sector, delivering comprehensive\nrecruitment solutions and unwavering support.",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/1\/empire-blog-the-talent-playbook.png",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/empire-feature-the-talent-playbook\/",
"post_date": "2023-09-27 00:00:00"
},
{
"post_id": "10",
"post_category_id": "14",
"post_title": "Trust Resolutions and Why They Are Important",
"post_content_short": "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.",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/10\/trust-resolution.jpg",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/trust-resolutions-are-important\/",
"post_date": "2023-05-03 00:00:00"
},
{
"post_id": "13",
"post_category_id": "1",
"post_title": "The true cost of Fringe Benefits Tax on a small business",
"post_content_short": "The area of tax law that addresses the tax impact of providing benefits is the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) regime.",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/13\/fbt-blog.png",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/the-true-cost-of-fringe-benefits-tax-on-a-small-business\/",
"post_date": "2023-03-03 00:00:00"
},
{
"post_id": "14",
"post_category_id": "2",
"post_title": "Practical solutions in managing stress in your small business",
"post_content_short": "Does stress impact your small business? Small business life can be known to be quite stressful. ",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/14\/stress.webp",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/ways-to-manage-stress\/",
"post_date": "2023-02-09 00:00:00"
},
{
"post_id": "16",
"post_category_id": "1",
"post_title": "What’s the Difference Between Tax Offset and Tax Deduction? The Distinction is Important!",
"post_content_short": "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 […]\n",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/16\/empire-blog-tax-deduction-v-offset.png",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/taxoffset_taxdeduction\/",
"post_date": "2022-12-09 00:00:00"
},
{
"post_id": "15",
"post_category_id": "4",
"post_title": "Is Your Business Ready for STP Phase 2? We’ve Got your Back!",
"post_content_short": "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 […]\n",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/15\/empire-blog-stp.png",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/stp-phase-2\/",
"post_date": "2022-12-09 00:00:00"
},
{
"post_id": "17",
"post_category_id": "14",
"post_title": "How Happy Employees can lead to a more profitable business",
"post_content_short": "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\nfirsthand a happy employee translates to a happy workplace and ultimately better performance for the business. ",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/17\/empire-blog-happy-employees.png",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/how-happy-employees-can-lead-to-a-more-profitable-business\/",
"post_date": "2022-11-28 00:00:00"
},
{
"post_id": "18",
"post_category_id": "2",
"post_title": "Profit Planning with Empire Accountants",
"post_content_short": "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 […]\n",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/18\/empire-blog-super-1.png",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/profit-planning\/",
"post_date": "2022-09-30 00:00:00"
},
{
"post_id": "20",
"post_category_id": "3",
"post_title": "ASIC Annual Reporting Obligations and why it’s so important!",
"post_content_short": "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 […]\n",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/20\/copy-of-empire-blog-super.png",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/asic-annual-reporting-obligations-and-why-its-so-important\/",
"post_date": "2022-07-21 00:00:00"
},
{
"post_id": "24",
"post_category_id": "14",
"post_title": "2022-23 Federal Budget Update",
"post_content_short": "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 […]\n",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/24\/empire-blog-budget.png",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/22-23-budget\/",
"post_date": "2022-03-31 00:00:00"
},
{
"post_id": "25",
"post_category_id": "14",
"post_title": "Effectively Preparing Your Business for STP Phase 2",
"post_content_short": "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, […]\n",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/25\/empire-blog-feature-image-2-2.png",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/preparing-your-business-for-stp-phase-2\/",
"post_date": "2022-03-17 00:00:00"
},
{
"post_id": "33",
"post_category_id": "14",
"post_title": "The Challenge of Growing a Business During COVID Lockdowns",
"post_content_short": "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 […]\n",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/33\/empire-blog-covid19-growth.png",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/growing-business-during-covid-lockdowns\/",
"post_date": "2021-09-08 00:00:00"
},
{
"post_id": "35",
"post_category_id": "14",
"post_title": "Small Business Success and ATO Compliance",
"post_content_short": "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 […]\n",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/35\/empire-blog-tracking-success.png",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/small-business-success-and-ato-compliance\/",
"post_date": "2021-09-07 00:00:00"
},
{
"post_id": "36",
"post_category_id": "14",
"post_title": "5 Simple strategies for business growth in the 2022 financial year",
"post_content_short": "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\nready to make the 2022 year a focused, positive, and profitable one. ",
"post_icon": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/media\/website_posts\/36\/empire-blog-business-growth-accounting.png",
"post_content_type": "page",
"post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.empireaccountants.com.au\/blog\/5-simple-strategies-for-business-growth-in-the-2022-financial-year\/",
"post_date": "2021-07-28 00:00:00"
}
]