Living above the line

There are three winning behaviours and three responses that’ll sink your team.

Are you living above the line? If not, you need to get there, as it’s the easiest way to transform workplace culture and team performance.

Here’s how, using the OARBED behaviour model:

The acronym starts with OAR - when behaving above the line, one takes: 

Ownership

Accountability

Responsibility

Below the line, BED, is defined as: 

Blame

Excuse 

Deny

No matter what, reacting in these ways is below the line.

For instance, consider the likely reaction of a naughty child caught in the act. If five-year-old Bobby is caught pulling his sister’s hair, he may resort to BED behaviour:

Blame: 'She made me do it.' Excuse: 'She pushed me first.' Deny: 'I didn’t even touch her.'

Adults don’t typically pull hair, but BED behaviour could look like this in your office: Someone misses a deadline… and they blame an internet dropout; make an excuse about not having the necessary information; or deny the project was their responsibility in the first place. This behaviour alienates oneself, while hurting team performance and morale.

On the other hand, paddling with our OAR means, regardless of our initial thinking, we must take ownership, accountability and responsibility. When we live above the line a resolution is found faster, individuals feel more supported and we’re more likely to learn from our mistakes.

​OARBED has no hierarchy. 

Would your team be comfortable calling you, or anyone else, out on below the line behaviour?

Remember, thinking below and acting below are not the same. It’s human nature to dip below the line in our minds, but it’s how we act that matters. Staying in BED is easy, but paddling with your OAR is much more effective and in time the whole team will be paddling in sync. Are you living above the line???

Therefore if you would like to know more about OARBED then feel welcome to contact us.

"The best apology is changed behaviour." - Anon

The five A's of change

Do you want continuous improvement in your business?

Let us explain The 5 A’s of Change: Awareness, Acceptance, Action, Accountability and Acknowledgement, and how we can help you to make change stick.

Whether it’s a new focus, a new venture or a new year, consciously recognising the process required to change can vastly improve your outcome.

The Five A's of Change breaks it down simply:

1. Awareness.

​First we must be aware of what needs to change. Perhaps we want to work smarter, not harder, so we can have more family time and better financial returns.

​2. Acceptance.

​We have to accept that in order to work smarter we will need to do things differently. There is no magic bullet; effective planning is critical to achieving change.

3. Action.

Once we have a plan; we must actually implement it. Taking action can be simpler than imagined; one step at a time, the momentum for change will grow. But, if we don’t act, planning is pointless.

4. Accountability.

Having someone independent to hold us to account is typically a foolproof way to ensure we act. A bit like going to the gym before work… we’re more likely to show up if we’ve committed to a friend or paid for a personal trainer.

5. Acknowledgement.

Humans are habitual creatures. It takes 21 times to change a habit. By celebrating the success of taking action and forcing change, we help to reinforce that good behaviour. The reaction is a chemical one.

This powerful model is simple and effective. Consider the things in your business that you would like to change and what stage in this process you’re at. What is your next step? Whatever your current situation, empower yourself and make a commitment to real change.

"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new." Socrates

Do you need help making change stick? Check out how we can help you with planning and accountability.

Talk to us about how we can help.

Insuring your business

When it comes to business, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Protecting your business with the right insurance policy can guard against risk and compensate for any losses. Make sure you have the right policies for your business and review them annually.

It’s not just fire or theft that you have to consider these days. Insurance can provide coverage against:

So, insurance isn’t just about piece of mind. When the worst happens, it can also be the difference between rebuilding your business, or having to shut up shop.

Before you buy

Before you buy any policy, it’s important to take the time to understand the fine print. Make sure you supply all the necessary information to the company you’re purchasing through, as providing misleading information could invalidate your policy.

In Australia, some forms of insurance are compulsory for businesses such as workers compensation if you have employees. And third party personal injury insurance, which is often part of your vehicle registration fee.

The risks you face and the policies available to cover these risks vary from business to business, and by industry. They’ll also change over time so a regular review is a good idea. Insuring your business is good risk management.

No single policy can cover all your business risks so it’s likely you’ll need more than one policy to.

Check out a list of common policy types for business by the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.

And talk to us, we can help.

Working from home

If you are working from home for your business, you should be able to claim some of the costs involved in maintaining, owning and using your home.

However, it’s important to be aware of what you can and can’t claim, and the record-keeping involved in making a claim.

How does​​​​ it work?

In order to claim, the space you use must be used primarily for your business.

This doesn’t mean setting up at the kitchen table from time to time. It means having a dedicated space that you work from.

If you are selling online and storing stock, you may also be using other spaces in your house for storage or stock maintenance. Or, if you are making or creating products, you may be using other areas like your kitchen or workshop.

Costs that you might be able to claim include:

You may also be able to claim the costs of some trips in your car if these are from your home office to other locations where you are carrying out business.

The ATO has developed a calculator tool, to help you better understand what you might be able to claim. View the tool here.

Keeping track of your costs

Make sure you keep a record of all your expenses. It’s important to keep your personal and business expenses separate. Consider using online accounting software so the paperwork is kept in good order.

We can help you review your home office expenses to make sure these are included when you claim.

Talk to us about how we can help.

Get into the habit of doing your bank reconciliation

When it comes to bank reconciliation, it’s important to get into the habit of doing it often. Putting it off can mean bad things for your business records! 

What is it?

Bank reconciliation keeps your bookkeeping accurate and can help lower your tax, alert you to fraud, and allow you to track costs.

It involves a comparison of your sales and expense records against the record your bank has.

Saving time

It can take a lot of time to do it manually, so you may want to consider using software. Most banks can send transaction data directly to accounting software like Xero through a secure online connection.

However if you do bank reconciliation, do it often.

The longer you go without doing it, the longer it will take to catch up.

It won’t just be that you have more transactions to do, it will take longer per transaction, because you’ll have a harder time recalling the details.

So, schedule the time to do it every week or even every day. And set up a system that makes it quick and easy to grab the records you need.

Talk to us, we can help.

Is your small business ready for Single Touch Payroll?

For employers with 19 or fewer employees, single touch payroll (STP) legislation will be coming into effect on the 1st of July 2019. Are you ready? Because it’s important to start preparing now.

You need to know what Single Touch Payroll is, what the changes mean for your business and who it affects. And more importantly, you need to know what to do to prepare, so that you will be compliant.

What is Single Touch Payroll?

For employers with 20 or more employees, you will already be familiar with STP, but if you are unaware, STP is the mechanism for sending tax and super information to the ATO directly from your payroll or accounting software every time you pay your employees. The legislation was passed in February this year to extend this to employers with 19 or fewer employees.

How to prepare your small business for STP and ensure compliance

Most popular payroll software companies will have the correct facilities ready to go, such as Xero and MYOB. We will have spoken to many of our clients already about STP, however, if you are unsure, talk to us.

There are a few things to be aware of you as you get ready to use STP reporting.

1. Check your software – you may need a software update or additional step added to your process
2. Ensure you have factored STP into your payroll process
3. Ensure your payroll compliance is up-to-date generally, including employee benefit, wage and super entitlements and maintaining accurate records

The first year of using STP reporting is a transition year and there will be assistance from the ATO. That means penalties for errors will not generally apply.

If you don’t think you will be ready by the 1st of July, you can apply for a deferral through the ATO. The ATO gives a list of possible reasons for deferring, including lack of internet coverage, or if further development of software is needed.

If you haven't already done so, talk to us about doing your preparation now to ensure you are ready by the 1st of July.