Why cashflow forecasting matters for your business

Cashflow has a direct impact on how your business operates. And when it comes to cashflow management, identifying potential cash shortages early is far easier than trying to resolve these issues once payments are overdue.

Positive cashflow comes from balancing your income (the cash inflows) against your expenditure (the cash outflows). However, the timing of those payments is just as important as the amounts involved.

Your business might be profitable, have plenty of work booked and invoices waiting to be paid, yet still experience cash shortages when wages, supplier bills or tax payments fall due.

This is where cashflow forecasting can help. By estimating when money is likely to come in and when it needs to go out, you can better understand your future cash position and plan for upcoming financial commitments.

Regular cashflow forecasting also helps you make informed decisions about business expenses, staffing, equipment purchases and other investments without relying solely on your current bank balance.

Forecasting your cash inflows and outflows

Forecasting works by taking your cash data from prior periods and projecting it forward in time, while allowing for changes you already know are coming.

By looking at previous income and expenditure, outstanding customer invoices, upcoming bills and expected payment dates, you can estimate how much cash your business is likely to have available over the coming weeks and months.

By running detailed cashflow forecasts, it’s possible to:

• Understand your future operational cashflow: Helping you identify seasonal dips, projected drops in income and periods when customer payments may be slower than usual. This gives you an earlier indication of potential cash shortages and more time to decide what action to take.

• Plan your costs and expenditure effectively: By working to budgets, reviewing expenses and scheduling payments around expected income, you can make better decisions about spending and identify opportunities to reduce unnecessary costs.

• Identify potential cashflow issues before they become a problem: Giving you the information needed to plan ahead, follow up outstanding invoices, review supplier payment arrangements and prepare for upcoming financial commitments.

For example, if your business regularly invoices customers at the end of the month but payments are generally received several weeks later, your forecast needs to account for that delay.

Similarly, if you have seasonal changes in demand, large supplier orders or annual expenses, including these in your forecast can help you prepare for periods when more cash will be leaving the business than coming in.

A weekly cashflow forecast covering the next 13 weeks can be useful for managing immediate commitments, while a monthly forecast over six or twelve months can help with longer term planning.

The most useful approach will depend on your business, how regularly customers pay and the timing of your major expenses.

Accurate bookkeeping improves your cashflow forecast

A cashflow forecast is only as useful as the financial information behind it.

If your bank transactions haven't been reconciled, customer invoices aren't up to date or supplier bills haven't been recorded, the figures used in your forecast may give you an inaccurate picture of your future cash position.

Accurate bookkeeping provides the information needed to create a more reliable forecast. This includes keeping your bank reconciliations current, recording expenses correctly and maintaining accurate records of accounts receivable and accounts payable.

It is also important to understand the difference between an invoice being issued and the payment actually reaching your bank account.

For example, if a customer regularly pays their invoices two weeks after the due date, your cashflow forecast should reflect when you realistically expect to receive that money.

The same applies to expenses. You need to know when supplier invoices, loan repayments, payroll and other financial commitments will be paid, rather than simply when those expenses were recorded.

At First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray, we help business owners maintain accurate bookkeeping records and understand the financial information available to them.

With bank reconciliations, invoicing records and financial reporting kept up to date, you have more reliable information to support cashflow forecasting and everyday business decisions.

Regular bookkeeping also makes it easier to identify overdue payments, unexpected expenses and changes in spending patterns that could affect your future cash position.

Planning for payroll, superannuation and tax payments

One of the benefits of cashflow forecasting is being able to plan for expenses that don't necessarily occur at the same time each month.

Depending on your business, these might include BAS payments, GST, PAYG withholding, employee wages, superannuation, insurance renewals, equipment repayments and supplier commitments.

These payments can place considerable pressure on cashflow, particularly when several fall due around the same time.

Payroll and superannuation are particularly important because employees need to be paid correctly and on time.

Under Payday Super, which commenced on 1 July 2026, employers must pay superannuation contributions on payday, with contributions generally required to reach employees' super funds within seven business days. This means superannuation needs to be included alongside regular payroll when planning future cash requirements.

Your cashflow forecast should account for these payment obligations, along with the dates your business expects to receive income.

First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray provides bookkeeping, payroll and superannuation services that help keep financial records accurate and payment obligations organised.

Having this information available makes it easier to prepare cashflow forecasts that reflect the actual commitments of your business, including the money required to pay employees, suppliers and the ATO.

Reviewing and updating your cashflow forecast

Once you've created a cashflow forecast, it's important to review it regularly.

Your forecast is based on estimates, and those estimates will change as invoices are paid, new expenses arise and business conditions develop.

Comparing your forecast against actual income and expenditure can help you identify differences between what you expected to happen and what has occurred.

For example, you might discover that customer payments are regularly arriving later than expected, or that certain operating expenses have increased.

Reviewing these differences gives you an opportunity to adjust future forecasts and make changes to how you manage payments and spending.

Depending on your business, this might involve reviewing your forecast weekly or monthly. Businesses with tighter cashflow or frequent payment commitments may benefit from more regular reviews.

It can also be useful to test different situations. What happens to your available cash if a major customer pays two weeks late? Can the business comfortably manage a new equipment purchase alongside regular payroll and supplier payments?

These are practical questions that cashflow forecasting can help you work through before making financial commitments.

Your First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray bookkeeping team can help by keeping your financial records current, providing regular reporting and helping you understand changes in your business figures.

Using technology for cashflow forecasting

There are a number of tools you can use to forecast your cashflow, including accounting software features and additional apps that connect with your existing bookkeeping system.

One of the tools we have recommended is Futrli. It continues to offer cashflow forecasting and reporting capabilities, with integrations available for Xero and QuickBooks Online.

Futrli can use information from your accounting records, including outstanding invoices, bills and historical financial data, to help develop cashflow forecasts. It also allows expected payment dates to be adjusted so forecasts can better reflect when money is likely to move through the business.

These features can reduce the amount of manual work involved in creating and maintaining forecasts, particularly when your business has a large number of transactions or regularly changing payment commitments.

However, the most suitable cashflow forecasting tool will depend on your business needs, existing software and the level of detail you require.

Some businesses may only need a straightforward forecast using information from their accounting software, while others may benefit from additional reporting and forecasting apps.

At First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray, we help business owners identify, implement and use business apps that suit their operations.

We can review your existing bookkeeping systems, discuss the forecasting information you need and help identify software that works with the way your business operates.

The aim is to make cashflow forecasting easier to maintain, with accurate financial information available when you need to make business decisions.

Talk to us about setting up cashflow forecasts

If you want to get a better grip on cashflow, we can help tailor your accounting setup and identify the cashflow forecasting tools that suit your business.

At First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray, we understand the importance of accurate bookkeeping, reliable reporting and efficient business processes.

We can help you establish the financial records and systems needed to support cashflow forecasting, while providing ongoing bookkeeping and payroll services that keep your business information current.

Whether you're planning for seasonal changes, reviewing upcoming expenses or looking to improve how you manage regular payments, having reliable financial information makes the process easier.

Get in touch and let’s start forecasting.

Frequently asked questions about cashflow forecasting

What is cashflow forecasting?

Cashflow forecasting is the process of estimating how much money will come into and go out of your business over a future period. It uses financial records, expected customer payments and upcoming expenses to help you understand whether sufficient cash will be available to meet your business commitments.

How often should a small business update its cashflow forecast?

A small business should review its cashflow forecast regularly, with the frequency depending on its payment cycles and financial commitments. Weekly reviews can be helpful when cashflow is tight or income fluctuates, while monthly reviews may suit businesses with more predictable income and expenses.

How can a bookkeeper help with cashflow forecasting?

A bookkeeper can help maintain the accurate financial records needed for cashflow forecasting, including bank reconciliations, outstanding invoices, supplier bills, payroll and superannuation records. They can also help identify suitable forecasting tools and provide regular financial reporting to support business decisions.

Pricing strategies for small businesses:  Understanding costs, margins and profit

What's the best way to establish a price for your products or services?

Getting your pricing right is important. Put your prices too high and you may lose customers; put them too low and you might generate plenty of sales without making enough profit to cover your business expenses and support healthy cash flow.

Whether you're starting a new business or have been operating for years, choosing the right pricing strategy is an important part of running a financially sustainable business. Your prices need to reflect the cost of delivering your products or services, the value you provide to customers and the profit your business needs to generate.

Pricing also requires ongoing attention. Supplier costs, wages, operating expenses and customer expectations can change, which means the prices that worked for your business previously may no longer be appropriate.

So, how do you know what to charge for each product or service? And how do you decide on a price that's competitive while still generating a reasonable profit?

A good starting point is understanding your business numbers. Accurate, up to date bookkeeping gives you the financial information you need to assess your costs, monitor profitability and make informed pricing decisions.

Costs, margins and hitting the right price point

For your business to be financially viable, you need to understand whether your pricing allows you to:

• Find and win customers.

• Meet your projected sales and revenue targets.

• Cover your running costs, overheads and financial commitments.

• Generate sufficient profit to support your business and provide a return on your investment.

• Maintain enough cash flow to pay employees, suppliers and other business expenses when they're due.

But how does this all come together to define your final selling price?

The answer starts with understanding your costs, profit margins and the customers you're selling to.

Your costs can include direct expenses, such as materials or labour used to deliver a product or service, as well as indirect expenses, including insurance, rent, software subscriptions, administration and other business overheads.

For service based businesses, it's particularly important to understand how much it costs to deliver your services. The hours spent completing client work are only part of the equation. You also need to account for administration, quoting, travel, employee entitlements and other operating expenses.

This is where accurate bookkeeping makes a difference. When transactions are recorded correctly and your accounts are reconciled regularly, you have more reliable information about what your business is spending and earning.

At First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray, we help business owners maintain accurate financial records and reporting, giving them the information they need to understand their operating costs and assess how those costs affect profitability.

Different ways to calculate your prices

There are several ways to work out what to charge for your products or services. The method you choose will depend on your business costs, the type of product or service you provide, your customers and the profit margin you're aiming to achieve.

Understanding the following pricing methods can help you assess whether your current prices are appropriate for your business.

Cost price

When you make a product or deliver a service, you need to spend money to do that. These expenses can include raw materials, labour, equipment, business overheads and other costs associated with providing the product or service.

By adding up the relevant expenses and dividing them by the number of units produced or services delivered, you can calculate your cost per unit. This provides a starting point for determining your selling price before adding an amount to cover your desired profit.

For example, if it costs your business $500 to produce 100 units, your average cost is $5 per unit, assuming that amount includes the relevant production costs and allocated overheads.

For a service based business, calculating costs may involve working out the direct cost of delivering a service and allocating an appropriate share of overheads. If you're charging by the hour, it's also important to understand the difference between hours worked and hours you can actually bill to customers.

This is one reason accurate expense recording matters. If business expenses are missing, incorrectly categorised or allocated to the wrong jobs, your calculations may underestimate what it costs to deliver your products or services.

Wholesale price

When you sell products to another business for resale, you'll generally need to set a wholesale price that allows both businesses to make a profit.

One approach is to add a mark up to your cost price. The mark up is calculated as a percentage of the cost, while your gross profit margin is calculated as a percentage of the selling price.

For example, if your cost price is $5 per unit, you might sell each unit to a wholesaler for $7.50. By doing this, you recover the $5 cost of the unit and generate $2.50 in gross profit.

In this example, your mark up is 50%, while your gross profit margin is approximately 33.3%.

If the wholesaler then sells the product to a customer for $10, they generate $2.50 in gross profit before accounting for their other business expenses, assuming there are no additional direct costs.

Wholesale pricing often involves selling larger quantities at a lower price per unit. When assessing whether this approach is worthwhile, consider your gross profit per unit, expected sales volume, payment terms and the effect on cash flow.

Your bookkeeping records can help you compare wholesale and direct sales income, track the associated costs and understand how each sales channel contributes to your business's financial performance.

Retail price

The retail price is the price you charge when selling a product directly to a consumer. Setting your retail price involves understanding your costs, desired profit margin, customer expectations and what comparable products are selling for in the market.

For example, if you sell directly to a customer for $10 and your cost price is $5, you'll generate $5 in gross profit per unit before accounting for any other expenses not already included in the cost price.

This represents a gross profit margin of 50%.

By comparison, selling the same product to a wholesaler for $7.50 generates $2.50 in gross profit per unit, with a gross profit margin of approximately 33.3%.

Although your gross profit per unit is lower when selling wholesale, larger orders and lower selling costs may make wholesale sales worthwhile.

When comparing wholesale and retail pricing, you should also account for expenses such as packaging, freight, transaction fees, inventory management and customer service.

It's important to consider GST when setting and displaying prices. If your business is registered for GST and your sales are taxable, the GST component needs to be accounted for correctly when assessing revenue and profit margins. Prices advertised to consumers must generally include GST and other unavoidable charges.

The dollar examples above are GST exclusive for illustration purposes.

Keeping your sales, expenses and GST records accurate helps you understand the financial performance of different products and sales channels. Your First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray bookkeeper can help ensure these transactions are recorded and reported correctly, so you're working with reliable figures when reviewing your pricing.

Premium or economy pricing

Knowing how to position your product or service in the market is important.

Are you selling a premium product with a higher price tag? Or are you offering an economy product at a lower price point?

There's a significant difference between selling a smaller number of products or services at a higher price and selling larger volumes at a lower price. Each approach has different implications for your costs, profit margins and cash flow.

Premium pricing may suit businesses that offer specialised expertise, higher levels of service or products with features customers are prepared to pay more for.

Economy pricing generally relies on keeping operating costs under control and generating sufficient sales volume to maintain profitability.

For service based businesses, pricing may also reflect experience, the complexity of the work, the time involved and the resources required to deliver the service.

Positioning your prices between these two ends of the pricing spectrum takes research, experience and an understanding of your customers.

It's also important to understand whether your business can sustainably deliver what you're selling at your chosen price point.

For example, offering a lower hourly rate may help attract additional customers, but if your available hours are already committed, taking on more work at a lower rate could reduce profitability or require additional employees.

Regular financial reporting can help you assess how your pricing affects revenue, expenses and profit over time. When your bookkeeping is accurate and up to date, you have better information to assess whether your current approach is working.

Knowing when to discount or increase your prices

Your prices aren't static, and reviewing them regularly is an important part of managing your business.

Supplier costs, wages, insurance, software subscriptions and other operating expenses can change over time. Customer expectations and demand can also shift, which means your existing prices may need to be adjusted.

For example, you might offer a discount to encourage additional sales, accepting a lower gross profit margin in exchange for increased sales volume. Alternatively, you might increase your prices to recover rising costs or improve profitability.

Before offering a discount, it's worth calculating how many additional sales you'll need to make to maintain the same gross profit.

If a product normally sells for $100 and costs $60, it generates $40 in gross profit, representing a 40% gross profit margin.

Reducing the selling price to $90 means the gross profit falls to $30, assuming the cost remains unchanged. You would then need to sell approximately 33% more units to generate the same total gross profit.

For a service based business, the calculation might involve reviewing how discounted rates affect billable hours, employee costs and the time available to complete other work.

Increasing your prices also requires thought. Consider how sensitive your customers are to price changes, the value they receive from your products or services and whether your proposed prices remain appropriate for your market.

Your bookkeeping reports provide useful information when assessing these decisions. Reviewing revenue, expenses, gross profit and cash flow over time can help you understand how changes in costs or pricing are affecting your business.

At First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray, we can help you maintain accurate bookkeeping records and access regular financial reports, so you have reliable information available when reviewing your pricing.

If you're using accounting software or business apps to manage jobs, inventory, time tracking or sales, we can also help you review how those systems are set up and whether they're capturing the information you need to understand your costs.

Better pricing starts with understanding your business numbers

Pricing is an important part of running a profitable business, and reviewing your prices regularly helps you respond to changes in costs, customer demand and operating expenses.

The information you use to make those decisions matters. When your bookkeeping is accurate and your financial reports are up to date, it's easier to identify changes in expenses, understand profit margins and assess the financial performance of your products or services.

Your pricing decisions also affect cash flow. Even when sales are profitable, the timing of customer payments and business expenses can influence how much money is available to meet your financial commitments.

First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray provides bookkeeping, payroll, reporting and business app advisory services to help you maintain reliable financial information and improve the systems that support your business.

If you're reviewing your pricing and want to make sure your business records and reporting are giving you the information you need, get in touch with our team. We can help you understand the numbers behind your business decisions.

Frequently asked questions about pricing strategies

How do I calculate the right selling price for my product or service?

Start by calculating the cost of delivering your product or service, including direct expenses and an appropriate share of business overheads. You can then determine the selling price needed to achieve your desired profit margin. It's also important to consider customer demand, competitor pricing and the value your customers receive. Accurate bookkeeping helps ensure your cost calculations are based on reliable financial information.

What's the difference between mark up and profit margin?

Mark up is the percentage added to the cost of a product or service to calculate its selling price. Gross profit margin is the percentage of the selling price remaining after deducting the direct costs of the product or service. For example, a product costing $50 and selling for $100 has a 100% mark up and a 50% gross profit margin. Understanding this difference helps you calculate and assess your prices accurately.

How can bookkeeping help with pricing decisions?

Accurate bookkeeping helps you understand your business expenses, revenue, labour costs and profitability. Regular reconciliations and financial reporting provide reliable information you can use when reviewing prices, calculating profit margins and assessing the effect of changing costs. Your First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray bookkeeper can help maintain those records and reports so you have the financial information needed to make informed pricing decisions.

7 tips for proactive business planning 

Running a business means dealing with changes that can affect your plans, your costs and your cash flow. Some changes are within your control, while others, such as increasing supplier costs, changes in customer demand or unexpected expenses, can be harder to predict.

The key is to be proactive. Having a good understanding of your financial position, reviewing how your business operates and preparing for potential challenges can help you make informed decisions before problems become more difficult to manage.

Proactive business planning also means recognising opportunities to improve how your business operates. Whether that involves reducing unnecessary expenses, improving cash flow or introducing more efficient processes, having reliable information available makes planning easier.

So, what areas of your business should you focus on, and how can you use your financial information to help you prepare for what comes next?

How to be proactive in business

Being proactive means understanding what is happening in your business and using that information to plan ahead. It involves regularly reviewing your financial performance, looking for opportunities to improve your processes and being prepared to make changes when needed.

No business owner has all the answers, and there will be times when you need advice or support. However, having accurate financial records and a good understanding of your business numbers means you are better prepared to respond when circumstances change.

Regular bookkeeping plays an important role in this process. When your accounts are reconciled, expenses are recorded correctly and reports are up to date, you have information you can use to identify potential issues and make decisions.

The following seven steps can help you take a more proactive approach to managing your business.

7 proactive business planning tips

1. Enhance your business knowledge

Understanding your business numbers helps you recognise what is working, where your money is going and what may need attention.

Accurate, up to date bookkeeping gives you access to the financial information you need to make informed decisions. Reviewing your profit and loss reports, balance sheet, outstanding invoices and regular expenses can help you identify trends and changes in business performance.

Cloud accounting platforms, such as Xero, make it easier to access financial information and generate reports. Depending on your business needs, additional reporting and forecasting apps may also help you plan ahead.

However, the information in these systems needs to be accurate. If transactions have not been reconciled or expenses are incorrectly recorded, your reports may give you an incomplete picture of how your business is performing.

At First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray, we help business owners keep their financial information accurate and current, so they have reliable numbers available when making decisions.

2. Improve your cash flow

Managing cash flow is an important part of running a financially sustainable business, regardless of how well sales are performing.

You may be generating a profit but still experience cash flow difficulties if customers are slow to pay or significant expenses fall due before money comes into the business.

To improve your cash flow, be proactive about reviewing overheads, invoicing promptly, following up on overdue payments and understanding when regular expenses need to be paid.

It is also important to plan for larger financial commitments, including wages, superannuation, GST, PAYG withholding and supplier payments.

From 1 July 2026, Payday Super requirements mean employers generally need to pay superannuation at the same time as wages, with contributions reaching employees' super funds within seven business days of payday. This makes accurate payroll processing and cash flow planning particularly important.

Keeping your bookkeeping up to date helps you understand what money is coming in, what needs to be paid and when those payments are due. Regular cash flow forecasting can also help you identify potential shortfalls and make arrangements before payments become overdue.

3. Negotiate with your suppliers

Reviewing your supplier arrangements regularly can help you manage expenses and improve your cash flow.

If you can negotiate better prices or payment terms with your suppliers, you may be able to reduce costs or manage when money leaves your business.

Start by reviewing what you are spending with individual suppliers and whether those costs have changed over time. Are you still receiving value from the products and services you purchase? Are there opportunities to negotiate different payment terms or more suitable arrangements?

It is also worth reviewing recurring business expenses, including software subscriptions, insurance, utilities and other services. Small increases across several expenses can add up over time.

Your bookkeeping records can help identify where costs are increasing and which supplier arrangements may be worth reviewing.

When negotiating payment terms, make sure any changes are agreed with your suppliers and that you can meet the revised payment dates.

4. Consider your funding options

There may be times when your business needs additional funding, whether that is to manage a temporary cash flow shortage, purchase equipment or support future growth.

Depending on your circumstances, this could involve speaking with your bank about an overdraft or business loan, exploring other business lending options or considering external investment.

Before applying for funding, it is important to understand your current financial position, existing commitments and ability to meet future repayments.

Lenders will generally want to review financial information about your business, which may include profit and loss statements, balance sheets, cash flow forecasts and details of existing debts.

Having accurate, up to date bookkeeping records can make it easier to prepare this information and work with your accountant or financial adviser to assess the available options.

At First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray, we help maintain the financial records and reporting information that business owners and their advisers can use when reviewing funding requirements.

5. Evaluate your products and services

Regularly reviewing your products and services can help you understand which areas of your business are contributing to profitability and where changes may be worthwhile.

Some products or services may generate higher sales but also involve greater costs, while others may produce a better return with fewer resources.

Understanding the difference can help you make decisions about pricing, staffing, stock management and where to focus your time.

Start by reviewing your sales figures alongside the costs associated with delivering your products or services. Where your records provide sufficient detail, compare the revenue generated with the direct costs involved to better understand which areas are performing well.

This is where accurate bookkeeping and appropriate business systems can make a difference. When income and expenses are recorded consistently, and your systems capture information by product, service or job where needed, it becomes easier to review performance over time.

Your bookkeeper can help ensure the financial information is recorded correctly, giving you and your accountant or business adviser more useful information when evaluating your options.

6. Review your marketing and sales

Staying in regular contact with your customers and understanding what they need is an important part of maintaining and growing your business.

Review your marketing activities to make sure you are reaching the right audience and providing information that helps potential customers understand your products and services.

Is your website providing the information people are looking for? Are your marketing activities generating enquiries, and are those enquiries turning into sales?

If you are planning to increase your marketing investment, understanding your cash flow and available budget will also help you make decisions about what your business can afford.

7. Look for opportunities to adapt and diversify

Customer needs, industry conditions and business costs change over time, so it is worth regularly reviewing whether your existing products, services and processes are still meeting your business needs.

This may involve introducing additional services, expanding into a different market or changing how you deliver your existing products and services.

Before making significant changes, review the likely costs, expected revenue and impact on your business operations.

For example, introducing a new service may create additional income, but you also need to account for staffing, equipment, software and other expenses involved in delivering it.

You may also find opportunities to improve existing operations without introducing something new. Reviewing how information moves between your systems, identifying repeated manual tasks and using suitable business apps can help reduce unnecessary administration and improve efficiency.

First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray can help you review your bookkeeping processes and identify business apps that suit the way your business operates, including how those apps connect with your existing accounting software.

Make proactive planning part of your business routine

Being proactive is about making time to review how your business is performing, identifying potential challenges and making improvements before problems become more difficult to manage.

When your bookkeeping is accurate and up to date, you have access to the information needed to monitor cash flow, manage expenses, plan payments and work with your advisers on future business decisions.

At First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray, we support business owners with reliable bookkeeping, payroll processing, financial reporting and business app advice. We help ensure the information behind your business decisions is accurate and that your day to day financial processes are working efficiently.

If you would like support with your bookkeeping, business systems or financial reporting, contact First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray to discuss how we can help.

Frequently asked questions about proactive business planning

What is proactive business planning?

Proactive business planning involves regularly reviewing your financial performance, cash flow, expenses and business operations so you can prepare for potential challenges and identify opportunities for improvement. Accurate bookkeeping provides the financial information needed to support these decisions and helps you plan ahead.

How can bookkeeping help with business planning?

Keeping your bookkeeping up to date helps you understand your income, expenses, outstanding invoices and financial commitments. Accurate records support cash flow forecasting, budgeting and regular performance reviews, allowing you to make more informed business decisions.

What are the best ways to improve cash flow in a small business?

Improving cash flow starts with invoicing promptly, following up overdue payments, reviewing expenses and planning for upcoming financial commitments. Regular cash flow forecasts and accurate bookkeeping can help identify potential shortages and support better payment scheduling.

Using business technology to improve your business systems

The decisions you make in your business are only as good as the data you use to make them. The more accurate and up to date your data is, the better informed those decisions can be. Using the right technology can give you access to current financial and operational information, making it easier to understand what is happening in the business and respond sooner.

Processes and systems drive your business, so it’s worth reviewing whether they’re documented, current and still working the way you need them to. Some processes may still be followed simply because they’ve always been done that way. Others may have changed over time while the written procedure, app setup or approval process has stayed the same.

Business technology now covers far more than accounting software. Payroll, expense capture, approvals, inventory, job management, customer systems and team communication can all form part of the way your business operates. When the right apps are connected properly, information can move between systems with less manual entry and fewer opportunities for mistakes.

This is where the setup matters. Adding another app doesn’t automatically improve a process. The app needs to suit the way your business works, connect with the systems you already use and give the right people access to the information they need.

First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray works with business owners to review business apps, identify unnecessary manual work and duplicate data entry, and help set up systems that support accurate bookkeeping, reliable payroll and useful business information.

Ten ways technology can improve your business

Using technology well can help you to:

1. Make your business data accessible from the cloud

Cloud accounting gives authorised users access to current financial information from wherever they’re working. This can make it easier to check bank balances, outstanding invoices, bills, payroll information and reports without waiting for files to be sent or manually updated.

Examples include Xero, MYOB Business and QuickBooks Online.

Access to current data also supports better cash flow management. When your bookkeeping is up to date, you have a better view of what is due to come in, what needs to be paid and where cash may be under pressure.

2. Reduce manual work and repetitive tasks

Repetitive administration can take up a surprising amount of time. Workflow tools can help assign tasks, track progress, create recurring processes and automate routine steps. Approval apps can also reduce manual follow up by giving businesses a set process for reviewing and approving bills or purchases.

Examples include Asana for task workflows and ApprovalMax for financial approval workflows.

The aim is to remove unnecessary steps while keeping the controls your business needs. Before automating a process, it’s worth checking that the process itself still makes sense.

3. Capture receipts and expenses more efficiently

Taking a photo of a receipt or forwarding an invoice to an expense capture app can reduce manual data entry and help keep source documents connected to the relevant transaction.

Dext can capture information from receipts, bills and invoices and send that information through to compatible accounting software.

Reducing manual entry can save time for the business and your bookkeeper while giving you better records to support reconciliations, BAS preparation and reporting.

4. Connect your apps to reduce double handling

When systems are disconnected, the same information may be entered more than once. Integrating compatible apps can allow data to move between your accounting software and other systems such as inventory, payroll, point of sale, job management or expense capture.

The Xero App Store includes apps covering areas such as inventory, reporting, payroll, time tracking, ecommerce and bills, giving businesses the option to connect software that suits the way they operate.

The value comes from choosing integrations that suit your actual process. First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray can help review how your current apps work together and where a better connection could reduce administration or improve the quality of your bookkeeping data.

5. Collaborate with your team across different locations

Shared communication and document tools make it easier for teams to work from the same information, whether they’re in the same office or spread across different locations. They can also reduce long email chains and help keep project conversations, files and decisions together.

The important part is deciding where information should live and how each system should be used. Adding more communication channels without agreed processes can simply move the administration somewhere else.

6. Use online meetings when they make practical sense

Online meetings are useful for working with advisers, suppliers, clients and team members when meeting in person would add unnecessary travel or delay. They can also make regular check-ins easier to schedule when people are working from different locations.

They are now a normal part of business operations and can be particularly useful when a business works across multiple locations or needs regular contact with external advisers.

7. Improve employee onboarding and payroll information

Digital onboarding can help collect employee details, bank information, tax information, super details and employment documents in a more structured way. When the information flowing into payroll is complete and accurate, there is less risk of having to correct details later.

Payroll technology has become even more important in 2026. Since 1 July 2026, Payday Super requires employers to pay super with each pay cycle, with contributions generally needing to reach an employee’s super fund within seven business days of payday.

Your payroll system, onboarding process and bookkeeping records therefore need to work together so employees are paid correctly, super is processed within the required timeframe and business records remain current.

First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray can also help businesses review payroll processes and the systems supporting them, particularly where information is being transferred manually between different platforms.

8. Monitor inventory and the cash tied up in stock

Inventory software can show what is in stock, what has been committed, what is on order and where stock is located. Better inventory information can help a business make more informed purchasing decisions and reduce the amount of cash sitting in stock that is moving slowly.

For businesses carrying inventory, this information also affects bookkeeping and reporting. Connecting inventory systems with accounting software can reduce rekeying and help keep sales, purchases and stock values aligned.

This creates an important link between business technology and cash flow. Accurate inventory information can help you understand where money is tied up and make purchasing decisions using current data.

9. Keep useful customer information in one system

Point of sale and customer management systems can store purchase history, contact details and other information that helps staff provide a more consistent customer experience. They can also connect sales activity with inventory and accounting systems, giving the business a more complete view of what is happening.

Depending on the business, a point of sale or customer system may also feed sales, payments, inventory and other information into accounting software, reducing the amount of information that needs to be entered separately.

10. Build systems that can support business growth

As a business grows, the volume of transactions, payroll, customers, suppliers and internal tasks usually grows with it. Documented processes and well connected systems can make it easier to handle that extra activity without relying on one person to remember each step.

Technology should support the process you want the business to follow. The right setup may include accounting software, payroll, expense capture, approvals, inventory, job management or other industry specific apps, depending on how the business operates.

First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray can help assess the apps you’re using, identify where processes can be improved and support the setup and integration of tools that suit your business.

Make your technology work with your business

Using technology well can improve how your business operates, from the accuracy of your bookkeeping data to the way payroll, expenses, approvals, inventory and reporting are handled. The harder part is often choosing which systems are worth using, deciding how they should connect and making sure the setup matches the way your business actually works.

It’s also worth reviewing your technology regularly. Businesses change, staff responsibilities change and software features change. An app that suited the business two years ago may still be the right choice, although the way it’s configured or used may need attention.

If you’re spending too much time entering the same information twice, chasing approvals, fixing data problems or working around systems that no longer suit the business, First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray can help review your current setup and identify practical improvements.

Talk to First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray about the business apps, bookkeeping systems and processes you’re using, and where technology could save time, reduce errors and give you more useful information.

Frequently asked questions

What business technology should a small business use?

The right technology depends on how the business operates. A useful starting point is accounting software, then adding apps for areas such as expense capture, payroll, approvals, inventory, job management or point of sale where they solve a specific process problem. The systems should suit the business and connect properly wherever possible.

How can business apps improve bookkeeping?

Connected business apps can reduce duplicate data entry and move information from operational systems into accounting software more efficiently. This can improve the quality and timeliness of bookkeeping data, provided the integrations are set up correctly and the information is reviewed regularly.

Can a bookkeeper help choose and set up business apps?

Yes. A bookkeeper who understands your day to day processes can help identify where an app may save time, reduce manual work or improve the flow of information into your accounting system. First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray provides business app advisory, setup, integration and support alongside bookkeeping and payroll services.

10 business improvement strategies to build a better business

What are you doing to build a better business?

Running a business takes commitment, and being good at what you do is only part of it. You might be excellent at your trade, profession or service, while running the business around that expertise requires a completely different set of skills.

Building a better business usually comes from making practical improvements over time. You need to know what you want to achieve, understand where the business is now, have reliable information available and make sure your systems support the way you want to operate.

Your bookkeeping plays an important part in this. Current, accurate records help you understand what is coming in, what is going out, what needs to be paid and what your numbers are showing you.

When that information is supported by efficient processes and suitable business apps, you have a stronger base for deciding what needs attention and where improvements could be made.

Keep developing the way you run the business 

You are likely an expert in what you do. That does not automatically make you an expert in payroll, cash flow, bookkeeping systems, business apps, people management or the other areas involved in running a business.

Taking time to work on those areas matters.

Think about where your time is being spent and where problems regularly occur. You may be entering the same information into several systems, spending too long preparing payroll information, waiting for approvals before invoices can be paid, or relying on manual processes that were suitable when the business was smaller.

Learning where the business could work better is part of running it well.

Sometimes the answer is a better process. Sometimes an existing app needs to be set up differently. In other cases, the business may have outgrown the software it currently uses.

First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray can help review how your bookkeeping and business apps work together, identify unnecessary manual processes and help implement systems that better suit the way your business operates. This fits directly with its focus on improving processes and helping businesses choose and use technology that suits their workflow.

So, what can you do to build a better business?

These ten steps give you practical areas to review in your business and identify where improvements could be made.

1. Get specific about what you want

Understanding what you want from the business gives you something meaningful to work towards.

Your goals might include increasing revenue, improving profit, strengthening cash flow, employing another person, reducing the amount of administration you personally handle or creating more time for family and life outside the business.

Make those goals specific enough that you can measure whether things are changing.

If you want to increase revenue, determine what increase you are aiming for and over what period. If cash flow is the issue, identify what needs to improve. You might need customers to pay sooner, invoices to be raised more quickly, supplier payments to be planned differently or upcoming tax and super commitments to be allowed for earlier.

Your bookkeeping needs to support those goals. Reliable financial information gives you a starting point, allows you to measure progress and helps you see when actual results differ from what you expected.

2. Be open to changing the way things are done

Businesses change, and the systems that worked when you started may become less suitable as your team, customer base and workload grow.

Review how work actually moves through the business.

Look at where information is entered more than once, where staff are relying on spreadsheets to make different systems work together, where approvals regularly cause delays and where manual administration is taking more time than it should.

Business apps can improve these processes when they are chosen and implemented properly. The right solution depends on your industry, workflow, existing software and what you are trying to fix.

Adding more software without first understanding the problem can create another layer of work.

First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray provides business app advice based on how a business actually operates. This can include reviewing existing apps, identifying suitable alternatives, integrating systems and helping your team understand how to use them properly.

If a process in your business seems to take far longer than it should, it is worth looking at the process before accepting that this is simply how the task has to be done.

3. Define where the business is now

Before deciding what needs to improve, establish where the business is now.

A SWOT analysis can still be useful for looking at strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, although your financial information should form part of the assessment as well.

Look at revenue, expenses, profit, cash available, outstanding customer invoices and upcoming supplier payments. Include payroll, super and tax commitments so you have a realistic picture of what the business needs to fund.

This is also a good point to ask whether your bookkeeping is current enough to give you information you can use.

Profit alone does not tell you whether there is enough money available to meet upcoming payments. A business can be profitable while experiencing cash flow pressure because of the timing between money coming in and payments going out.

Accurate bookkeeping helps you see those timing issues. It also gives you and your accountant better information to work with when reviewing performance, planning ahead or making decisions about the business.

4. Make a practical plan

Once you know what you want and where the business currently stands, decide what needs to happen next.

Your plan needs to identify what you are trying to achieve, the actions required, who is responsible and how you will measure progress.

Financial planning needs to sit alongside the operational plan.

A budget helps establish how you intend to use the money available to the business. Forecasting helps you look ahead using current information and what you know about future activity. Cash flow forecasting helps you understand when money is expected to arrive and when payments are due.

This becomes particularly useful when planning payroll, supplier payments, tax obligations, equipment purchases or periods where income regularly changes.

The quality of that planning depends on the quality of the information underneath it. If transactions have not been reconciled, expenses are incorrectly coded or outstanding invoices are not being monitored, the numbers you are using may give you an incomplete picture.

Keeping the books current means your plans can be compared with what is actually happening.

5. Get your roles, responsibilities and processes right

People need to understand what they are responsible for and how their work connects with the rest of the business.

This includes financial administration.

Someone needs to be responsible for invoicing, approving purchases, providing payroll information, following up outstanding accounts and making sure records reach the right person when they are needed.

Documenting these processes reduces reliance on knowledge held by one person. It also helps identify where responsibilities overlap or where an important task has no clear owner.

Payroll deserves particular attention.

Since 1 July 2026, employers generally need super guarantee contributions to reach an employee's super fund within seven business days of payday, with extended timeframes applying in some circumstances. This means payroll information, software and processes need to support faster identification and correction of errors.

First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray provides payroll support as part of its bookkeeping services, helping businesses manage payroll and super accurately and on time. Its 100 per cent contract service model also means agreed work is covered without relying on one individual being available

6. Be a better leader

Good leadership includes giving people the information, systems and support they need to do their jobs properly.

Make responsibilities clear, communicate expectations and look at whether the processes around your team are helping or hindering them.

Paying employees accurately and on time is one practical example. Providing systems that reduce unnecessary administration is another.

Leadership also means recognising where your own time is best spent.

Doing everything yourself can become expensive when your time is being taken away from customers, employees, business development or the work only you can do.

The right person doing the right job generally gives the business a better result. That may mean delegating internally, working with an external specialist or using technology to remove administration that no longer needs to be completed manually.

7. Have someone independent keep you accountable

Work inside the business can easily take priority over improvements you intended to make to the business.

Having someone independent involved can help keep those actions moving.

Depending on what you are working on, that person might be a mentor, business adviser, accountant, bookkeeper or another experienced business owner.

Different advisers also have different roles.

Your accountant may be helping with tax planning, business structure and broader financial matters. Your bookkeeper is working much closer to the daily financial information that feeds into those conversations.

When the bookkeeping is current and accurate, your accountant has better information available and you have a better understanding of what has been happening between meetings.

First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray can help you understand what your bookkeeping reports are showing, identify information that needs attention and make sure your accountant receives accurate records when they need them. Supporting business owners to understand their numbers and work effectively with their accountant is one of its core content areas.

8. Build useful business relationships

Strong business relationships give you access to experience, specialist knowledge, referrals and people you can turn to when you need another perspective.

Build relationships with people in your industry, other business owners and the advisers who support your business.

Your bookkeeper, accountant, insurance adviser, solicitor and other specialists each bring different knowledge. Having these relationships established before you need help can make it easier to deal with an issue when it arises.

Community involvement can also be part of building those relationships. Contributing your knowledge, time or support to organisations you care about connects you with people outside your immediate business circle and keeps your business connected to the community around it.

Useful networks develop over time. Focus on genuine relationships where people know what you do, understand your business and are willing to share knowledge and experience.

9. Monitor what is actually happening

Setting goals has limited value if you do not check what happens afterwards.

Choose measures that tell you something useful about your business.

Revenue may be important, although looking at revenue by itself can hide changes in margins, expenses or cash flow. Depending on the business, you might also track gross profit, expenses, cash available, outstanding invoices, debtor days, payroll costs, job profitability or performance against budget.

Regular bookkeeping makes this possible.

When bank accounts are reconciled, transactions are coded correctly and outstanding invoices are being monitored, you can review current information instead of waiting until months later to see what changed.

This also makes conversations with your accountant more useful because both of you are working from reliable figures.

First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray provides regular bookkeeping and reporting support so business owners can see what their numbers are showing and identify areas that may need further investigation. Reliable bookkeeping, reconciliations and end of month reporting are central to this service.

10. Make sure the business leaves room for life outside it

One of the reasons people start a business is often to have more control over how they work and what the business allows them to do outside work.

It is worth checking whether that is still happening.

If evenings and weekends are regularly spent catching up on administration, fixing payroll problems, chasing information or manually transferring data between systems, there may be a process that needs attention.

Look at what genuinely requires your involvement and what could be handled more efficiently by another person or through a better system.

Your time outside the business matters as well. Family, community commitments and personal interests should not continually be pushed aside because administration is taking longer than it should.

Getting the right people, processes and systems in place can help the business operate more efficiently while giving you more control over where your own time goes.

Keep improving how the business works

Building a better business is an ongoing process. Goals change, teams grow, technology changes and processes that once worked well may eventually need another look.

The important part is having reliable information and systems that help you see what is happening.

Accurate bookkeeping gives you current financial data. Cash flow forecasting helps you plan upcoming commitments. Reliable payroll processes help make sure your employees and their super are paid correctly and on time. Suitable business apps can reduce unnecessary administration and improve how information moves through the business.

These areas work together. When the underlying information is accurate and the processes around it are efficient, you are in a better position to decide what should happen next.

First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray works with business owners across bookkeeping, payroll, reporting and business app advice, helping make sure the information and systems behind the business are working as they should.

If your bookkeeping, payroll, reporting or business systems are taking more time than they should, contact First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray to talk about where the problems are occurring and what could work better.

Frequently asked questions

How can I improve the way my business operates?

Start by identifying where time, money or information is being lost. Review your financial data, cash flow, responsibilities, processes and business apps, then identify specific improvements you can measure. Working on one problem at a time also makes it easier to see whether the change is producing the result you expected.

Why is bookkeeping important when building a better business?

Accurate bookkeeping gives you current information about revenue, expenses, cash flow, outstanding invoices and upcoming commitments. This information helps you measure performance, prepare forecasts, work effectively with your accountant and make informed decisions about what needs attention.

How can business apps improve business processes?

Suitable business apps can reduce manual data entry, improve workflows and help information move between different parts of your business. The app needs to suit your industry, work with your existing systems and solve a specific problem. First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray can help review, select, implement and integrate business apps so they support the way your business actually works.

Why accurate financial data matters for your business

Cloud accounting software such as Xero has reduced much of the manual work involved in bookkeeping. Bank feeds can bring transactions directly into the accounting system, software can suggest matches during reconciliation, and digital document capture can reduce the amount of information that needs to be typed in manually.

That makes it easier to keep business records current, but there is still one point of weakness: the quality of the data going into the system.

Some information still needs to be entered, coded, checked or approved by a person. Even when information moves automatically between systems, it still needs to be allocated correctly. A supplier bill can be captured automatically and still be coded to the wrong account. A bank transaction can be imported correctly but remain unreconciled. An invoice can exist in the system but have the wrong due date.

If information is missing, incorrect or out of date, the reports produced from it will reflect those problems.

This is why accurate financial data starts with reliable bookkeeping. Software can make the process faster and reduce repetitive work, but the records still need to be reviewed and maintained properly.

Accurate data supports better business decisions

When you are making decisions about the future of your business, you need the full financial picture. That means working with records that are current, complete and accurate.

Forecasts are a good example. A cashflow forecast is only useful when the information behind it reflects what is actually happening in the business.

If supplier bills have not been entered, the forecast may overstate the cash you have available. If invoices are raised late, expected cash coming into the business may be missing. If payroll liabilities, leave, super or tax obligations are incomplete, future outgoings can be understated. Even a group of small coding errors can change the way expenses, margins or particular parts of the business appear in a report.

Accurate forecasts can help you plan payment dates, prepare for quieter periods, decide when the business can afford new equipment or additional staff, and make sure there is enough cash available for wages, suppliers and ATO obligations.

It is also important to understand that profit and cashflow tell you different things. Your profit and loss report may show a healthy result while cash is tied up in unpaid invoices, stock or upcoming commitments. Current bookkeeping data helps you see those issues earlier and respond while there are still options available.

Businesses that make decisions using incomplete or outdated information can find themselves dealing with a cash shortage that was visible in the numbers earlier, but was hidden by missing or inaccurate data.

There is a direct relationship between accurate, current financial data and better business decisions. Reliable bookkeeping gives you numbers you can use, rather than figures that need to be questioned or corrected before they become useful.

Use automation to improve data accuracy

One way to improve data accuracy is to automate appropriate parts of the bookkeeping process. The aim is to reduce repeated manual entry, move information between systems more efficiently and make it easier to keep records current.

Xero is one example. Bank feeds can bring transaction data directly into the accounting system, while reconciliation tools can help match transactions against the records already entered. Connected apps can then extend that process into areas such as document capture, approvals, job management, inventory, payments and forecasting.

Dext Prepare can capture information from receipts and invoices and send that data through to accounting software such as Xero. This reduces manual entry and keeps the source document with the transaction for future reference.

You can photograph or upload receipts and invoices rather than relying on a paper filing system. In many cases, original paper receipts do not need to be retained when the electronic copy is a true and clear reproduction and satisfies the relevant ATO record keeping requirements. Business records still need to be stored for the required period and remain accessible if they are needed later.

For forecasting and reporting, Futrli remains available and can connect with accounting platforms including Xero. It can use accounting data to support cashflow forecasts, budgets, scenario planning and financial reporting.

The important part is how these tools work together. Adding apps without reviewing the underlying process can create duplicated work, inconsistent information or gaps between systems. The right setup should reduce manual handling, give your bookkeeper the information they need and make the data in your accounting system more reliable.

This is where business app advisory becomes useful. First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray can review the way information currently moves through your business, identify where manual processes are creating errors or delays, and recommend apps that suit the way you work. We can also help with setup, integration and ongoing bookkeeping so the systems continue to produce useful information.

If you are making decisions from reports but are unsure whether the underlying data is current and accurate, talk to First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray about reviewing your bookkeeping processes and connected apps.

FAQs about accurate financial data

Why is accurate financial data important for a business?

Accurate financial data gives you reliable information about income, expenses, cashflow, liabilities and business performance. It supports better budgeting, forecasting and day to day decisions because you are working from figures that reflect what is actually happening in the business.

Can bookkeeping automation improve data accuracy?

Yes, when it is set up and reviewed properly. Automation can reduce repeated manual entry, bring transactions into your accounting system, capture invoices and receipts, and move information between connected apps. Human review is still important to make sure transactions are coded correctly and missing or unusual items are identified.

What causes inaccurate bookkeeping data?

Common causes include missing supplier bills, late sales invoices, unreconciled bank transactions, duplicate entries, incorrect coding, incomplete payroll information and apps that are poorly integrated. Regular bookkeeping and properly configured systems help reduce these problems.

Sources

Xero Australia bank feeds and reconciliation

Dext 

Futrli forecasting and reporting platform

ATO guidance on electronic receipt records

Closing a business: what you need to do

Closing a business involves a number of financial, payroll, tax and administrative steps that need to be completed before everything can be wrapped up.

You may have decided to close because you are retiring, changing direction or simply no longer want to operate the business. You may have sold the business to someone else. In other situations, the decision may be driven by financial pressure.

Whatever the reason, stopping work does not automatically bring your business obligations to an end.

Your bookkeeping needs to be brought up to date, employees need to receive their correct entitlements, tax and reporting obligations need to be completed and registrations may need to be cancelled.

The exact process will depend on your business structure and whether you are closing, selling or dealing with financial difficulty, so it is worth involving your bookkeeper and accountant early.

Get your bookkeeping up to date 

If you are closing your business or the business has been sold, you need to get all your bookkeeping up to date so your accountant has accurate information to prepare the final accounts and deal with your tax obligations.

This includes reconciling bank accounts, credit cards and loan accounts, reviewing outstanding invoices and bills, recording any remaining transactions and making sure assets and liabilities are properly reflected in your accounting system.

Outstanding customer invoices also need attention. You need to know what money is still expected to come in, which bills remain unpaid and whether there is enough cash available to meet the final commitments of the business.

Accurate bookkeeping becomes particularly important at this point because your accountant will be relying on those records to determine what still needs to be reported, paid or addressed before the business is closed.

If your bookkeeping has fallen behind, getting the records caught up before registrations and accounts start being cancelled can make the closing process considerably easier.

Give your accountant the information about the sale 

If you have sold the business, your accountant will also need the relevant information about the sale.

This can include the sale contract, settlement documents and details about assets, stock or other items included in the transaction. Your accountant can then determine how the sale needs to be treated for tax purposes, including whether GST or capital gains tax may apply.

Your bookkeeping records should support the information contained in the sale documents so there is a reliable financial record of what happened before and at settlement.

If there are unreconciled accounts, missing transactions or outstanding invoices sitting in the accounting system, dealing with them before the final accounts are prepared can save a great deal of unnecessary backtracking.

Finalise employee payments and payroll 

If you have employees, payroll needs particular attention when closing a business.

Employees need to receive their final pay, including any outstanding wages and applicable entitlements. Depending on the employee and their circumstances, this may include unused annual leave, payment in lieu of notice, redundancy pay and certain long service leave entitlements.

Closing a business can also trigger redundancy obligations. Awards and enterprise agreements may contain consultation requirements, so employers should check the requirements that apply to their employees before employment ends.

Payroll reporting also needs to be finalised correctly through Single Touch Payroll.

Super needs to be included in the process as well. From 1 July 2026, Payday Super requires employers to pay super in connection with each payday, with contributions generally needing to reach the employee's super fund within seven business days. This makes accurate payroll and super processing particularly important during the final weeks of a business.

Payroll should be completed before access to payroll software, banking arrangements and other systems is removed.

Work through your registrations and final obligations 

Your bookkeeper and accountant can help you work through the registrations and reporting obligations that need attention when a business closes.

Depending on the structure and circumstances of your business, this may include:

• Completing outstanding BAS, PAYG withholding and other reporting obligations.
• Cancelling PAYG withholding when it is no longer required.
• Cancelling GST registration. If you have sold or permanently closed the business, GST registration generally needs to be cancelled within 21 days.
• Completing the final BAS and making any required GST adjustments, including adjustments relating to business assets that are retained after GST registration ends.
• Cancelling your Australian Business Number. The ABN generally needs to be cancelled within 28 days of permanently stopping business activities, although outstanding reporting and payment obligations should be dealt with first.
• Cancelling a registered business name with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission if it is no longer required.
• Deregistering a company where appropriate. A company continues to have legal obligations while it remains registered with ASIC, including its annual review obligations.
• Lodging final tax returns and dealing with remaining tax liabilities.
• Cancelling licences, permits, subscriptions and other services associated with the business.
• Reviewing insurance requirements, including whether run off insurance may be needed to cover claims made after the business has closed.

The order matters. Cancelling registrations or access to systems too early can make it more difficult to complete outstanding lodgements and reporting.

Before cancelling your ABN, GST registration or company registration, check what still needs to be completed with your accountant or other relevant adviser.

If you are preparing to close or sell your business and need help getting your bookkeeping, payroll and financial records up to date, First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray can help you work through what needs to be completed before your accountant finalises the business. Get in touch.

Keep the records you still need 

Closing the business does not mean the records can be deleted.

Business owners still have record keeping obligations after the business stops operating. Most business and tax records generally need to be kept for at least five years, although some records may need to be retained longer depending on what they relate to.

Employment records also have separate requirements. Employers generally need to retain time and wage records for seven years.

Before closing accounting software, payroll systems, document storage or other business apps, make sure the records you are legally required to retain have been exported or stored somewhere secure and accessible.

This is also a good opportunity to review who still has access to your systems and remove access that is no longer required.

When a business is in financial difficulty 

Sometimes a business reaches a point where cashflow, debt or ongoing losses make it difficult to continue.

Good financial records can help identify warning signs earlier. If reconciliations, accounts payable, accounts receivable and reporting are current, you and your advisers have more reliable information about what the business owes, what it is owed and whether upcoming commitments can be met.

If the business is struggling to pay debts when they fall due, professional advice should be sought as early as possible.

The options available depend on your business structure and financial position. For a company, these can include restructuring, voluntary administration or liquidation. Some eligible companies with debts of less than $1 million may be able to use the small business restructuring process.

A sole trader does not enter company liquidation. Because the individual and the business are legally connected, personal insolvency processes such as bankruptcy may apply instead.

Your accountant, lawyer or registered insolvency practitioner can advise on which options are appropriate for your circumstances.

What happens if a company enters liquidation 

If a company enters liquidation, a registered liquidator takes control of the company and its affairs are wound up.

The liquidator may need access to financial records, accounting software and information held by the company's bookkeeper and accountant. Having complete and current records can make it easier to provide the information required.

Any request for information should be verified before access or confidential records are provided. ASIC maintains company information and published insolvency notices that can be used to confirm whether an external administrator has been appointed. The correct company identifier is the Australian Company Number, or ACN.

Once a liquidator has been appointed, they control the liquidation process. Any further bookkeeping or accounting work associated with the company may therefore need to be discussed with and authorised by the liquidator.

The earlier accurate financial information is available, the easier it is for the business owner and their professional advisers to understand the position and respond to what is required.

Getting the financial side of closing a business in order 

Closing or selling a business involves a lot of moving parts, and the bookkeeping needs to stay accurate right through to the final transactions.

Getting the accounts reconciled, payroll completed, outstanding invoices and bills reviewed, records retained and final information prepared for your accountant gives everyone involved reliable information to work from.

First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray can help make sure your bookkeeping and payroll records are in order and work with your accountant as the business is wound down. If you are closing or selling a business and need support getting the financial side organised, get in touch.

Frequently asked questions about closing a business

What do I need to do when closing a business in Australia?

You generally need to finalise your bookkeeping, pay outstanding employee entitlements, complete tax and reporting obligations, cancel relevant registrations, deal with business assets and liabilities, and retain the records you are required to keep. The steps will vary depending on your business structure and circumstances.

When should I cancel my ABN when closing a business?

An ABN generally needs to be cancelled within 28 days of permanently stopping business activities. Before cancelling it, make sure outstanding lodgements, reporting and payment obligations have been completed. PAYG withholding should also be cancelled before the ABN if it applies to your business.

Do I need to cancel GST when I close my business?

If you permanently close or sell your business, your GST registration generally needs to be cancelled within 21 days. You may also need to complete a final BAS and make GST adjustments for business assets.

What happens to employees when a business closes?

Employees need to receive their final pay and applicable entitlements. Depending on the circumstances, this can include outstanding wages, unused annual leave, notice, redundancy pay and certain long service leave entitlements. Employers also need to complete payroll reporting and super obligations.

How long do I need to keep business records after closing?

Most business and tax records generally need to be retained for at least five years. Employee time and wage records generally need to be retained for seven years. Some records may need to be kept for longer depending on the circumstances.

Is closing an insolvent company the same as closing a solvent business?

No. If a company cannot pay its debts when they are due, insolvency rules apply and professional advice should be sought promptly. Depending on the company's circumstances, options may include small business restructuring, voluntary administration or liquidation.

Card Surcharge Ban

What businesses need to know before 1 October 2026 

What's happening

From 1 October 2026, the way Australian businesses recover the cost of accepting card payments is changing.

Businesses will no longer be able to apply a surcharge to debit, prepaid and credit card payments on designated eftpos, Mastercard and Visa networks.

For businesses that currently add a card surcharge at the point of payment, there is more to review than the wording on a payment terminal. Merchant fees still need to be paid, so businesses need to understand what those fees currently cost, whether pricing needs to change and how any adjustment could affect margins and cashflow.

If you are unsure what your business currently pays in merchant fees, First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray can help you review the figures in your bookkeeping records and merchant statements before you make changes.

Surcharging explained 

A card surcharge is an additional amount charged to a customer because they choose to pay using a particular card. Businesses have used surcharging as one way to recover some or all of the cost of accepting card payments.

As a basic example, say you order a $5 cup of coffee and pay by card. While the advertised price is $5, a 2 per cent card surcharge would add 10 cents, bringing the amount paid to $5.10.

Applying a surcharge is optional, but around 16% of Australian businesses currently collect card surcharges. What’s more, the RBA estimates that Australians pay around $1.6 billion of card surcharges every year, which is no small change. 

For a business, the percentage charged to a customer is only one part of the picture. Merchant service fees, terminal charges and other payment costs can sit across different statements and accounts. Having these expenses recorded accurately makes it easier to see the actual cost of accepting card payments and assess whether your current payment arrangement still makes sense. 

What’s changing? 

From 1 October 2026, businesses will no longer be able to apply card surcharges to debit, prepaid and credit card payments made on designated eftpos, Mastercard and Visa networks.

According to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s research, the current surcharging system is no longer working as intended. Both consumers and businesses have reported finding the rules complex and confusing, while surcharges are not always clearly disclosed.

The changes form part of a broader package of payment reforms. These include:

• Lower maximum interchange fees for domestic debit, prepaid and consumer credit card transactions from 1 October 2026.

• A new cap on interchange fees for foreign issued card transactions from 1 April 2027.

• Greater publication of fee information by card networks and large payment acquirers so businesses have more information available when comparing payment providers.

Interchange fees are one component of the cost of accepting a card payment. A reduction in the interchange cap does not necessarily mean the total merchant fee charged by a payment provider will fall by the same amount. Payment providers can also charge for transaction processing, terminal rental and other payment services.

This is one reason businesses should review their own statements and actual costs before making decisions about pricing or changing payment providers.

Does this mean that all card payment fees will go away? 

No. Businesses will continue to incur costs when customers pay by card. Payment providers may charge for processing transactions, terminal rental and other payment services, and these charges are separate from the surcharge a business may currently add to a customer’s transaction.

From 1 October 2026, businesses that currently recover those costs through card surcharges will need to decide how they will manage the expense. The RBA notes that card acceptance costs can be reflected in a business’s overall pricing. Businesses can also continue to offer discounts for particular payment methods where appropriate.

The RBA does not currently regulate surcharges on non card payment methods. Other payment methods can have different provider rules and pricing requirements, so businesses using services such as PayPal or buy now pay later should check the terms that apply to those services rather than assume the new card rules apply in the same way.

This makes a review of your payment costs useful even if your business does not currently surcharge. If merchant fees are increasing, your bookkeeping data should show what those costs are doing over time and whether they are having a material effect on margins or cashflow.

First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray can help you identify these costs in your accounts and understand what your bookkeeping data is showing before you make decisions about pricing or payment providers.

Prepare early 

Businesses that currently surcharge should review their payment arrangements before 1 October rather than waiting until the change takes effect.

A practical review can include:

• Review your most recent merchant statements. Identify the total fees you pay to accept card payments. Look beyond the headline transaction percentage and include terminal fees and other payment service charges where relevant.
• Confirm where surcharging is currently switched on. This could include payment terminals, online payment systems, invoicing software and any payment apps connected to your accounting system.
• Ask your payment provider what will change on 1 October 2026. Some providers have indicated they may disable surcharging functionality from that date, so find out whether your settings will change automatically and whether you need to take action yourself.
• Review your pricing and margins. If you currently rely on surcharges to recover card acceptance costs, work out the annual value of those costs and assess whether they need to be reflected in your overall pricing.
• Consider the cashflow impact. A relatively small payment fee can become a meaningful business expense when it is applied across a large volume of transactions. Reviewing the annual cost gives you a stronger basis for deciding how to manage it.
• Compare payment providers and plans. The RBA is introducing measures intended to make payment fees easier to compare, and there may be lower cost arrangements available that better suit your transaction mix.
• Review invoices that may be paid after 1 October. The RBA advises that if a card payment is made on or after 1 October 2026, surcharging may no longer be available even if the invoice was issued before that date. Check with your payment provider and make sure your invoicing process is ready for the change.
• Update staff procedures and customer information. Anyone taking payments should know what is changing, when it applies and what customers will see at the point of payment.

Your bookkeeping records can help with several of these decisions. First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray can help you identify merchant fees in your accounts, review how those costs are being recorded and provide the figures you need to assess pricing and cashflow before the new rules begin.

If your payment systems are connected to your accounting software, it is also worth checking that any changes to surcharging or payment settings continue to flow through correctly. A change at the checkout can create reconciliation problems if the payment system and bookkeeping records no longer match.

If you would like help reviewing your merchant fees, bookkeeping records or payment processes ahead of 1 October 2026, speak with First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray.

Frequently asked questions

When does the card surcharge ban start in Australia?

The new rules take effect from 1 October 2026 for designated eftpos, Mastercard and Visa card transactions. American Express has also decided to remove surcharging from the same date.

Will businesses still have to pay merchant fees after 1 October 2026?

Yes. Businesses will still pay the costs charged by their payment provider for accepting card transactions. The change affects the ability to add a separate card surcharge to eligible card payments. Businesses may need to review their overall pricing, merchant plan and payment provider to decide how those costs will be managed.

Can I surcharge an invoice issued before 1 October 2026 if the customer pays after that date?

The RBA advises that if the card payment is made on or after 1 October 2026, surcharging may no longer be available even where the invoice was issued earlier. Businesses should check with their payment provider and update invoicing and payment settings before the change takes effect.