Small Business Tax Time Mantras

There's probably only one thing that small business owners hate more than losing money: doing their tax.

So here are a few mantras to get you in the right frame of mind this tax time:

1. I must, I must, do something about my records. The Tax Office expects you to make a reasonable attempt to be accurate in your book-keeping. Set up a system to record all income and expenditure in your business.

2. Honesty is the best policy. There's no point trying to fudge the books. The Tax Office's surveillance systems are wired to bank accounts these days. If you do find some mistakes in your books at the end of the tax year, get on the phone to the ATO and tell them about the discrepancies, before they come out to you.

3. Normal is as normal does. If your business is outside the norms of what others in your industry are noting as income or expenditure, you may be targeted for a tax review. Stay within the norms.

Happy tax time!

Margie

How far should small business go?

This week's news about Osama Bin Laden has sent many a small business scurrying to cash in on the killing.

What immediately came to mind was: are they entrepreneurial or exploitive? I'm a big believer in small business siezing the moment, but I came across a Rueters article, which lists the small businesses that are making a motsa out of the American fervour we've seen in recent days.

You name it, they're doing it: from Uncle Sam T-shirts printed with the words "We Got You Osama Bin Laden" to an Osama Bin Laden "Shot in the Dark" coffee special.

The question is: how far should small business go? How much misery should they wade around in just to make a fast buck?

You decide.

Margie

Small business Customer Service 101

The pervading wisdom when it comes to customer service and small businesses is that the customer is always right. A customer is king.

Which is all well and good until you get a customer that's a right pain in the proverbial. They whinge at every service, they return product when there's nothing really wrong, they phone to let you know they're peeved.

And when you call to chase payment for a product or service, they're the ones who come up with every excuse under the sun as to why they can't or won't pay their bill.

A respected business owner colleague of mine calls this group the Five Percenters. "About 95% of your customers are good, and will pay up eventually. And then there are the other 5%!"

Dealing with them is an eternal struggle, but he's come up with a new tack which I wanted to share:

"I call them and say that we're really sorry, but they have slipped into the Five Percenter group. We've tried really hard to get them out of this group, because we don't believe they should be there. But they're stuck! I suggest that if they have any ideas that could help us get them out of the Five Percenters, we'd really appreciate it!"

It's amazing, he says, how many people don't want to be stuck in a minority group. They often come up with ways to make themselves better customers.

And if they don't, ask yourself if really want them as customers. Might be time to set them free!

All success.

Margie