Tax Savings For the Taking!

Clarke McEwan Accountants

Tax Savings For the Taking!

It’s that time of year when we all look at what last minute things we can do to maximise tax savings.

In the wise words of the late Kerry Packer to a Senate estimates committee, “Of course I am minimising my tax. And if anybody in this country doesn’t minimise their tax, they want their heads read.”

Here’s our top tips:

Tax savings for you

There are some simple things you can do to reduce your personal tax:

Claim the cost of working from home - If you work from home some days, keep a diary of the hours you have worked at home to claim the 67 cents per hour shortcut rate. Other methods apply for home based businesses and where your expenses are higher and claimed separately.
Costs connected to your job - If you spent money related to your work that was not reimbursed by your employer – e.g., meals while you were away overnight, etc. - you can generally claim these (make sure you have receipts). Check the ATO’s industry specific guides on what’s reasonable to claim.
Donations reduce your tax - If you are likely to have a big tax bill this year from gains you have made, consider a larger than usual donation to a deductible gift recipient (DGR) charity before 30 June.
Top up your super – You can claim a deduction for contributions you personally make to super from after-tax income up to $27,500 per annum (assuming you have not reached your transfer balance cap). You need to lodge a notice of intent to claim with your super fund. See below for super strategies.
Pay in advance - While paying in advance for deductible expenses doesn’t save you cash, if you need to reduce your tax bill, you can pay some deductible expenses for next year by 30 June and take the tax deduction this year.
Studying for work – Self education expenses that are related to the work you do are often tax deductible, although there are some parameters around this. So, if you have been taking short courses to improve your knowledge, you can often claim the cost of the course and some other related expenses. Just be aware that study costs to obtain new work or to start a new business are not covered. The study needs to be related to how you earn your income now.
Building and managing your investments – The costs of earning interest, share dividends and income from your investments is generally deductible. This includes the account fees for investment accounts, interest on loans for investments you earn income from, the cost of investment seminars if they are directly related to investments you have made (not intending to make), fees for investment advice relating to existing investments, ongoing investment management fees, and specialist journals and subscriptions related to your investments. But, brokerage fees, an initial investment plan, transaction fees, etc are not generally deductible.

Avoiding penalties

The ATO can apply a penalty if you fail to declare income in your tax return that results in a tax shortfall. Penalties start at 25% of the tax liability owing and then escalate quickly if you were reckless (50%), or intentionally tried to evade tax (75%). Then, if they are really unhappy with you, they can increase the penalty base amount by 20%. There are also penalties that can apply if there is no shortfall but you didn’t take reasonable care, were reckless, or intentionally disregarded your obligations. Penalties of up to 75% of the tax liability can also apply if you don’t lodge your tax return and the ATO takes a position on what they believe you owe - tax is still owing even if you don’t lodge your return.

If you are an Australian resident for tax purposes (and not classified as a temporary resident), you are taxed on your worldwide assessable income - salary, wages, director or consulting fees, some allowances, bonuses, commissions, interest, pensions, rental and other investment income, and if you are a content creator, gifts and other income. For those with income from overseas, if you have paid tax on that income overseas, you will need to declare the income on your tax return but you might be eligible to reduce your Australian tax bill by the tax you have already paid overseas.

The ATO is upfront about what their tax time targets are so if you ignore the warnings then it’s less likely they will consider any omission an honest mistake. A bit like watching those border control shows when someone claims that they had no idea that seafood is considered a food and should have been declared.

Getting rental properties right

If you are earning income from an investment property, you can claim deductions for your expenses. These expenses fit into two categories; what you can claim now, and what is claimed over time.

You can claim interest on loans, council rates, repairs and maintenance, and depreciating assets costing $300 or less, in the year that you paid for them. Other items, like structural improvements, ovens, adding fences and retaining walls, are depreciated over time.

Rental properties are a major target for the ATO this year:

Rental income – Declare all rental income (including short term stays, renting out a room in your house, insurance payouts, rental bonds retained).
Rental expenses – Rental expenses can only be claimed for the portion of time that the property was rented or genuinely available for rent. If, for example, you did not make the property available for rent while you were renovating it, you cannot claim the cost of the expenses over this period. Sometime the ATO will argue that a property is not genuinely available for rent even if it is advertised as being available. This can be relevant for properties in locations where there is very little demand during certain times of the year.
Interest and redraws – If you have refinanced or redrawn on your rental property loan for personal expenses like holidays or a car, this will impact on the interest you can claim.
Sale of assets – If you earned income from a residential property (renting out a room or the whole house), then it’s likely you will pay capital gains tax on any gain you make on the sale of the property. However, if the property was your home for a period of time, you might be able to claim a full or partial exemption from CGT. In some cases it will be necessary to obtain a valuation of the property at the time it is first used to produce income if it has previously only been used as your main residence.

Tax Time Targets for Individuals

Key tax time targets include:

Rental property income and expenses
Income and ‘gifts’ from online content creation (OnlyFans, YouTube, TikTok etc.,)
Cryptocurrency gains
Gig economy workers (not declaring income)
Foreign income (not declared)
Work from home expenses (inaccurately claimed)
And as always, work related expenses (overclaimed).

Increasingly sophisticated datamatching programs mean that the ATO is more likely to notice if you have failed to declare income from the sale of assets, income earned through platforms, and made a gain on crypto transactions.

You can offset your assessable income against any allowable deductions you can claim. To be tax deductible, an expense must be directly related to how you earn your income. When it comes to expenses, if you are claiming for items not normally associated with your industry, claim the same amount or same items each year (cut and paste claims), or claim amounts outside of the norm, then it is likely the ATO will take a closer look.

Tax savings for your business

Bring forward the purchase of assets

If there are large assets your business needs to buy (or upgrade), you have until 30 June 2023 to use the temporary full expensing rules. These rules enable businesses with an aggregated turnover of up to $5bn to fully deduct the cost of the asset upfront rather than being claimed over the asset’s life, regardless of the cost of the asset.

The temporary full expensing rules are of benefit if your business would like to reduce the tax it pays in 2022-23, and the purchase of the asset is not going to put a strain on cashflow. If the business does not have tax to pay, and you utilise the rules, this will often give rise to a tax loss that can be carried forward to future years, although companies have access to some loss carry back rules for the 2022-23 year.

Timing is important. The asset needs to be “first held and ready for use” by the 30 June 2023 deadline to qualify for an immediate deduction in the 2023 tax return. Just having a contract in place won’t qualify if you have not taken possession of the asset.

If you are buying a work vehicle which is classified as a car and is mainly designed to carry passengers then remember that there are rules which limit the deductions that can be claimed if the cost of the car is above the car limit ($64,741 in 2022-23).

From 1 July 2023 until 30 June 2024, small businesses with an aggregated turnover below $10m will be able to immediately deduct assets costing less than $20,000 in the year of purchase using the instant asset write off. For other businesses, assets will be depreciated using the general depreciation rules over time.

Declare dividends to pay any outstanding shareholder loan accounts

If your company has advanced funds to a shareholder or related party, paid expenses or allowed a shareholder or other related party to use assets owned by the company, then this can be treated as a taxable dividend. The regulators expect that top-up tax (if any applies) should be paid by shareholders at their marginal tax rate once they have access to these profits. This is unless a complying loan agreement is in place.

If you have any shareholder loan accounts from prior years that were placed under complying loan agreements, the minimum loan repayments for the 2022-23 income year need to be made by 30 June 2023. It may be necessary for the company to declare dividends before 30 June 2023 to make these loan repayments.

Commit to directors’ fees and employee bonuses

Any expected directors’ fees and employee bonuses may be deductible for the 2022-23 financial year if you have ‘definitely committed’ to the payment of a quantified amount by 30 June 2023, even if the fee or bonus is paid to the employee or director after 30 June 2023 (within a reasonable time). You would generally be definitely committed to the payment by year-end if the directors pass a properly authorised resolution to make the payment by year-end. The employer should also notify the employee of their entitlement to the payment or bonus before year-end.

Write-off bad debts

You can claim a bad debt as a deduction if the income is brought to account as assessable income and you have given up all attempts to recover the debt. It needs to be written-off your debtors’ ledger by 30 June. If you don’t maintain a debtors’ ledger, a director’s minute confirming the write-off is a good idea.

Review your asset register and scrap any obsolete plant

Check to see if obsolete plant and equipment is sitting on your depreciation schedule. Rather than depreciating a small amount each year, if the plant has become obsolete, scrap it and write it off before 30 June. Small business entities can choose to pool their assets and claim one deduction for each pool. This means you only have to do one calculation for the pool rather than for each asset.

Bring forward repairs, consumables, trade gifts or donations

To claim a deduction for the 2022-23 financial year, consider paying for any required repairs, replenishing consumable supplies, trade gifts or donations before 30 June.

Pay June quarter employee super contributions now

Pay June quarter super contributions this financial year if you want to claim a tax deduction in the current year. The next quarterly superannuation guarantee payment is due on 28 July 2023. However, some employers choose to make the payment early to bring forward the tax deduction instead of waiting another 12 months.

Realise any capital losses and reduce gains

Neutralise the tax effect of any capital gains you have made during the year by realising any capital losses – that is, sell the asset and lock in the capital loss. These need to be genuine transactions to be effective for tax purposes.

Raise management fees between entities by June 30

Where management fees are charged between related entities, make sure that the charges have been raised by 30 June. Where management charges are made, make sure they are commercially reasonable and documentation is in place to support the transactions. If any transactions are undertaken with international related parties then the transfer pricing rules need to be considered and the ATO’s documentation expectations will be much greater. This is an area under increased scrutiny.

Protecting against risk: Is it a business expense? Really?

For a few years now, very generous provisions have been in place that allow business to claim the cost of assets used in the business in the year of purchase instead of having to deduct them over time. But, this has led to some serious problems where some products have been promoted as being tax deductible without proper consideration being given to the way the tax rules operate.

Artwork is one example.

If your business buys an artwork to display in areas of your office where it would be viewed by clients, then assuming it is used in connection with your business and is likely to decline in value, the business can generally claim depreciation deductions for tax purposes. Depending on the situation, it might be possible to claim an immediate deduction. If, however, the artwork is displayed in a home office then the risk of the ATO querying this is much higher.

If the artwork is an investment piece and you expect it to appreciate in value, then it’s unlikely to be a depreciating asset and would not normally qualify for an immediate deduction.

Another scenario is a boat used for “marketing purposes”. If your business buys a boat, claims the cost of the boat and the expenses, the ATO will expect to see the benefit to your business of this and will be checking to see if the boat has been used privately by employees or shareholders (yes, they do look at your social media). If there is private usage of the boat then this can give rise to a range of complex tax issues. For example, this could trigger an FBT liability or a deemed unfranked dividend under the rules in Division 7A. It gets very messy.

In general, the ATO is likely to review any expense where the cost outweighs the likely value to the business of acquiring it, particularly for assets that people are likely to want for their own pleasure.

Super savings and strategies

Tax deductions for topping up super

You can make up to $27,500 in concessional contributions each year assuming your super balance has not reached its limit. If the contributions made by your employer or under a salary sacrifice agreement have not reached this $27,500 limit, you can make a personal contribution and claim a tax deduction for the contribution. It’s a great way to top up your super and reduce your tax.

For those aged between 67 and 74, you will need to meet the ‘work test’ to contribute personal concessional contributions and claim a deduction - you must have worked at least 40 hours within 30 consecutive days in a financial year before your super fund can accept voluntary contributions from you.

To be able to claim the tax deduction for these contributions, the contribution needs to be with the super fund before 30 June (watch out for processing times). You will also need to lodge a Notice of intent to claim or vary a deduction for personal super contributions with your super fund before you lodge your tax return to advise them of the amount you intend to claim as a deduction.

Bringing forward unused contribution caps

If your total super balance is below $500,000, and you have not reached your cap in the previous four years, you might be able to carry forward any unused contributions and make a larger tax deductible contribution this year. For example, if your total concessional contributions in the 2021-22 financial year were $10,000, you can ‘carry forward’ the unused $17,500 into this financial year, make a higher personal contribution and take the tax deduction. This is a helpful way to reduce your tax liability particularly if you have made a capital gain.

If you have never used your contribution cap, for example you have recently become a resident or have returned from overseas, you can also bolster your superannuation by contributing the five years’ worth of concessional contributions in one year (assuming you have not reached your balance cap).

Doubling the benefit for SMSFs

For self managed superannuation funds, a quirk in the way concessional contributions are reported means that a concessional contribution can be made in June, but not allocated to the member until 28 days later in July. The practical effect is that a member can make a contribution of up to $55,000 this financial year (2 x the $27,500 cap - assuming you have not used your cap) and take the full tax deduction, but the fund recognises the contribution in two amounts; one amount in June and the second allocated to the member from the SMSF’s reserve in July. This strategy is particularly helpful for the self-employed who need to boost their superannuation and reduce their tax liability in a particular year.

Top up your partner’s super

With a cap on how much you can transfer into a tax-free retirement account, it makes sense to even out how much super each person holds to maximise the tax savings for a couple.

If your spouse’s assessable income is less than $37,000, make a contribution of $3,000 or more on their behalf and you can take a tax offset of up to $540.

Another way of topping up your spouse super is super splitting. If your spouse has not retired and below their preservation age, you can roll over up to 85% of a financial year’s taxed splitable contributions to their account.

Thinking of retiring? Wait until 1 July

From 1 July 2023, indexation will increase the general transfer balance cap, the amount you can transfer into a tax-free retirement account, by $200,000 to $1.9m.

For those contemplating retiring very soon, by waiting until after 1 July 2023 before starting a retirement income stream, you will have access to this additional $200,000 cap of tax-free superannuation savings.

It's important to speak to your financial adviser before taking any action on superannuation strategies.

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Threshold for tax-free retirement super increases

By Clarke McEwan • April 14, 2025

The amount of money that can be transferred to a tax-free retirement account will increase to $2m on 1 July 2025. Each year, advisers await the December inflation statistics to the be released. The reason is simple, the transfer balance cap – the amount that can be transferred to a tax-free retirement account – is indexed to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) released each December. If inflation goes up, the general transfer balance cap is indexed in increments of $100,000 at the start of the financial year. In December 2024, the inflation rate triggered an increase in the cap from $1.9m to $2m. The complexity with the transfer balance cap is that each person has an individual transfer balance cap. If you have started a retirement income stream, when indexation occurs, any increase only applies to your unused transfer balance cap. Considering retiring in 2025? If you are considering retiring, either fully or partially, indexation of the transfer balance cap provides a one-off opportunity to increase the amount of money you can transfer to your tax-free retirement account. That is, if you start taking a retirement income stream for the first time in June 2025, your transfer balance cap will be $1.9m but if you wait until July 2025 your transfer balance cap will be $2m, an extra tax-free $100,000. Already taking a pension? If you are already taking a retirement income stream, indexation applies to your unused transfer balance cap - so you might not benefit from the full $100,000 increase on 1 July 2025. Where can I see what my cap is? Your superannuation fund reports the value of your superannuation interests to the ATO. You can view your personal transfer balance cap, available cap space, and transfer balance account transactions online through the ATO link in myGov . If you have a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF), it is very important that your reporting obligations are up to date.

The proposed ban on non-compete clauses

By Clarke McEwan • April 14, 2025

In the 2025-26 Federal Budget the Government announced a ban on non-compete clauses and “no poach” agreements. In the 2025-26 Federal Budget, the Government announced its intention to ban non-compete clauses for low and middle-income employees and consult on the use of non-compete clauses for those on high incomes (under the Fair Work Act the high income threshold is currently $175,000). The reason? A recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) report found that 46.9% of businesses surveyed used some kind of restraint clause, including for workers in non-executive roles. The survey also found 20.8% of businesses use non-compete clauses for at least some of their staff and 68.2% for more than three-quarters of their employees. From an economic perspective, declining job mobility impacts wage growth and innovation as restraints prevent access to skilled workers within the economy. Productivity is a key concern as Australia’s productivity has declined in the last 20 years. Treasury’s consultation paper Non-compete clauses and other restraints states that, “the direct consequence of a non-compete clause is that it hinders competition among businesses: it disincentivises workers from leaving their current job, creating a barrier to the entry of new businesses and the expansion of existing businesses.” A Productivity Commission report estimates the effect of limiting the use of unreasonable restraint of trade clauses will be increased wages for workers - by up to up to 2.4% in industries with high use of non-compete clauses and up to 1.4% in others. Non-competes: the state of play Non-compete clauses in Australia are generally enforced under common law. For all regions except New South Wales, restraints are generally presumed to be against the public interest and therefore void and unenforceable except where they are deemed to be reasonably necessary to protect the legitimate interest of the employer1. In NSW, a restraint of trade is valid to the extent to which it is not against public policy. When non-competes are contested, the courts consider the nature and extent of the business interest to be protected (e.g., confidential client information) and whether the scope of restriction the business wants imposed is reasonable including its geographic area, time period and activities which the restraint seeks to control. Interests considered ‘legitimate’ by courts include the protection of trade secrets or other confidential information; protection against solicitation of clients with whom the former worker had a personal connection; and protection against key staff being recruited by a former colleague. An employer is not entitled to protect themselves against mere competition by a former worker . What now The ban on non-compete clauses was announced in the 2025-26 Federal Budget. The Government has stated that it intends to consult on policy details, including exemptions, penalties, and transition arrangements. Following consultation and the passage of legislation, the reforms are anticipated to take effect from 2027, operating prospectively. There is a lot of uncertainty at this stage about this measure, despite the enthusiasm of the Treasury economists, not least of which is the impending election. We’ll bring you more as further information is available.

Personal tax cuts

By Clarke McEwan • April 13, 2025

From 1 July 2026, personal income tax rates will change. On the last sitting day of Parliament, the personal income tax rate reduction announced in the 2025-26 Federal Budget was confirmed. The modest reduction of 1% applies to the $18,201-$45,000 tax bracket, reducing from its current rate of 16% to 15% from 1 July 2026, then to 14% from 2027-28. The saving from the tax cut represents a maximum of $268 in the 2026-27 year and $536 from the 2027-28 year. With a 1 July 2026 start date, the outcome of the Federal election on 3 May 2025 and subsequent budgets will determine whether this change comes to fruition. Medicare levy threshold change for low-income earners Low-income earners do not pay the compulsory 2% Medicare levy until their assessable income reaches the threshold. The threshold is different depending on whether you are a single taxpayer, pensioner, and the number of children you have that are dependent on you. Parliament has confirmed the increase to the Medicare levy threshold announced in the Federal Budget. The threshold change is backdated to 1 July 2024, which means that taxpayers will benefit when they lodge their 2024-25 tax return. See our Budget 2025-26 summary for details.

Super guarantee rules catch up with employers

By Clarke McEwan • April 13, 2025

The superannuation guarantee rules are broad and, in some circumstances, extend beyond the definition of common law employees to some directors, contractors, entertainers, sports persons and other workers. Employers need to pay compulsory superannuation guarantee (SG) to those considered employees under the definition in the SG rules. But, the SG definition of an employee is broad and just how far this definition extends has sparked debate of late about the rights of performers, gym instructors and others not typically considered employees. For employers and business owners, it is crucially important that if there is any uncertainty about the rights of workers to SG, your position is confirmed. This might be an initial assessment of the position by us, confirmed by an employment lawyer, or clarified by applying for a ATO private ruling covering your specific workplace arrangements. One of the things that employers find most alarming is that there is no tangible time limit on the recovery of outstanding SG obligations. In theory, the ATO can go back as far as it determines necessary to recover unpaid superannuation contributions for workers who are classified as employees for SG purposes. One of the key features of the SG system is to ensure that appropriate contributions are being made for employees and deemed employees, to adequately support them in their retirement. The SG laws, and complimentary director penalty regime, ensure that every cent owing to an employee for SG is paid. Who is not paid super guarantee? Super guarantee does not need to be paid to: Under 18s who do not work more than 30 hours a week. Private and domestic workers who do not work more than 30 hours a week. Non-resident employees who perform work outside of Australia. Employees temporarily working in Australia covered by an agreement. Some foreign executives who hold certain visas or entry permits. Generally, SG is not payable if you have entered into a contract with a company, trust or partnership. If you have Australian employees temporarily working outside of Australia in a country with a bilateral social security agreement , for example, the United States, you should continue paying SG and apply for a certificate of coverage to avoid paying super (or the equivalent) in the country where the employee is temporarily located. SG’s broader definition of an employee There is a section of the SG rules, section 12 , that specifies who is deemed to be an employee for SG purposes. This section extends the definition of an employee beyond common law to cover: Company directors who are remunerated for performing duties; Contractors working under a contract wholly or principally for their labour; Certain state and Commonwealth government contracted workers; and Those paid to perform or present any music, play, dance, entertainment, sport or other similar promotional activity. This includes people who provide services in connection with these activities or people paid in relation to film, tape, disc or television. Are contractors entitled to SG? If your contractor holds an Australian Business Number (ABN), this of itself will not prevent SG from applying. Where the arrangement looks like it is a contract for the provision of an individual’s labour and skills, it is likely they will meet the definition of an employee and SG will be payable. The SG rules state if, “a person works under a contract that is wholly or principally for the labour of the person, the person is an employee of the other party to the contract.” This definition is alarming to many employers as the rate paid to contractors, and often the terms of the agreement, factor in an uplift for super guarantee and other entitlements that would normally be paid if the person was an employee. But for SG purposes, it does not matter what the contract says, if the person is deemed to be an employee under the rules, they are entitled to SG and the employer is obligated to pay it. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) states that SG needs to be paid to contractors if you pay them: under a verbal or written contract that is mainly for their labour (more than half the dollar value of the contract is for their labour) for their personal labour and skills (payment isn't dependent on achieving a specified result) to perform the contract work (work cannot be delegated to someone else). In a recent ruling , the ATO says that where the worker is required to use a substantial capital asset (such as a truck) this will help in arguing that the contract is not mainly for the labour of the worker, but this will always depend on the facts. Are directors paid SG? Yes. Directors (members of executive bodies of bodies corporate) should be paid SG if they are remunerated for performing duties for the company. Entertainers, performers and sportspeople Generally, if a performer operates through a company, trust, or partnership then there is not an employment relationship and SG is not payable. However, individual artists, performers and sportspeople are captured as employees under the SG rules ( section 12(8 )) where they are paid to: perform or present, or to participate in the performance or presentation of, any music, play, dance, entertainment, sport, display or promotional activity or any similar activity involving the exercise of intellectual, artistic, musical, physical or other personal skills; provide services in connection with an activity referred to above; perform services in, or in connection with, the making of any film, tape or disc or of any television or radio broadcast. Whoever is paying the individual for their labour, is generally responsible for the payment of that individual’s SG. For example, a music festival operator that contracts a sole trader to perform at a festival might be liable for SG for that performer. Likewise, if the sole trader contracts band members to perform with them at the festival, then the sole trader is responsible for the SG of the band members. If however, the music festival worked with an agency to supply the performers (the music festival pays the agency, the agency pays the performers), then the agency is likely to be responsible for the SG of the artists if there is a liability. If the agency only charges a booking fee and the festival pays the performers directly, then the festival is likely to be responsible for the performer’s SG. You can see from this how important it is to determine who meets the definition of an employee for SG purposes, and if so, to understand the parties to the deemed employment relationship. What’s a service “in connection to” The definition of an employee for SG purposes captures workers who work with performers, for example individuals that are producers, videographers, editors, etc. If the person meets the definition of an employee under the SG rules, then it is likely SG is payable. Is a gym instructor a sportsperson? A gym instructor may be captured under the definition of a deemed employee under the SG rules. Whether the gym is liable to pay the instructor SG really depends on the facts of the individual arrangement. Let’s look at the example of a gym instructor operating as a sole trader under an ABN. There is a contract between the instructor and the gym stating that the instructor is an independent contractor and is responsible for their own SG payments and other employment obligations. The instructor is paid per class, and per training session with clients, covering their time and labour. The instructor utilises the equipment of the gym and its scheduling system. The instructor wears the uniform of the gym. The instructor is trained by the gym in how to deliver the services of the gym. Employee? Most likely because the ATO places a heavy significance on whether an individual is working to build their own business or someone else’s. If the instructor “..works under a contract that is wholly or principally for the labour of the person” then this also brings them into the SG net. If the employer, the gym, had not been paying SG, is it exposed to SG payments for the instructor since the employment relationship began.

Federal Budget 2025-26: what it means for your small business

By Clarke McEwan • March 29, 2025

The Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, delivered the Federal Budget on 25 March. But what’s in the Budget for small business owners? We’ve got the lowdown on the main opportunities. #FederalBudget #Budget #businesstips

How your accountant supports business development

By Clarke McEwan • March 21, 2025

As your accountant, we won't just look after the financial side of your business, we can also advise you on the strategic side of your company, including the importance of business development as vital part of your growth plan. Business development (BD) is what helps your company move from slow, organic growth to fast-paced, hypergrowth. And it’s only by putting the right drive and expertise behind your BD that you can turn your strategic ideas into real success stories. So, how can we help you achieve this? Talk to you about your strategic goals The starting point for any kind of BD activity is to pin down your goals and aims as a business. When you know what you want to achieve over the coming months, it’s far easier to define a strategy for success. And that’s easier to do when you talk to an objective adviser, like us. We can sit in on your board meetings, talk to your executive team and get a real handle on what makes the business tick. And, armed with this knowledge, we’ll work with you to drive the direction of your BD and find the best opportunities for you to focus on. Help you create a clear BD strategy and plan Having a defined set of BD goals is a good starting point. But to put this all into action in a productive way, you’re going to need a comprehensive plan for your BD projects. Our years of experience advising business leaders and their teams really comes into play here. We know the best routes to take, the budgets that will be needed and the right tactics for bringing in more contracts, sales and partnerships. By putting these strategies into a clear plan, and linking this to agreed timescales, you have a BD route map to follow and action. Introduce you to a broader network of business partners We work with a wide range of businesses across many different sectors, industries and niches. By introducing you to our network of clients, we welcome you into a supportive community of like-minded business owners. And that’s excellent news when looking for new partnerships. Whether it’s attending a local conference, an online webinar or one of our in-house client events, you’re going to meet new people, share new ideas and make the right connections. This is a great way to build alliances and work together with other local businesses. And when you’re well-connected, you set the very best foundations for your future BD activity. Provide better routes to funding and investment Whatever goals you’ve set for your BD projects, it’s likely that you’re going to need additional funding to finance this activity. Investing in your expansion, or new partnerships, is vital to getting a good return on your BD, so great access to finance is a definite bonus. We’ll advise you on the most appropriate funding channels and how you can use these facilities to finance your BD plans. And we can also link you up with banks, lenders and business finance specialists – so you get the advice and finance you need to bring your BD to life. Help you track and measure your BD performance Meeting your BD targets takes time – and a whole lot of dedication. Measuring your BD performance over time, helps you stay on track and gives you a good indication of how well you’re tracking against your planned progress. We’ll help you create the reporting and metrics you need, so you have clear data to track your progress over time. You can log your activity in your project management system, or your client relationship management (CRM) software, and keep clear notes on contacts made, relationships built and targets converted etc. If you want to get more from your BD, please do get in touch. We’ll partner with you to put some real drive, experience and impetus behind your BD strategies.