Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are safe and doing well. Please read on for this week’s updates and some ideas that will help us all overcome this crisis.

Australia Starts Fourth Quarter on Stronger Economic Footing

Flash Australia PMI signals faster output growth in October as COVID-19 restrictions loosen.

The IHS Markit Flash Australia Composite PMI, covering both manufacturing and service sectors, increased from 51.1 in September to 53.6 in October. This marked the fastest increase in private sector output for nearly a year, and coincided with further easing of social restrictions, particularly in Victoria.

Also, business sentiment was at its strongest for just over two years due to expectations of the economy opening up further in the months ahead.

If your business is still struggling amid the COVID-19 crisis, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us for personalised business advice.

Victoria Reported No New Cases Two Days in a Row (Monday and Tuesday)

Great news! Victoria reported 0 new COVID-19 cases on Monday after a huge testing drive.

This means Melbourne have moved out of lockdown and into the Third Step. From 11:59pm on Tuesday, Melbourne moved from “stay home” to “stay safe”, with no more restrictions on the reasons to leave home. However, the 25-kilometre limit will remain in place and the border between regional Victoria and Melbourne will remain in place for just a bit longer.
If the number of cases continues to decline, the limit will come off from November 8.

Which COVID-19 Restrictions Are Easing

Melbourne is getting a taste of well-earned freedoms this week, as there were no new COVID-19 cases found over the weekend. Here’s what the Third Step means and the restrictions that were eased:

• Cafes, restaurants and pubs can reopen. Outdoors with a limit of up to 50, indoors up to 20.
• Weddings can be attended by up to ten people, and funerals up to 20.
• Beauty and personal care services can resume, and remaining retail are open.
• Outdoor contact sport for those aged 18 and under can begin again.
• PT, fitness and dance classes can also be held outdoors with up to ten people, and the number of people at outdoor pools can increase to 50.
• Workplaces will no longer need to be on the permitted work list to open.
• While the boundary is in place between regional Victoria and Melbourne, work permits will be required for those travelling between these areas.

Although restrictions are easing, each person’s responsibility remains. If you need help on how to operate your business safely, get in touch with us so we can provide you with expert business advice.

Victoria Building QR Code Check-In Tool

The Victorian government is developing a QR code check-in system to achieve gold-standard COVID-19 contact tracing.

The system will be based on the technology used in New South Wales and the ACT. ACT Health has offered to give its system to the Victorian government for free.

It is not yet clear if the Victorian system will be an app or a website. We will keep you posted as soon as further details are available.

Westpac Helps AU Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses

Westpac will be accepting applications for new and existing eligible customers for equipment finance goods loans, as part of phase two of the Federal Government’s Coronavirus SME Guarantee Loan Scheme.

Those with up to $50m in annual turnover will be offered new equipment loans with interest rates starting at 2.99% fixed for 5 years on loans up to $1 million. This comes as new research from the Westpac SME COVID-19 Response Report revealed 80% of SMEs have either reduced their spending, held off making huge purchases, or held off borrowing due to economic uncertainty.

Westpac will also waive the Equipment Finance establishment fee (usually from $450) on Equipment Finance Goods Loan applications submitted under Westpac’s SMEG offer and settled between 1 November 2020 and close of business 31 December 2020.

If you need professional assistance for your loan application, feel free to flick us a message. We can also help you consider other funding assistance you may be eligible for.

Claiming Motor Vehicle Expenses

The ATO allows you to claim motor vehicle expenses that are part of everyday business operations, including travelling between different business premises and visiting clients.

Common expenses include:

• fuel
• repairs
• lease payments
• insurance registration
• depreciation

You may work out your claim using the cents per kilometre method or the logbook method.

For the cents per kilometre method, the rate is 72 cents and applies for a maximum of 5,000 business kilometres per car.

Meanwhile, for the logbook method, you must keep a logbook for at least 12 consecutive weeks and work out the percentage of business use for each car expense.

Remember to claim only the business portion of the expenses and keep records of how you calculated your claim. Alternatively, you may contact us so we can help you with your claims and ensure your compliance.

JobKeeper Key Date: 31 October 2020

For the JobKeeper fortnights starting 28 September and 12 October only, the ATO is allowing employers until 31 October to meet the wage condition for all employees included in the JobKeeper scheme.

New entities enrolling for the JobKeeper will also need to enrol and submit their ‘Check decline in turnover’ form to the ATO online on 31 October. You can find more details on the actual decline in turnover test here.

Australians to Receive Tax Cuts

The Government approved $17.8 billion in personal tax cuts, quickly pushing through measures announced recently.

More than 11 million Australians and 1 million businesses will begin receiving tax relief within weeks.

Under the new tax package, people earning $48,000 to $90,000 will gain an extra $1,080 in 2020-21 from a one-off extension of the low and middle-income tax offset. Meanwhile, those earning more than $120,000 will have a permanent cut of $2,430 in 2020-21 and beyond.

If you need help with your taxes, get in touch with us so we can sort it out for you.

Supporting Apprentices and Trainees Wage Subsidy Extended

The Supporting Apprentices and Trainees wage subsidy has been expanded and extended to include medium-sized businesses who had an eligible apprentice in place from 1 July 2020.

Eligible employers will receive a wage subsidy of up to 50% of the wages paid until 31 March 2021 worth up to $7,000 per quarter, per eligible apprentice or trainee, to manage their cash flow challenges. Subsidies will also be available to any new employer who re-engages an eligible apprentice that was displaced by an eligible small- or medium-sized business.

This may be of particular interest to employers who are not eligible for the JobKeeper extension. For professional assistance in applying for this wage subsidy or any other funding assistance, feel free to contact us.

How to Write a Business Proposal

So you’ve found a great opportunity to sell and you need to submit an impressive business proposal to convince your potential client to grant you the contract. It may seem overwhelming at first, but you can craft this document with a bit of a know-how and a good understanding of your business and what you can offer.

Below are the basic points to be included in your business proposal:

• Title page
  This keeps your document tidy and gives a nice first impression of how you do business.
• Cover letter
  Your cover letter should introduce your business and your proposal. It is recommended to keep it concise, friendly, and with a positive tone.
• Table of contents
  It will let your potential client know right away what are the points included in the document.
• Executive summary
  Present a high level overview of the problem you’re meaning to solve, overview of the solutions you will provide, the expected result, and a call-to-action.
• Proposal
  Identify the gap and how you intend to fill this gap.
• Services and methodology
  Go into the finer details of what products or services can get from you to address their needs. Provide a timeline to transform your proposal to reality and share a realistic delivery plan.
• Why hire us
  Lay out what sets you apart from other players in the industry. Let your potential client know about your experience, expertise, relevant projects you’ve worked on, and case studies or testimonials from previous clients.
• Costs
  It is good to let the client know right on how much it will cost to execute what you proposed and what you expect the return to be.
• Terms and conditions
  Outline what the client can expect from you and your business by agreeing to your proposal. Through the terms and conditions, you will also be able to set expectations regarding delivery dates and payments.
• Agreement and call to action
  This section is where the client can formally agree to your business proposal. Add a gentle call to action to encourage them to sign.

In some cases, it is the client which provides the outline or template for the proposal. Regardless, when writing a business proposal, it is important to ensure that it shows your potential clients the value that you can add to their business. Be as detailed as possible regarding your plan and make it visually appealing for a positive first impression.

Launching our App

We are  just about to officially launch our secure and use to use App which comes with plenty of functionalities. We are pretty excited about it and sure you would love it. You will receive an email from me shortly with all the details and instructions.

Get in touch

Please contact us if you have any questions.

Have a great weekend.