RBizz Corporate Accountants - Resources , Blogs

Loss carry back: what this means for your startup or small business

Tue, 26 May 2026 22:58:47 +1000

Loss carry back: what this means for your startup or small business

For your startup or small business to succeed, you need to take calculated risks – risks that may entail your business making a financial loss during periods of innovation or expansion.

This spectre of financial loss can be a barrier for risk-averse business owners. But the new loss carry back arrangements, introduced in the Federal Budget 2026, go some way towards reducing the negative impact of financial losses – and encouraging your business to innovate.

Let’s look at what this means in simple terms.

What is a loss carry back arrangement?

Loss carry back arrangements act as a vital fiscal safety net. They allow your business to apply current trading losses against taxed profits you’ve earned in previous years, resulting in a direct cash refund from the government.

By using this mechanism, you effectively get an immediate injection of liquidity during difficult periods, such as unproven research and development or major scaling operations.

What’s the benefit for your business?

By reducing the long-term financial downside of an unsuccessful venture, the government’s new loss carry back policy encourages your business to pursue more ambitious innovation and capital expenditure – strategies you may have avoided previously due to the risk of losses.

As quoted on the Budget website, the aim of this new arrangement is to boost ‘economic resilience, support productivity and promote employment’ in Australian businesses.

How will the loss carry back arrangements work?

From 2026–27, eligible companies that make a loss in the current income year will be able to use that loss to get a refund against tax paid in the prior two income years. This carry back will apply to revenue losses only, and be limited by a company’s franking account balance.

It’s worth noting that loss carry back eligibility is limited to companies with aggregated annual global turnover of less than $1 billion, excluding some high-turnover organisations.

The Government is also introducing loss refundability to support new start‑up businesses. From 2028–29, small start‑up companies in their first two years of operation will be able to get a refund for tax losses, up to the value of fringe benefits tax and withholding tax paid on employee wages. This relief will be available to start-ups with aggregated annual turnover of less than $10 million.

Improved cashflow with the instant asset write-off

The Government is also improving cashflow for small businesses by permanently extending the current $20,000 instant asset write‑off from 1 July 2026.

If you’re a small business with turnover up to $10 million, you’ll be able to immediately deduct eligible assets costing less than $20,000.

Let’s talk about innovation, investment and loss relief

If you’re ready to explore ways to make use of loss carry back arrangements, or the instant asset write-off, please come and talk to our team.

We can help you build a solid innovation strategy, backed by solid tax planning and reliefs.

Understanding Margin Compression and Its Impact on Your Revenue

Thu, 07 May 2026 23:09:50 +1000

Understanding Margin Compression and Its Impact on Your Revenue

With operational costs escalating and the market still sensitive to price rises, you’ll have seen the term ‘margin compression’ being thrown around in many small business forecasts.

But what exactly is margin compression? And how does this financial phenomenon impact your sales revenues and overall profitability as a business?

Here’s how to identify and tackle the financial challenge of margin compression.

1. What is margin compression?

Margin compression occurs when your operating costs increase at a faster rate than your sales revenue. You might be moving the same volume of products or services, but each sale yields less net profit. In essence, your gross profit margin – the percentage of revenue exceeding the cost of goods sold – is being squeezed from both ends.

2. The key drivers of margin compression

Margin compression is caused by rises in operational and production costs, where your sales revenue fails to keep pace with these increases. The primary drivers of margin compression can include increased inflation, rising energy costs, soaring insurance premiums and the need to increase wages to source specialised talent, etc.

Cautious consumer spending is also preventing businesses from raising prices enough to offset these rising overheads, leading to a thinner bottom line.

3. Taking steps to protect your profitability

To reduce the impact of margin compression, it’s important to focus on operational efficiency and making the value of your product/service stand out in a crowded marketplace.

First, conduct an audit of your supply chain with the aim of negotiating better terms or finding more local (and cheaper) alternatives.

Second, use software automation tools and AI-based solutions to lower your most labour-intensive tasks and the associated admin and people costs.

Finally, instead of competing on price, bundle services or enhance your customer experience to justify a premium pricing that can reduce the squeeze on revenues.

4. Managing sales revenue and cashflow

If margin compression is truly biting and affecting your profitability, it’s vital to shift from chasing high-volume sales to focusing on high-margin products.

Go through your recent sales data to find the 20% of your products/services that are generating 80% of your profit. By pivoting your marketing efforts toward these high-performing products and cutting the ones that are delivering low margins, you can maintain healthy cashflow – even when market conditions remain pressurised and challenging.

Helping you preserve your margins and drive profitability

Ultimately, overcoming margin compression is about monitoring your margins and remaining agile. Our team can help you track and review your operational costs, margins and sales revenues, while helping you spot the opportunities to increase margins and profits.

Beyond the Ledger: 3 Accounting Trends Reshaping 2026

Thu, 07 May 2026 23:09:03 +1000

Beyond the Ledger: 3 Accounting Trends Reshaping 2026

As we move through May 2026, the accounting landscape in Australia is shifting from "compliance-only" to "strategic-first." While the numbers still need to balance, the tools and regulations surrounding them have evolved significantly.

1. The Rise of "Payday Super" & Real-Time Reporting

The biggest structural change for 2026 is the mandatory shift to Payday Super. Starting 1 July 2026, the ATO requires superannuation to be paid on the same day as wages. For businesses, this means the end of the quarterly "lump sum" rush.

Actionable Tip: If you are still using the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH), be aware it is scheduled to close by 30 June 2026. You’ll need to transition to a direct payroll-integrated solution before the July 1st deadline.

2. From "Bookkeeper" to "Strategic Advisor"

With AI and automation now handling up to 80% of manual data entry and bank reconciliations, the role of your accountant has changed. In 2026, top firms are using real-time KPI dashboards to provide:

Predictive Cash Flow: Catching a shortfall before it happens.
Gross Margin Bridges: Pinpointing exactly why your profit dropped even when sales stayed high.
Scenario Modeling: Testing the impact of a new hire or price increase before you commit.

3. ESG Reporting: Not Just for Big Business

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting is no longer just for the ASX top 200. In 2026, small businesses are finding that "green credentials" are required for:

Bank Lending: Banks are increasingly factoring climate risk and governance into interest rate offers.
Government Tenders: Proving your sustainability and diversity metrics is now a standard requirement for many local and state contracts.

Beyond the Ledger: 3 Accounting Trends Reshaping 2026

Tue, 05 May 2026 13:01:02 +1000

Beyond the Ledger: 3 Accounting Trends Reshaping 2026

1. The Rise of "Payday Super" & Real-Time Reporting

Actionable Tip: If you are still using the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH), be aware it is scheduled to close by 30 June 2026. You’ll need to transition to a direct payroll-integrated solution before the July 1st deadline.

2. From "Bookkeeper" to "Strategic Advisor"

Predictive Cash Flow: Catching a shortfall before it happens.
Gross Margin Bridges: Pinpointing exactly why your profit dropped even when sales stayed high.
Scenario Modeling: Testing the impact of a new hire or price increase before you commit.

3. ESG Reporting: Not Just for Big Business

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting is no longer just for the ASX top 200. In 2026, small businesses are finding that "green credentials" are required for:

Bank Lending: Banks are increasingly factoring climate risk and governance into interest rate offers.
Government Tenders: Proving your sustainability and diversity metrics is now a standard requirement for many local and state contracts.

Some junior wage rates to be abolished: The impact for your business

Mon, 04 May 2026 11:11:54 +1000

Some junior wage rates to be abolished: The impact for your business

“Q: What’s happening with junior wage rates? Have they been amended?”

Back in February 2026, we mentioned that junior wage rates may be changing, due to an ongoing legal case brought by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA or ‘Shoppies’) against the Fair Work Commission.

The basic premise of the case was that younger workers – those aged 18, 19 and 20 years old – should earn the same pay rate as their older 20+ colleagues, and that it was unfair that younger workers did the same work but did not get the same pay.

“A: In short, yes, junior rates for workers under certain rewards are to be abolished.”

Following the success of the SDA campaign and legal action, the Fair Work Commission has announced upcoming changes to junior wages under the:

Retail Award
Fast Food Award
Pharmacy Award.

Under the old rules, if your business has workers under the age of 21 covered by the three awards, these workers would be paid a percentage of the adult pay rate for their classification.

Under the new changes to junior wage rates, employees between the ages of 18 and 20 will be entitled to the adult pay rate for their classification if they’ve been employed by their employer for more than 6 months.

Workers aged 18 to 20 won’t change their wage rate if they’ve been employed for less than 6 months with their employer. And workers under the age of 18 also won’t see any change to their wage rate. They will remain at the junior rate for employees who are younger than 18.

These changes to junior wage rates are to be gradually introduced. Further hearings will be held to determine exactly how wage rates will change and the plan for implementation. However, the Commission has said that the changes could start from 1 December 2026.

How could a change to junior rates affect your business?

If you employ a large number of younger workers between the ages of 18-20, the abolishment of junior rates could have a significant impact on your payroll.

With the junior rates removed, all workers in that age range would be paid at the same standard rate as their older colleagues. This would increase your payroll costs and impact your cashflow.

Talk to us about the impact of a change to junior wage rates

If you’re worried about the potential impact of the removal of junior rates, and the subsequent increase in wage costs, book some time for a chat with our team.

We can run scenarios to outline the potential costs and the overall impact on your cashflow.

Review Your Business Expenses and Save

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 12:20:33 +1000

Review Your Business Expenses and Save

Running a business costs money. There are always costs, overheads and supplier bills that mount up – and these expenses will gradually chip away at your cash position, making it more difficult to grow and make a profit.

So, what can you do to reduce your spend levels? And what impact will this have on your overall margins, profits and ability to fund the next stage in your business journey?

Getting proactive with your spend management

Spend management is all about getting in control of your expenses – and, where possible, aiming to reduce the level of costs and overheads that you incur as a company.

Excessive spending eats into your cashflow, reduces your profit margins and stops you from achieving the profits that you’re capable of as a business. So if you can get proactive with your spend management, you can actually make your company a far more financially productive enterprise – and that’s great for your overall business health.

What can you do to reduce spend and slim down your company expenses?

Here are some key ways to reduce expenses:

Reduce your overheads – your overheads are the unavoidable costs of running your business, producing your products or supplying your services. If you have bricks and mortar premises, these overheads will include rental payments, utility bills and the cost of paying your staff. Drill down into the numbers and see where there are opportunities to reduce these overhead costs. That could mean moving to smaller premises, or reducing the size of your workforce, to reduce payroll expenditure.
Put limits on staff expenses – if your employees can claim expenses, or buy raw materials and equipment with the company’s money, these costs can soon start to rack up. It’s a good idea to put a spending limit in place, so each staff member can only spend up to an agreed amount. Having a clear expenses policy helps, as will training up your staff in good spend management techniques. Expenses cards or expense managment software will allow you to quickly set spend limits, track expenses and pull your expenses data through to your cloud accounting platform for processing.
Look for cheaper suppliers – if you can reduce your supplier costs, this will go a long way to bringing down your overall spend. If you’ve been with certain key suppliers for years, look around for new quotes, look at current market prices and see if you can negotiate better deals. And if your old suppliers aren’t flexible enough, try swapping to newer, more eager suppliers who will be willing to meet you in the middle on price.
Make your operations leaner – the bigger your operational costs are, the less margin you’ll make on your end products and services. One way to resolve this is to aim for a ‘lean approach’, paring back your staff, resources and operational complexity to the bare minimum. By making the business as lean as possible, whilst still delivering the same output, you keep your revenue stable, but reduce the spend level that’s eating into your cost of goods sold (COGS). The smaller your COGS, the more profit you make on each unit or sale – and that means better cashflow, more working capital and bigger profits.
Explore tax reliefs – you might assume that tax costs are an unavoidable expense when running your business, but it’s worth exploring which tax reliefs, grants or other business benefits you may benefit from. For example, research and development (R&D) tax credits that help cut your corporation tax expenses if you can demonstrate that you’re involved in innovation and groundbreaking R&D within your industry or specialism.

Talk to us about improving your spend management

If you’d like to get in control of your expenses, we’d love to chat. We’ll review your current costs and will highlight the key areas where expenses can be cut. Then we’ll help you formulate a proactive spend management programme, to reduce your unnecessary spending.

5 key ways to lower your reliance on fossil fuels

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 13:54:09 +1000

5 key ways to lower your reliance on fossil fuels

As small businesses, we’re still heavily reliant on fossil fuels to run our operations. Small businesses represent 90% of all companies and generate 60%-70% of industrial emissions.

We use petrol and diesel to fuel our vehicles. We use international flights and aviation fuel to transport our goods to other countries.

A meaningful chunk of our electricity is still produced using coal-fired power stations. There’s the impact of producing plastics and petrochemical derivatives to consider.

With climate change such a pressing concern, it’s important for small businesses to do their part in achieving Net Zero. And with the Middle East currently so unstable (and oil in short supply), finding alternatives to fossil fuels is becoming business critical, rather than just a green policy.

Let’s look at five important ways you can make your business less reliant on fossil fuels.

1. Decarbonise your vehicles and logistics

Replace your petrol and diesel vehicles with electric vehicles (EVs). This eliminates tailpipe emissions and reduces your exposure to spikes in fuel prices, while also lowering the long-term maintenance costs for your delivery vehicles or service fleet.

2. Switch to renewable energy

To make your energy usage more sustainable, install solar panels or small-scale wind turbines on site to generate your own electricity. If you rent, switch to a ‘Green Tariff’ provider that guarantees your power is sourced from 100% renewable assets.

3. Reduce your overall energy consumption

Reduce your demand on the electricity grid by upgrading to energy-efficient alternatives. This could include moving to LED lighting, high-performance insulation and smart thermostats. Eliminating your energy wastage is the fastest way to reduce your need for coal-fired power.

4. Localise your supply chain

Try sourcing from local suppliers to cut down on the carbon in your supply chain. This drastically cuts your use of aviation and the heavy-fuel oil consumption required for international shipping. It also minimises your exposure to logistics disruptions caused by rising fuel prices.

5. Ditch plastics and move to bio-materials

Reduce your reliance on petrochemicals by replacing plastics with bio-based alternatives or recycled alternatives. Using circular packaging models lowers the demand for oil-based materials and helps you align more closely with global Net Zero standards.

Helping you to create a workable ESG strategy

If you’re concerned about your organisation’s reliance on fossil fuels, our team can help you create a forward-thinking environmental strategy as part of your ESG reporting.

3 Ways to Make Your Business Attractive to Lenders

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:50:20 +1000

3 Ways to Make Your Business Attractive to Lenders

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) make up over 90% of all firms and, on average, account for 70% of total employment and 50% of GDP worldwide.

But MSMES are finding it increasingly difficult to access funding. According to recent figures from the International Finance Corporation, (part of World Bank Group) the MSME finance gap in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) now stands at $5.7 trillion.

The key routes to funding

For your micro, small or medium-sized business to thrive, it’s important to have easy access to funding. But what are the usual routes to take when looking for additional funding?

For many business owners, the starting point has traditionally been their bank. Overdrafts, business loans and access to credit cards open up a route to extra capital. But with the major banks currently reluctant to lend to MSMEs, the lending market has diversified.

Private finance specialists and fintech platforms offer ways to borrow. But despite the proliferation of alternative lenders, it’s still vital to be an attractive proposition for lenders.

How to make your business more attractive to lenders

Lenders don’t want to lend to a risky prospect. As a business, it’s critical that you have a positive credit profile, good sales revenues and the available cashflow to repay the loan.

To present your business as a more attractive prospect, try these three key approaches to good recordkeeping, cashflow administration and debt management.

Keep accurate, real-time financials: Using cloud accounting software, like Xero, QuickBooks or MYOB, helps you provide potential lenders with the financial data they need. Having up-to-date balance sheets and cashflow statements gives the lender a clear overview of your financial performance and reduces the perceived risk of lending.

Demonstrate consistent cashflow coverage: Focus on achieving a strong debt service coverage ratio (DSCR). If you can show consistent, recurring revenue that comfortably covers the company’s existing and proposed debt obligations, this reassures lenders of your ability to repay.

Strengthen your business credit scores: Regularly monitor and improve your business credit score by paying suppliers early and correcting reporting errors. A high score signals you’re a low risk to lenders and eases the path to lender approvals.

Opening up the best routes to small business lending

If you’re eager to scale but are facing resistance from traditional lenders, come and talk to us. Our team can help you build a workable funding strategy and recommended approach to best lenders.

Cash flow and cost control

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 12:31:22 +1000

Cash flow and cost control

On 1 July 2026, the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) will close permanently as part of the Payday Super reforms. With only a few months left, employers still using the SBSCH need to find an alternative option, and soon.

Don’t wait until the last minute

If you currently pay your superannuation quarterly, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) recommends that the super payment for the January-March 2026 quarter (due 28 April 2026) be the last payment you make through the SBSCH. That way, you give yourself time to find and adjust to a new provider before you need to pay super for the April-June 2026 quarter.

Remember, the April –June quarter payment (due 28 July 2026) cannot be made using the SBSCH after 30 June 2026.

Choosing a new provider

There are a lot of different options out there to replace the SBSCH:Check your existing payroll software, as it may well already have super functions that you can use to pay your employees’ super guarantee contributions.

Check other payroll software or providers that meet all SuperStream requirements.

Find a commercial clearing house or super fund that provides payment options—that might include your default super fund.

Once you’ve picked your new provider, make sure to trial it out well before 1 July 2026. That way, you can get comfortable with the new platform while also having the chance to troubleshoot any potential errors before Payday Super comes into effect.

As a reminder, Payday Super requires that employers pay their employees’ super at the same time as their salary and wages, with funds to be received into employees’ nominated funds within seven business days of payday.

Closing up your SBSCH account

After 11:59 pm AEST on 30 June 2026, you won’t be able to log in to the SBSCH to submit instructions or view records, so make sure that you’ve finalised any payments and downloaded any reports from the SBSCH before it closes for good.

Make sure you’re Payday Super ready

Need help picking an alternative to the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House, or looking for further advice about Payday Super? Get in touch with a member of our team – we’d be happy to walk you through your options, and put a plan in place to get your business ready ahead of 1 July.

5 ways logistics companies can cope with rising fuel prices

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 02:20:12 +1000

5 ways logistics companies can cope with rising fuel prices

If you’re running a logistics company, small delivery business, or a company fleet of trucks, the rising costs of fuel will no doubt be a major concern.

Prices of oil have been rising since the conflict in the Middle East escalated in February 2026, with the current price of crude oil reaching record levels. With fuel prices still rising, you’ll see your profit margins slide as the cost of running your vehicles becomes ever-more expensive.

Fuel prices are not something you can directly influence. But there are ways for you to mitigate the impact of these skyrocketing petrol and diesel prices.

Five tactics and strategies for mitigating the impact of rising fuel prices

1. Consider introducing fuel surcharge clauses

You can protect your own cashflow by adding index-linked fuel surcharge clauses to your contracts with customers. This allows you to pass fluctuating costs on to your customers when prices exceed a specific, pre-defined baseline figure.

2. Optimise your route-planning with AI

Think about moving from manual planning to using AI route-planning software that calculates the most fuel-efficient paths in real-time. This reduces wasted miles and avoids idling in traffic, helping you to cut your fuel consumption across frequently used routes.

3. Consolidate loads to reduce the fuel costs

You can maximise the efficiency of deliveries by grouping smaller shipments into less-than-truckload (LTL) deliveries. You can also use digital freight exchanges to find backhaul loads for return journeys, so your trucks never burn fuel while travelling empty.

4. Enforce strict ‘eco-driving’ policies for drivers

Use telematics and in-vehicle tech to monitor and coach your drivers against heavy acceleration, speeding and excessive idling. Reducing speeds on highways and motorways can improve a vehicle's fuel economy significantly, reducing the cost of each journey.

5. Transition to electric vehicles (EVs)

This is more of a long-term strategy, but switching your fleet over to EVs may be a sound move.

Replacing your internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles with electric alternatives removes your reliance on volatile oil markets. EVs offer significantly lower ‘fuel’ costs per kilometre/mile and the long-term maintenance requirements can also be lower than for ICE vehicles.

Helping track and reduce your fuel costs

As a logistics business, effective management of your fuel costs is key to keeping your profit margins in check. If you’re concerned about the impact of rising fuel costs, book some time with our team. We’ll help you put tactics in place to keep fuel usage down and profits up.