Article by www.entrepreneur.com

A report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics cites two primary reasons why businesses fail — lack of proper planning and poor leadership. In a way, both these factors are tied to the decisions made by the business owner. Poor decisions, like too much debt or unviable investments, can dramatically alter your company’s fortunes. In this article, we’ll take a look at some ways business owners can keep their financial books in the black through smart planning and earnest leadership.

1. Equity vs. debt.

One of the perennial dilemmas that business owners face while raising funds for their business is the choice between equity and debt. Raising funds by giving up equity might seem attractive to a risk-averse startup businessman. However, giving up too much equity dilutes your own stake in the company and can be a bad choice over the long term. Debt, on the other hand, can be repaid and lets you retain your control over the business. In other words, although raising debt can be painful in the short term, it protects your stake in the long term and can thus reap larger dividends.

2. When to choose debt over equity.

A number of startups in the web and tech space today do not have a clear monetization policy during the launch phase. Companies like Twitter went through several rounds of fundraising before they started making money. It is a good idea to give up equity in such instances since these businesses do not have a clear revenue stream in place to start repaying their debt. However, if you are a startup or a small business with an established revenue stream and a steady cash flow, there is no reason why you should choose equity over debt.

3. How much debt is too much?

There is a limit to how much debt a business can take. It is worthwhile to note that business income is not always going to be consistent. Market forces outside your control can grow or dent the demand in your product or service. It is hence a good idea to only take debt that can be paid back even if you stop making money for a month or two. A good business owner knows to maintain a fair balance between money raised through debt and cash infused through the sale of equity.

4. Keep low working capital.

Working capital is the cash necessary to simply keep the business operating. It is essentially the value of your current assets minus your current liabilities. Building your product requires capital infusion and without a paying customer, your product is a liability waiting to be liquidated. Businesses that offer lengthy credit periods to their customers require high working capital. On the other hand, if you demand upfront payment for your product or service, then the liquid assets in your system are higher than liabilities. You would hence require low working capital. Tweak your business processes, including credit periods, to bring down the working capital required to run your business.

5. Insist on recurring invoices.

Modern invoicing software applications let customers set up automatic invoicing on their purchases. There are two big pros with using recurring invoices for your clients. Firstly, it brings down the accounts receivables of your organization. Although it is customary to mark accounts receivables as an asset in your accounting books, it can be a liability for small businesses that do not have the resources and the means to get paid on time for their rendered services. Secondly, automated payments establish a level of consistency in your income statements. This helps your business plan with better demand planning and logistics management.

The tips provided above can help your organization bring down the owed debt without compromising too much on your business ownership. Also, by tweaking your credit practices, it is possible to set up a healthy business process that is better suited to take on the vagaries and fickleness in the market and ensure survival for the long term.

Article by www.entrepreneur.com

Article by www.wildfly.co.za – Previous winners, The Finance Team, come 6^th in the 2018 edition of South Africa’s premier fly fishing competition

Mist and drizzle greeted the finalists of the TOPS Corporate Challenge Final this last weekend, which not surprisingly didn’t put even a slight damper on the atmosphere of the opening evening at the legendary Notties. But, with over half a Million Rands worth of holidays up for grabs and every person guaranteed to win one of them, you can understand why.

Tiger fishing Trips to Matoya, Ichingo, Royal Zambezi, Redcliffs and Shayamoya coupled with yellow fish expeditions led by Kalahari Outventures as well as Trout adventures to Semonkong and Highland Lodge had all our anglers champing at the bit to get onto the water.

With every fly fisher kitted out in their new complimentary fishing gear, the onslaught on the poor Trout was relentless. By 6am lines were sailing and flies were being stripped with intent. The resting of the waters for a full month in between qualifying legs played a role in the fish being so obliging, with an impressive 263 being caught and released in the first day alone.

There was no room for stockie bashing, the size of each catch being key and with only a total of 7 fish per angler to count in the first two sessions, the focus was on fooling fish of stature. The bonus of every amateur team able to bequeath fish to their more unfortunate team mates also had a major impact on the leader board as the sun set on Friday. Fortunately for the anglers and guests, Glenmorangie had set up a first class whisky tasting to refresh them, showcasing their range of exquisite Highland Scotch.

Friday nights at Notties have a reputation for subduing a man’s enthusiasm to brave the Midlands Winter morning, but most were up to chasing the proverbial worm, but the teams were soon battling against 35km driving winds, making any float tubing one way traffic.

Despite the challenging winds, lunch time saw another 100 Trout that had made it to the net with an impressive 61cm from Chris Wentzel and a lovely 62cm Rainbow from Simon Giles. Three other Brown Trout made an appearance and just too many fish over 50cm to mention… Despite the abominable weather, the fisherfolk were just not taking no for an answer.

We had four ladies who had made the final in 3 separate teams this year and they were showing a lot of the lads how it was done. In particular Louise Steenekamp who in the last sessions led her team’s charge with four fish and a great winning 4th session 51cm Rainbow to finish it all off.

As one would expect after all the rod pressure only 77 fish were recorded on Saturday Afternoon, but totalling 442 Trout in a final broke previous year’s records and brought the tally to an incredible 1343 fish for the 2018 TOPS Corporate Challenge.

Grant Giles from team TDI, travelling all the way from Zimbabwe took top honours, catching in every session, with 15 Trout at an average of 47cm.

The Biggest fish was a count out, forcing me to adjudicate on actual size and in the end definitively it was Rob Rein, with his 62cm Rainbow cock fish from Dwaleni that topped Simon’s Hen from SpringGrove, making him the first person in the event’s history to catch the biggest fish twice in a row. He walked away with another Quintrex boat, compliments of Yamaha.

Every angler walked away with a fishing holiday for the entire team that evening, with the Trout destinations of Cathedral Peak, InverMooi, Fordoun, Nooitgedacht, Verloonkloof, Rivendell and Sandstone making up this wonderful ensemble of fly fishing trips. This complemented the hoard of prizes that every angler won compliments of Greys, Hodgeman, Xplorer and Craghoppers.

Like any great Open Championship, It all came down to the final session and the below table will give you an indication of how closely contested it was, with 9 teams in contention to win the title:

But it’s a hearty congratulations to the Growler WildGuys with Andrew Strachan, Edwin Bean, Martin and Louise Steenekamp who pipped their competition to take home the prestigious title as the 2018 TOPS Corporate Challenge winners!

It’s testament to the quality of this event that plans are already being made about next year, marking the 18th anniversary of the TCC.

Workplace burnout is real. I know, because I’ve been there, and I know most others have as well at some point or another. Thrive Global’s Arianna Huffington is no different. She’s on a mission to fix what she deems a “culture of burnout,” after her own collapse from exhaustion in 2007.

Huffington rightly says: “When we take care of ourselves, we are more effective, we are more creative and we are more successful in a broad definition of the word.”

Medical News Bulletin recently published “Can Positive Psychology Traits Prevent Burnout?,” referencing a study where participants completed a survey about the balance of the effort versus reward from a job. This particular research was focused on the manufacturing industry in China, given the “monotonous and repetitive nature of their work,” but this can be said for many professions and sectors. It was found that hope, self-efficacy, resilience and optimism can help to manage work stress, and people with these qualities are less likely to become burnt out.

There have been many studies published over the years that working less results in higher productivity (hint: the optimal number is less than 40 hours per week). Perhaps even more important is that it’s nearly impossible to stay focused for long stretches at a time. Some research suggests that you should be breaking as frequently as every hour.

Work smarter not harder

In line with that, I believe in working smarter, not harder. While there are 24 hours in a day, they weren’t all made for work. I’m in the camp that working eight hours nonstop is actually more unproductive than it is beneficial. Your brain has peak operating times, and what works for one may not work for another.

Some people are at their best in the mornings, while others are most efficient late at night. I firmly believe that dictating what hours you should work and when is not the best method to yield quality work.

I often get asked how I can get things done. I work from home, and some have the perspective that I have no one to hold me accountable throughout the day. Inquiring minds wonder everything from what my daily schedule looks like, to how I motivate myself to finish up a project or prospect for my next client.

Let me start by saying that I strongly value flexibility. It’s the reason why working for myself is the best fit for me. But I hold myself accountable, and there’s a certain amount of self-discipline involved in doing that. Everything I do is because I’ve set goals for myself.

I have a duty to uphold to my clients and my partners, and a commitment to myself about the success of my business. I also pride myself in the underrated aspect of efficiency. It’s not how long you do something for, but how well you do it.

Several books I’ve read over the years on this topic have stuck with me. Getting Things Done, by David Allen, addresses the two-minute rule. If you can do something in two minutes or less, do it now. Don’t make a note and come back to it later. The time you spend thinking about it, planning it and recording it is more than the time it actually takes to complete the task.

Tim Ferriss’s 4-Hour Work Week covers the topic of efficiency as well. He’s a prime example of taking the phrase “Work smarter, not harder” to a whole new level. To be successful, it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to work more, only that you need to work more efficiently.

Based on experience, I’ve adopted these top five tips to do just that:

Free up your mind

There is no need to remember everything. You read that right. Why are you keeping everything in your mind, which only serves to bog you down and make you feel overwhelmed? Find a record-keeping system that works for you.

Some people prefer old-fashioned paper notes. I prefer electronic. With a Mac laptop and an iPhone, I use Notes and Reminders apps to store everything I need to do or think about. I schedule reminder times to make sure I’ve checked something off my list. No matter what device I’m on, I know it’s available to me.

Schedule

Plus, I schedule everything on my calendar – my morning activities to start my day, hours allocated for every client and even things like time to take a walk. But again, I’m flexible. I move things around as needed, but I know I have set time to focus on a task at hand.

Plan and bucket

Some projects seem daunting from the start, but they need to be done whether you want to or not. Oftentimes the hardest part of a project is starting it.

Create a plan and break it down into manageable chunks. If you can complete a portion each day, not only will your mind stay sharp, but that focus will also help to make the task more bearable. As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Follow the 80/20 rule

I’m a longtime follower of the 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle: 80 percent of results come from 20 percent of the work.

Why are you spending time on things that take 80 percent of your resources but deliver 20 percent of the value?

Stop doing meaningless tasks, or outsource them if they must be done. Prioritisation is one of the most important keys to efficiency.

Take breaks

It might seem counter intuitive that you can get more done by working less, but the human mind was not created to work non-stop. As research suggests, breaks are beneficial. Go for a walk, have lunch away from your desk, read a book, catch up with a friend or colleague – I promise you’ll feel refreshed and ready to reengage.

The 40-hour workweek is so synonymous with the American culture that it’s unlikely to change in the corporate world anytime soon. Most of us know that 40 hours isn’t really 40 hours anyway, it’s “whatever it takes.” That being said, with influencers like Huffington working to educate companies on the detriments of overwork, there’s hope.

There’s nothing wrong with working hard – it’s to be admired and valued. But don’t work long hours only for the sake of it. The companies that are getting it right realise that face time isn’t everything.

The results you deliver, the reputation you hold and the relationships you build should always outweigh the hours of your workweek. As an entrepreneur, you can take advantage of this and you can evangelise this approach to others. Work smarter, not harder, and you’ll be better for it.

This article was originally posted here on Entrepreneur.com.

Article by www.entrepreneurmag.co.za

Most taxpayers are not aware of the requirements for a tax refund to be facilitated and SARS very often will delay paying out the refund. In this article, we will look at the requirements taxpayers need to be aware of and the Tax Ombud’s report on the investigation into alleged delayed payment of refunds as a systemic and emerging issue in terms of section 16 (1) (b) of The Tax Administration Act No. 28 of 2011 (TAA).

What you need to know as a taxpayer:

• The tax refund must be claimed within 5 years from date of submission of the return.
• SARS has the right to withhold the refund as per section 190 (2) of TAA: “SARS need not authorise a refund as referred to in subsection (1) until such time that a verification, inspection or audit of the refund in accordance with Chapter 5 has been finalised.”
• Authorisation of payment of refund done once SARS is satisfied with the acceptable security provided by the taxpayer in terms of section 190 (3) of TAA: “SARS must authorise the payment of a refund before the finalisation of the verification, inspection or audit if security in a form acceptable to a senior SARS official is provided by the taxpayer.”
• As a taxpayer, you need to ensure that you verify your banking details with SARS and that there are no outstanding returns in order for your refund not to be delayed.
• Any decision not to refund by SARS is subject to an objection and appeal by the taxpayer in terms of section 190 (6) of TAA.
• Refunds less than R100 are not refunded but carried forward to the next tax period.
• To view the status of your refund you can use the Refund Dashboard on efiling under the ‘Returns History’ tab for the tax period in question or contact the SARS call centre.
• Interest starts accruing from 21 business days from the date on which the refund became due, i.e. verification/audit outcome finalised.

Tax Ombud’s Report

The Tax Ombud’s report identified various mechanisms used by SARS to defer or delay the payment of refunds due:

• SARS failing to link submitted supporting documents at a SARS branch to the main file.
• The use of special stoppers on taxpayers’ accounts and the delay in lifting the stoppers, e.g. being required to verify banking details in person at a SARS branch. Even after the verification is done, there is still a lengthy delay in paying the refund.
• Using the filing of new returns as an excuse to block refunds. The system blocks already verified refunds the moment a subsequent return is submitted by the taxpayer.
• Withholding of refunds for one period while an audit/verification is in progress on another period. This is contrary to section 190 of the TAA.
• The use of historic returns suddenly reflecting as outstanding but these have never been shown as outstanding on the Tax Clearance Certificate or the Statement of Account.
• The raising of assessments and passing of journals to absorb credits on taxpayers’ accounts, i.e. overpayments. In doing so, SARS creates fictious tax liabilities instead of making a decision on the refund.
• Requesting further information during the audit to delay finalisation, thus delaying the time frame from when the interest accrues.
• No turnaround time for assessments successfully disputed.
• Obstacles regarding diesel refunds.
• Raising of assessments prematurely before the 21 days to submit the supporting documents
• Refunds for periods that have been verified automatically set-off against bad debts on other periods not withstanding a request for suspension or where there is the suspension of payment. SARS may not instate any collection steps from date of submission of request for suspension of payment until 10 days after decision to not grant the request has been communicated to the taxpayer in terms of section 164 (6).

You are able to object/dispute any SARS decision not to release the refund on efiling or through your tax practitioner.

Article by www.entrepreneurmag.co.za

Article by www.entrepreneur.com

Do you find managing your business finances to be a pain? Although it may appear to be, and often is, tedious, keeping your finances in order is extremely important.

It helps you to project where your business is headed, and when you know exactly how your revenue and expenses are stacking up, you can begin to make more informed decisions for your business. Maintaining your financial records also makes tax reporting and payments a lot more manageable.

Don’t try to do it all alone. Leverage the talent and the tools that are available to you. Here are six tips to help you keep your business finances in order:

1. Keep your personal and business finances separate.

Mixing your personal and business finances will inevitably result in confusion. It might seem convenient to charge everything to a single card, but ultimately this will make tracking your spending far more complicated than it needs to be.

Begin by opening separate bank and credit card accounts for your business. For the ongoing tracking and measuring of your finances, and for tax purposes, this practice will take a major headache out of sorting your transactions every quarter, or every year as the case may be.

This will also take the guesswork out of the equation. If you want to be successful in business, you need to be able to monitor and track your key performance indicators. You need to know the score, and some of the most important elements include cash flow, expenses, revenue, profit and so on.

2. Choose accounting software that makes sense for your business.

When it comes to accounting software, there are a variety of different solutions. Think of Xero, QuickBooks and Freshbooks. The best online accounting software depends on your business, and it’s worth considering several options before making a decision.

If you haven’t moved your financial data from desktop software to the cloud yet, that should be your first order of business. Cloud-based tools allow you to view real-time insights, and they can be accessed from anywhere at any time. The ability to keep an eye on your finances on the fly gives you a great deal of flexibility as a business owner.

If you’ve already picked out an online solution, ensure that it’s the right one for you and your business. Today more than ever, there are a myriad of options to choose from, and if you aren’t satisfied with your current service, you can always make the switch to another platform that better matches your needs.

3. Consider hiring a professional bookkeeper.

Most people aren’t numbers people, and will never be excited about them as much as accountants or bookkeepers are. If managing your own finances is starting to get on your nerves, it’s time to look into hiring a qualified bookkeeper.

Many entrepreneurs have a tendency to try to handle everything themselves. But as with legal matters, the granular elements of small-business accounting aren’t usually within a business owner’s wheelhouse.

Although it’s easy to balk at the expense of working with a bookkeeper, they will be able to help you save money over the long haul. You’ll be freed up to work on high value tasks that keep the business moving forward, while your bookkeeper handles the tedium of number crunching.

4. Stay organized and plan ahead.

The aforementioned tips should help with keeping your finances organized. Moreover, monitoring your finances and projecting future revenue and expenses will enable you to make better long-term decisions for your business.

Without this information, planning ahead can prove challenging. If you aren’t looking at the future of your business, you could be taken by surprise. If you want to get ahead and stay ahead of the competition, you should plan as much as 10 years in advance.

You’ll be able to mitigate unwanted surprises if you stay ahead of the ball. Even if unexpected expenses do rise, if you’ve been practicing conservatism in your spending, you shouldn’t run into any major problems.

5. Make a budget.

Part of staying organized and planning ahead should include creating a budget. Many business owners view this step as dull and unnecessary, but the importance of a budget could be equated with the value of a well-formed business plan.

A budget is not a tool for planning out how every penny should be spent. Rather, it’s a framework that you can use to help you make clear-headed decisions, whether it’s increasing your marketing spend, or cutting expansion costs to keep your profits on track.

Make a budget and use it as your guide. Don’t allow it to force you into decisions you don’t want to make, but use it to make adjustments when and where necessary.

6. Find a trusted credit union in your locality.

Credit unions are invaluable to small-business owners, especially since they are often willing to provide loans at competitive rates. Make it a point to seek out the best one in your locality, and make sure they understand your business needs. The partnership could prove immensely beneficial.

Some of the other advantages of credit unions include fewer transaction fees and account service charges, as well as flexible, customized services.

Since credit unions are not answerable to shareholders, they are empowered to put your interests at the forefront. Credit unions also keep profits within the community, and help budding entrepreneurs get their dream businesses off the ground.

Final thoughts

The reality is that many business owners do not keep track of their finances. Whether you know it or not, this could mean missing out on opportunities to minimize your expenses and maximize your profits.

Preparing online business accounts can take time, but the end result is worth the effort. Even if you don’t consider finances to be the most important part of your business, streamlining your process will allow you to develop a straightforward step-by-step process as opposed to a search-and-find initiative.

Make the effort to simplify the organization of your business finances moving forward. This will allow for long-term stability and sustainability.

Article by www.entrepreneur.com