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Never has a global economic situation illustrated the importance of cash flow and budgeting as the COVID-19 economy.  In the initial phases of the COVID-19 economy those businesses with cash were able to ride out lock downs, supplier changes and customer disruptions.  As the COVID-19 economy continues to develop, cash rich businesses are able to invest, make relevant changes to supply chains, and even purchase struggling competitors.  Take a look at the Venaccurac team’s top 3 ways to improve cash flow in your business.

#1 Improve cash flow with expert budgeting advice.

The first and most important step in creating better cash flow is budgeting.

Budgeting is defined by Oxford Dictionary as “the process of planning to spend an amount of money for a particular purpose” read more here

At Venaccuracc, we believe that just like every other area of your business, your accounting needs a strategic plan that starts with a strategic, growth minded budget.

Why do you need a strategic accounting plan?

Because without a plan which includes a strategic budget, your business will be unable to take advantage of opportunities or respond to threats within the COVID-19 economy.

As part of the Venaccuracc monthly retainer, we offer clients an opportunity to discuss strategic business decisions and how they can be incorporated into a strategic business budget.  For more information click here.

#2 Improve cash flow with retainer agreements.

There is nothing more frustrating than working hard every month only to have a whopping bill you weren’t expecting coming along and gobbling up all of your profit.  It is for this reason that understanding cash flow is critically important to your business.

Every business has seasons of high expenditure and seasons of lower expenditure, many of which are out of your control.   There are some areas in your business where you can smooth the curve into predictable expenditure.  Accounting professional services are just such an area.  Accounting bills have peak work hours over certain months (for example, year-end statements and tax season).

At Venaccurac, we believe that good cash flow management starts with providing our clients with a manageable monthly retainer that enables good cash flow and evens out the peaks and troughs of financial management.  Our team ensures that our clients work is taken care of during peak accounting seasons without extra bills that damage cash flow.

To facilitate even cash flow the Venacuracc retainer package includes

• Income tax
• Annual returns
• EMP501
• EMP201
• Vat201
• Financial Statements
• In addition to tailored accounting services Venaccuracc provides clients with a dedicated, focussed strategic accounting meeting on a monthly basis.

For all the professional services you engage in, we recommend monthly retainer packages to assist with cash flow management and sales targets in your business.  Find out more here.

#3 Improve cash flow with an accounting partner like Venaccuracc

At Venaccuracc, as mentioned in #2, in addition to the strategic accounting services we offer clients, we also provide our retainer clients with professional, strategic accounting consultation that empowers clients to make excellent financial decisions.

 Why is this important? 

Because any business decision you make, whether it is changing suppliers, entering new markets or hiring staff, has financial implications.  Your Venaccuracc accountant is able to provide a strategic financial view of your business and advise you according to your budget, financial statements and cash flow.

Financial strategy is an expert field and one seldom available to small or medium businesses.  If you want to grow your business beyond its current status then you need a financial expert like the Venaccuracc team.

“We partnered with Venaccuracc when we first opened our doors in 2012.  The wealth of knowledge and advise we received really put our minds at ease and we could concentrate on other areas of our business knowing that Venaccuracc had, and still has our best interests at heart. Not only has the Venaccurac teams sound advice enabled us to manage our finances it has also empowered us to make the right financial decisions at the right time which has contributed enormously to our growth into different countries around the world.”  – Byron Masollini – the Wikid Agency

To read more testimonials click here.

Working with Venaccuracc on a monthly retainer you have access to and the opportunity for month-on-month strategic accounting advice, expert tax and vat management, strategic budgeting and cash flow advice, financial statements and much more.  Click here to find out more.

It has been said that there are only two absolute certainties in life. Death and Taxes. Now, while Venaccuracc is unable to do anything about death, there is a lot we are able to help you with when it comes to taxes. If February is your businesses year end, then ensuring you have the right documentation could literally save you hundreds of thousands and save you from business death by taxes!

So, what do you need to have in place in your business to satisfy SARS:

1.    ITR14 Taxes

For the first time submission of ITR14 documents with their associated schedules must be signed off for companies classified as small businesses as well as if they are classified as a medium or large business. Read more here.

An ITR14 is a summary of the income and expenses of your business for the year and is the document from which your tax is calculated.

The Venaccuracc team helps our clients to determine what can be claimed as an expense in your business. 

Why is this important?

Because claiming the wrong expenses could result in a tax audit and claiming too few expenses could result in your business paying unnecessary tax. Both of these scenarios are a disaster and can so easily be avoided with help from the expert Venaccuracc team.

CONTACT US TODAY

2.    ITR14 Schedules

SARS has several categories of ITR14 schedules that pertain to different industries. We’ve listed them here for your convenience:

• Mining: Gen-001 Mining Schedule
• Short Term Insurance: ICS01 Short term insurance schedule
• For Headquarter Companies: RCH01 Schedule for Headquarters Company election
• Farming activities: Farming Schedule IT48
• A company that claims an allowance for learnership agreements in terms of 12H of the income Tax Act: IT180
• Foreign Controlled Foreign Companies: IT10

Read more here

These are just a few examples of the ITR14 schedules. The Venaccuracc team has all the expertise needed to assist your business to navigate the variety of tax submissions for your business. View our services here.

3.    Financial Statements

The all-important financial statement! The “life or death”–depending on whether you get it right or wrong- of your business. The document that not only supports your tax submissions but is also a critical piece of information for running your business.

We’ve put together a beginner’s guide to Annual Financial Statements to help you make sense of the requirements:

1. Balance Sheets

Your Annual Financial Statement balance sheet should include information on:

• Assets

An asset in an Annual Financial Statement is something a business owns with the expectation that it will result in future financial benefit for your business.

• Liabilities

A liability in an Annual Financial Statement is an obligation between parties not yet fulfilled and can include deferred revenues, bonds, warranties and accrued expenses.

• Equity capital

Equity Capital in an Annual Financial Statement is capital or funds paid into a business from investors.

• Debt

Debt in Annual Financial Statements is a liability or something (normally money) the business owes

2. Income Statements

An income statement in the Annual Financial Statement shows the companies income and expenditure and also indicates a profit or a loss.

3. Cash Flow Statements

Cash Flow Statements in Annual Financial Statements summarises the amount of cash flowing into and out of the company.  

It’s obvious from these definitions how these documents are important not only for SARS tax purposes but also for the efficient running of your business.

Working with Venaccuracc on your Annual Financial Statements will not only ensure that you stay on the right side of SARS but will also benefit your business in these ways:

• Planning expenditure: Having a clear picture of where the money in your business is, either in assets, liabilities or cash flow understanding, assists you to plan expenditure better.
• Planning investment: Well prepared Annual Financial Statements provide the information you need to properly plan both short term and long-term business investments.

Venaccuracc assist businesses to prepare the correct documents with accurate information so that your Annual Financial Statements (AFS) support your tax submissions helping you avoid business death by taxes.

CONTACT US TODAY

As a professional business owner you probably wear several hats all in one day.  A production hat, a marketing hat, an HR hat, and often the accountant hat.  But the problem with all those hats is that many of these areas in a business requires extensive expertise and none more so than your accounting and here is why up should use a professional.

1. Your accounts need to facilitate business

The way in which your books are run can either facilitate trade or hinder it.

As a non-professional, you as the business owner will not, necessarily have the expertise to set up your accounts in this way, which is where the Venaccuracc Accountants come into play.

Facilitating business is about putting structures in place that help to ensure cash flow at the right times, debt payment at the right time, expenditure at the right time and savings or cost cutting measures at the right time.

Our team works with you to fully understand your business so that we can put these accounting structures in place to help ensure you have money in the business when you need it most.

2. Compliance is king

The second, and incredibly important reason you need a professional team behind your books, is compliance.

South Africa has very well-structured Tax, banking and legal systems which enables businesses in the country to effectively trade with ther international companies and protect businesses in South Africa from fraud.

Complying with these systems, however, requires specialised knowledge and attention to detail which the Venaccuracc team offers.

The consequences of NOT complying to these systems include:

• banks revoking loans, and credit facilities which supply the business with cash flow.
• Investors being unable to find equity in the business and refusing to invest.
• Facilities with suppliers being denied.

Venaccuracc’s team of accountants ensure your business is compliant and has the right professionally prepared documentation in place so that you can confidently conduct business.

3. A professional accountant can help you grow

For any business growth is the goal which is why it is so important that your books facilitate that growth.

Venaccuracc prides itself in being one of the most growth minded accounting firms in South Africa.  Now in order to help your business to grow we work with you to not only understand your businesses current position, but to also understand your growth vision.

The Venaccuracc team spends time understanding your industry and where the opportunities and the potential timing for those opportunities to come to fruition, lie.

From there we can put an accounting strategy into play that empowers your business to grow by assisting you with expenditure planning, management decisions and asset purchasing.

Having a professional accounting team behind your business is like having a business genie in your pocket, where you have access to knowledge and ultimately business power without the cost and inconvenience of employing a full accounting team yourself.

With such a complex market place it’s imperative that you have a reputable, detail oriented and client oriented accounting team behind your business, facilitating trade through excellent compliance and financial structures and setting your business up for future growth.

The Venaccuracc team can’t wait to chat to you about your business and the growth you are planning.  Give us a call today.

Why not give it a try?

Most entrepreneurs and small-to-medium business owners are very hands-on when it comes to the daily activities at their companies. Why is it then that so many of them choose to outsource the most vital part: bookkeeping?

If you are a business owner, you will already know how important it is to have knowledge of every part of your business whether managing the reception desk or loading the trucks in the bay at the warehouse. Being in control is what minimizes problems and creates opportunity to come up with a back-up plan in case of a crisis.

The same can be said for being in control of your own finances and bookkeeping. Doing your own bookkeeping will ensure that you are aware of potential financial issues before they become a huge problem. Not good with figures? Well, that doesn’t really matter in our modern age of free bookkeeping software.  With a free program such as PBS EasyBooks, ZipBooks, Money Manager EX etc. you will be up and running with your specific bookkeeping needs met in no time. Venaccuracc have partnered with Sage, and are happy to get your started in this user friendly program.

The biggest benefit of doing your own bookkeeping is definitely the cost-saving aspect of it.

When you use an all-in-one bookkeeping program, you don’t need an invoicing or financial system/program anymore as all of this is taken care of within the bookkeeping software background. And while you are learning how the program works, you also become more knowledgeable about your company’s finances and how money works within a business environment. Not to mention, when that time of the year rolls around during which you have pay taxes, you won’t have to scramble around for slips and invoices, as everything will be electronically saved on your computer and can simply be forwarded on to Venaccuracc that is handling your tax affairs.

So, what are you waiting for? Go online and download your preferred free bookkeeping system for your specific company needs and take control of your business’s finances today.

With the announcement of the 21 day lock down this week, many businesses find themselves in the very difficult position of facing 21 days without income.

Now while some businesses can use online platforms to market and continue growing during this time, for some this is a potentially very dangerous financial set back.

The announcement that the government is setting up “a special dispensation for companies that are in distress because of COVID19” as well as “using the tax system” to provide relief in various sectors may just be the silver lining many businesses need to see them through the dark days ahead.

However, the application for funds from the special dispensation and the tax system will undoubtably require businesses to present a strong business case for why they qualify.  This is to protect the system from abuse and to ensure that the money goes to legitimate organisations in distress.

If your business is going to be without income for the next 21 days and severely affected by the lock down, you could well qualify for the help the government is offering, however there are 3 elements Venaccuracc Accounting believes will need to be in place for you to effectively claim from the government.

1. Clear and consistent accounting records

One of the most important aspects is likely to be the businesses ability to show how the accounts were working prior to the 21-day lock down and how they are affected by the 21-day lock down.

If your accounts are months in arrears or difficult to follow it is likely to be very difficult for the administration to approve your claim.  It’s also highly likely that confused and unclear books will result in a plethora of questions which will delay the relief the business so desperately needs.

Venaccuracc Accounting is able to present clear accounts by organising and sorting through previous accounts records and providing the right documentation for your business.

Take a look at what Guardarm Security cc one of our clients had to say:

“Venaccuracc Accounting was able to deal with a 3-year backlog in financial issues & admin in our company to get us current with all facets within 1 month, ensuring that we had all our requirements met with when it counted!”

2. Tax Compliance

The second area the government will be very strict with is tax compliance.  If your business is not properly registered with SARS then you will not be able to claim from the special dispensation or use the tax system to alleviate financial pressure.

Venaccuracc Accountants work with you to ensure that your business is tax compliant, which is not only an empowering element now, but an important element for going forward too.

These two stories from our clients are great examples of how Venaccuracc can assist with tax compliance in ordinary circumstances, let alone in helping your business with compliance for the current extraordinary circumstances.

Venaccuracc saves client tax penalty money

We assisted a lady that was 10 years behind on her tax returns. We managed to get them up to date within a week and reduced the penalties from R71 000 to R35 000 saving her R36 000.

Venaccuracc empowers client with tax refund

In another instance we helped an employee with an Income Tax refund. He worked outside the country for a long period of time and wasn’t aware that he could claim back on his PAYE. If we can put in the additional amount He received R78000

3. Company documentation compliance

There are several areas in your business that require compliance, from the registration of your company to ongoing requirements that, if not in place, are likely to hamper any claims from the COVID19 special dispensation and/or the tax systems.

The Venaccuracc team of accountants will work with you to ensure that every i is dotted and every t crossed increasing the chances of a successful claim from the government which could be what saves your business.

This recent story from one of our clients is a good example of how Venaccuracc has helped clients with these types of issues in the past:

A business owner recently wanted to apply for a bond, but the bank got back to her and said her company was being deregistered.

She immediately phoned us and asked what that meant.

We explained the process of having to submit annual returns and if not done over a period of time CIPC declares the company as dormant and starts the deregistration process.

As she had no idea that those had to be submitted, she wasn’t aware on what to look for.

Venaccuracc was able to catch the problem early and we managed to get her company compliant, in order for the bank to continue with the application.

If you are concerned about the financial health of your company post the COVID19 lock down and are considering entering a claim to the government contact Venaccuracc Accounting first so that we can get all of the compliance issues ironed out and increase your chances of success.

Administrative Penalties for Corporate Income Tax (CIT) to be imposed.

SARS will be imposing administrative penalties from January 2019 for outstanding Corporate Income Tax (CIT) returns and not the 07 of December as originally communicated.

Administrative penalties will be imposed on companies that receive a final demand to submit a return. In terms of Section 210 of the Tax Administration Act of 2011, non-compliance with regards to non-submission of required CIT returns may be subjected to a penalty, as follows:

• If SARS is satisfied that noncompliance by a person referred to in subsection (2) exists, excluding the non-compliance referred to in section 213, SARS must impose the appropriate ‘penalty’ in accordance with the Table in section 211.
• Non-compliance is failure to comply with an obligation that is imposed by or under a tax Act and is listed in a public notice issued by the Commissioner, other than:
  • the failure to pay tax subject to a percentage based penalty under Part C; or
  • non-compliance subject to an understatement penalty under Chapter 16.

The penalties range from R250 to R16 000 per month that non-compliance continues, depending on a company’s assessed loss or taxable income. Companies that have outstanding CIT returns are requested to submit their return to SARS before the end of November 2018 to rectify non-compliance and prevent penalties being imposed.

Please note that it is compulsory for registered companies to submit their income tax returns. If a company is dormant, it is still required to submit any outstanding returns prior to 2018 to prevent a penalty being imposed. The criteria for the exception in 2018 are set out in Notice 600 of 15 June 2018.