The importance of logos

A logo is an image that can be associated with your company, helping establish your identity and giving the public another way to remember you. A visual image makes your company more memorable because people learn things and remember things in many different ways — some people are more verbal, some more visual. People use more of their brains when they associate you with both words and images, meaning you make more of a mental impact.

Some logo pointers for small businesses:

A good logo conveys something about your company and gives people a feeling about the kind of company you are.

An inexpensive way to create some visual images for your business is to add graphic elements: lines, squares, circles or diamonds.

A logo doesn’t have to be a drawing or illustration; a logo can be made up entirely of typography.

Brainstorm logo ideas on your own — make sketches, list words and phrases you’d like your logo to convey, etc. — but think about hiring a graphic designer to create the finished product. An unprofessional looking logo can damage your brand.

A guide to the different types of superannuation funds

There are a lot of different types of superannuation funds, and many people to not know what the differences between them are. We have compiled this guide to explain the different types of superannuation and details the advantages and disadvantages of each.

MySuper
MySuper accounts are a new type superannuation account that is a ‘no-frills’ superannuation option. Soon MySuper accounts will become the default superannuation option when an employee has not chosen a super fund. MySuper accounts have low fees and very simple features. Retail, industry and corporate funds can all offer MySuper accounts.

Retail Funds
Retail super funds are run for profit, usually by financial institutions or corporate investment firms. Membership is open to the public and people will often be referred to them by them by financial advisors, who may receive fees or commissions for the referral. For this reason you should always do your own research before taking advice to join a retail super fund. Retail super funds are known to have high fees, so you should always consider whether or not your returns will justify these costs.

Industry Funds
Industry funds are often restricted to employees from a specific industry, although some of the larger ones are open to the public. Industry funds are non-for-profit, so the fund directs all of the returns back to members. The fees of industry funds vary greatly, so you should make comparisons if you are considering an industry fund.

Public Sector Funds
Public sector funds were established for employees of Federal and State government departments. They are usually only open to governments employees, and generally have low fees and are not-for-profit. Public sector funds may be defined benefit or accumulation funds, although newer members tend to be in accumulation funds.

Corporate Funds
Corporate funds are organised by employers for their employees. The fund may be operated by larger retail or industry funds, in which case they will take some of the profits , or be operated by the employer under a boards of trustees, in which case they are not-for-profit.

Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSF)
SMSFs are superannuation funds that are managed by their members. An SMSF may have between one and four members, and they allow people to have more control over their investment options. There are also investments that are possible in SMSFs that are not available in public funds, for example; an SMSF may purchase a residential property that will be transferred to the members when they reach pension age. SMSFs can, however, be time consuming and will be more cost effective for some people than others.

New approach to taxing employee shares welcomed by startups

A tax reform by the federal government will increase the scope of employers to issues employees with shares and stock options. Prior to 2009, employees receiving shares or stock options were able to defer paying tax, with many only paying CGT once they have disposed of the assets down the line. In order to increase budget revenue, the Labour government changed this arrangement, meaning that when an employee received shares, they incurred an immediate tax liability.

These restrictions meant that many startups often had to start paying employees higher salaries in order to retain talent. However, the benefits of startups being able to issues shares and stock options go beyond freeing up valuable cash flow. When employees have a stake in the future success of a startup commitment, motivation and engagement soar.

The federal government is considering a scheme modelled on a similar British approach, whereby the option to defer tax is limited to smaller companies. The Treasury is currently investigating what size thresholds will boost productivity without creating a problematic shortfall in budget revenue.

Keeping in touch with old staff members

Many employers will simply lose touch with an old employee once they have left the workplace. While individual staff members may stay in touch via social media sites, especially LinkedIn, it is communication from the business itself that will often be left wanting. By sending out alumni newsletters, holding annual events that ex-employees are invited to or just dropping the occasional email you can go a long way in maintaining relationship that may prove valuable down the track.

Ex-employees with whom your firm is still on active and amicable terms are valuable assets. They make up a unique network who can recommend potential future employees to you or might be willing to come back to work for you in the future. Additionally, many of your old staff members will have expertise about your business that can not be found anywhere else, making them an amazing knowledge pool. Treating old staff members with ongoing respect and attention will also improve the image of your company to current staff members, potentially improving your retention rates.

New interview techniques

The entire recruitment and interviewing process is currently undergoing a lot of changes. Social networking sites such as LinkedIn are becoming an increasingly mainstream way to identify job candidates, and the entire workforce is becoming more fluid. There have also been a lot of exciting new ideas about how best to conduct interviews, many of which might be able to give you a much better idea of how a candidate will perform in the role.

Multiple interviewers: It can be a great idea to invite other staff members to sit in on interviews, either as silent observers or active interviewers. Not only will this give you the benefit of a second opinion, but they may be able to hone in on qualities or skills that will be valuable to the company’s inner workings.

Behaviour based interviews: This can be anything from asking a candidate to describe their behaviour in past roles and situations to setting a test or activity for them to complete. Setting a common activity for all of your candidates to complete can be a particularly insightful way to differentiate between the competition.

Reframing traditional job interview questions: Most interview candidates will have rehearsed their answers to traditional job interview questions, making it hard to get an accurate reading of their abilities. If you present a question in a slightly different way to normal, you will get a more natural answer that is reflective of the candidate’s adaptability. For example, instead of asking someone what they think their weaknesses are, ask them to describe how they have resolved a situation where they lacked knowledge or experience.

Crackdown on cash economy

The ATO is cracking down on businesses that operate off the books in order to avoid paying their fair share of taxes, also known as operating within the black, underground or cash economy. Businesses are known to use a wide range of strategies to skirt their tax responsibilities. This may include underreporting takings and paying staff in cash. Several businesses have also been caught using EFTPOS terminals that are not registered to the main company.

The ATO has appealed for the broader community to report any behaviour that they think is suspicious, for example, businesses that regularly conduct transactions without putting them through the cash register.

Techniques such as data matching and benchmarking businesses against similar operations will also be used by the ATO in their attempt to catch out businesses who are not paying their taxes.

The ATO has identified particular geographic areas, usually hospitality hotspots, and particular industries known to favour cash that will subject to particularly close monitoring.

Crackdown on multinational corporate tax evasion

Treasurer Joe Hockey has announced that he has requested the Tax Commissioner ramp up his efforts to prevent multinational corporations from generating profits in Australia before moving them offshore to avoid tax responsibilities.

Tax evasion tactics by multinational corporations have been an ongoing problem in Australia. There has recently been a renewed interest in the issue as revelations about the negligible Australian tax paid by high profile companies, such as Google and Apple, have come to the fore.

The plan to tackle this issue includes reinforcing Australia’s capitalisation rules, collaborating with other countries and strengthening communication between the government and the Tax Commissioner.

Multinational corporate tax evasion is not just damaging to the Australian budget. It also means that there is unfair competition for Australian businesses who are doing the right thing in meeting their tax obligations.

Super guarantee frozen

Over the past week, the government has confirmed its decision to freeze the compulsory superannuation guarantee at 9.5% for the next seven years. It will rise to 10% in 2021 and then increase incrementally before plateauing at 12% in 2025. Previous to this, the superannuation guarantee was planned to reach 12% by the 2019/20 financial year.

In light of these changes, individuals may have to reconsider their approach to superannuation if they want to maintain their current retirement plans. If it is possible for you in your current circumstances, you may want to consider salary sacrificing into your super. This is also known as making concessional, or before tax, contributions. The advantage of salary sacrificing into superannuation is that it will be taxed at the low rate of 15% (as long as it is below the concessional contributions cap), which for most people is far less than their marginal tax rate. Even salary sacrificing as little as $10 a week into your superannuation can go a long way in counteracting the impact of the frozen superannuation guarantee.

Hiring Graduates

Hiring recent university graduates is a great way to bring fresh ideas and energy to your business. Other advantages include the potential to shape their work habits to suit your company and the possibility that they will have some exciting technical skills to offer. Graduates also have far lower salary expectations, meaning that they can be an affordable source of talent.

Here are some tips for recruiting top tier graduates:

1. Show them what the role involves
Throughout the recruitment process, you should be aiming to show potential recruits why working for you is in their best interests. Being able to give them a crystal clear understanding of what the role will entail will go a long way in boosting your credentials.

2. Hold group interviews early on
Group interviews are a time efficient way to assess the interpersonal skills that are so crucial to a successful professional life. You will quickly be able to get a feel for their natural aptitude, communication abilities and capacity to work as a team.

3. Clearly demonstrate the potential for career progression
The number one thing that graduates are looking for in their first job is an opportunity for career progression. You should explain what the different options for them within the company would be, and also aim to demonstrate why experience with you will look great on their future CV.

Common website building mistakes

It’s uncommon these days for a business not to have a website. Most businesses understand the power of having an online website and its ability to increase sales.

However, simply having a website doesn’t necessarily mean it is going to drive the results that are expected. A lot of businesses find themselves falling into common traps and overlooking important aspects when designing and building a website.

Below is a list of four common mistakes business owners are likely to make when building a website:

1. Difficult to navigate

Customers don’t want to waste their time clicking through a number of website pages to make a purchase. Websites that drive the customer to purchase will have only one call to action button.

When designing businesses should decide on what action is most important and emphasise that option above all others. For example, if a business is focused on online sales, then the ‘buy now’ button should be most prominent on the page.

2. Too much content

Clients don’t want to waste their time reading through an overload of text. Instead, consider whether the information is best displayed visually, through an image or video.

3. Not thinking about mobile

Most businesses are focused on designing a website for online that they often forget about mobile. Mobile traffic is only going to increase, so businesses should design a website with both desktop and website in mind.

A good mobile website should be structured similar to an app, designed for easy navigation and a constant visible call to action button.

4. Overly complex jargon

Businesses often struggle to describe what they do without using complicated industry jargon. Any text used on the website should be structured towards the target audience and be written in a way that is easily understood  by them.