Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Do you have a Service and Confidentiality Agreement?




A great customer relationship is based on trust - and a trusted relationship is based on a foundation of clarity, clear expectations and no surprises.


It’s like a marriage - and a marriage (in Jewish  law is governed by a “Ketuba” which is read in full at the wedding.)


Similarly, your relationship with your customer should be governed by a well-crafted, customer focussed  Service and Confidentiality Agreement (SCA)  which defines what your customer can fairly expect, how you plan to deliver that service - and of course - what you expect  of them 


Your customers have to know that you put them first.

So what is a Service and Confidentiality Agreement an SCA 

Your SCA is an  agreement between you and your customers and makes sure you both have a clear and concise definition of services, responsibilities, timelines, and guarantees.


It will  deliver clear advantages to you and your customers and should be an integral part of your customer onboarding  process.


It should  specify exactly what is (and is not) covered, document roles and responsibilities of both parties, and define service prerequisites that set you up for success. 


When you’re clear on expectations, you’ll be able to measure and manage the user experience in a meaningful way and position yourself as a trusted advisor. 


The better your agreement, the more you and your clients benefit.


Your SCA delivers peace of mind to your customers, who can refer to agreed-upon deliverables, see clearly defined terms of service, and access specific instructions for support and escalation.


Since your SLA is a legal document, you also want to make sure a qualified legal professional who understands the industry and any relevant verticals or regulatory considerations reviews it.



Some of the things  to include 

  • Your availability and contact details
  • Fees and Payment Schedule
  • Taxes
  • A clear explanation of your service
  • Your brand promise 
  •  Inclusions and Exclusions - identify specifically what is and is not covered to avoid confusion on both sides.
  • Performance Measurement - Include that you Address concerns immediately, so your customers feel heard Monitor compliance by measuring your progress against SCA goals. Rely on reporting to help you keep customers aware of how you’re meeting and exceeding your SCA  promises. (Regular feedback forms) 
  • Your guarantee  
  • Incident Management Process and Response Time
  • Limitation of Liability
  • Service Requirements
  • Minimum Standards 
  • Confidentiality
  • Security
  • Reporting. Providing real-time performance to customers through automated reporting provides full transparency into the real status of the agreed upon metrics.


  “If used correctly, the SCA Agreement can be your most effective sales tool and the ultimate source of your profit and protection.”


Regular review of your SCA 


  “It costs approximately six times more to attract a new client than to retain an old one.”


Things change in every relationship, and your relationship with your customer is no different. 


On a pre-established, regular schedule, you should meet with your customer to revisit your SCA and make sure it is still meeting the needs of both parties. If it isn’t, you might need to refresh.


5 reasons why it might be time to refresh your SCA 


You’re offering a new serviceDon’t set yourself up for failure by allowing new services— with new requirements—to be governed by an old SCA

Your team is struggling to meet timelines.


If you can’t meet current SCA expectations, especially if it’s because you’re constantly delivering higher quality work, it’s time to renegotiate.


If you’re  losing customers to SCA- related disputes, especially at a higher rate than the industry average, it’s time to make some changes.


It’s confusingIf you’re constantly getting questions about a

particular section of your SLA, rewrite it for clarity.


It isn’t keeping up.

Technology changes fast, and sometimes your

SCA might not reflect the change. Use revision time to update your standards and stay competitive.


It’s all about customer satisfaction 


Your business is only as good as your reputation - and a solid reputation is based on the satisfaction of your customers .


Customer Satisfaction is the key to success


“90% of customers who are satisfied with you  will recommend and refer you to your peers.”

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

The 7 Paradoxes of Entrepreneurship



A great article written by Tony Nagy - foundation member of our BBG Innovation Forum!

Tobi Talks about the 7 Paradoxes of Entrepreneurship

If you are an entrepreneur - all the power to you....... welcome to club fear!! 

Entrepreneurship is a phenomenon driven by creativity and imagination and can be quite a tricky process for the uninitiated, due to a number of counterintuitive paradoxes that entrepreneurs have to contend with, in order to be successful. Let’s take a look at seven of these paradoxes.

The first paradox is you “lose money to make money”; so, what does that actually mean? Well, a startup enterprise is a blank canvas and a learning environment, and the founder has to try and figure it out, and “experiment”, and collect data, much like a scientist. Naturally, these experiments don’t always work, and they can drain your resources completely, if not managed carefully. For example, you have just launched an online business, but you are not sure about your marketing tactics, so you start experimenting with different things, based on your customer personas. Things such as Facebook, Instagram, SEO, LinkedIn, etc. Some will work and some won’t work depending on how well the entrepreneur has identified their target market and the message they are sending out.  Each experiment will cost money, how much will depend on the entrepreneur’s budget and how they allocate and manage their budget.

The second paradox is you “relinquish wealth to create it”, (the entrepreneur’s or others’). This is simply the capital investment required to start the business. Now, of course, some businesses don’t require a lot of capital to start, but as the business grows it will require some form of finance (such as debt) or investment (equity). For example, the entrepreneur could be required to second-mortgage their property in order to obtain finance from the bank, so all those years of paying off their mortgage, is now handed back to the bank, and furthermore, all those years of wealth creation could actually be lost.

The third paradox is you “experience failure to experience success”. Every seasoned entrepreneur knows this is true. Success is not just a fork in the road; it’s not whether you either succeed, or not, but rather it’s a series of trial and errors until that unique success formula is discovered. The problem with most entrepreneurs is they give up too early, either through disappointment, exhaustion, lack of capital, or marriage breakup. Something to consider here is that the average entrepreneur “fails” or nine or ten times before they succeed. So, if you are wondering if you are a failure, then think again, you may still have a long way to go; there may still be lots of room for your success. As the famous US baseballer Babe Ruth once said, “Every strike brings me closer to a home run”. Probability-wise, this is also correct, try something enough times and you will succeed, (provided one learns something from each failure, and they are able to correct it). So, the development of resilience and persistence is the key here, and a final thought, nothing great comes from doing something easy.

The fourth paradox is “planning the “unplannable”. Anyone that’s ever started a business will know that if you write a business plan, it is pretty much useless, after the first three months. In my experience of starting my own businesses and coaching and mentoring others over the last 28 years, I don’t think I have ever seen a business start and stay the same course over time. Businesses continually pivot, in order to survive, especially at the startup stage, when they are figuring out what to do. This is purely dictated by the market, (the customer’s needs and wants), the industry, and its competitive pressures.

In my first business in the early 90s, I set-up a surf t-shirt manufacturing business, where I spent three months, full-time, writing a business plan, (which I was ever so proud of), and buying all the required equipment to print t-shirts. After, 3 months, one of my customers asked me if I could do snowboard wear. Now, in the early 90s, snowboarding was a “hot” and burgeoning industry, with very little local competition, so I said yes! I was able to completely transform my business into a snowboard garment manufacturing company, almost immediately. Within 2 years, I was already exporting to Switzerland, New Zealand, and Japan. My original business plan completely lost track.

Instead of a business plan, an entrepreneur must be guided by his/her vision, which includes their ideology and core purpose, as these rarely ever change. They should study the market carefully and listen to the customer, and then focus on creating their product/service. Then spend time figuring out strategies to build their market dominant position over time. Now, this will change as the market changes and competitive pressures increase, but will most likely take a lot longer. The tactics, which is what most business plans are built on, can change on a daily basis, hence the likelihood of it quickly being out of date.

Instead of writing a business plan, the entrepreneur should spend that time learning how to get a customer, then create a framework of how they will bring their resources together. Using, tools such as the Business Model Canvas can be very helpful and time-saver. The key here is to be flexible and open to opportunities, as you are learning, but also turning to be focused on building one thing and doing it well, (again another paradox here).

The fifth paradox is “creating chaos to create order”. Now, this is very counterintuitive, however, creativity comes from our imagination, and this is where the "sparks of genius" lie. One also has to acknowledge that there is a fine line between genius and madness. It actually stems from the same point, and this point is often mired in chaos. However, the entrepreneur must be able to take that “chaos”, and bring “order” to it, to be able to execute it. Here is where the “genius” ability emerges; that ability to take that “madness” and put it into some form of “order” that can make sense to the “real” world.

The sixth paradox is “creative thinking “outside the box” for innovation but requiring discipline and focus to execute”. Now, this is linked to the previous paradox and goes without saying, entrepreneurs need to look at something from an imaginative perspective, or some kind of uncontrolled thought, which can often even tinge on “madness” (as this is where genius lies). However, to be successful in execution requires some form of order, including discipline and focus, otherwise, it ends up being chaotic and dysfunctional, which will lead to underperformance, and worst case, failure.

Finally, the seventh paradox is “too much order and you lose creativity” the antithesis of the previous two paradoxes. When there is too much control, it often leads to bureaucracy, which completely kills creativity. In order to remain creative, an organisation must be flat, focused, and nimble, and encourage diversity and tolerance of failure.

So, as you can see there are many paradoxes to contend with, and the most successful entrepreneurs are able to have insight into these paradoxes. They are able to create strategies to overcome these paradoxes via fluid responses, built on flexibility and resilience, but also, they are able to be comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty. They have a knack for being able to let things go and not get attached to them.

If you can think of any more paradoxes of entrepreneurship, please let me know.

Written by Tobi Nagy 

Monday, December 14, 2020

What causes prices such as diamonds, Bitcoin and gold to rise?



Wanna grow value?


Create Scarcity 


Scarcity is Something that is in short supply, high demand, and available within a limited timeframe.



Cookie experiment 

In 1975 this experiment saw 200 undergrad students taste and rate cookies that they believed were either in limited or abundant supply. 


Cookies believed to be in limited supply were rated as significantly more likeable and attractive than those believed to be in abundance. 


Students  were willing to pay 11% more for the cookies they believed were ‘in short supply’.


Why? 


we’re always craving what we’re told we can’t have. 


Does abundance have value? Only if you can make it mores scarce or more limited and more ‘diamond than ‘rock’.



Can you create scarcity ?


one ‘penthouse” on the top floor of a building that’s bigger and better than the rest 


one “front row” at a concert”

“Bitcoin is the result of an artificial constraint (from $1 - $25k and rising )


Nike deciding to only produce 150 pairs of ‘Pigeon Dunks’, resulting in camp outs, riots and 4,000% mark ups on eBay.


Diamonds - De Beers have created and controlled the global diamond market by controlling the majority of the world’s diamonds, which are stockpiled in heavily guarded vaults.


The ‘diamonds are forever’ line has positioned diamonds ðŸ’Ž as exclusive 


play up the exclusivity and pride of ownership!


Great Insite by Dan Monheit (https://hardhat.medium.com/the-why-10-why-do-people-pay-so-much-for-diamonds-41062b483023

Saturday, October 10, 2020

In the sheer beauty of delight, laughter is contagious



Photo taken October 11th 2020

Great insight by Christine McDougall - creating a subtropical world - a brilliant speaker , author and #BBG presenter - feeling happy and optimistic .....

In the sheer beauty of delight, laughter is contagious

We humans are complex. Within us is a cast of characters, some who remain hidden, others who lead, and others who show up at the most inappropriate times.


No matter our age, we all have a child within. That child can be a brat, throwing tantrums when we do not get our way. Or a nature child, blissed out by bees. An eternal child, a Peter Pan, refusing to grow up. A playful child, full of mischief and delight.


Finding avenues for our child to come out and play in healthy ways….to discard the responsibilities of the grown up, even for a moment, to roll around on the floor laughing, to delight in the silly…to play…this is critical for our mental, emotional and spiritual health.


If we do not allow this the dark side of our child will show up in very inappropriate ways. We will throw tantrums, tell stories filled with alternative facts, disintegrate into the bully in the playground.


Lucky am I to have found a partner and playmate whose inner child and mine are so delightfully matched. 


I have not laughed so hard at such crazy, silly, delightfully stupid things in decades. The child in me plays with such freedom and ease….not required to be smart, intelligent, upright, responsible. Just for a moment. 


An observer from the outside might think we are entirely crazy…yet in the sheer beauty of delight, laughter is contagious. 


Oh, to laugh…now that is an antidote to so much of human created ills. 


#beautyofbeginnings #beautifulbusiness #socialentrepreneur #syntropicenterprise #syntropic #syntropy #syntropicworld #worldwithafuture #businessreimagined #cleancommunication

Thursday, October 8, 2020

Has you or your business reached a ceiling?


Your business can scale ..... but no matter what you do ..... you can’t get past that “ceiling” or “lid” of revenue.... the number of clients that you can serve..... the profit you can make......


What is that constraint ? 


You have a great business .... and you see businesses not as good as yours - scale nationally or globally and sell for 100s of millions of dollars and even reach that unicorn! 


How do you smash through that barrier ????

There’s a magic formula - a recipe for success - a system - ..... what is it and how can You  get it? 


Michael Sheargold shares with us in the 10X Edge - that your business is a reflection of you - and won’t reach the heights greater than the leader. 


Let me share with you a story that may give you an insight - it certainly has been an eye opener for me - and when I saw “The Founder”  with Tom Hanks acting as Ray Kroc .... I could totally relate to him!!!


the Ray Kroc - McDonald’s  Story 




Ray saw the opportunity to duplicate and scale globally a hugely successful restaurant - run by the McDonald Brothers - the brothers  had the systems - but did not have the vision to grow. Ray got the rights - paid out the brothers a relatively insignificant sum upfront and a downstream set of payments ..... and built Mcdonalds .


Ray broke through the leadership lid - and eventually paid out the brothers for a fraction of its worth .


Insight 1 

A business will only grow to the vision of its leader ..... or to the lid of its leader ..... 


Behind the Golden Arches - Ray Kroc - the character 

  1. Super salesmen - was 52 years old , broke, had a vision , got a break 
  2. Surrounded himself with the best people with no restaurant experience - blue ocean strategy - we will innovate faster than we will copy 
  3. They were not in hamburger business - they were in real estate business - owning promo commercial real estate - his finance guy came up with the idea and gave him the model .... of buying the property and leasing it to the franchisee . Ray saw it as a way to control the franchisee - to ensure he would follow the process 
  4. Was he delusional - was he the maladaptive dreamer? 


Michael Gerber the Emyth - talks about how Ray Kroc became successful



Insight 2 Vision and Chutzpah 

A 52 year old peddlar - selling  milkshake machine to McDonald’s  and came out with the rights to a franchise .....


Insight 3 :- building a system that will scale

 - working on not in - from 30,000 foot! 


You got to get out of the world to transform 

Worked on not in the business .....

Thousands went in hamburger business - not going anywhere - no growth - 


Ray Kroc Created a franchise prototype - worked on it. McDonald’s built to grow  - Infallible turnkey system 


Kroc could see from 30k feet the System - hiring kids with minimal wage - providing hamburgers - 


The system works - so you don’t have to 


Insight 4. Have great people around you 

The genius was buying the corner blocks and leasing it to franchisees - listened to his team - incorporated into model 


Insight 5 -it’s not about the system - it’s about innovating 

oneco - it’s about smashing  through the lid - it’s about having a purpose - a vision that you can see, taste and smell - and get other people to believe 


Oneco - it’s the brand - it speaks it says it performs it produces it 

Ray Kroc could see the system. The design of oneco. The yellow arches on every prime block 


It Stands alone and is seperate  from all others - the brand the company that stands alone 


Do you think Ray Kroc was destined to succeed - or do you think much of his success was based on circumstance??



Wednesday, October 7, 2020

JR’s Members only Sydney Meeting





How are you all

It was excellent to see so many of you on the session with Ahmad Imam.  This is a reminder of our : BBG CBD Board Members Only Forum on Thursday morning.  All details below:


  *   This will be the opportunity for smaller breakout rooms where you get to meet other people in the BBG network, build relationships and live the values of BBG which is to learn collaborate and grow though knowing, liking and trusting people in your network.


  *   It is also a tine to hear different perspectives and insights on a business challenge you may be experiencing, an idea you want to test out, an ability to tap into a Brains Trust of remarkable like-minded generous business people. I like to refer to this as your own Board of Directors.  We have been doing this in The Eastern Suburbs group for the last 18 months and it has been most effective for the team.



  *   A time to reflect on the key take outs and insights of the previous month’s Thought Starter and how you are implementing or utilising the learnings in your business and how the BBG CBD Board Members can help with this.


  *   We will be holding these on the 2nd Thursday of the month and I will be sending you a regular invite shortly.

Please look out for the invite for our upcoming Thought Starters too. We are confirming our speakers at the moment.

There is a link to the meeting below so all you need to do is click.

If you have any suggestions or ideas, I love feedback it helps me and the people around me grow, so please share.

Judith-Rose Max is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Have an amazing week
Warm regards
Judith-Rose Max
M:         0414 702 054
E:         judith@miratocoaching.com<mailto:judith@miratocoaching.com>

Friday, July 10, 2020

The 5 pillars of building a successful business


Make sure your foundations are strong.


I heard a great analogy the other day... It's pointless filling a car with petrol before the engine is working! 


Their are 5 pillars need to be in place in order to form a solid foundation for a business to grow:-


 1. Have a Positive Mindset 

Having a positive mindset is a key ingredient for your business to succeed.
Have an unconditional belief in your success. Understand why you are in the business and what the business is. Have a Chrystal clear focus. 

Make sure your team is on board with this
Be accountable and take ownership and responsibility! Do not blame others or go into denial. Do not focus on the negatives. 

A negative attitude and a mindset of being a victim will create an environment of angst, negativity and failure . A positive attitude and mindset will create a positive direction and destiny of the business . 


2. Cash flow 

Make sure that more money comes in than goes out.


Growth =cash burn


Make sure you have adequate reserves, capital and debt facilities to fund the growth .


Lack of cash results in anxiety, fear and bad decisions. Fix this as a matter of priority.


It is important that you understand what makes up cash flow and how to improve it. You cannot grow a business without cash. 


Ask Alan Miltz!! 


3.Systems 

Systems is a key to leverage, scalability, a business and wealth creation.


It enables you to work on the business ratherthan in the business. 


A business cannot grow until you have fundamental systems in place. 


Systems will enable you to scale your capacity and make average people look great! 


4. Marketing and Sales - growing your revenue

You can save money by cutting costs, bit you can only cut costs to zero, and you do not have a business. Revenue growth is infinite! 


It is all about Leads, Proposals and Sales


Questions to ask....

  • How can You generate more inquiries or leads?
  • How can you increase the average dollar sale?
  • How can you increase the conversion rates from leads to proposals to sales? How can you increase the frequency of transaction?
  • How can you increase the margin? 
  • Do you know where you are at the moment? Do you know where we should be focussing on? 


Determine things that you can do to increase leads, proposal and sales ... 


Test and measure, test and measure, test and measure 


Eliminate anything that is not working and then systemise anything that is working as part of your sales and marketing system. Multiple marketing strategies is key. Some will work and some won't .


Have many touch points for a client to buy.

CBA says that if a client buys 3 or more services, you have him for a long time! 


Some businesses market, have a flood of new business.,stop marketing - deliver, and then go from a flood to a drought. 


It is important to have a business that is consistently marketing all of the time! 


5. Delivery

- you need to be best at what you do - it's a given

 - deliver on time - under promise and over deliver
- Delight the customer 

In summary , before going for growth, concentrate on building and fortifying your foundations. 


 Create a positive mindset, stop the cash burn , make sure your delivery is top class, and create systems to use in your business, build revenue growth .... And watch your business fly”

Thursday, July 2, 2020

The Tax Update for Accountants - July 2020 Tax tips, traps and updates




Monthly Tax update by Leo Hollestelle  B Comm LLB CTA - Tax Specialist and Accountant - the secret Weapon for accountants - (the Tax Specialist for Accounting Firms) - http://leohollestelle.com.au/

BUSINESS TAX - Instant asset write-off extension
The Federal Government has announced the instant asset write-off will be extended for 6 months to 31 January 2020.
The extended instant asset write-off will continue to apply to assets costing less than $150,000 and applies to Australian business with an annual turnover of less than $500 million. 

The $150,000 threshold applies on a per asset basis.

 The asset must be used or installed ready for use by 31 December 2020. Assets can be new or second hand.

Instant asset write-off cars
A car limit applies to passenger vehicles for the $150,000 instant asset write-off. The limit is $57,581 for the 2019–20 income tax year. For cars acquired before 12 March 2020, the general instant asset write-off limit of $30,000 applies.
If your asset, whether a car or other asset, is for business and private use, you can only claim the business portion

No indexation of tax instalments
The Federal Assistant Treasurer has announced the Government will legislate to suspend the indexation of tax instalment amounts for the 2020-21 financial year in response to COVID-19.

The change will affect instalments payable to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for an estimated 2.2 million taxpayers paying Pay As You Go (PAYG) income tax instalments, and around 81,000 taxpayers paying Goods and Services Tax (GST) instalments in 2020-21.
In addition to suspending indexation, taxpayers can still vary their instalment amounts if they believe they will pay too much tax for the year.
Other taxpayers who pay instalments based on their current income are not subject to indexation because their instalments already adjust to changes in income.  While these taxpayers are not affected by the suspension of indexation, they have the same right to vary their instalments.

Single Touch Payroll Exemption
A Draft Legislative Instrument STP 2020/D3 has been released which provides for an exemption for closely held payees exemption for STP reporting for the 30 June 2020 and June 2021 years.
When commenced the exemption means no STP reporting will be required for closely held payees until 1 July 2021.

Environmental Protection Activities
Taxation Ruling TR 2020/2 has been released that provides for the tax treatment of environmental protection activities. The Ruling is not currently displayed on the ATO Legal Data Base.

Depreciating assets
The ATO has released Taxation Ruling TR 2020/3 on the effective life of depreciating assets.
The Ruling contains Tables A and B on the effective life of depreciating assets determined by the ATO. It also sets out the effective life of assets in Tables A and B. The rates are to apply from 1 July 2020.
The Commissioner makes the effective life determination having regard to the period the depreciating asset can be used for a purpose specified in subsection 40-100(5) (a specified purpose, one of which is use for a taxable purpose.
You may choose to use the Commissioner's determination of the effective life of a depreciating asset or you may make your own estimate (see section 40-95). ThRuling's explanation of the methodology used by the Commissioner to make a determination of effective life may assist taxpayers who make their own estimate of the effective life of a depreciating asset.

Car cents per km rate
The car cents per kilometre method:
• uses a set rate for each kilometre travelled for business
• allows you to claim a maximum of 5,000 business kilometres per car, per year
• doesn't require written evidence to show exactly how many kilometres you travelled (but we may ask you to show how you worked out your business kilometres, for example diary records)
• uses a rate that takes all your vehicle running expenses (including registration, fuel, servicing and insurance) and depreciation into account.
Rates are reviewed regularly. The rate is:
• 72 cents per km for 2020–21
• 68 cents per km for 2018–19 and 2019–20

Withholding Schedules
Legislative Instrument OPS 2020/1 has been made to set out the Withholding amounts to apply from 1 July 2020 under the PAYG Withholding system.
The Instrument sets out a wide range of withholding amounts including salary and wages and Tax tables for 13 other items including actors, variety artists and other entertainers, return to work payments, back payments, unused leave payments, employment termination payments, superannuation payments and working holiday makers.

Taxable payment reports
Taxable payment annual reports (TPAR) are due to the ATO by 28 August.
For the 2019-20 year TPARs cover businesses that provide:
• building and construction services
• cleaning services
• courier or road freight services
• IT services
• security, investigation and surveillance services.
The reports cover payments made to contractors and sub-contractors.

EMPLOYEE AND INDIVIDUAL’S TAX
2019-20 Income tax statements
For the 2019-20 years and after PAYG summaries are no longer issued. Instead “income statements” are provided to employees in their myGov account.
No indexation of tax instalments
See under BUSINESS TAX.
Car cents per km rate
See under BUSINESS TAX.

HomeBuilder program
The Federal Treasurer has announced a new HomeBuilder program. The program will apply from 4 June 2020 until 31 December 2020, HomeBuilder will provide all eligible owner-occupiers (not just first home buyers) with a grant of $25,000 to build a new home or substantially renovate an existing home. Construction must be contracted to commence within three months of the contract date.
HomeBuilder applicants will be subject to eligibility criteria, including income caps of $125,000 for singles and $200,000 for couples based on their latest assessable income. A national dwelling price cap of $750,000 will apply for new home builds, and a renovation price range of $150,000 up to $750,000 will apply to renovating an existing home with a current value of no more than $1.5 million.
HomeBuilder complements existing state and territory First Home Owner Grant programs, stamp duty concessions and other grant schemes, as well as the Commonwealth’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme and First Home Super Saver Scheme

GST
Financial Supplies
The ATO has published Draft consolidation Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2019/8DC1 on their compliance approach to GST apportionment of acquisitions that relate to certain financial supplies.
In essence, paragraph 25 provides an ATO risk assessment framework for suppliers of 5 zones, white, green, blue, yellow and red which provides for risk levels and the form of ATO engagement with each level. 
For example, white is no review other than to confirm ongoing consistency with the agreed/determined approach. Red is High Risk with High priority for review, reviews are likely to be commenced as a matter of priority.
You are able to self-assess your risk rating on an annual basis if there have been no changes in your apportionment methodology during the year. For Schedules that commence on 1 January 2020, the ATO would expect you to self-assess your risk rating for the period 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020. For Schedules that commence on 1 October 2020, we would expect you to self-assess your risk rating for the period 1 October 2020 to 31 December 2020, and then to continue to do so on an annual basis.
The ATO may ask you to tell it in writing whether you have reviewed your risk rating under this Guideline and which risk zone your arrangements fall within. If you are in an annual compliance arrangement, it will expect you to notify it of your risk rating on an annual basis. We will also ask you to tell us your ECP rate relevant to applicable Schedules and whether there have been changes to your methodology during the year.

LEGISLATION
No 3 Tax Measurers Bill
The Treasury Laws Amendment (2019 Measures No 3) Bill 2019 Passed all stagesof Federal Parliament on 17 June 2020.
It passed without amendment and effectively awaits Royal Assent. The Bill:
• Amends the ITAA 1936 to ensure the tax concessions available to minors in relation to income from a testamentary trust only apply in respect of income generated from assets of the deceased estate that are transferred to the testamentary trust.
• Defers the start date for the new training requirements for financial advisers.
• Amends the FBT definition of a "taxi" so that the FBT exemption for taxi travel extends to ride-sourcing services (such as Uber) from 1 April 2019.
• Contains minor amendments across a range of Treasury laws including tax, superannuation, market-linked pensions and corporations.

Business registries and DIN
The Federal Government's 5-Bill package to create a new Commonwealth business registry regime and introduce a ‘director identification number’ (DIN) requirement, have passed all stages without amendment by the Senate on 12 June 2020, and await Royal Assent.
The DIN is intended to help regulators and external administrators investigate a director's involvement in unlawful conduct including illegal phoenix activity.
The Bills include the Commonwealth Registers Bill 2019 and the Treasury Laws Amendment (Registries Modernisation and Other Measures) Bill 2019.

APRA levies
The package of supervisory levy imposition amendment Bills was passed without amendment by the House of Reps on 12 June 2020. The Bills propose to increase the statutory upper limit of the levies APRA can collect from prudentially regulated entities (including super funds), from $1.5m to $10m.

TAX AGENTS
Tax agent banned
The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) announced that the registration of Christopher Phillip Allenby, a former partner of KPMG from Sydney has been terminated.
Mr. Allenby had been associated with a client’s scheme to underpay millions in taxes and penalties. He was banned from practice for three years.
Following investigations by the ATO and the TPB, it was found that Mr. Allenby was associated with a client’s scheme to avoid $3.1 million in taxes and penalties.

BAS agent services
The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) has released a draft instrument and explanatory statement proposing to expand the scope of BAS services to include additional services relating to the superannuation guarantee charge (SGC). The changes will apply to registered BAS agents.

Board of Taxation
The Board of Taxation (the Board) has acknowledged the passing of its Chair, Michael Andrew AO, on Sunday 23 June.
Michael was a highly respected member of the business and tax community as is reflected in the statement made by the Treasurer, the Hon Josh Frydenberg MP, acknowledging both Michael’s distinguished career and the significant contribution that he made to improve the design of the tax system.

SUPERANNUATION
Transfer Balances
The ATO has provided compliance guidanceon its website on the new way of calculating a debit for an individual's pension transfer balance account when a member commutes certain market linked pensions.
This follows The Treasury Laws Amendment (2019 Measures No 3) Bill recently passing the Senate. The ATO has outlined the new way of calculating the debit which arises in an individual’s transfer balance account when a member commutes a market linked pension.
No work test
The Superannuation Legislation Amendment (2020 Measures No 1) Regulations 2020was registered on 29 May 2020. 
It amends the SIS Regulations to allow 65 and 66 year-olds to make voluntary superannuation contributions (both concessional and non-concessional) without meeting the work test of carrying out at least 40 hours in any 30-day period in the financial year in which the contributions are made.

SG Jobkeeper
The Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Amendment (Jobkeeper Payment) Regulations 2020 was registered on 2 June 2020.
It confirms employers are not obliged to make Superannuation Guarantee (SG)contributions in relation to salary or wages, which do not relate to the performance of work, and are only paid to an employee to satisfy the wage condition for getting a JobKeeper payment.

SBSCH contributions
The ATO has release Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2020/6 on the timing of deductibility of super contributions made to the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House.
The Guideline provides the ATO will not apply compliance resources to consider whether the contribution you made was received by the trustee of the super fund or RSA in the same income year in which you made the payment to the SBSCH, provided you made the payment to the SBSCH before close of business on the last business day on or before 30 June.
As a consequence of this compliance approach, where the conditions in paragraph 8 of this Guideline are satisfied, you do not need to check with your employees' super funds to determine in which income year the contributions were received from the SBSCH prior to claiming an income tax deduction in the income year the payment was made to the SBSCH.
The Guidelines in paragraph 8 are:
• you, as an employer, or your nominated representative on your behalf, made payments to the SBSCH on behalf of your employee before close of business on the last business day of the income year in which you deduct the contribution
• at the time of making the payments, you provided all relevant information to enable the SBSCH to process the payment to the employees' super fund accounts or RSA
• the payment has not been dishonoured by the super fund or RSA or returned to you by the SBSCH
• you would otherwise be entitled to the income tax deduction.
Note that EFT (electronic fund transfers) may take one or two days to be processed and will show on the bank statement on the later day of transfer rather than on the earlier day when the transfer was instructed. It is better then to make a transfer no later than a few days before 30 June. 

NALI
The ATO has released Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2020/5 on it transitional compliance approach in applying the non-arm's length income (NALI) provisions to 'non arm's length expenditure'.
It applies to all complying superannuation entities including a complying superannuation fund, a complying approved deposit fund or a pooled superannuation trust starting for 1 July 20198.
The ATO will not allocate compliance resources to determine whether the NALI provisions apply to a complying superannuation fund for the 2018-19; 2019-20 and 2020-21 income years where the fund incurred non-arm's length expenditure of a general nature that has a sufficient nexus to all ordinary and/or statutory income derived by the fund in those respective income years (for example, non-arm's length expenditure on accounting services).
This transitional compliance approach does not apply where the fund incurred non-arm's length expenditure that directly related to the fund deriving particular ordinary or statutory income.
The ATO recognises that trustees of complying superannuation funds may not have realised that the amendments will apply to non-arm's length expenditure of a general nature that has a sufficient nexus to all ordinary and/or statutory income derived by the fund in an income year, noting that it was not explicitly stated in LCR 2018/D10. It is also recognised that the amendments apply in relation to the 2018-19 and later income years which may result in all income derived by a fund during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 income years being classified as NALI where it has incurred non-arm's length expenditure of a general nature.
The Guideline should be read in conjunction with draft Law Companion Ruling LCR 2019/D3 Non-arm's length income - expenditure incurred under a non-arm's length arrangement.

TBAR lodgment
A transfer balance account report (TBAR) may be due 28 July 2020, if a transfer balance event has occurred in your member's SMSF between 1 April and 30 June 2020.

OTHER
Luxury car tax 
The ATO has published on its website the formula and details for working out luxury car tax (LCT).
To work out the luxury car tax (LCT) amount you must pay if you sell a car, use the following formula:
(LCT value − LCT threshold) × 10 ÷ 11 × 33%.
The LCT value is the retail price of the car, including:
• GST and any customs duty
• dealer delivery charges
• standard and statutory warranties
• additional items, such as accessories, modifications and treatments to the car before delivery or under an arrangement with the supplier or an associate of the supplier. These inclusions may be made at or before the time of delivery (unless made solely for the purpose of adapting it for driving by, or transporting, a person with a disability)
• fleet rebates, run-out model support incentive payments and any other motor vehicle incentive payments that are third-party consideration.
The LCT value does not include:
• LCT included in the sale
• other Australian taxes, fees or charges such as stamp duty, transfer fees and registration
• compulsory third-party insurance (CTPI)
• extended warranties
• costs associated with financing the purchase of the car
• service plans.
If LCT has already been paid on the car, you can reduce the amount you pay by the amount of LCT already paid.
The LCT Threshold for 2020-21 is $77,565 for fuel efficient vehicles and $68,740 for other vehicles.