Keeping it all in the business: Workplaces that offer childcare

By Mel Hearse for www.essentialbaby.com.au

A few years ago I shared an office with a lot of ladies that were having babies, most returning to work part time around the twelve month mark. Because so many of us had young children and breastfed beyond returning to work, staff often rallied the powers that be for an onsite child care centre, an idea they were not unreceptive to. Now for the spoiler alert – I’m going to create some controversy here by shyly raising my hand and saying I was not a fan of the plan.

My reasons were not controversial, and not based on workplace politics; they basically stemmed from a concern that without a little more distance than being a few rooms away, I would get nothing done, and knowing I was so close, yet so far away, the boys would fail to settle in. Having said that, I didn’t actively oppose the plan (nary a negative comment, promise!), and was certainly aware that I was coming from the luxurious perspective of being two streets from home, and four streets from day care, so I could pop in for a lunch time breast feed, and I didn’t have to factor in a half hour traffic jam when doing the day care run.

So when I found myself talking to Tanya Titman, director ofConsolid8 and mother of four young children, and she mentioned her workplace has on site day care facilities that she had initiated, I had to ask: ‘aren’t the kids constantly distracted by the fact that mummy is just a few doors away?’

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As it turns out, my theory was proved to be flawed, and Tanya commented that she gets a lot of quality staff that come looking to work for her because of the facilities. “With my first two children, I went back to work quite early as I was a partner in an accounting practice and work didn’t stop when I went on leave. I had 6 -8 weeks off work after both Ariella and Jacobie’s birth and then organised for a nanny to be at home with the children a few days a week, with my mother and mother-in-law helping out the other two days. I expressed milk every three to four hours to ensure there was enough to get through the next day.”

Finding the experience very stressful, Tanya was keen to create a workplace that would make returning to work easier for mums and bubs, and decided to set up an onsite crèche at her business.

As it turned out, the set up of such a facility was no cheap walk in the park. “There was the initial set up costs, fitting out the room and making sure we complied with all the safety issues. We didn’t ‘fit’ the legislation and therefore didn’t qualify for any childcare rebates for staff, so I made the decision to provide the 50% rebate so staff were not disadvantaged.”

The pros for mums and bubs are obvious. Being able to return to work without the stress of being separated from bubs has enormous benefits. Being able to breastfeed is a huge advantage, as well as just being able to see your children throughout the day. Tanya said they encourage mums and dads to spend time with their children throughout the day – staff visit their kids for lunch and pop in at special times whenever possible.

Shellon Dunlop is Consolid8’s Business Service Manager and has two boys, aged nine months and two and a half years. She applied for work at Consolid8 because of the child care facilities (and of course, an interest in that line of work!) “My previous accounting roles were located in the city, so the only way I could return to work was to put my babies in long day care.  When I saw the Consolid8 position advertised I couldn’t believe my luck.”

Both Shellon’s boys use the onsite childcare facility and Shellon said returning to work after her second baby was a stress free experience – being able to continue breast feeding and regularly popping into the centre for a kiss and cuddle is great for her and her kids.

There are still few workplaces with on site childcare facilities, but the culture is slowly evolving – banks seem to be ahead of the trend, with many offering on sites facilities, and big businesses like CSL are also stumping up for facilities. It’s likely those that follow will see a return on their investment, retaining and attracting quality staff, and no more parents arriving late (and harried) and leaving early to fight traffic to pick up their kids. And if you don’t have it at your workplace – wave this article around and start lobbying!

http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/life-style/family-finances/keeping-it-all-in-the-business-workplaces-that-offer-child-care-20120523-1z464.html

Follow the Cloud

By Smarter Business Ideas Magazine (Online Edition)
Published 24 April 2012 - http://smarter.telstrabusiness.com/technology/follow-the-cloud.htm

Cloud services can cut your IT bills by a huge amount, boost productivity, and banish all those headaches about software updates and data back-up. So is it time you climbed onboard? Here’s what cloud experts and small business owners say.

Accountants have been among the most enthusiastic adopters of cloud solutions. Why is that?
Sharah: Accounting is all about processes and systems, so any technology we can use to get and share information faster increases our ability to deliver better quality, value-added services to our clients. The way an accountancy practice runs is real Ray Kroc stuff [Kroc built the McDonald’s chain]. The focus is on servicing the client, and access to real time data has revolutionised the way accounting practices interact with their clients.

Titman: Cloud computing provides a seamless link between accountants and clients, ensuring all parties are viewing the same data. Data can be accessed 24/7, and assistance can be provided
by advisers immediately. Without a cloud solution, this process can take a significant amount of time, sometimes two to three days.

There are also no upfront software costs, and upgrades are delivered directly — often with no extra cost. There are no more issues with not being on the latest version of your software.

How does the cloud help save time and money?
Trimboli: Cloud computing is able to meet small businesses’ needs without a large investment in IT infrastructure. As well as having low, fixed monthly costs, it lets small businesses scale up and down easily, as required.

Joyce: When Telstra commissioned independent research in late 2011 from Castalia advisers, the results showed potential cost savings over three years of anywhere up to 70 per cent [over using traditional in-house IT services].

Donohoe: One customer, LaManna Group, a large wholesaler of fruit and vegetables, shifted their data and enterprise resource planning system to Telstra’s virtual services because they didn’t want to be preoccupied with the outlays and maintenance issues that go with on-premise servers. They were able to do away with their trans-Tasman data line, immediately saving $6000 a year. An equivalent on-premise solution would have involved outlays of tens of thousands of dollars.

Sharah: For us, the biggest impact has been in reducing the time it takes to process and deliver information for our accounting clients. Our productivity and work turnaround time has skyrocketed — our aim currently is to achieve a constant 10-day turn-around of work. And we have reduced our paper usage and postage use by 80 per cent!

Titman: We have saved our accounting clients money by reviewing the data consistently throughout the year, making year-end work less time consuming and therefore less costly. The overall time spent on the job is reduced by 30 to 40 per cent. This allows more time to focus on business strategy and growth rather than compliance obligations.

Read the full article here: http://www.consolid8.com.au/news/media_coverage

Take Account of Insolvency Worries

written by Russell Emmerson for The Courier Mail Newspaper (Business) – print & online editions

Published 9 April 2012 - http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/your-business/take-account-of-insolvency-worries/story-fn7ve1pb-1226321944968

An insolvent business is one that cannot pay its debts as they fall due. Sounds simple, but how can you tell? And most importantly, what can you do about it? Brisbane accountant Tanya Titman, of Consolid8, says a failing business is likely to show plenty of warning signs – if its owner is willing to look.

THE BIG QUESTION

The key question every person must ask is whether their business is viable. BRI Ferrier principal Nick Cooper says this is especially true in the current economic climate.
“If the business is not likely to be viable into the future, owners need to explore whether they can adapt their business and expand into new ventures,” he says.
Macks Hall Clifton partner Tim Clifton says a business owner must face these issues or risk personal liability.
“A lot of small and medium enterprises hang on too long on the hope of turning things around. They need a good external accountant to advise them,” he says.

LOOK AT LOSSES

A business with no plans for profit on the horizon faces erosion of its capital.
There are some warning signs, however, including falling gross profit margins. Businesses should look to increase their prices or look at what costs can be cut to improve profitability. Look at whether your products or services can be made more efficient or take a hard look at your overheads – if you are carrying seven cars and three offices when two sales representatives and two cars and a phone will do, it is time to make some cuts and stop the cash drain.

DEBT DOLDRUMS

Mounting debts, broken promises of payment and increasing formal demands for payment are pretty clear signs of a failing or disorganised business.
Titman says businesses relying on day-to-day bank balances have left their run too late. “Typically they determine how they are tracking by the balance in their bank account. If they are using this as a guide, by the time the bank account is dry it is too late.”

SYSTEMS IN PLACE 

Missing business plans, cash-flow forecasts and disorganised internal accounts mean the business could already be failing without a way of telling the business owner. “Businesses focus on putting together the BAS, but do not even look at a profit and loss report on a regular basis,” Titman says.
“The problem is that so many businesses are not getting financial reports on a timely basis – often even when they have a bookkeeper.”
Get your systems up to date.

CUSTOMERS

A thriving business may not have the time to chase its outstanding debts, but this can cut into its ability to make more sales. Titman says a failing business will look to the next big sale or contract as the one that will save the company – an expectation that may be increasingly unrealistic as the business owner becomes more desperate for a safety net.

FINANCE

A survey by CPA Australia found 11 per cent of businesses seeking finance were doing so to cover existing debts and 21 per cent wanted more cash to cover tax payments.
If your business is relying on more security from the business owner or bumping up against its overdraft limit and defaulting on loans, your first port of call should be your financier. If you are no longer on speaking terms, or if you are moving banks to stretch your finances or avoid additional securities, it may be time to call in a reconstruction expert before your debts turn personal.

EARLY WARNING SIGNS

Alarm bells should start ringing at these early warning signs: Suppliers placing your business on cash-only terms or other “special arrangements”. Paying suppliers rounded sums that bear little link to specific invoices. A rising number of dishonoured cheques and a reliance on post-dated cheques to keep suppliers and banks happy. Rising tax and superannuation debts and a lack of payment plans – and the penalties that will put you further behind. An increasing number of supplier disputes in a bid to stave off payment.

Work-based Creches Ease Pressure to find childcare places

written by Jason Tin for The Courier Mail (Online)
Published 9 April 2012 - http://www.couriermail.com.au/life/families/work-based-creches-ease-pressure/story-e6frer7o-1226321661561

As working mums and dads struggle to find childcare places, some businesses are opening their doors to their staff’s children in an effort to ease the strain. Mother-of-four Tanya Titman is among those investing in office creches to help out stressed parents.

Her Mt Gravatt business, Consolid8 Accounting, has an onsite staff daycare centre run by two full-time nannies. It is currently attended regularly by six children, including her own, with staff paying for 50 per cent of running costs.

“We don’t get any government funding,” Ms Titman said. “We just don’t tick the boxes for a standard childcare centre and the legislation doesn’t provide for our kind of childcare facility.”

Queensland University of Technology childcare expert Professor Karen Thorpe said onsite childcare facilities were a way to ensure parents remained happier and more productive.

“If it’s in the workplace, it’s a place that parents can access once, or more regularly, a day, which is a very positive thing,” she said.
“I have a PhD student who looked at mothers’ feelings about returning to work and if they feel more secure about where their child is, they don’t get depressed and they work more productively.”

Tanya Titman featured in Work Life Balance Blog

The Balance Beam blog places its focus on organisation in Australia, New Zealand and around the world who are implementing work life balance initiatives into their organisations, with an aim to inspire other businesses to seek greater work life balance inside and outside their own businesses.

Read the full post here: Balance Beam #16 – Consolid8
See the photos of our team in action: Consolid8 Team Challenge

“One of our major initiatives has been providing on-site childcare for our staff.  We employ two nannies as part of our team, and have a dedicated childcare room that caters for babies and toddlers.  This means that there is no stressful separation of children and parents, plus parents are encouraged to spend time with their children throughout the day.  The facility is subsidised by the business as we do not qualify for any government funding.
We have also started a Team Challenge program which includes a variety of activities to encourage the team to be active and to provide opportunities to socialise with those team members who they may not work directly with.  Our monthly team activities occur on the last Friday of the month and consist of a fully catered lunch followed by ‘Minute to win it” games or Wii challenges.  Every second month, we take the afternoon off and head outdoors.  These activities can be anything from Circus School, Rock Climbing, Kayaking, Segway excursions.  This has provided a great opportunity to take on challenges that most staff would never normally experience.
Our Annual Staff Day Out at the end of the year consists of a full day activity to reward staff for a year well done.  This year we plan to return to Tangalooma on Moreton Island for activities and dolphin feeding.
To promote health and well being we also provide a shower and change room for staff that run or cycle to and from work as well as fresh fruit each week.
The childcare room provides huge benefits to the practice with staff retention and well as working hours and flexibility.  Staff enjoy having their children close by and can visit them during the day.  This also provides a supportive environment for mums to return to work without being separated from their babies.  The ability for new mums to continue to breastfeed whilst at work is also another great advantage.
Our activity program encourages the team to work  together and provides them with unforgettable experiences.  Our goal is to ensure the team are provided with a good balance of time away from their desks and out of the office.”

Budgets & Cashflow Forecasts Help Business Management

Now is a good time to review or prepare budgets and cashflow forecasts. Preliminary work needs to be undertaken to obtain a realistic Budget and Cashflow Forecast, preferably during a meeting with your accountant.

This involves goal setting – what are your goals for the next 12 months, including your salary, targeted profit before income tax etc?

How is the economy likely to affect your business? This covers interest rates, debtors’ days outstanding, gold and oil prices, unemployment.

Your business’ expectations? What do you think will happen in 2012 relative to:
• labour costs?
• cost of materials?
• support from your suppliers?
• market confidence etc.?

Sales targets – have you given consideration to the matters that have already been discussed? What do you think is going to be your business’ realistic sales performance for each week and month during 2012?

Stock purchases – does your business have to supply stock? Do you need to create a stock purchases budget? This will reflect the number of days you are budgeting to invest in stock on hand.

Overhead Expenses – the start of a new year is a great time to subject the various expense categories within your business to a detailed review and questioning as to whether the expenses are necessary or whether the current suppliers are the best ones to continue to deal with during 2012.

Break Even Analysis – what is your break even going to be in various business operations? Are the managers/supervisors of those activities being informed of the break even calculations for which they are responsible?

Currency Fluctuations – the Australian Dollar will no doubt continue to fluctuate during the year. If you are an importer or exporter, should you be trying to lock in currency cover?

“Profit” is not the same as “cash” – In the Budgets and Cashflow Forecasts prepared, you need to examine how much money is going to be tied up in debtors, stock and work in progress. This is where a lot of your profit can end up; meaning that you don’t see it in your bank account. Could the level of debtors or stock be reduced so that you can utilise more of the profits earlier?

Projected Source & Application of Funds Statement – it is a good idea to have a projected source & application of funds statement prepared because this will give a clearer outline of what is projected to happen in your business in the forthcoming 12 months.

Key Performance Indicators – once the Budgets and Cashflow Forecasts have been finalised, Key Performance Indicators can then be prepared so you can have these targeted amounts in mind to compare your actual financial performance against during the year.

If you would like to explore preparing and implementing Budgets and Cashflow Forecasts, get in touch with us!

Research & Development Registration Reminder

If your business has operated as a company during the financial year ended 30th June 2011, has incurred R & D expenditure exceeding $20,000 and has not yet lodged its income tax return; then you have until the 30th April 2012 to register your R & D activity with AusIndustry. This will allow you to claim the Accelerated Income Tax Deduction or, if your turnover was under $5 million, you can claim the Tax Rebate for R & D.
If you would like to have a discussion with us regarding R & D rules that apply to the year ended 30th June 2011, or for us to process your application with AusIndustry for registration of the R & D projects undertaken, please do not hesitate to contact us.
If you are undertaking R & D activities during the 2011/12 financial year, you have until the date of lodgement of the income tax return for the company, or until 30th April 2013, to register with AusIndustry for the new R & D Incentive Scheme which commenced on 1st July 2011.