Hi There!

As 2011 comes to a close, the team at Martin & Luscombe wanted to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Before we go we'd like to leave you with a final note:

The economic climate over recent years has meant that many business owners are spending longer hours running their business and achieving their KPIs.
They are increasingly finding that they have to work late into the night, or on the weekends, or on their days off. Inevitably this will impact family life and even the quality of family time.

Taking a holiday this festive season, even for just a few days, is important for gaining perspective. Stepping outside of the business will give a more objective view of what needs to be done when you come back to it. A short break can refresh and re-motivate you, enable you to make better business decisions and allow you to derive greater satisfaction from your work.

So be sure to take some well deserved time out to re-energize.

May this festive season fill your heart with love, your home with joy and your life with laughter!

We look forward to exploring the possibilities for even greater success in 2012!

Martin & Luscombe offices will be closed from December 23^rd at 1.00pm and will re-open on the 3^rd of January at 9.00am.

Christmas is a good time to refresh your business protection procedures thereby ensuring that you have a business to return to in the New Year.

How?

Physically

1. On the last day of work, back up your computer data (data backup should be a daily habit) and make sure you have an off-site copy. 

2. Ensure your alarm system is working and switched on.

3. Check that your insurances are in place and up to date.

Financially

Financial protection too is essential. You need to hit the ground running in the New Year so a good idea is to ensure that you have reviewed your cash flow thereby ensuring that you can manage your New Year expenses.

With the ever growing presence of iPhones and iPads in the small business arsenal of business tools it is great to see Govt. embracing their use and developing applications for them that provide real assistance to small business (usually its the hindrance of the ever expanding rules, regulation and red tape).

Click on MyBizShield to go to the business.gov.au site where they introduce an iPad (not for iPhone the screen is too small) App designed to assist you in preparing a Business Disaster and Recovery Plan.

The App covers all major facets of assessing the disasters that could befall your business:

• Risk Management
• Scenario Planning
• Insurance
• Property & Infrastructure
• Temporary Office Accommodation
• Business Continuity Strategies
• Key Personnel Training
• Skill Retention Strategies
• Data Security and Backup Strategies
• Environmental Resilience

Minimisation of the impacts of disaster by being prepared for action:

• Emergency Contacts
• Emergency Procedures
• Evacuation Drill Schedule
• Emergency Kit Location
• Emergency Kit Contents
• Emergency Team

And recovery procedures:

• Business Impact assessment
• Recovery Contacts
• Insurance Claims
• Market Assessment
• Marketing Strategy
• Current creditors
• Current Debtors
• Government Funding
• Expected Cash Flow

It is intuitive to use and results in a plan in HTML format that can easily be stored electronically for future amendment and printed for quick reference.

Whilst we all understand that disasters can occur the mere fact that they are rare within our experience tends to put planning into the "someday" basket. Combined with the all-encompassing "too much to do not enough time to do it in" syndrome that bewitches small business into little if any planning most small businesses are vulnerable to disaster.

If you download the App and take a couple of hours following all the steps applicable to your business and then communicating the plan to your team you will have spent time working ON your business in a way that may one day save your business and save you a great deal of heartache !

If you don't have an iPad give us a call and we can help you develop the plan. And seriously, get one - they are a tremendous tool!

Yes even we accountants have entered the 21^st Century. 

Welcome to the Martin & Luscombe Blog. 

Here you will find regular items of interest for Businesses and Super Funds. 

Not just boring tax stuff (well its actually not that boring) but out of the box thinking for small businesses and super funds. 
Stuff like out first article below assisting you to think about being prepared for a disaster and minimising the effect on your business.

Why not take the easy path of keeping up to date by clicking here or by following @martinluscombe on Twitter.

So enjoy!