Time Poor Business Owners & the realities of Tax Time

The latest Xero survey has revealed that over one in five Australian Small Business owners will be lodging their tax returns late and that of the 503 surveyed, 40% are unsure of the business deductions they are able to claim…

Not a good thing, but none-the-less no big surprise here. In our experience Small Business owners are amongst some of the time poorest people we know.

We’re also betting that the vast majority of them did not get into business because of a strong desire to manage money either – they’re in business because they are extremely passionate about their service or offering.

The issue is that growing a business requires financial controls – like it or lump it! And, there are no short-cuts. No matter how many times you wish for less compliance or less paperwork the only way to make tax time less stressful is to outsource it to a proactive accountant (who does understand your claimable business deductions) you can trust.

Time is precious. Get some of it back.

More interesting statistics from the Xero survey below.

A Xero survey of 503 small business owners has found that 40 per cent are unsure of the business deductions they are able to claim, showing a “lack of financial literacy” among some business owners.

The research also revealed that 45 per cent of the small businesses surveyed put off doing their taxes, with one in five business owners delaying because they find the process “daunting and stressful”.

Further, two thirds of small business owners find tax time stressful and 58 per cent say the time it takes to manage EOFY obligations makes them stressed.

In addition, 30 per cent of respondents indicated that EOFY has an impact on the running of their business, while another 29 per cent “resent” the time it takes away from customer-facing tasks.

When asked what could be improved, half of respondents indicated that easier government compliance requirements would make tax time less stressful; over a third suggested an easier way of doing taxes, and a fifth would like less paperwork to complete.