Urgent accounting – Fact or Myth?
What is urgent? In a society that is instant we have everything at our finger tips. This can be amazing because you know you can sort it out quickly. There are, however, some parts of life and business that don’t contain emergency situations. Accounting, tax and payroll are a good example. There may be some […]
Are you happily married to SARS?
SARS and you? For the purposes of this article, “marriage” refers to any relationship. In this article, we focus on your relationship with SARS. For the purposes of this article, SARS is the tax man in South Africa. This can be changed to the local tax authority in your country. For all marriages to succeed […]
7 Accounting Myths – Busted!
So many times I am out at a restaurant, store, or outing and someone in my family or group of friends says “You’re the accountant, how much is this?” and wants me to calculate something in my head. I am going to let you all in on a little secret… I am not a mathematician, […]
Payroll: What you did (or did not) know
Payroll is critical part of a business. It involves the process of paying salaries and the payments that involved with them. IF not done – no one gets paid and the deductions are not paid to SARS. What is your most important asset? It may surprise you but the answer is: YOU AND YOUR STAFF You […]
EMP501: What is it and how does it impact employees?
The EMP501 is a culmination of all the documents issued in payroll processing. Let’s breakdown this process. The EMP501 is done twice a year. There is an interim reconciliation for the period of March to August followed by a final reconciliation for the remainder of the year (September to February). Only the final reconciliation issues […]
Trusts – should you have one?
Changing the rules on trusts To anyone involved in a trust, It is now no secret that SARS has identified trusts as a targeted source for extra tax revenue. This is based on the fact that they were used as tax havens for taxpayers as trustees or beneficiaries. As they have become to know this, […]
The Tax MAN! The fear attached
The Tax Man? Noooooooo! If you say tax man (SARS (South African Revenue Services) to South Africa) to anyone, they will shudder in fear which, in a lot of cases is unfounded. There are various reasons for this fear: Because they have not submitted tax returns in years, The believe that the tax man or […]
Accountant – friend or foe?
An Accountant does what? The burning question that gets asked frequently is this: “What do accountants actually do”? The answer can be as simple and as complex as the accountant wants it to be. I do not like answers to questions to be complex. This is because 9 times out of 10, it just confuses […]
Do you have the accounting know-how required to run your business?
Many entrepreneurs who feel confident about their accounting know-how take it upon themselves to do their own accounting function. The thinking behind this is actually sound: “keep your fingertips on the numbers the business is producing”. Producing the goods Unfortunately, many business owners (despite having the skills to do so) don’t fully understand the rigours […]
Nothing to fear
“There is nothing to fear but fear itself” Anon “Tax compliance ensures no fear of the tax man.” Bruce Laister (BC Accounting) I have come to realise that there are few things in life that can instantly cause panic in someone’s life. Apart from the obvious events like war, natural disasters etc, possibly one of […]