American Express bankfeeds are getting an upgrade!
American Express is introducing a new direct bank feed allowing easier setup and improving access to reliable transaction data. Please reconnect your American Express feeds now, but no later than 28 February 2024. This will ensure their transactions continue to flow into Xero. After this date, existing feeds will no longer be supported and will stop importing transactions.
Join Nicole & Myreeann at ABE (Accounting Business Expo) in Melbourne 20 – 21st March 2024!
They will be feature on the bookkeeping stage discussing: What is in a name?
Great if you are just starting out in business or thinking of a rebrand.
Come along to snaffle hours of free CPE, swag & product demos, and catch up with your industry peers.
Australian Cyber Security Centre says:
Passwords are passé. It’s time to use passphrases instead.
A passphrase uses four or more random words as your password. For example, ‘crystal onion clay pretzel’ or ‘red house sky train’.
Mark up your diary with important February details.
Wear Red on Friday 2nd February – you can use it as a warm up for Valentines day on the 14th!
ATO deadlines – you can’t avoid those!
And finish off the month with a bonus work day to catch up on that to do list? Score!
Don’t forget to keep staff take annual and/or sick leave balances up to date.
Public holidays – don’t forget your fairwork obligations!
You need to pay all full time and part time staff for the normal hours they would have worked on Australia Day if you close your workplace.
If you open your workplace, all employees have the right to not work. Employers can request employees to work on a public holiday, but the request has to be reasonable. An employee can refuse a request to work if the employee has reasonable grounds to refuse or the request is unreasonable. Check awards for payrates.
Super payment due dates occur quarterly. If you don’t pay an employee’s super guarantee (SG) amount in full, on time and to the right fund, you must pay the super guarantee charge (SGC).
The SGC is more than the super you would have otherwise paid to the employee’s fund and is not tax deductible.
You will need to complete an SGC statement and submit it to the ATO, this is used to calculate fines and penalties (some to compensate staff for lost earnings, some to punish you for naughtiness).
Hopefully this is a mistake you only make once!
Fair Work has updated the National Employment Standards (NES).
FairWork says: From 1 January 2024, the National Employment Standards (NES) includes a right to superannuation contributions. This means that unpaid or underpaid superannuation can be enforced under the Fair Work Act by more employees (as well as by an employee organisation or us).
Make sure you provide new employees with the current version of the National Employment Standards as part of your onboarding process.
Ask us for help if you have no idea about an employee onboarding process – we can help keep you compliant!
If you haven’t already, now is the time to authorise super payments for you employees (this includes you as a director). Funds must reach the employees account by 28th January and it takes a long longer than it ought to be processed, and there is a public holiday this month.
Penalties are harsh for late payment. So sort out your cashflow and pay now!
It’s time to start preparing your December BAS. Lodgement and payment is due by 28th February.
Act now!
