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5 types of personal insurance that all business owners should consider
Andrew Stubbs • Dec 04, 2018

It's easy to be wise after the event. Taking out certain types of personal insurance is being wise before the event!  

What happens if you're in a bad accident and need to take an extended period off work to recover? Or you were left permanently disabled - or worse? What would happen if you got sick and needed around-the-clock care for a few months? 

The more you have, the more there is to lose. 

But there's a whole suite of personal insurance products available today to protect what you have. And, while wedding insurance (yes, it exists) might not be top of your list, there are at least five types of insurance you might want to consider as a business owner. 

Each of the following will provide important protection and peace of mind for you and your family, in the event of an accident, a disaster, or simple bad luck befalling you…  

  1. Life insurance  

This is about protecting your family, should the worst happen to you. 

Life insurance policies pay a tax-free lump sum or annuity to those you nominate as the beneficiaries, if you pass away. This helps loved ones maintain their standard of living and ensure they can cover their debts in the event of your death.

In addition to helping to cover the funeral costs, a life insurance pay out should cover the mortgage or rent, provide a source of income for a spouse or partner you leave behind, and cover other assorted expenses that arise. 

You may even be able to arrange a pension through your life insurance – this is worth considering if your self-funded retirement plans are not on track. 

  1. Health insurance  

In additional to any available government aid for health care, it's also a very good idea to take out personal health insurance if you own a business - especially if you spend time out of the country on business. 

Business owners get sick, just like everyone else. The stress of being the business owner can often complicate matters but it helps to know that the costs of care and treatment are looked after. 

Coverage may extend to family members - an additional benefit of private health insurance. 

With health care costs covered and access provided to quality care in or out of the country, one potential cause of stress is reduced. 

  1. Long-term disability insurance  

Say you have an accident and are rendered disabled temporarily or permanently. It's not just the costs of care you need to think about - it's the potential loss of income from a business that depends on you being there. 

Disability insurance covers you with a monthly payment to compensate for part of the lost income during the period of disability. 

While it's primarily designed for employees, business owners may also claim it - but you may need to provide tax returns or profit and loss statements that demonstrate expected income. 

You can also look at business overhead expense (BOE) disability insurance, which covers all business expenses if you become disabled. This includes rent, utilities, salaries, payroll taxes, accounting fees, etc. 

It means one less thing to have to worry about in the event of a bad accident or serious injury. 

  1. Critical illness ('trauma') insurance  

Another supplement to health insurance is critical illness (or 'trauma') insurance.

This covers you with a lump-sum payment should you be diagnosed with a serious health condition such as cancer, stroke, heart condition etc.

However, depending on the provider, 'critical illness' has different definitions and you usually need to survive your condition for 15-30 days before a payment will be made. 

This insurance goes over and above the costs of medical care, which your health insurance covers. It provides useful funds for other expenses incurred during the period of illness or recovery, including the possibility of funding the lost income if your spouse has to stop work to care for you. 

  1. Key Person Insurance  

What would happen to your business if a key employee, partner or director suffered a major illness, injury or death? Could your business sustain the sudden loss of a key technical employee or a star salesperson? How much disruption and cost would be incurred? 

If there is anyone in your business whose know-how or overall contribution is uniquely valuable and it would be difficult and time-consuming to replace them, you should consider Key Person Insurance.  

This is insurance on the life or health of any employee where the policy can offset the costs (for example, hiring a temporary replacement or recruiting a permanent successor) and losses (such as decreased business performance until successors are trained), which the business may experience when a key person suddenly departs. 

Like many insurances, the cost of a Key Person Insurance policy is insignificant compared with the potentially business-threatening disruption that losing a key person incurs.  

Be wise before the event…  

It only takes one serious event to knock you back financially in life. Your savings can be left looking paltry against serious medical bills or unexpected support costs. 

Whatever stage in life you're at, as a business owner it makes sense to take precautions for your own peace of mind now and in the future. 

While most people consider the common personal insurances (like comprehensive car insurance or home and contents insurance) to be 'must haves', the more optional 'nice to have' nature of the above insurances means that many people fail to protect themselves in these areas. 

You can purchase these insurances as separate policies and some providers bundle policies together and provide discounts. 

The five options above are not exhaustive but they should help you narrow down your priorities. Just remember - you still need to read the fine print before signing up! We know it can be a little baffling with so many providers, so many options, and so much fine print, but just get in touch with us and we'll be happy to point you in the right direction with these important insurances.

Why Your Business Needs to Invoice Using the New Peppol Network

By Andrew Stubbs • 05 Jun, 2022
Here's some good news if your business sends invoices to business or government customers. Peppol* is on its way. (That's Peppol, not Peppa .) Ever had this conversation in your business? You or one of your team: "Hello, I'm calling to follow up the invoice we emailed to you last month. It hasn't been paid yet." Customer: "Really? We didn't receive that invoice?" In addition to the time and expense of following up, the cash flow delays create stress for you and they hurt your business. Thankfully, the adoption of Peppol will solve this problem. What is Peppol? Peppol is an obscure acronym for Pan-European Public Procurement On-Line. What's more important than what it stands for, is what it enables. Peppol is an international 'eProcurement' framework for the electronic exchange of information. It creates a standard approach for governments and businesses to structure and exchange information such as invoices and other documents. What Peppol means for you and your business Peppol makes electronic ordering, invoicing and shipping between governments and private companies faster, simpler and more secure. This means your business will get paid faster when dealing with government and larger businesses. In 2019, Australia and New Zealand adopted this platform for e-invoicing which, when implemented, will make 'we never received your invoice' issues virtually impossible. The new e-invoicing system is more secure than email and provides many other benefits. Which countries are adopting Peppol? There are currently 40 OpenPeppol member countries: 32 countries in Europe plus Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, China, Japan, Mexico and Singapore. Each country has a Peppol authority. For example, in Australia that's the Australian Tax Office (ATO). Is Peppol already in use? Yes it is. For example, the SuperStream system in Australia-which many businesses are currently using to automate the payment of employee superannuation contributions-is based on the Peppol protocol. How does e-invoicing work? The system connects the accounting systems of all businesses and government departments via the secure Peppol network.  Suppliers generate sales invoices in their accounting systems which are sent to Peppol.

Company Director? Why You Need to Apply for Your DIN

By Andrew Stubbs • 04 May, 2022
If you're a director of an Australian company-or you plan to be-take 5 minutes now to read this article. All existing directors (and intending directors) of Australian companies need to be aware that the Australian Government has announced the introduction of a new mandatory Director Identification Number (DIN) system. (You'll notice the term director ID is also used for DIN.) This system is the initial step in the Modernising Business Registry (MBR) Program which has been established under the Treasury Laws Amendment Act which was legislated by the Australian Government in 2020. More information on the MBR program can be found here . What is the DIN system trying to achieve? The DIN aims to provide accountability and traceability of a director's relationships over time, across all companies and will provide information on a director's involvement in what may be repeated unlawful activity, including illegal phoenix activity. It should also solve the problem of false or fraudulent director identities. What are the key features? It is mandatory for all directors, foreign directors and alternate directors of Australian companies to hold a DIN. The DIN is a unique 15 digit number. The first 3 digits will be 036 which is the identifier for Australia. The last digit is a check digit to help with accuracy when quoting your DIN. Like your tax file number, you will only be issued with one DIN which you will hold for life - even if you cease acting as a director for any period. To obtain a DIN, you will need to prove your identity so you will not be able to hold multiple DINs. Other office holders (e.g. company secretaries) are not required to register. The director is responsible for updating the DIN records for any changes in personal information within 7 days of the change. The director must apply personally. The process cannot be completed by your accountant, lawyer, spouse or executive assistant. There are significant penalties for non-compliance. How do you apply for a DIN? Directors have 3 options for applying. You can apply online from 1 November 2021. To use this method, you must first establish your identity via myGovID (an app you download on your smart device which is different from myGov). Once set up, your myGovID will make accessing a wide range of government services easier. (It's not just for your DIN application). For information on how to set up a myGovID please go to https://www.mygovid.gov.au/set-up During the DIN application process, you will need additional information such as your tax file number (TFN) and your residential address as per ATO records. It would also be advisable to have other personal details such as bank account details, medicare card or a recent income tax assessment available in case these are required. You can also apply by phone ( 13 62 50 ). During the call, the operator will ask for the identity documents you would have used to obtain your myGovID (passport and driver licence) as well as the additional information listed above. These details will be confirmed with the records held on existing government databases and, assuming the details agree, your DIN will be issued. Or you can apply by mail, but this is not recommended because the process for doing this seems vague ("Write to us") which means you can probably expect a lengthy process of certifying documents and coping with the vagaries of the postal system. One of the other two methods would be a better choice. When will you need to apply for a DIN? Transitional arrangements will allow directors to become familiar with the new requirement. When you need to have a director ID will depend on when you were appointed as a director.

7 Best Practices for Setting Your Small Business on the Success Track

By Andrew Stubbs • 07 Apr, 2022
If you're a small business owner, you're always on the lookout for better ways to go about routine tasks to boost growth and underpin reliability. So, yes, you have the will; now, what are the ways? What are those consistent routines you can instill that will have the most benefits? This article looks at the top 6 things you can do to help your business thrive. We're going to cover finances, goals, marketing, technology and you ! So, let's take a look… 1. Your finances are a scorecard … and a predictor Boil it all down and dollars in the bank are the report card on the health of your business operations. Surprising then that so many people don't really pay much attention to how much they've earned, nor how much they're likely to earn. As much as it might feel like a chore, reviewing your sales and financial projections and then using them to ascertain if you need business financing is a discipline worth cultivating . If you suspect that your cash flow is precarious, you should be checking out your options today. First metric to check: your credit score. If it is too low, you need to take steps to shore it up. Next, check in with your bank or finance broker about what loans are available. 2. Goal setting, goal achieving, goal celebrating So, if you're using current and future dollars in the bank to keep score, the next thing is to do something about it. This is where goal setting comes in. If thoughtfully set and persistently pursued, goals help you orientate your willpower and your energy at each moment of the business day. This is the hidden power of goals: giving you a good sense of direction and a way to channel your instincts towards wise objectives. Constantly checking in with your goals makes them a benchmarking tool to keep your business pointed in the right direction. Yes, just having goals helps. Actually achieving a goal helps too, of course! 3. Increasing the impact of your marketing Marketing is not magic. It is not a mystery. It is not an art. However, many less-than-reputable marketers will try to claim that it is. They do so to gain wiggle room to pad their invoices and cover up their lack of skill. What this means is that it is easy to waste money on ineffective marketing. The good news is that there are many low-budget marketing strategies that actually work to help grow your brand and reputation. Scout around on the internet and choose one or two new tactics. Deploy them and test them. If they work, double down. If they don't, try something else. If you can't tell if they're working, also try something else. Social media is the obvious starting place for these low-stakes experiments and the old classics of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are where to trial them. 4. Bringing your business up to date technologically The ability of modern productivity and project-management tools to give small players the same capabilities as the big boys simply cannot be ignored. Harness them properly and they'll let your small businesses operate with the same productivity as the titans of your sector. And, if your business is in the services sector, the increased controls that business technologies can yield also lets you be highly agile - that's something the big boys can't do. So, ask yourself: are you taking full advantage of what's out there? Don't worry, the answer to this question is always 'no' - the field is simply moving too fast for anyone to be able to take full advantage. However, if you have a realistic view of your needs, then you have a yardstick to help assess all the solutions out there. When you know what you need the technology to do, then you can wisely choose what hardware, software, platforms and techniques to introduce. 5. SEO has changed and it is going to change again Google - indeed all platforms offering broad search functions, from Youtube to Facebook - are constantly altering and optimising their algorithms. This, in turn, means SEO practice must constantly evolve to keep pace. So, if your SEO approach hasn't been overhauled in a few years, the time has come to give it some attention. Do a review of best practice and score how you cater to SEO in your online presences. Yet, because the underlying concept of SEO has not changed, the corrective actions you need to take may not be major. Then again, they might be! It is better to know unpleasant news sooner than outright bad news later. 6. Download the right new apps The remote work trend has gone mega and this means mobile productivity apps are very much of-the-moment. See, you can get a surprising amount done with just your phone and tablet. And apps are how it all happens … plus connectivity and a full battery, of course! Usually, apps are best for keeping an eye on things, boosting effectiveness on the "busy" tasks and enabling you to give your stamp of approval to work that needs your say-so to progress. In general, these are not value-adding tasks, just the value-neutral tasks that get in the way of the value-adding tasks. Now, there is no end of apps out there. So, as always, don't bother looking until you have some idea of what you need. 7. You are the ultimate business tool Health is the single most important aspect to consider for anyone running a business. It's the non-negotiable factor that governs everything else you are capable of. To adapt a quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger, being fit and healthy is "a status symbol. It reflects you worked hard for it; no money can buy it. You cannot borrow it, you cannot inherit it, you cannot steal it". This means that you must get enough sleep every night (most people need 7 hours or more). This means a healthy diet must become your preferred way of eating. This means that you should exercise every single day (except when sick). This means you must give your mind a rest too . Meditation isn't some mystic monkish thing, it's simply the practice of letting your thoughts come and go while you - the observer - stay peaceful and undisturbed by them. Think of it like this, meditating is mediating your mind. Take stock, choose wisely, make small steps in the right direction In this article, we've talked about some improvements you can make to what you're already doing. You don't have to do all of these at once. Start with the one that seems easiest and then stick with it to see if it works. Remember, it's not always about big changes. Often, you can make major improvements in outcome by making small changes to input. Doing the little things better. So take stock, choose wisely and be sure to make those small steps in the right direction for success today, tomorrow and the next day.
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