June2015_Ocean Business Support

Another new business has opened in the Dayboro region. Sarah Ashby of Ocean View, who is known in the area for her involvement with the Ocean View Rural Fire Brigade and the Dayboro Players, has seen a gap in the market for administration and bookkeeping advice, particularly coming up to the end of the tax year.

“Sometimes the paperwork side of a business is the hardest part.  Someone may be a brilliant builder, computer programmer, shopkeeper etc but finds keeping the books really difficult, especially after a long day at work. Unfortunately, the paperwork is the most important part from the view of the ATO and the better the records, the less likelihood of an error.”  Sarah ran her own tax practice in the UK for 15 years before moving to Australia with her husband, John, for a better work/life balance and a better education for their daughter Juliette. Now Juliette is in year 12 and about to head off to university, Sarah believes the time is right to start out on her own whilst she studies for the Australian Institute of Tax exams.

“I believe that there is a great benefit in the books being brought up to date and ready for the accountant.  It can save a business a lot of accounting fees too, as issues are resolved at an early stage in the office.  As a tax accountant in the UK, my clients often brought in shoeboxes of receipts, it would have saved me a lot of time and them a lot of fees if the books had been properly prepared."

Sarah’s aim is to provide businesses with support when it is needed and there is no long term commitment required.  The support may be as simple as a business taking on a member of staff and not being sure how to run the payroll; or going through a sudden period of growth leaving no time for managing the books; or sickness.  In all these cases just a few hours may be all that’s required to set matters on the right track.  It is then the choice of the client whether they want to have Sarah do their books regularly, or continue to do the paperwork themselves, but knowing there is someone to turn to for a hand. 

 

Sarah has deliberately not become an agent for any of the major computerised accounting companies  “ I don’t believe in pushing one particular product.  A system that is great for one business may not be the ideal for another.  I am happy to help and show how the various packages work, but it would be wrong to advocate one over another.  In some cases, for very small concerns, pen and paper is still the best and cheapest alternative!”

If you have a business or are thinking of starting one, and would like help and advice, contact Sarah at Ocean Business Support 0450 477 070.