Understanding your revenue drivers
For your business to make money, you need to generate revenue. You produce revenue through your usual business activity, by making sales, getting your invoices paid, or taking cash from paying customers. So, the better you are at selling your products/services and bringing money into the business, the higher your revenue levels will be. But […]
The 7 biggest challenges facing small businesses in 2025
Running a small business in 2025 comes with a unique set of challenges. From rising costs to evolving compliance requirements, Australian SMEs are navigating a complex landscape. Here are seven of the most pressing issues—and practical strategies to help overcome them. 💸 Rising Wage and Employment Costs With the Superannuation Guarantee increasing to 12% from […]
ATO Debt Crackdown: $105 Billion Owed and Tougher Measures in 2025
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has significantly intensified its debt recovery efforts in 2025, responding to a record-breaking surge in outstanding tax liabilities. As of this year, the ATO’s debt book has ballooned to over $105 billion, with $46.4 billion considered collectible. This figure now represents more than 16% of the Commonwealth’s total revenue, prompting urgent action […]
Protecting you and your business: using trusts
Have you ever wondered about the best ways to protect you and your business? In this series, we’ll look at the key ways to use trusts, insurance and risk-management techniques to protect both your personal assets and the future of the company. In this article, we’ll look at how you can use a trust to […]
Reducing the uncertainty: strategic business reviews
In a world where evolving political events can change the market in an instant, and economic instability is still the norm, finding certainty in your business strategy is a rarity. Business plans and your overriding strategy are no longer written in stone. This means being flexible about your next steps and regularly reviewing your business […]
How to use forecasts and scenario-planning
For centuries, accounting was all about reviewing historic information – but that only told you about the past, not what was going to happen in the future. If you’re only looking back at past periods and historic numbers, this limits the insights you can achieve for your business. With a backward-looking ideology, it becomes difficult […]
Why you shouldn’t rush to lodge your tax return to early
As the new financial year begins, it’s understandable to want to tick your tax return off the list as soon as possible. But when it comes to lodging your return, patience can save you time, money, and stress. At VI Partners, we encourage clients to wait until the ATO’s prefilled data is available before we […]
HECS-HELP Debt Reduction coming in 2025: What you need to know
The Australian Government has announced a major relief measure for students and graduates with outstanding HELP (formerly HECS) debts. From 1 June 2025, a one-off 20% reduction will be applied to all eligible student loans — a move expected to benefit more than 3 million Australians. This article outlines everything you need to know, including […]
Substantiating Tax Deductions
As we head into the 2025 tax season, we want to make all individual clients aware of an important update: while we’ve always asked clients to retain appropriate records to support their deductions, this year we’ll be applying a stricter standard when it comes to substantiating claims. This change is in response to the ATO’s […]
Why you’ll be asked to sign an engagement letter before your Tax Return
With tax time upon us, we wanted to let our individual clients know about a new step we’re introducing this financial year: you’ll now be asked to sign an engagement letter before we begin preparing your Individual Tax Return (ITR). In the past, this hasn’t been a formal requirement — but from this year onward, […]