Updates to SG & Medicare Levy Surcharge

In this increasingly digital age, small businesses are becoming more and more vulnerable to the threat of cybercrime. In particular, there has been an increase in supply chain attacks targeting small businesses. Cybercriminals are constantly adapting their tactics and using AI to fuel their attacks. As technology advances, so does the risk to your sensitive data. This increasing risk means it’s more important than ever to get the basics right. The good news is, AI still can’t beat smart cyber habits. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, so we’re here to equip you with four essential tips to safeguard your business against cybercrime. 1. Strengthen your first line of defence Humans can often be the weak spot in a business’s cybersecurity efforts, so it’s important to have a strong first line of defence in your systems to protect your business. It doesn’t have to be super complex or expensive – the easiest and most effective solutions are free or low-cost. To start with, get your security basics sorted: Passwords: Strong passwords are the foundation of your online security. Use long, unique passwords for each account, and consider using a password manager to keep track of them. Multi-factor authentication (MFA): MFA adds an extra layer of protection by requiring additional verification, such as a code sent to your phone, when logging in. Secure products and services: Choose reputable providers that prioritise security. Look for certifications like ISO and SOC2 compliance when selecting software and services. Use public wifi safely: While the most secure option is to use wi-fi at your home or office, there are a few things to keep in mind if that’s not an option: Use your personal mobile phone as a hotspot – it’s significantly safer than café, hotel, or airport networks. Connect to a trusted VPN first, if available. Verify any wi-fi network with the venue before continuing – fake hotspots are a common scam to capture credentials. Don’t access confidential or sensitive information over public wi‑fi. Avoid oversharing personal information online: Attackers harvest publicly available details to tailor convincing phishing and social engineering attacks (email, SMS, voice, and social apps). Even small personal facts (roles, travel, family, habits) help them impersonate people you trust or bypass checks. 2. Educate your team about phishing One way cybercriminals can exploit small businesses is through phishing scams, in which cybercriminals impersonate trusted individuals or organisations to trick them into revealing sensitive information through deceptive emails or text messages. A phishing email looks like it comes from a legitimate source, but fraudulently tries to get you to provide sensitive information, such as your password or credit card details. Some of these emails might also try to infect your device by getting you to click a link to a malicious website or attachment. However, even the most advanced phishing is still toothless if you know enough to pause, think critically about the message, and react appropriately if something doesn’t seem right. With this in mind, it’s important to educate your team about phishing and train them to: Adopt a zero trust approach: Your team motto where data is concerned should be ‘never trust, always verify’. Bake security into your processes, for example, a payment can’t be processed without specific verification steps (even if it appears to be the CEO asking you to process it!) Identify phishing attempts: Teach your employees how to spot phishing emails by being on the lookout for suspicious links, urgent requests, or grammatical errors. Avoid suspicious links and attachments: Encourage your employees to hover over links before clicking, and to avoid downloading attachments from unknown senders. 3. Learn how to spot a deepfake Conventional scams are difficult enough to spot, but AI-based scams can be harder to detect and so even more dangerous. Deepfakes allow cybercriminals to create seemingly legitimate audio and video that can be incredibly convincing. Voice cloning replicates somebody’s tone and language to trick someone else into having a genuine phone conversation. Cybercriminals can use deepfakes to impersonate executives, clients, or even government officials. Train your team to look for signs of deepfakes, such as: inconsistent eye blinking or pupil dilation artificial-looking noise or distortions poor lip-syncing blurred or irregular shadows 4. Stay informed and vigilant, and report suspicious activity Cyber threats are constantly evolving, so it’s crucial to stay informed about the latest scams and security best practices. Regularly update your software and apps, apply security patches, and consider subscribing to cybersecurity newsletters or blogs. Finally, ensure you and your team report any suspicious activity. Work to create a culture where employees feel comfortable reporting anything unusual, even if it turns out to be harmless. So, what should you do if the worst happens and your business gets attacked or compromised? First of all, and most importantly – don’t panic. But do act quickly. Don’t be afraid to speak up – the cyber criminal wants you to be too embarrassed to tell anyone. Report the attack to your local Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) agency or national cybersecurity agency, and if there’s an immediate threat to life or risk of harm, call the police. Cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility. By following these tips and staying vigilant, you can significantly reduce your risk of falling victim to cybercrime.

In today's fast-paced business environment, technology can assist by simplifying financial workflows, saving time, and improving overall business performance. That said, deploying technology without a strategy can actually hold a business back. Here are 7 best practices which apply to medium enterprises on this subject. 1. Embrace Cloud-Based Accounting Software Not especially new… but cloud-based Accounting software offers a wide range of features, including automated invoicing, expense tracking, and financial reporting. With real-time access to financial data, leaders can make informed decisions quickly and precisely. Cloud accounting can also reduce the administrative workload and give leaders better visibility into the state of the business. 2. Automate Repetitive Tasks The usual candidates for automation are data entry, invoice processing, payroll calculations, and other repetitive processes. Often this requires automating workflows between different apps (using Zapier, for example) because no single application does everything. In addition to time saving, automation reduces errors, which can be expensive to fix. 3. Implement Online Payment Solutions Online payment solutions allow customers to pay invoices electronically, reducing the need for manual payment processing. Most solutions integrate with Accounting software, further simplifying financial management. In most cases, customers also prefer this approach… and improved customer satisfaction is always a good thing! 3. Utilise Financial Dashboards Financial dashboards provide a visual representation of key financial metrics, so leaders can quickly assess the financial health of the business. This leads to making decisions based on data, versus gut feeling. Different businesses should track different metrics depending on their business goals. 4. Invest in Cybersecurity Cybersecurity is a growing threat. Solutions include implementing firewalls, using secure passwords, and regularly updating software. A data breach can be devastating for a business, including losing the trust of customers when their sensitive information is compromised. 5. Leverage AI Artificial intelligence (AI) streamlines financial management processes by analysing financial data to identify patterns and trends, providing valuable insights. AI-powered tools also automate tasks such as fraud detection and risk assessment. 6. Stay Updated with Regulatory Changes Regulatory compliance is critical in financial management. Compliance management software helps leaders stay up to date ensuring compliance, while avoiding costly penalties. Automation helps businesses simplify and enhance financial management processes. How can you streamline your financial workflows and focus on growing your business?

Achieving “Financial Independence” has always been considered the main aim for investors. Many investors become impatient, or they try to get there too quickly. As a result, they may lose discipline and have to start from scratch again. For many it is like chasing a rainbow they never reach, which could be due to a range of reasons. For those that do succeed, in most cases, it is due to using some basic investment principles, combined with a large dose of discipline. Below are 10 Finance and Investing tips, in no particular order, which should be considered as part of a long-term strategy towards financial independence. 1. Insure your income Your future income earning potential, especially in your early working life, will have a value greater than most assets you own. It therefore makes sense to insure it via an effective income protection policy. If due to illness or injury you were unable to work and lost your regular income, you would be putting all of your long-term financial strategy at risk. These premiums are also tax deductible. 2. Set aside 10% of your income – invest it If you can get in this habit early, then it just becomes automatic. Each time your income increases, the value of your 10% also increases. Invest it for the long-term and let the power of compounding take over! 3. Spend less than you earn Should not need to explain this one, but getting in this habit early, will make your life so much less stressful! 4. The best time to invest is always yesterday Procrastination is the greatest enemy of those seeking financial independence. What are you waiting for? Passive income cannot start until you start investing. There is an abundance of low-cost methods now to start investing into markets, so you really do not have an excuse. 5. Do not try and time the market In reality, timing the market is too hard. If you are worried the market might fall, then spread your initial investment over a number of dates and purchase prices so you can get a spread of purchase costs. If you are investing in sharemarkets, yes, they will fall in value!!!! They always do, but they go up as well. If markets do fall, see that as an opportunity to buy in at a cheaper price. 6. Count your money – regularly! Every month, quarter or six months, keep a schedule of the value of your investment assets (bank accounts, shares, superannuation, rental property, etc). Also keep a record of your liabilities (home loan, credit card, investment loan, personal loans for vehicles, caravans, etc). Measure your net asset position and record which way this is trending. You will know pretty quickly if you are heading the right way. If your net asset position is heading south, you need to change your approach, urgently. If it is continually heading in the right direction, then keep up the discipline, but reward yourself where possible! 7. Use the power of compounding This is the eighth Wonder of the World (ask Albert Einstein!). The power of long-term regular investment may not be apparent at the outset of your investing life, but I can guarantee later in life you will always be thankful for those little acorns (investments) you planted 20, 30 & 40 years ago. Example – put $10,000 away each year for 40 years, earn a 7% return over this time and now have $2,136,000. This capital base can generate over $100,000pa each year in income now! Do some Googling and find a compounding interest calculator! 8. Understand risk. Not investing is just as risky as investing! There are many who will not invest in the sharemarket “because it is too risky.” The share market can be volatile, which means there is definitely a short-term risk due to changes in value. But you need to understand how volatility works. There are also risks in only investing in bank deposits in the long-term. Your Term Deposit balances will remain capital guaranteed, but after taking into account inflation, the value of your deposit actually “loses” value. There are risks everywhere, which include volatility, inflationary, diversification and liquidity risk. But there are ways to address each risk. 9. Become financially literate and realistic You owe it to yourself to not put your head in the sand about investment and finance. Most of the characteristics of being a great long-term investor are based on common sense and discipline. There are some wonderful, basic books to get you started. The Richest Man in Babylon by George S Clason, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kyosaki, The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J Stanley. You do not need an International Economics degree to understand these books, but they are great foundations you can use to get you into great investing habits. 10. Tax deductions do not make you wealthy I still see a lot of investments advertised or promoted as providing the investor with huge tax deductions, providing tax savings. My first reaction is a big red flag. Large tax deductions, normally mean tax losses and/or cash outlays. A net tax loss on an investment, does allow you to claim a tax deduction, but you only get back your tax deduction multiplied by your marginal tax rate. You are still likely to be out of pocket. Understand what you are getting yourself into long term. I hope these tips can help you on your investing journey! They have helped me!

Who is it for? MYOB introduced “Solo” earlier this year for small sole traders and have now released MYOB Assist, a new AI-supported mobile app aimed at addressing the administrative burdens facing small and medium-sized businesses. What does it cost? MYOB Assist is included for free with MYOB subscriptions and is compatible with Lite, Pro, AccountRight and Connected Ledger subscriptions. It is available in the Apple - App Store and Android - Google Store. What can it be used for? The app is designed to help MYOB Users (owners, employees etc) by keeping on top of their administrative responsibilities on the go. MYOB claims that making these processes accessible via a mobile device will help business owners feel more in control and prepared. The App offers the following features: · AI-powered receipt capture Take photos of receipts to capture deductible expenses. Auto-matching and AI category suggestions run seamlessly in the background. · Mobile invoicing and payment reminders Create, edit and send invoices from your mobile · Real-time bookkeeping Keep cash flow and accounting up to date with the automatic sync feature from the MYOB Assist app to your browser, so you can work anywhere. For more information visit MYOB Assist or contact one of the GTP Team.