Dealing with Tax and Renting via Airbnb - 23rd April 2018

Airbnb is one of many examples of the "sharing economy" - connecting buyers (users) and sellers (providers) through a facilitator that usually operates an app or a website. Airbnb acts as this facilitator by allowing individuals, referred to as "hosts", to rent out a room of their house or their whole house for a short-time basis via its online platforms.

While the focus here is on Airbnb, the tax concepts outlined could be applied in a more general sense to anyone seeking to rent out a part of their home, whether through Gumtree, Realestate.com.au, Flatmates.com.au and so on.

Is Technology Making You Less Efficient? - 17th April 2018

"For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three". - Alice Kahn

If you feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of technological gadgets out there, never mind apps and other digital "solutions", you're not alone. Technology sprawl and the rabbit hole of more and more information, available all the time, is making productivity - and healthy downtime - a real challenge for many of us.

Although we may be quicker at completing redundant tasks, more time is wasted managing all our different apps and technologies - and more of us live in a near constant state of distraction.

Personal Risk to Managers and Business Owners who Underpay Employees - 17th April 2018

Managers and business owners who underpay employees are increasingly at risk of being fined personally if they underpay employees. More often than in the past, the Fair Work Ombudsman [FWO] is prosecuting individual company directors and managers (including HR managers) where the businesses they own or manage have underpaid employees.

So You've Launched Your Business - Now What? - 10th April 2018

Good news for small business owners: according to the US Small Business Administration, nearly 80% of small businesses survive their first year.

However, that number begins to drop as time rolls on. Only half of small businesses pass the five year mark, and a mere third celebrate their tenth anniversary.

Taking steps to create a good foundation in the early days of your business is essential for a sustainable and profitable future. Here's how. 

Bitcoin: Its place in your wallet or SMSF portfolio - 4th April 2018

While bitcoin may be the most well-known cryptocurrency, there are nearly 1,500 in existence. In its simplest form, a cryptocurrency is a "peer-to-peer electronic cash system", which means that the currency is not in a physical form like cash but sits in an electronic register.