For some it’s the last day of November, for others it’s the night before they put their Christmas tree up and for many it’s just a Thursday – but for me, today is “birthday month eve”!

I was born on 2nd December, so my birthday is this Saturday, but I tend to celebrate for a full month. In truth, celebrations started last weekend when I had the chance to spend time with some friends at a concert, and this year they’ll likely conclude before Christmas (Christmas is really important now that we have an almost 3 year old in the family!)

My birthday is shared with my Mum, and I often feel a little ‘funny’ celebrating when Mum isn’t here to participate – but in recent years I’ve learned to remember the good times we enjoyed and I really embrace the special connection formed by having the same birthday.

Happy birthday to all Sagittarius out there, I hope you enjoy your celebrations this month!

Regards

Last week in Warrnambool, we had a visit from Senior Account Managers in Xero – this was a real treat as it’s usually me going to Geelong or Melbourne to hear from them.

During the presentation, they shared an update on the happenings at Xero as well as some interesting statistics on Xero usage, and I thought you may like me to share them with you:

At 30th September, 2017 there were 1,199,000 subscribers to Xero across the world.  Of these, 518,000 were based in Australia.

If a file has been well established, up to 86% of transactions in the bank feed are able to be correctly coded automatically (via matching and bank rules) – this heavily reduces the time a business owner needs to spend on their bookkeeping.

In files where bank rules are not utilised and if clients have not been educated – in the past 12 months around 77 million transactions have been recoded – this means the initial transaction was coded incorrectly and had to be reallocated by the accountant.

What does this mean for you?  Hopefully you’re thinking “Wow, I need to get on this Xero thing – but who can help me?”

The answer: ME

Simply contact The Tax Chic and let me help establish your file and educate you in one of the most popular accounting software programs in the world!

Regards

In just four short weeks (give or take a day or two), many of us will be taking a break to celebrate Christmas.

For the first time in quite a few years, I am pleased to say I have started my Christmas shopping and plans are coming along nicely.  In years gone by I’ve been super duper organised but lately that organisation has fallen by the way-side as business pursuits have kept me busy – but I’m back on track for now!

My personal advice for making it through the ‘silly season’ includes:

• start a Christmas Club savings account today and be prepared financially for next year (mine helps cover Christmas and birthday gifts through December and January with a little splurge money for moi)
• make a list (and check it twice) of each present you need to buy
• allocate a dollar amount to each gift and stick to it – you’d be surprised what you can find on sale to fit with your budget!
• divvy up the catering among your family and friends so that everyone shares the load, both in organising and spending
• drink water between alcoholic drinks (do as I say not as I do)
• relax and enjoy yourself – eat that extra after dinner mint and indulge in the cheese platter, Christmas comes but once a year (except if you do Christmas in July, then it comes twice a year but you can still enjoy yourself!)

Tell me your tips so I can add them to my list for next year!

Regards

Please note all advice contained herein is general in nature, please discuss with your financial advisor before making an investment.

Perhaps you’re thinking that a headline like this is going to lead to an article of succession planning in business?  But not today, instead I’m sharing this picture of the blue cornflower (the floral symbol for Motor Neurone Disease) in recognition of the 32nd anniversary of my Dad’s passing.

I was reflecting last week and remembering how my Mum and Dad operated a business when I was young – it’s where my love of motorbikes came from.

As franchisees of the Honda brand, Graeme Levett Marine sold and serviced motorbikes, lawnmowers, boats and outboard motors – and I remember a little Honda Civic sitting out the front of the shop when Honda cars were introduced to Australia (the Honda Civic went on to become one of my favourite cars – I’ve owned three of them in my driving lifetime!)

I have fond memories of visiting “the shop”, sitting on the bikes, climbing in the boats and pretending to drive the ride-on lawnmowers (it’s about as close to a lawnmower that I’ve ever been!), and while I didn’t realise it at the time, I expect this is exactly where my entrepreneurial seed was first planted.

And now all of these years later, when people hear my surname is Levett, I still get asked if I am related to Graeme – it’s kind of nice to know his legacy lives on.

To all the family businesses out there, keep up the good work, you never know who or what you are inspiring.

To anyone who has also lost their Dad, to all of you out there fighting MND, and to your families, my thoughts are with you.

Regards