The holiday season is almost upon us, and we’re all eager to have a bit of a rest, recharge, and spend quality time with our families. As we wind up 2024, it is a demanding time for construction as we try to complete jobs before the holiday shutdown. This can make it tempting to take shortcuts, however, it can also lead to an increase in incidents, with the last two months of the year seeing a spike in workplace incidents.

Common factors can include time pressure, working in the heat, and fatigue. It’s important to keep the health, safety, and well-being of workers front of mind.

It’s necessary to start preparing for the Christmas shutdown so that you don’t have any interruptions during your break or come to a nasty surprise on your first day back. This is particularly important with residential sites which are mostly in populated areas.

Unsecured sites could be hazardous to members of the public, especially children, particularly with sites near parks, schools, homes or recreational areas. Children are unaware of the dangers of a construction site so keeping them out is key.

Managing cash flow in construction can often feel like an uphill battle. With so many moving parts, fluctuating costs, and unpredictable timelines, it’s easy to fall into cash flow crunches.
But cash flow problems are often symptoms of a deeper problem. They’re not usually the cause themselves. Understanding this can help you get to the root of issues in your business and build a steadier, more predictable financial foundation.
Later in this article we go through a range of solutions to dealing with a cashflow crisis. To begin with, we are going to work through some of the route causes of cashflow problems.

Cash Flow as a Downstream Symptom

When you experience cash flow issues, it’s tempting to think it’s simply because you don’t have enough cash on hand. But, in reality, these problems often come from further up the chain. For example, it may be that they are caused by poor job costing, estimating errors, or project delays.
Essentially, cash flow is a by-product of profit. If your profit margins aren’t as healthy as you thought, your cash flow will take the hit. By addressing these upstream issues, you can protect your cash flow and avoid nasty surprises down the line.

Why Cash Flow in Construction Problems Tend to Crop Up

There are a few common culprits that can make cash flow tricky in construction businesses:

• Overestimating Profit: One of the biggest mistakes builders tend to make is thinking a job will bring in more profit than it actually does. This can happen because you haven’t properly considered the scope of the project, you have incorrect pricing or a range of other flaws in your estimating process. If you overestimate your profits, you may not have enough cash to cover costs when the bills roll in. These mistakes can often result from inaccurate estimates, poor or non existent job costing and not having a robust budgeting process.
• Project Delays and Price Increases: Construction projects are full of surprises. Whether it’s delays due to bad weather or unexpected price hikes in materials, these can all mess with your cash flow. When projects stall, the costs don’t stop—they pile up, leaving you with more to pay before you complete a stage and invoice the client.
• Profit Leakage and Hidden Costs: Without a clear view of your profit margins throughout your projects, costs can creep up without you noticing. Surprise invoices and sudden cost increases can eat into your cash flow, leaving you in a tight spot.
• Juggling Multiple Stalled Projects: Dealing with several stalled projects at once can be a major cash flow headache. Resources can be tied up, and it becomes harder to keep things moving. With cash locked into different stages of various projects, it’s easy to feel stretched thin.

The Three Stages of Cash Flow Stability in Your Construction Business

Getting a handle on your cash flow is a journey. Unfortunately, you won’t just wake up one day with perfect finances. Here are the three stages most construction businesses go through:

• Survival Mode: At this point, it feels like you’re barely keeping your head above water. You might be relying on short-term loans or juggling bills just to get by. It’s a game of urgent decisions, negotiating payment terms or pulling forward customer claims to buy a bit of time. At this point, cash flow management is about survival, not growth.
• Stabilising and Optimising: Once you’ve tackled the immediate issues, you can start to focus on fine-tuning things. This means looking at better job costing processes, improving your estimates, and cutting down on overheads. Cash flow is now starting to become a bit more predictable, and you’re moving from reactive to proactive management.
• Achieving Full Control: This is the sweet spot. When you reach this stage, you’ve got a good grip on your finances. You can plan for the future with confidence, use cash surplus to invest in new projects, and, importantly, you’re no longer at the mercy of unexpected cash flow swings. Here, it’s about strategy, growth, and making smart moves.

Practical Tips for Managing Cash Flow in Construction

So, how do you actually get to that point where you’re in full cash flow control? Here are a few practical steps:

• Use Job Costing Systems: In construction, tracking costs per project is key. By using job costing software and internal processes, you can keep a close eye on expenses and make sure you’re not losing profit without realising it. A good job costing system helps you monitor each project’s financial health in real-time, so you can make adjustments as you go.
• Get Accurate with Estimates: A lot of cash flow issues start with the estimation phase. By improving your accuracy here, you can avoid underbidding and minimise nasty surprises later on. Using digital tools and historical data can help you refine your estimates, making them as close to reality as possible.
• Keep an Eye on Your Financials Regularly: Financial visibility is crucial for cash flow management. You need to know what’s coming in and going out, and how your projects are performing. Regularly checking key metrics like profit margins, expenses, and accounts receivable can help you anticipate cash flow needs and plan accordingly.
• Stay on Top of Job Management: Monitor the progress of your projects closely, and tackle delays as soon as they come up. By managing projects proactively, you can avoid disruptions that might hurt your cash flow. Build a robust scheduling system and check in regularly to spot any issues before they become bigger problems.

Mindset Matters: Taking Control of Cash Flow in Construction

Controlling the cash flow in your construction business is not just about tools and systems; your mindset matters too.
Taking control means being proactive rather than reactive. It’s about thinking ahead, planning for the unexpected, and making decisions based on data rather than gut feeling. A disciplined approach to your finances can help you stay on top of your cash flow and make better choices for the long term.

Already in a cash flow crisis?

When you’re in the thick of a cash flow crisis, it can feel overwhelming, but there are immediate steps you can take to give yourself some breathing room. When you’re in this situation, cash really is the oxygen your business needs to survive, and the goal is to buy yourself time to rebuild.
Here’s some ideas of what you can do if you’re facing a cash flow crunch in your construction business:

• Pull Forward Customer Claims: If possible, pull forward any claims or payments owed to you. By accelerating cash inflows, you can cover immediate expenses and stabilise your situation. This gives you the room you need to figure out the next steps without falling deeper into a financial hole.
• Explore Borrowing Options: If you can’t cover short-term expenses, look into second- or third-tier lenders. These lenders may offer quick access to funds, helping you avoid missing payroll or paying overdue bills. Be cautious with this approach, as these loans often come with higher interest rates, so it’s a temporary fix rather than a long-term solution.
• Look Into Government Support: In some cases, government programs may offer relief. For example, if you qualify for the Small Business Restructuring Plan (SBRP), it could provide a structured way to deal with debt while keeping your business afloat.
• Leverage Personal Equity: Although this should be a last resort, using equity from your own home or other personal assets can help bridge the gap during a crisis. This is a risky step, so ensure you’re clear on your repayment plan and long-term financial strategy before committing personal assets to your business.

Once you’ve stabilised your business’ cash flow, you can start focusing on building a stronger financial foundation, addressing the root causes of past issues, and shifting from survival mode to long-term growth.

Building Cash Flow Resilience in Construction

Healthy cash flow in construction isn’t just about avoiding financial headaches—it’s about creating a solid foundation for growth.
By digging into the root causes of cash flow problems and putting the right practices in place, you can go from just surviving to really thriving. With a strong financial footing, you’ll be better positioned to take on new projects, invest in your business, and build a construction company that’s set up for long-term success.
Managing cash flow in construction might be challenging, but with the right tools and a solid approach, you can turn those challenges into opportunities. Take charge, and you’ll find that cash flow doesn’t have to be something that keeps you up at night. Instead, it can be the key to building a business that’s not just surviving but truly thriving.

How Can We Help?

Article written by Daniel Wilkinson, Partner and Client Director from CFO Advisory Team at Xact Accounting.
Get in touch with the team at Xact Accounting if you’d like to find out more about bookkeeping and CFO Advisory Services.

Emergencies and natural disasters can happen anytime. Although you can’t predict when they will happen, you can take actions to make your business more prepared.

If you need guidance, give HazardCo a call for advice. HazardCo is offering a free trial for Bretts Customers. Take the hard yakka out of health and safety, with simple digital tools and expert advice when you need it.

Article by Hazard Co.
Get in touch with the team at Hazard Co. if you’d like to find out more about their product, product support to WHS/OHS advice or incident support.

Understanding the details of QBCC Maximum Revenue is essential for construction and building businesses in Queensland. Here we address your key questions about QBCC Maximum Revenue requirements, helping you navigate your financial requirements and maintain compliance.

What is QBCC Maximum Revenue?

QBCC Maximum Revenue requirements refers to the maximum amount of revenue your building or construction business can generate within a 12-month period (typically the Financial year), as stipulated by the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC). This cap ensures that businesses operate within their financial capabilities, maintaining sufficient working capital and financial sustainability. By placing a limit on the revenue, QBCC aims to protect the financial integrity of the business and the interests of its clients.

How do you work out your QBCC Maximum Revenue?

Your QBCC Maximum Revenue is determined based on your Net Tangible Assets (NTA). The NTA is calculated by subtracting liabilities and disallowed assets from your total assets. Each QBCC financial category has specific NTA and Maximum Revenue requirements.
Whilst your licence might be granted in a Financial Category which covers a wider Maximum Revenue Range, it’s the Licencee’s NTA that determines the specific MR amount. For instance, if your NTA is $66,000, you have a maximum revenue of $1.2 million even though you would fall into the Category 1 band of $800,001 – $3M.

QBCC NTA Calculation:

NTA = Assets − Liabilities − Intangible Assets − Disallowed Assets

Financial Categories and Requirements:

Financial Category	Maximum Revenue	Net Tangible Assets (NTA)
SC1	Up to $200,000	$12,000
SC2	Up to $800,000	$46,000
Category 1	$800,001 to $3M	$46,001 to $156,000
Category 2	$3M to $12M	$156,001 to $480,000
Category 3	$12M to $30M	$480,001 to $1.2M
Category 4	$30M to $60M	$1.2M to $2.4M
Category 5	$60M to $120M	$2.4M to $4.8M
Category 6	$120M to $240M	$4.8M to $14.4M
Category 7	Over $240M	Over $14.4M

What should I do if my QBCC Maximum Revenue goes over the allowable limit?

QBCC allows a leniency of 10% over your allowable turnover. For example, if your allowable turnover is $1.2 million, you can earn an additional $120,000 without breaching the requirements.
If you anticipate breaching your Maximum Allowable Revenue by 10% or more, you will need to apply to Increase your Maximum Revenue with the QBCC. This can also mean you fall into a different Financial Category. There are two big events when changing categories:

• Moving from SC2 into Category 1 and Category 4 or above means you now need to submit General Purpose Financial Statements prepared by a qualified Accountant alongside a MFR and Licence uplift request.

In order to upgrade your Maximum Allowable Revenue, you will need a qualified accountant to prepare an MFR Report with financial statements that are no more than 4 months old. We strongly recommend taking a proactive approach with an Accountant who is experienced with QBCC MFR as there are some specific accounting rules that apply.
From a timing perspective, we typically allow at least a month for preparation and submission of an MFR Report including implementing the required steps to meet the new NTA position.

What will QBCC do if I go over my MR or don’t have enough NTA?

Failing to adhere to your MFR obligations can lead to severe consequences, including a full QBCC audit or the suspension and/or cancellation of your QBCC license. QBCC compliance action is generally triggered when a licensee’s annual reporting flags they do not meet MFR. Licencees are then required to prepare an MFR Report to show they are compliant or how they plan on becoming compliant via a commitment to a range of financial activity.

Do I only include turnover from my building work in my QBCC Maximum Revenue amount?

No, you must include all turnover (or income) earned from all sources, not just from building activities. This includes income from investments, other business activities, and any other revenue streams. However, salary or wages received as an employee, rather than as a contractor, are excluded.

How are your Net Tangible Assets Calculated for your Maximum Allowable Revenue?

Net Tangible Assets (NTA) play a crucial role in determining your QBCC financial category and Maximum Revenue amount. NTA represents the minimum Allowable assets the QBCC requires you to hold for the Maximum Revenue your business is looking to do. Your NTA is calculated based on your Balance Sheet (Assets less Liabilities) at the end of the reporting period (typically 30 June), adjusted for any Non-qualifying Assets per QBCC guidelines.

Example of Non-Qualifying Assets:

• Intangible assets like goodwill and trademarks.
• Disallowed assets like personal furniture and superannuation.

There are also reductions for Debtors that have been outstanding for longer than 180 days (50%) and 365 days (100%).
Maintaining the required NTA is essential for QBCC compliance, and any decrease beyond 30% (or 20% for higher categories) can affect your license status and lead to QBCC reviews and/or Audits.

Typical Assets for Building and Construction:

• Cash in the bank
• Accounts Receivable/Debtors
• Work in Progress – Work completed in between invoicing stages.
• Property
• Plant & Equipment / Motor Vehicles

Typical Liabilities for Building and Construction:

• Credit Cards
• Accounts Payable/Creditors
• Retentions Held
• Deposits for works not started (Negative Work in Progress)
• ATO Obligations – GST / Income Tax
• Employee Obligations – Tax withheld / Superannuation / Child Support
• Hire Purchase loans on Plant and Equipment / Motor Vehicles

Why your NTA matters:

• Ensures your business has enough assets to cover liabilities.
• Regularly monitoring your NTA helps you stay compliant with QBCC requirements.
• Helps identify potential financial risks early.

What are the Reporting Requirements for a higher License Category?

As you move up the QBCC financial categories, the reporting requirements become more complex. Category 1-4 and above licences require Data to be reported to the QBCC annually along with General Purpose Financial Statements. This will generally always lead to a longer lead time when preparing these Financial Statements, as Accounting Standards need to be applied in greater detail.
When a MFR is required for either a Licence Application or a Request to increase / decrease your Maximum Allowable Revenue, the Reporting requirements are dependent on the License category you are seeking:

• SC1 and SC2: Simplified reporting with basic financial declarations.
• Category 1 to Category 7: Requires MFR complying Financial Statements prepared by an independent qualified accountant.

What are practical tips for staying within QBCC Maximum Revenue limits?

Staying within your QBCC Maximum Revenue limits requires diligent financial management and proactive planning.

• Maintain accurate and up-to-date financial records and know your MR and NTA limits. This is crucial for ensuring compliance with QBCC requirements.
• Keep track of all income sources, not just from building activities, to ensure you include all relevant turnover in your calculations. You may want to consider re-structuring to limit the unintended impact of revenue flowing from non-QBCC work.
• Work with an accountant experienced in QBCC regulations. This is most important before the end of the reporting period (30 June) and before you lodge your annual financials to ensure current licence requirements are met, OR if a licence uplift is likely, that you have the required NTA to support a higher MR.
• It’s better to be proactive than on the wrong end of QBCC action… If you anticipate significant growth, plan ahead by preparing the necessary MFR reports and adjusting your financial strategies.

Talk to the expert QBCC accounting team

Article written by Douglas Adams, Associate Client Director at Xact Accounting.
Get in touch with the team at Xact Accounting if you’d like to find out more about bookkeeping and CFO Advisory Services.

Health and safety is a core part of any business but incidents and injuries on the job can still happen. According to SafeWork Australia, in the construction industry alone there were 15,877 serious work-related injury claims between 2020 and 2021, and in the same period, there were 316 fatalities.
Construction and trades make up a fair portion of incidents and injuries at work. When you think about the cost of the time off, it adds up to a pretty staggered sum. As of 2020 the average compensation claim looks like:

• $24,628 in compensation paid
• 10 weeks of lost time per person

With numbers like this, we need to help you find a way to improve the health and safety culture so you can make sure it’s safe and profitable as well.

The signs of poor health and safety

If you’re concerned that your health and safety policies and procedures aren’t being followed or maybe not quite up to scratch, there are a number of things you can keep your eyes peeled for:

• Poor Incident Reporting
• Blame Culture
• Poor Communication

So, how do you get your crew on board?

When it comes down to it, creating a culture of site safety isn’t as easy as putting new procedures in place and calling it a job well done – it’s up to you to involve and motivate your crew to be proactive and take safety into their own hands. You need to make sure that your crew are on board and are taking the right steps to create a safety culture.
Some steps you can take include:

Communication

It seems like an obvious one but poor communication can really hinder your efforts to create a safety culture. Having regular honest and open communication with your crew about why you’re talking about all things safety is the best way to help them understand the importance.
The more transparent and clear you are, the more likely they will be to really take the new initiatives seriously. Make sure that your crew has easy access to your current health and safety guidelines so they can stay in the know about any changes.

Support your staff

Site safety isn’t just about incidents on your site, it’s also about being a supportive employer who ensures their people are feeling safe and secure when they come to work every day. Make sure that the physical health, mental health and even emotional health of your people is a factor for how you manage them. Those working in construction and trades like other sections of society are at risk of depression, stress, or anxiety as well. If you are taking steps to improve your site safety culture, make sure you factor in both physical and mental health awareness in all that you do for your staff. By providing resources and establishing an environment where your crew feels respected and safe to open up and express themselves you’ll be able to create a support system where you can look after each other’s wellbeing and mental health.

Training

Ensuring that your crew are trained up on all the correct licenses, procedures and health and safety practices is a sure fire way to make sure that they are fully knowledgeable on correct procedures. With the right training in place, you can have confidence that they know how to safely and correctly perform their jobs.

Be a leader

We’ve all experienced bad leadership before, and that if they don’t care about something, it’s highly unlikely you will either. So, if your crew sees that you don’t take health and safety seriously, you’re out of luck getting them to foster a culture of site safety.
You need to walk the walk before you talk the talk. Demonstrate to your crew the importance of following health and safety standards by doing them yourself. They’re a whole lot more likely to follow your example than just take your word for it.

Reporting

You need to set the tone with your crew that reporting incidents isn’t something they need to feel anxious or uncomfortable about doing. Make it clear that they won’t get in any trouble for making a report but instead see it as a way of finding out what caused the accident or injury and what can be done to make sure it won’t happen again. By making proper reporting a core element of your crew’s job responsibilities it can become second nature to them.

Make it a team effort

Site safety impacts everyone, so it makes sense that your crew should have a hand in shaping their site’s culture. The more input they have, the more likely they are to follow precautions.
By having regular health and safety chats with your crew, you can give them the opportunity to voice their own safety concerns and opinions. By having open conversations and allowing input from your crew you’re giving them the ability to implement safety measures that affect their own jobs, ultimately making them more likely to follow processes and encourage others to do the same.

If you need guidance, give HazardCo a call for advice. HazardCo is offering a free trial for Bretts Customers. Take the hard yakka out of health and safety, with simple digital tools and expert advice when you need it.

Article by Hazard Co.
Get in touch with the team at Hazard Co. if you’d like to find out more about their product, product support to WHS/OHS advice or incident support.

For many builders and tradies, financial processes are often overlooked in favor of focusing on the job at hand—after all, it’s the worksite that drives income. However, without a proper financial process in place, especially around month-end, the quality of financial data and reporting can become severely compromised. This leads to missed opportunities, poor decision-making, and potential cash flow issues.
This article will walk through why a consistent and thorough month-end close is essential in the building and construction industry and how it can benefit your business operations.

Key Benefits of Month-End Close:

• Normalising the roller coaster: By recognising income and expenses in the correct reporting periods, month-end close helps smooth out unexpected spikes in your financial statements.
• Better financial visibility – You’ll have up-to-date, accurate information on your financials.
• Informed decision-making – You’ll be able to make data-driven decisions that impact your profitability and cash flow.
• Reduced errors – By catching mistakes early, you can avoid costly financial missteps.

Now, let’s break down the essential components of a month-end close in the construction industry and why they’re important.

1. Keep Bank Reconciliations Up to Date

Bank reconciliations are critical in ensuring that your cash position is accurate. By reconciling your bank accounts each month, you confirm that all transactions are accounted for and that there are no discrepancies. For builders and tradies who may not have a structured financial process, this is a key first step.

Without updated bank reconciliations:

• You won’t know your exact cash flow.
• Unreconciled transactions could lead to inaccuracies in your financial statements.
• You might miss fraudulent transactions or double payments.

Making this a routine task in your month-end close ensures that you always know your available cash for purchases, payroll, and expenses.

2. Reconcile Accounts Payable (AP) and Accounts Receivable (AR)

In the construction industry, cash flow can make or break your business. Keeping your AP/AR up to date and reconciled is essential for maintaining a healthy cash flow.

• Accounts Payable (AP): Ensure all bills are entered, and payments are tracked. This helps prevent late fees and maintains good relationships with suppliers.
• Accounts Receivable (AR): Make sure you’ve invoiced clients and received payments on time. Reconciling AR helps ensure you’re not leaving money on the table and can highlight slow-paying customers that may need follow-up.
  Failing to reconcile AP and AR can lead to delayed payments, unhappy suppliers, and cash flow shortages.

3. Superannuation: Reconcile and Pay On Time

Superannuation is a non-negotiable in Australia, and the penalties for missing payments can be significant. Ensure you reconcile your superannuation accruals with your balance sheet each month to avoid underpaying or overpaying.

• Super Accrual Reconciliation: Compare what has been accrued versus what’s been paid to ensure accuracy.
• Pay on Time: Super must be paid quarterly by law, but staying on top of this at month-end ensures you’re not left with a larger-than-expected bill at the end of the quarter.

Late super payments can lead to penalties and create unnecessary financial strain. Don’t let this slip through the cracks!

4. Don’t Forget Payroll for Owners!

One area often neglected in smaller building companies is owner’s payroll. Many builders and tradies may take drawings instead of a formal payroll, but it’s important to include this in your financial records. This ensures that your profit and loss statement is accurate and reflects the true cost of running your business.

Make Sure to:

• Pay yourself regularly and properly.
• Record these payments in your financial system.
• Include taxes and super contributions as part of your payroll.

Including owner payroll at month-end allows for better profit visibility and helps you manage tax obligations.

5. Review Profit & Loss (P&L) for Unassigned Jobs

A critical step in your month-end close is reviewing your P&L for unassigned jobs. Construction businesses often have a variety of ongoing projects, and it’s essential that revenue and costs are correctly allocated to each job.

• Sales and Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) should be linked to specific jobs. If any revenue or expenses are unassigned at the end of the month, take time to re-code them accurately.
• This helps ensure your reports are clean and you can evaluate job profitability without any misallocations.

Failing to re-code these transactions can make it difficult to understand how profitable each job is, leading to inaccurate reporting and poor decision-making.

Conclusion: Implementing a Solid Month-End Close Process

The building and construction industry often faces financial complexity due to the nature of project-based work. By implementing a thorough month-end close process, builders and tradies can stay on top of their finances, make better decisions, and avoid cash flow issues.

Here’s a quick recap of what your month-end close should include:

• Bank reconciliations to ensure an accurate cash position.
• Reconcile AP/AR to manage cash flow.
• Superannuation reconciliation and timely payment to avoid penalties.
• Proper payroll for owners to maintain accurate financial records.
• Review unassigned P&L items to track job profitability.

By taking these steps, you’ll create meaningful financial reports that provide a true snapshot of your business, helping you stay profitable and competitive in the construction industry. It might seem like an extra task, but in the long run, month-end closing will save you time, money, and stress.

Start making your month-end close a priority—your business will thank you for it.

Need a Hand?
Our CFO Advisory team work with business owners every day to help them achieve the profit results they’re after. If you need a hand working out how to grow your business and get some more mental clarity in the process, get in touch today for a free consultation.

Article written by Douglas Adams, Associate Client Director at Xact Accounting.
Get in touch with the team at Xact Accounting if you’d like to find out more about bookkeeping and CFO Advisory Services.

We understand that on-site first aid is about more than just sending someone on a course every few years. As an employer or principal contractor on-site, you have a legal and moral obligation to make sure your team has access to first aid equipment and facilities, as well as access to trained first aiders.
To determine the necessary level for your workplace, assess the site by considering:

• The type of work being done
• Identified hazards
• Site size and location
• Number of people on-site and any vulnerable workers
• Conduct a first aid risk assessment to identify facilities, equipment, and training..

Don’t forget to involve your workers in the process and if you are working with multiple trades, or are the principal contractor, you should share information and work together cooperatively.

First Aid Kits

Having a first aid kit on a construction site is essential to quickly address injuries and medical emergencies. Great kits can be sourced from many places – a basic kit should include equipment to tend to:

• cuts, scratches, punctures, grazes, and splinters
• soft tissue sprains and strains
• minor burns
• broken bones
• eye injuries
• shock

Basic first aid kits are not always enough given the nature of construction work and increased risk of eye injury, cuts, falls etc, so you’ll need to consider what other equipment to add e.g. eye pads, eyewash, additional dressings and bandages.

Include your team and see if they think your first aid kit is sufficient for the site hazards and team size… and make sure they know who the trained first aider is and where the first aid kit is kept! It helps if your first aid kit is clearly labeled and is made from a material that can protect the contents from dust, moisture and contamination.

Lastly, assign someone to be in charge of replenishing the kit. Make sure this happens regularly and keep a list of what’s supposed to be in the kit to make topping it up easier. At the same time, check training is up to date for your first aiders, and if your team size has changed, whether you still have enough team members trained in first aid.

Keeping first aid up to date is the right thing to do by your team, so make sure you’ve got things covered and that you’re all prepared if any sort of injury takes place.

If you need guidance, give HazardCo a call for advice. HazardCo is offering a free trial for Bretts Customers. Take the hard yakka out of health and safety, with simple digital tools and expert advice when you need it.

Article by Hazard Co.
Get in touch with the team at Hazard Co. if you’d like to find out more about their product, product support to WHS/OHS advice or incident support.

You’re probably across the recent engineered stone ban, but did you know SafeWork Australia has just come out with new rules to further protect workers from crystalline silica found in other building materials? These new rules begin on 1st September this year and apply to all states except Victoria whose rules are already in place.
Crystalline Silica Substances (CSS) include stuff like sand, stone, concrete, and mortar that contain at least 1% crystalline silica. When you cut, crush, drill, polish, saw or grind these materials, they release tiny dust particles called respirable crystalline silica (RCS). These particles are so small they can get deep into your lungs, which can lead to serious health issues, like silicosis—a lung disease.

What you need to do:

Risk Assessment
If silica dust is generated, assess if the work is high-risk. Document this using the handy Form in the HazardCo Hub, and if you determine the work is not high risk, you must explain why. If you’re unsure, assume it is high-risk. When assessing if processing CSS is high risk, consider these factors:

• The process
• Type and amount of silica (you can find this on the safety data sheet or product information sheet)
• Exposure duration
• If the work exceeds half the exposure standard (likely examples include grinding concrete, cutting concrete or bricks, jackhammering concrete or sandstone, and tuck-point grinding)
• Previous monitoring results
• Any past incidents or health issues related to silica dust

Put control measures in place (this applies to both low risk and high risk work)
Eliminate or minimise the risks from processing the CSS as much as possible and use at least one of the following measures during the processing:

• Isolate workers from dust exposure
• A fully enclosed operator cabin fitted with a high efficiency air filtration system
• An effective wet dust suppression method
• An effective on-tool extraction system
• An effective local exhaust ventilation system

If workers are still at risk of being exposed to silica dust after you’ve put one or more of the above controls in place they need to be provided with respiratory protective equipment (RPE) and wear the respiratory protective equipment while the work is carried out.

Whose responsibility is it to manage psychosocial hazards?
Workplaces have a legal responsibly to manage risks to mental health and well-being like they do any other health and safety risk.
Knowing where to start can feel overwhelming but getting started doesn’t have to be. Take action to improve the mental health of your team today.

If you think it’s high-risk work:

Silica risk control plan
Avoid high-risk tasks when possible. If unavoidable, create a silica risk control plan outlining tasks, risks, and controls. This plan must be developed with workers, shared with them before starting work, and regularly reviewed for effectiveness.
What needs to be in a silica risk control plan?

• The processes you are doing that are high risk
• A copy of the information used to assess the risk
• What control measures will be used to control the risks and how those measures will be implemented, monitored and reviewed

Keep it simple and easy to understand—no need for lengthy explanations.
We suggest using the SWMS tool in the HazardCo App if the processing creates a contaminated atmosphere or involves high-risk construction work. Just ensure all the Silica Control Plan requirements are covered.

Training
Ensure that any worker involved in or at risk of RCS exposure due to high-risk CSS processing receives crystalline silica training. This training must be nationally accredited or approved by the WHS regulator and should cover health risks and the correct use of control measures.

Air monitoring
Conduct air monitoring if you’re unsure whether silica levels exceed the Workplace Exposure Standard (WES) or need to assess if there are health risks from RCS processes. Hire a certified expert like an occupational hygienist, to perform the monitoring and ensure it meets standards. If levels exceed limits, report it to the Regulator within 14 days. Keep records for 30 years and make them available to affected workers.

Health monitoring
Provide health monitoring for workers at significant risk from ongoing silica exposure, including those near high-risk processing. Keep records for 30 years and give a copy to the worker.

Review controls
Regularly review safety measures, especially after workplace changes.

If you need guidance, give HazardCo a call for advice. HazardCo is offering a free trial for Bretts Customers. Take the hard yakka out of health and safety, with simple digital tools and expert advice when you need it.

Article by Hazard Co.
Get in touch with the team at Hazard Co. if you’d like to find out more about their product, product support to WHS/OHS advice or incident support.

As the saying goes, you have to spend money to make money. But without clear visibility and a plan for how much and when to spend, you run the risk of eroding your net profit.It’s a pretty common story, when businesses grow, owners see the money flowing in and get more comfortable increasing overheads…. and then wonder why their profit has taken a hit.We are not here to tell you to stop spending – this article is about how to get smarter on your spending decisions so that as you scale and bring on more resources, you continue to grow in a profitable way.

Overheads, COGS, and Margins.

To begin with, let’s clear up the distinction between different types of costs in your business.

For building and construction businesses, the most significant area of spending will be your COGS or Cost of Goods Sold. These are direct costs related to completing a project and include all required materials and labour. Once you know your COGS, you can calculate your gross profit and gross margin by subtracting your COGS from the total estimated revenue for the project. These metrics are the most critical metrics when it comes to measuring the financial success of your projects.

In terms of benchmarking COGS and Gross Profit, builders operating in the residential space should be getting gross margins of at least 20% or more, depending on the nature of the work they do. Custom builds and renovations should be landing projects with margins of at least 25% or more.

Overhead Costs are all of the expenses you incur in running your business that are not directly related to a job. These costs include items like accounting, utilities and rent as well as sales and marketing expenses. Overheads also include labour costs like admin and bookkeeping staff as well as roles like estimators.

Once you know your overhead costs, you can deduct these costs from your Gross Profit to determine your Net Profit figure. This is your profit before you pay tax.
As far as benchmarking for overhead costs and net profit, builders in the resi market should be able to achieve single-digit overheads which should result in Net Profit margins of greater than 10%.

Tracking Costs

Before we discuss improving your planning for overhead spending, it’s important to know how to track your costs in the first place. Cost Tracking, or what is often called Job Costing or Back Costing, gives you a clear picture of costs incurred for each job and allows you to see how your margins are travelling for each project and across your business.

The cornerstone of cost tracking is the use Job Codes and Purchase Orders to allocate expenses to the corresponding job in your estimating and project management software (e.g. Buildxact). It is also important to allocate costs to the correct account in your accounting software so that you can clearly see the breakdown of COGS and Overhead Costs.

Earners Vs Burners: COGS Wages V Overhead Wages

Labor costs and Wages are one of the biggest expenses when running a business and an area that can make the difference between running profitable projects and running at a loss.We like to think of COGS and Overhead wages as being either Earners (wages that contribute to bringing revenue in the door) or Burners (overhead related roles not tied directly to project delivery).

It’s obvious to say that you can’t deliver a project without your Earners, but if you’re going to scale your business Burners are equally important. These roles are often the areas that owners take on themselves when they start out but as you grow and become clear on where to get the best return on your own time and expertise, it’s critical to invest in roles that will give you back capacity to add higher value to your business.

Owners Wages – COGs or Overheads

For most costs it’s pretty easy to determine whether they are a COG or Overhead, however items like Owners Wages can be tricky, particularly if you’re an owner who is still working on-site as well as performing overhead related activity like Sales and Estimating.
There a few ways to split your wages if you are doing a mix of work. This can be done either via time sheet entries or a journal entry at the end of the month in your accounting platform.

Tax and Structure

The last thing you want is to have a large chunk of the proceeds of your business disappear to through tax because you didn’t have the right structure and weren’t leveraging the tax arrangements on offer.
This is a complex space so it’s important that you get specialist advice on how to structure your business and tax affairs. At the core though, the most important principle to acknowledge is that you have to make plans for your exit well before the proceeds of the sale hit your bank account! It will be too late to get an optimal outcome by then.

Reviewing Fixed Overhead Costs

It’s good to be in the habit of setting up a regular review of fixed overheads like electricity and insurances, so that you’re getting the best rates you can but also due to rising costs in these areas. Something as simple as a recurring reminder in your calendar could be all you need to trigger a review and in some instances, make considerable savings.

How to decide on Additional Overhead Staff (e.g. Estimators)

In reality, saving on your electricity is not going impact your net profit anywhere near as much as decisions you make on hiring staff, particularly those that are not directly related to a project.
One of the key things to consider and a way to help determine the timing of adding staff, is to calculate the additional revenue required to cover the cost of employing someone like an Estimator.

Critically, when you add overhead wages to your business, these roles should have a positive impact on your profit – that is, you don’t want your profit margin to go backwards or stay the same. If handled properly, these roles should improve the quality of your earnings and improve profit margins if you are calculated in your approach.

Example: Bringing on an Estimator
Using some nice round numbers, let’s say your current turnover is $5 million at 20% GP with overhead costs of 10%. This means you have a Net Profit of 10% or $500,000.
You’re looking to take on more projects but feel that you’re spending too much time on estimating and not enough on the sales side of the business. You decide to take on an estimator at $120,000 PA including super to free up your time.
If your turnover stayed the same, your net profit would be reduced to $380,000 or 7.6%. Not a great outcome!
To cover the cost of your estimator and maintain your current Net Profit Margin, you need to bring in additional revenue to the tune of $600,000 – which, depending on the type of work you do, could be another 1 or 2 projects.
In terms of the impact to your earnings, if having an estimator freed you up to bringing in $600,000 in additional revenue, and keeping a close eye on GP, your Net Profit would remain at $500,000.
This is a good outcome, but a great outcome would be to have a goal of increasing your net profit margin by bringing in even more additional projects OR adding a margin to your additional break even revenue required to cover the cost of the new estimator. By including an additional 20% margin to your break even revenue of $600k you would be looking for a new project totalling $750k. The $750k includes a 20% margin of $150k. By adding margin to your breakeven calculation you will not only increase your gross profit percentage you will increase your net profit and the underlying quality of your earnings (NP%).

Overhead Bloat Calculator

The example we used above is just one scenario where you can measure the impact of overhead spending. There are plenty of other areas of spending you can consider when you’re looking to grow. You may want to spend more money on marketing to generate more leads. You might want to put on an admin person to help keep on top of paperwork in the business.

Budgeting: pulling off the blindfold.

Whilst the Overhead Bloat Calculator is a great tool to quickly see the impact of specific spending, to get a full view of where you’re heading financially you need to put a budget in place.
When we say budget, we mean a month-by-month view of all your known income and expenses coming up over the next 12 months, with a forecast of when new projects and related expenses are going to land. Once you have a budget you can then update it each month with your actual performance and drill down on areas that were different to your budgeted figure.
One of the most powerful things a budget will do is allow you to see into the future and guide your decision-making. You will be able to see where you may have cashflow issues due to the timing of projects as well as being able to set clear targets for how many new projects you’ll need and when you need them to land to hit your profit targets. And of course, you can add in additional roles into your overhead wages to see how this will impact your profit.

Need a Hand?
Our CFO Advisory team work with business owners every day to help them achieve the profit results they’re after. If you need a hand working out how to grow your business and get some more mental clarity in the process, get in touch today for a free consultation.

Article by Xact Accounting.
Get in touch with the team at Xact Accounting if you’d like to find out more about bookkeeping and CFO Advisory Services.

Begin with the end in mind! For many business owners, planning for the future often becomes a priority only as retirement looms. However, there is significant merit in shifting this mindset from merely maximising profits in the present to strategically building a business that increases in value over time.
Starting to think about succession or exit strategies earlier on in the life of your business not only prepares you for retirement; it also opens up opportunities for increasing your business’s worth over its lifecycle. This proactive approach enables you to implement strategies to improve your current business performance but also enhance its appeal to future buyers or successors, potentially even before you’re considering stepping down.

Why have a Succession Plan?

The best way to capture your strategy for exit or succession is to put together a Succession Plan. This document will help you distil the key aspects of what your endgame is, key milestones, valuation methodology and who the key stakeholders are. Importantly a good Succession Plan will also outline the strategy to drive up the value of the business and provide a powerful way of focussing your ongoing effort – a good device to help you keep your eye on the prize!

In addition to helping capture a plan for the exit of your choice, a succession plan will also cater for the worst case scenario – where are the result of unforeseen events you are unable to continue to run the business. A Good Succession plan can help avoid confusion and additional emotional stress by outlining instructions regarding how the business will continue to trade if it enters a crisis.

Common Exit Options

There are a range of ways that owners can either sell down their stake in the business or completely exit. following is a list of various options to consider based on the stakeholders involved and the goals of the exiting owner.

• Wind Up / Liquidation: This is where the owner winds up the business and sells assets on the market. Often used when there is no obvious value in the business outside the owner’s individual effort.
• Water down and Step Back From Operations: Once the business has a strong team and robust systems and processes there is an option to sell a stake in the business to key staff or family members, maintain access to company profits but not be as involved in daily operations.
• Sell to Family: Selling or transferring the business to the next generation is still fairly common in trades businesses. Because of the relationship dynamics involved this can either be a smooth transition that works extremely well in terms of transferring wealth from one generation to the next. Without a clear plan that is well communicated this process is at risk of derailing not only the company activity but also family relationships.
• Sell to Existing Partner/Shareholder: It’s common to have multiple partners in a business, and eventually have one of these partners sell to the other/s. This may happen over time as part of an agreed watering down of equity with either to staff or family members.
• Sell to Staff: Another common exit plan is where one of your team has shown interest and real promise in taking on the business. As with family succession, selling to staff can quickly go off course if there are not clear expectations regarding the value of the business, timeframe for the exit and the role the employee may have played in creating value in the business.
• Sell to an External Party: Either through a connection or via a broker, selling to an external party is also an option. In some cases this option presents the opportunity for a higher value, however this will depend on your ability to clearly demonstrate the value of the business without you involved – i.e. What are they really buying?.

Valuation Models

A key aspect of your succession and exit strategy is arriving at what you think is a fair market price for the business. The primary models in use when it comes to trades businesses are:

• Earnings Multiple: where your annual profit is multiplied by an agreed figure to arrive at the value of the business. This method can be used where the ongoing profit of the business is not directly tied to the current owner’s activity and where there is clear evidence of ongoing demand – like long term customer contracts. Read further in this article to learn about areas of the business that can act as value drivers to dial up the earning multiple.
• Asset Based Value: where there is no real certainty around the ongoing profit potential of the business and/or where the majority of the activity and profit is clearly the result of the exiting owner the value of the business can really only be determined based on the assets of the business.

Value Drivers

When it comes to increasing the earnings multiple of your business value the core theme is all about the businesses ability to generate profit without the owner being involved. A good way to answer this is by asking yourself how long you could go on holidays for without everything falling apart… an hour…. day… week… months???? Following are areas you can focus on in your succession planning to drive up the earnings multiple:

• Location: Your business may be in a geographical area where there is high demand and few competitors or high barriers for entry.
• Business Model: Operators who are reliant on winning new projects and contracts, who don’t have a team carrying out this activity will struggle to demonstrate ongoing value. Alternatively, if you have long term formal contracts in place for maintenance work this can underpin the confidence around future profits.
• Specialisation/Niche: values can be increased through demonstrating unique expertise within a specific niche, as long as there is clear demand and lack of competitors.
• Customers: aspects that impact value here when it comes to customers includes the diversity of customers – are you relying on one customer for a large amount of revenue). Do you have formal contracts in place with customers that will continue to work with the business.
• Market Presence and Marketing Assets: how strong is your brand and marketing systems and processes. Have you set up a good machine for lead generation that will outlive you as the owner.
• Team: one of the key drivers of value is the strength of your team to run the business without your input. Importantly you will need to make it clear what arrangements are in place with key staff both in terms of contracts but also what would motivate them to continue to work in a business when you’re not there.
• Systems and Process: This is a critical value driver. You might have a great team, but without you, they don’t know what to do, or the system is your own custom design that is impossible for anyone else to drive. To drive up the value of the business you need to be able to show your business is underpinned by well designed systems that are documented, understood by the team and based on industry standard platforms and techniques.
• Financial Visibility: Finally, you may have nailed all of the value drivers mentioned above, but not be able to show the impact in your financials. This is often the case because the financial reporting in small to medium businesses is often prepared only for tax purposes – not for a commercial accounting audience. Key figures like your ratio of GP to Overheads and what your EBIT figures look like over time are critical. Apart from the headline numbers other key metrics like GP per employee, utilisation rates, profit per customer/project need to be accurate and obvious.

Tax and Structure

The last thing you want is to have a large chunk of the proceeds of your business disappear to through tax because you didn’t have the right structure and weren’t leveraging the tax arrangements on offer.
This is a complex space so it’s important that you get specialist advice on how to structure your business and tax affairs. At the core though, the most important principle to acknowledge is that you have to make plans for your exit well before the proceeds of the sale hit your bank account! It will be too late to get an optimal outcome by then.

The importance of having a good plan!

Planning for the future is not just about preparing for the end of your career; it’s about making informed decisions today that will enhance your business’s value tomorrow. A good plan will not only drive-up future value, it will increase your earnings potential in the short to medium term. The ingredients to improve the exit value of your business are exactly the same as those you need to maximise your current earnings.

Need help with your plan?
The team at Xact Accounting are specialists in helping business owners not only drive up their current earnings but putting together effective plans for the future. They work alongside clients to implement the changes required to increase the value of their business and quality of earnings. And when it’s time, help clients negotiate and navigate the sale of their business, working at every stage to make sure our clients get the best possible outcome.If you’d like help with building and executing a plan to maximise the value of your business, get in touch with Xact Accounting today for a free consult to find out more.

Article by Xact Accounting.
Get in touch with the team at Xact Accounting if you’d like to find out more about bookkeeping and CFO Advisory Services.

FOURTEEN: The Modern Wide-Board Hardwood Floor

Meg Harris gets back onto the podium!

Meg Harris, daughter to Darren Harris our Frame and Truss Manager at Geebung, has has deservedly clinched a silver medal in the 50m freestyle in Paris, achieving her second medal in the 2024 olympic games.

The 22-year-old appeared astonished, her expression revealing her disbelief as she looked up at the screen to see the results. Harris touched second in 23.97, ahead of China's Yufei Zhang, who finished in 24.20.

Congratulations Meg what an increadible feat! the hard work and dedication deninately paid off, and performance was truly inspiring.

Well Done Meg!

Meg Harris Anchors Australia
to Gold

How to reduce psychosocial hazards on your work site
The workplace hazards that create risks of harm to psychological (mental) health are known as psychosocial hazards. These hazards, when excessive or prolonged, can cause serious harm. It can have a significant impact on workers, their families and business.
Construction workers are six times more likely to die from suicide than an accident at work. Every year 190 Australians working in the construction industry take their own lives; this means we lose a construction worker every second day to suicide. Young construction workers are two times more likely to take their own lives than other young workers.

Psychosocial hazards can come from:

• Work relationships and interactions, including bullying, harassment, discrimination, aggression and violence.
• The way the work or job is designed, organised and managed.
• The equipment, working environment or requirements to undertake duties.

What are some of the work related factors that affect a mentally healthy work site?

• Work-related violence and aggression
• Workplace bullying
• Poor support
• Lack of recognition and reward
• Low role clarity
• Remote and isolated work

Whose responsibility is it to manage psychosocial hazards?
Workplaces have a legal responsibly to manage risks to mental health and well-being like they do any other health and safety risk.
Knowing where to start can feel overwhelming but getting started doesn’t have to be. Take action to improve the mental health of your team today.

Tips to help build a mentally healthy work site

Create a more positive and supportive work site

• Develop an action plan in consultation with your workers about what you can do together.
• Check in on your workers regularly. Start a genuine conversation. Ask your worker how they are going, and listen.
• Encourage respectful behaviour and communication.
• Walk the talk and lead by example. Supervisors demonstrate their commitment by being supportive and positive on site.
• Show your commitment by supporting mental health organisations and getting involved in awareness events.
• Reinforce the good behaviours regularly and address bad behaviours as they appear.
• Commit to zero tolerance for bullying, discrimination and violence/aggression.
• Encourage and support employees to bring up concerns when they notice unacceptable behaviours.

Establish awareness and support for workers experiencing mental health issues

• Consistently raise awareness about mental health and wellbeing by having discussions such as 1:1 chats and toolbox talks.
• Share information with your workers on mental health and how to seek help to help break the stigma. Posters, emails, and discussions can all be used.
• Encourage staff with mental health conditions to seek treatment and support early.
• Support staff with mental health conditions to stay at or return to work.

Celebrate workers and their efforts

• Praise employees and give regular positive feedback for good work.
• Celebrate team success. A morning tea / BBQ is also great for team bonding.

Take steps to improve role clarity and job satisfaction

• Monitor and manage workloads regularly and increase input in how workers do their work.
• Have ongoing and regular conversations with employees about their performance and behaviour.
• Make sure your employees are clear about their roles. Position description, regular 1:1 catch ups and reviews.
• Offer opportunities for learning, problem-solving and personal development.
• Support learning – provide opportunities for workers to learn and sharpen their skills, and set interesting challenges.

If you have challenges on your work site related to psychosocial hazards, give HazardCo a call for advice. HazardCo is offering a free trial for Bretts Customers. Take the hard yakka out of health and safety, with simple digital tools and expert advice when you need it.

Article by Hazard Co.
Get in touch with the team at Hazard Co. if you’d like to find out more about their product, product support to WHS/OHS advice or incident support.

It’s important for young people starting out in construction to understand how to stay safe at work. Young workers lack experience and might not know about all the hazards yet, which could put them in danger of getting hurt. Sometimes young people might feel like they have to impress others, or they might think they’re better at the job than they actually are, they may also forget about safety rules or be afraid to speak up if something seems unsafe. Because of this young workers have additional needs and should be supervised when working on-site.

Positive safety culture onsite comes from the top down, supervisors should be actively modeling and training young workers about safety rules, make sure they have the right gear, and encourage them to speak up if they see any problems.

There are some jobs that young workers shouldn’t do because they might not have enough experience or strength yet. Supervisors need to make sure young workers can handle their tasks and keep an eye on them until they are sure they are able to do the work safely. Young workers also need to think about their own safety, listen to instructions and follow safety rules.

When everyone works together to stay safe, it helps make sure everyone goes home safely at the end of the day.

Now, let’s delve deeper into some specific measures that can be taken to ensure the safety and well-being of young workers in the construction industry:
1. Comprehensive training: Employers should provide thorough training. This training should cover specific job duties and safety procedures, hazard identification and emergency protocols. By giving young workers the necessary knowledge and skills, employers can empower them to work safely and confidently. Basic health and safety should be incorporated into their training from the start, and ongoing support should be provided to address any gaps in understanding. Regular check-ins to gauge their comprehension and comfort with procedures and equipment are essential.
2. Clear communication: Good communication is key to creating a safe work environment. Employers should clearly communicate safety expectations and procedures to young workers, making sure that they understand their responsibilities and know how to respond in different situations. Young people often have fresh perspectives and questions that can lead to improvements. Encouraging them to voice their ideas can contribute significantly to a safer workplace for everyone.
3. Supervision and mentorship: Experienced workers can play a vital role in guiding and mentoring on construction sites. Assigning a mentor or supervisor to oversee the work of young workers can help prevent incidents and ensure that tasks are completed safely and correctly. This also provides young workers with an opportunity to learn from experienced builders and develop their skills over time.
4. Lead by example. Supervisors play a critical role in ensuring workplace safety. They should actively monitor work practices, correct unsafe behaviors, and be available to answer questions. Providing ongoing support and guidance to supervisors, especially if they are also young workers, is essential for maintaining a positive safety culture.
5. Regular safety inspections: Regular inspections of the work site should be conducted to identify and address any safety hazards or potential risks. Employers should involve young workers in these inspections, encouraging them to participate in hazard identification and risk assessment. By regularly assessing and addressing safety concerns, employers can create a safer work environment for all employees.
6. Ongoing education and support: Safety education should be an ongoing process for young workers in the construction industry. Employers should provide regular opportunities for training and development, keeping young workers informed about new safety regulations, procedures, and best practices. Additionally, employers should offer support and guidance to young workers as they navigate their roles and responsibilities in the workplace.
7. Create a positive culture: Creating a positive safety environment involves more than just having policies in place. Supervisors should consistently reinforce safety practices and lead by example by wearing personal protective equipment. Implementing a buddy system can also provide additional support to young workers, allowing them to learn from experienced colleagues while fostering a sense of teamwork and collaboration.

Employing young workers in the construction industry has benefits for the young person, the company and for the industry as a whole as the next generation of builders learn and grow into future roles. By prioritising safety and investing in the well-being of young workers, employers can create a culture of safety that benefits everyone involved. Together, we can build a safer and more secure future for the next generation of construction workers.

Article by Hazard Co.
Get in touch with the team at Hazard Co. if you’d like to find out more about their product, product support to WHS/OHS advice or incident support.

Express Plumbing Supplies is an associated company to Bretts, and they have been busy updating their plumbing showroom. If you previously shopped for your plumbing gear at Bretts Chermside or the old Bretts Windsor showrooms you can now get dedicated plumbing service from Express Plumbing Supplies. The new showroom is at 80 Farrington Street, Alderley and is decked out with the displays from Bretts Chermside with the addition of brand-new displays from Caroma.

The service team at Express will walk you and your clients through a product selection to meet the needs of your project. Kelly Booth heads up the Alderley showroom team and works closely with Bretts Trade Plumbing Supplies and Bretts Timber and Hardware representatives.

The Express Plumbing Supplies network now also extends to three other locations, BBK Express at Labrador and Burleigh, and Chapman Express at Underwood. Each plumbing store has a comprehensive selection showroom featuring all the latest trends with experienced consultants to help with product selection.

Tools, vehicles, and heavy equipment all create vibrations that can affect your body. This is a normal part of any tradie’s day, whether you’re picking up power tools or jumping in the ute. It’s so common that many don’t realise the potential harm these vibrations can cause. However, it’s something you should start thinking about and being aware of.
How are workers harmed?
Vibrations are a natural part of working on any construction site but they do create a risk to you and your workers. Repeatedly using vibrating hand and power tools, or being around vibrating vehicles and machines can lead to serious and lasting harm to your blood vessels, nerves, and joints. Many of the most commonly used items give off some form of vibration. Here are the most common ways tradies are exposed to vibrations:

• Power tools
• Vehicles and machinery
• From our working surfaces being exposed to vibrations (including break or smoko areas)

While these are the most common forms of exposure, the below should also be considered as they increase the risk of overexposure to vibrations:

• Working in cold and damp conditions
• Increased grip force
• Working with power tools for extended periods

Early Warning Signs
We understand that for many tradies, working with vibrations is a natural and unavoidable part of the job. With that in mind, there are a few warning signs and symptoms of overexposure to keep an eye out for:

• Tingling and numbness in your fingers (which can lead to disruptions to your sleep patterns – not ideal!)
• Loss of feeling in your fingers
• Loss of strength, both grip and holding, in your hands
• Fingers turning white and red when working in cold/ wet conditions

If you are continually exposed to vibrations especially in your hands and arms you can develop hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) or carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).

Article by Hazard Co.
Get in touch with the team at Hazard Co. if you’d like to find out more about their product, product support to WHS/OHS advice or incident support.

In today's interconnected digital landscape, small businesses are increasingly vulnerable to cyber threats that can jeopardize their operations and finances. Here’s a closer look at some of the most prevalent risks and how businesses can protect themselves.

Scam Messages and Phishing Attacks

Cybercriminals frequently employ scam messages and phishing attacks to deceive small business owners and employees. These tactics often involve fraudulent emails, text messages, or social media posts that impersonate trusted entities. The goal is to trick recipients into divulging sensitive information like passwords or financial details, or into making unauthorized payments.

Mitigation Strategy:
It's crucial for businesses to educate their staff about identifying suspicious communications. Always verify the legitimacy of messages by contacting the sender through official channels, rather than relying on information provided in the suspicious message itself.

Real-World Scenarios:

• Gift Card Scam: An employee receives an email purportedly from a senior executive requesting the purchase of gift cards. Following instructions, the employee uses personal funds to buy the cards, only to discover the email was a scam, and the executive had no knowledge of the request.
• Invoice Fraud: A construction company falls victim to a supplier’s email requesting a change in bank details for invoice payments. Without verification, the company pays over $150,000 to a fraudulent account, highlighting the financial impact of such scams.

Business Email Compromise (BEC)

BEC attacks involve cybercriminals impersonating business representatives to manipulate employees into transferring funds or revealing sensitive information. These attacks often exploit compromised email accounts or use domain names resembling legitimate businesses.

Mitigation Strategy:
Implement strict verification processes for financial transactions and changes in payment details. Encourage employees to double-check the authenticity of requests through independent communication channels before taking any action.

Malicious Software (Malware) and Ransomware

Malware encompasses various malicious software types, including ransomware, which encrypts files and demands payment for decryption. These threats can lead to data loss, operational disruptions, and financial extortion.

Mitigation Strategy:
Maintain up-to-date antivirus software and regularly educate employees on safe internet practices, such as avoiding suspicious websites and refraining from downloading attachments from unknown sources.

Small businesses must remain vigilant against evolving cyber threats by prioritizing cybersecurity education and implementing robust prevention strategies. By fostering a culture of awareness and preparedness, businesses can safeguard their sensitive information, financial assets, and operational continuity against malicious actors in the digital realm.

Head over to SCAMWATCH to learn more about how to recognise, avoid and report scams.

As the new financial year approaches, several significant changes are set to take effect on 1 July 2024. These changes will impact personal income tax, superannuation, and various benefits for both individuals and businesses. Here’s a detailed look at what to expect.

Key Changes for Individuals

1. Personal Income Tax Cuts

One of the most anticipated changes is the reduction in personal income tax rates along with adjustments to the tax thresholds. This means that Australians will see more of their earnings in their paychecks, providing a welcome relief to many households. Details of the new rates and thresholds are as follows:

On July 1, 2022, Brisbane Fasteners was sold to Bretts Pty Ltd, exactly 23 years after it began trading. By this time, the company had grown to 14 full-time staff members.

From humble beginnings to industry leadership, Brisbane Fasteners' journey over the past 25 years is a testament to dedication and growth. Here's to their continued success under new ownership!

2. Superannuation Guarantee Increase
The superannuation guarantee, which mandates the minimum percentage of earnings that employers must contribute to their employees’ superannuation funds, will rise from 11% to 11.5%. This increase aims to bolster retirement savings for Australian workers. Employees should review their salary package arrangements to understand the impact of this change on their overall compensation.

3. Superannuation Contribution Caps
There will be an increase in the caps for superannuation contributions:

• Concessional Contributions Cap: Increasing from $27,500 to $30,000.
• Non-Concessional Contributions Cap: Increasing from $110,000 to $120,000.

Note: These higher caps will allow individuals to save more for retirement on a tax-advantaged basis.

4. Luxury Car Tax Threshold
The luxury car tax threshold is set to increase, providing some relief to those purchasing higher-end vehicles:

• Fuel-Efficient Vehicles: Threshold increases to $91,387.
• All Other Vehicles: Threshold increases to $80,567.

5. Car Limit for Depreciation
The limit on the amount that can be claimed for depreciation on cars will rise to $69,674. This change will benefit those who use vehicles for business purposes, allowing for a higher claim on their tax returns.

6. Energy Relief Credit for Households
To help with rising energy costs, a $300 energy relief credit will be available to households. This credit will be applied automatically on a quarterly basis, reducing energy bills and providing financial relief to families across the country.

Key Changes for Businesses

1. Energy Relief Credit for Small Businesses
Small businesses will receive a $325 energy relief credit. This is available to those who meet their State or Territory’s definition of a ‘small customer’. The credit aims to alleviate some of the financial pressure from energy costs, helping small businesses maintain profitability and operational efficiency.

2. Instant Asset Write-Off Extension
The popular $20,000 instant asset write-off has been extended to 30 June 2025, pending the passage of legislation. This provision allows businesses to immediately deduct the cost of eligible assets, improving cash flow and encouraging investment in new equipment and technology.
The changes coming into effect on 1 July 2024, present a mix of opportunities and adjustments for both individuals and businesses. From tax cuts and increased superannuation contributions to new thresholds for luxury car tax and energy relief credits, these updates are designed to enhance financial well-being and stimulate economic growth. It’s essential for everyone to review these changes and adjust their financial plans accordingly to maximise the benefits.
Ensure you are fully prepared for the upcoming financial year. Book a free consultation with us today to discuss how these changes will impact you.

3. STP2 Enforcement
The latest round of changes to Single Touch Payroll (STP2) have been in play since July 2024. Our understanding is that many businesses may not have set up items like employee allowances correctly under the new requirements, and that whilst the ATO may have shown some lenience on this previously they will be clamping down.

Article by Xact Accounting.
Get in touch with the team at Xact Accounting if you’d like to find out more about bookkeeping and CFO Advisory Services.

Queensland budget weak on future timber material needs for housing

Queensland’s peak body for the forest and timber industry is warning of a looming building materials crisis by a lack of policy and budget measures for increasing future timber supply to help meet the state’s rising housing demand.
“While we support the critical need to accelerate housing and building projects for a growing population, the 2024-25 budget is weak when it comes to supporting essential supply chains such as timber for meeting the future construction of houses,” said Timber Queensland CEO Mick Stephens.
“Up to 90% of homes in Queensland rely on local plantation softwood for timber framing and Queensland native hardwood and cypress is used extensively for structural beams and posts, flooring, cladding and decking products as well as for furniture and cabinetry.”
“With high forecast housing demand, the state budget does not address longer term measures to expand investment in farm forestry and new plantations for future timber supply while the government is dragging its feet on securing future hardwood supply from state-owned and private native forests,” Mr Stephens said.
“Back in 2019 the Queensland Government committed to a Native Timber Action Plan to secure jobs and a long-term future for the hardwood industry. It’s now 2024 and we have no action other than one line in the budget papers to implement the plan with no funding commitments.”
“Lack of action on the plan is putting in jeopardy an ability to guarantee essential building materials from a $700 million hardwood industry supporting 6000 jobs across the state,” Mr Stephens said.

Key measures to increase future hardwood supply we have recommended to Government include:

• implement new 20-year hardwood supply contracts from existing state forests and other crown land for processors as soon as possible;
• provide certainty for native forest owners to manage and invest in the responsible management of their forests by providing a long-term right to harvest, in accordance with the appropriate code of practice or management plan, to remove sovereign risk; and
• provide greater support for private forestry education and extension services so that farmers and landowners, including traditional owners, can implement best forest management practices to increase timber yields, profitability and related environmental benefits.

“Recent research has found that state forests in South and Central Queensland generate better long-term environmental and social outcomes compared to if they were managed as national parks, with sustainable timber production an important benefit,” Mr Stephens said.

A shortage in native timber will put additional pressure on the housing and construction sector which is struggling to keep up with demand in the middle of a housing crisis. The Homes for Queenslanders program has a target of 1 million new homes by 2046 (or 45,000 homes per annum, compared to Queensland average of 30,000 per annum), together with a forecast national deficit in housing supply until at least 2028.
“During COVID the housing and construction sector experienced materials supply shortages which led to blow outs in completion times as well as higher building costs and issues regarding the higher risks of imports with low environmental compliance,” he said. “Lack of action on a serious and sensible plan for the local timber industry will only increase these risks and exacerbate the ability for the state government to meet housing targets.”

Reference reports
Indufor & Natural Capital Economics (2022). The study adopted an ecosystems approach, by incorporating regulating services such as biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration, provisioning services such as timber and honey production and cultural services such as recreation and tourism.
National Housing and Finance Investment Corporation, State of the Nation’s Housing 2022-23

Yep, we get it. QBCC Minimum Financial Requirements (MFR) can be confusing! One of the regular sources of confusion is how the timing of annual financial reporting works. Specifically how important it is that your EOFY accounts are in shape, ready to comply with QBCC’s financial reporting requirements later in the financial year: for Cat 1 and above this is December 31, for SC1 and SC2 licences this is March 31.

Here we delve into why your June 30 accounts are important in relation to your QBCC licence requirements and how they shape your lodgement of QBCC’s required annual report and potential MFR (Minimum Financial Requirements) Report*.

Why your June 30 financials matter

Your EOFY financials will be a snapshot of your business’s financial health for the 23/24 financial year.
These accounts are the basis of the annual report that every QBCC licence holder must submit to the QBCC.
Your EOFY financials will be used by the QBCC to test whether you have met your MFR obligations for the year and will likely be the figures used for an MFR report, should the Commission require you to lodge one.
It’s crucial to understand that, while QBCC Annual report lodgement happens in December or March depending on your licence category, it’s your June 30 financials that undergo assessment.
If they fall short of the required standards, corrective actions may be necessary, potentially leading to increased expenses and stress.

Don’t miss the window of opportunity!

Rather than having to deal with the fallout of not passing MFR the best approach is to deal with your financial position before June 30 – because, once you pass this date your numbers are locked in and you have fewer options at your disposal if you don’t pass MFR.
This area of accounting is highly specialised so it’s important you work with an accountant who understands the QBCC’s requirements
If you’re concerned about your June 30 numbers stacking up, get in touch with Xact to do a free MFR health check.

QBCC’s annual reporting requirements

Each year the QBCC requires you to lodge your up-to-date financial information, providing them with key information about your business’s finances.
The annual report relies on information from the most recent financial year, therefore drawing information from your June 30 financials.
Depending on your licence category, the annual report may consist of your internal management accounts (for example your balance sheet, profit & loss statement, aged debtors and creditors listings, and a statement of cashflow) or a completed three-page annual reporting form provided by the QBCC.
You don’t need an accountant to help you prepare the annual report itself, however using a specialist accountant familiar with QBCC requirements is advised as you prepare your EOFY information. This way, we can spot any potential issues well in advance of the QBCC’s annual reporting deadlines and help you to rectify or manage them.

Key Dates to remember for QBCC’s annual reporting requirements

• For larger licensees (categories 1-7), annual reporting opens on 1 August and is due by 31 December each year
• If you’re an SC1 or SC2 contractor, you have until 31 March to submit your report. Lodgements will open on 31 October.

30 June financials and MFR reports

QBCC does not require licence holders to submit a MFR report annually.
You’ll only need to provide an MFR report in specific situations, such as when applying for a new licence or if there are significant changes in your financial circumstances.
It’s important to note that a request for an MFR report may be triggered by your annual report if it shows certain changes in your financial circumstances.
Unlike annual reporting, MFR reports must adhere to certain accounting standards, must be accompanied by signed financial statements and will require signatures from both you and an accountant.
To use your June 30 financials in an MFR report they would need to be signed off by your accountant no later than 31 October in order to comply with QBCC’s 4-month rule.
If they were signed off outside of that, then your 30 June financials can still be used for annual reporting, but you would need to provide additional, more recent, financial information as well to be used in the MFR report.
Since an MFR report can take some time to prepare it’s important to consult us as soon as possible to determine if you will need to submit one so we can prepare and lodge the report before QBCC’s deadline.

Things to do before June 30

As June 30 approaches it’s important to start preparing to meet your minimum financial requirements now to ensure a positive result when you submit your annual reports.
Understanding QBCC financial reporting requirements may seem daunting, but it’s crucial for maintaining compliance and ensuring your business remains in good standing with the QBCC and your stakeholders.
Now is the time to reach out to start the process of understanding your business’s financial position and getting your business’s accounts ready for EOFY.

Article by Xact Accounting.
Get in touch with the team at Xact Accounting if you’d like to find out more about bookkeeping and CFO Advisory Services.

June 15th marks the 25th anniversary of Brisbane Fasteners, a leading name in Queensland's fastener industry. Incorporated in 1999, the company began trading on July 1, 1999, at 1/8 Kenworth Place, Brendale, with just two staff members. Initially, they kept no more than one box of each product, often borrowing a forklift from a neighbor in exchange for a carton of beer.

In 2002, Brisbane Fasteners computerized its operations and expanded into a second unit at Kenworth Place. By 2004, they purchased a building at 246 Leitchs Road, Brendale, and joined the CSS Group in 2005. The company's significant growth led to a major expansion in 2014, increasing their space to 1000 square meters, making them one of Queensland's largest independent fastener businesses.

On July 1, 2022, Brisbane Fasteners was sold to Bretts Pty Ltd, exactly 23 years after it began trading. By this time, the company had grown to 14 full-time staff members.

From humble beginnings to industry leadership, Brisbane Fasteners' journey over the past 25 years is a testament to dedication and growth. Here's to their continued success under new ownership!

Lithium batteries are common in everyday life and on the worksite, their lightweight, long life, interchangeability and quick charge benefits mean that they are now used in everything from laptops to power tools to EVs. But did you know that they pose a significant risk and need to be a part of your health and safety plan?
What’s the risk?
Lithium batteries of all sizes have the potential to overheat and catch fire. The fire is hotter, harder to put out and the smoke from these fires is incredibly toxic. Lithium batteries generally overheat if they get wet, damaged or are used with incorrect charging equipment.
Damaged batteries can explode at any time giving off flames that burn anywhere between 500 and 1000 degrees celsius. These fires are very difficult to extinguish as both water and CO2 will only suppress the fire, not extinguish it. Even if the fire has been suppressed it can still ignite again if the battery still contains energy to burn. Because of this, lithium batteries need to be properly cared for according to the manufacturer’s instructions to minimise the risk, aside from that, you need a plan in place in case of a fire.
Hot tip: The bigger the battery the bigger the risk

Safe lithium battery disposal

Never dispose of Lithium batteries in general rubbish as it can result in a fire in your bin or on the way to a transfer station, creating a risk to those transporting them. The manufacturer should be able to advise safe disposal or check out your local battery recycling centre.
Lithium batteries are going to continue playing a crucial role in our workplaces and lifestyles, so it’s necessary to recognize the potential hazards associated with them. By having awareness of these risks and good practices, we can work together to reduce the potential dangers, resulting in safer working environments where Lithium batteries are used.

Article by Hazard Co.
Get in touch with the team at Hazard Co. if you’d like to find out more about their product, product support to WHS/OHS advice or incident support.

Bretts trade and Brisbane Fastener stores will be closed for stocktake on the following dates:

Browns Plains - 31 May - 1st June
Closed at 12pm on 31st May
Coorparoo - 7 June - 8 June
Closed at 12pm on 7th June and closed all day on 8th June
Brendale - 13 June - 15 June
Closed at 3:30pm on Thursday, Closed all day 14th June
Chermside - 21 June - 22 June
Closed at 12pm on 21st and Closed all day on the 22nd
Caboolture - 28th June - 29th June
Closed at 12pm on the 28th and closed all day on the 29th

Bretts Architectural Windows and Doors has yet again been recorgnised for their inovation this year at the Australian Glass and Window Association Design awards at 2024, being nominated as Queensland finalists.

Congratulations to the team for once again being nominated this year.
Check out the video below to see their fierce competition, and the team's fantastic work.

One of the first things you end up buying as a builder or tradie is a vehicle. Because they’re important tools of trade, you are well within your rights to claim vehicles as tax deductions – both the initial purchase and the ongoing costs of running a vehicle.
That said, it’s important to make sure you know how to claim so you get the best possible deductions and avoid having the ATO on your case.

Example: Purchasing a Vehicle

Toyota Hilux SR
Driveaway Price: $50,974
Depreciated over 4 years

Example: Claiming Vehicle Running Costs

The ATO provides two options for claiming running costs – the “cents per km” method and the Logbook* method. Under the cents per km method, a flat rate of 85 cents per KM can be claimed, with a cap at 5,000 km per year. This method is only available to Sole Traders. In many cases, Builders and Tradies clock up more kms than this, and if you’re trading as a company or trust, the Logbook/Actual cost method is the method that must be used.

Assumptions:

• $2 per litre for fuel
• travel approx. 25,000kms per year
• a valid logbook establishes work usage at 85%

*Note:The Logbook method requires you to maintain a logbook for a minimum of 12 weeks every 5 years for each vehicle to demonstrate the vehicle is being used for business purposes.

Article by Xact Accounting.
Get in touch with the team at Xact Accounting if you’d like to find out more about bookkeeping and CFO Advisory Services.

Understanding Margin

Margin is all about tracking the money flowing into your business from clients, the costs you incur to build the project, your overheads like rent and marketing, and ultimately, the profit you’re left with at the end. Let’s break it down with some practical examples to understand this better.

Jim Chalmers unveiled the 2024 Federal Budget yesterday, and we’ve sifted through the information to offer key takeaways for businesses in the construction industry. And unfortunately… there’s not much to talk about.
Excluding the impact of the Stage 3 Tax cuts which were previously announced, the outcome for small to medium businesses is relatively minor – with initiatives that have promise, like an extension of instant asset write offs, not going far enough to have the impact required in an industry facing significant market challenges.

Hazardous substances are chemicals or substances which can be toxic, corrosive and can cause harm. So it makes sense that we document what’s on-site and how much we have.
If you have hazardous substances on-site, there are legal requirements you need to follow to ensure they are stored, used, and disposed of correctly to reduce the risk to anyone that uses or comes into contact with them.
There are a number of chemical specific hazards that could potentially be present on a building site but these are the most likely ones that you will come across:

• Paint
• Solvents
• Concrete
• Cement
• Glue
• Aerosols

As a business owner, you dedicate countless hours to maximising your profits throughout the year. The last thing you want is to see those hard-earned profits eroded by paying even a cent more in taxes than necessary. This is where strategic tax planning takes centre stage – being proactive can significantly influence your financial future.

Queensland has taken significant steps to enhance work health and safety for its workers by conducting an independent review of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act). The review, led by a team of experts, assessed the Act's overall effectiveness and led to 31 recommendations, which the Queensland Government has accepted in full. Here's an overview of the key points:

1) Focus on Effectiveness:

The review evaluated key components of the WHS Act, focusing on provisions for health and safety representatives, worker representation and assistance, and the effectiveness of enforcement notices, issues, and dispute resolution.

2) Review of Industrial Manslaughter Provisions:

One important recommendation was to review the scope and application of the industrial manslaughter provisions. This review, conducted by the independent Work Health and Safety Prosecutor, resulted in three additional recommendations currently under consideration.

3) Work Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2023:

On March 21, 2024, the Queensland Parliament passed this bill, which enacts 33 sub-recommendations from the WHS Act review. These changes strengthen the role of health and safety representatives, improve worker consultation processes, and streamline dispute resolution.

4) Improvements from the Boland Review:

The bill also includes eight recommendations from the 2018 national Review of the Model Work Health and Safety Laws, known as the Boland Review. These updates include allowing health and safety representatives to choose their training provider and prohibiting insurance arrangements that cover monetary penalties imposed under the WHS Act.

5) Immediate Changes:

The prohibition on entering into, providing, or benefiting from insurance arrangements to cover WHS penalties starts immediately, with transitional provisions delaying enforcement of these provisions.

6) Implementation and Further Reviews:

The remaining recommendations from the WHS Act review are being implemented administratively or are undergoing further national review processes and consultations.

Queensland's commitment to worker safety is evident in the adoption of these comprehensive reforms, which empower Health and Safety Representatives and emphasize accountability and efficiency in work health and safety matters. By enacting these changes, Queensland aims to ensure a safer work environment for all.

For further details on these reforms and their implications, read the full version on the Queensland Government Website below.

As a builder or tradie aiming to grow your business, it’s essential to maintain a strong grip on your financials. This guide provides critical insights and strategies for expansion without losing control of your bottom line. From advanced bookkeeping to the importance of job costing, it’s a must-read for every business owner wanting to grow profits – not just revenue!

Click the link below to read the full version.

Article by Xact Accounting.
Get in touch with the team at Xact Accounting if you’d like to find out more about bookkeeping and CFO Advisory Services.

Below is a breakdown of the latest updates from the Work Health and Safety (WHS) Meeting of Ministers that convened on March 22, 2024. This crucial gathering, attended by Commonwealth, state, and territory representatives, focused on enhancing workplace safety standards and addressing pressing concerns regarding the use of engineered stone and exposure to respirable crystalline silica.

Prohibition on Engineered Stone:
One of the significant outcomes of the meeting was the agreement to implement a prohibition on the use of engineered stone benchtops, panels, and slabs, effective from July 1, 2024, in most jurisdictions. This decision underscores the commitment of WHS Ministers to safeguarding the health and well-being of workers by mitigating the risks associated with exposure to respirable crystalline silica.

Amendments to WHS Laws:
Draft amendments to the model WHS laws were unanimously agreed upon to enforce the prohibition effectively. These amendments provide clarity on the materials included and excluded from the prohibition, while also outlining exemptions for certain finished products posing minimal risk.

Exemption Framework:
To ensure a consistent approach across jurisdictions, Safe Work Australia proposed a framework for exemptions from the prohibition. This framework will be managed by WHS regulators and will require compelling evidence of safety for exempted products.

Transitional Arrangements:
Recognizing the need for a smooth transition, Ministers agreed to allow a transition period for contracts entered into before the prohibition announcement. This arrangement aims to minimize disruption while ensuring compliance with safety regulations.

Legacy Engineered Stone:
A notification framework will be adopted for dealing with legacy engineered stone, emphasizing the importance of proper handling and disposal to mitigate health risks.

Regulation of Crystalline Silica Processes:
Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to preventing exposure to respirable crystalline silica across all industries. Stronger regulations were agreed upon, including a prohibition on uncontrolled processing of all crystalline silica substances.

Review Process:
Safe Work Australia will conduct a comprehensive review of the prohibition by July 31, 2025, to evaluate its effectiveness and address any unintended consequences.

Next Steps:
Efforts will continue to finalize amendments to the model WHS Regulations and provide further guidance on the exemption framework and regulations for crystalline silica processes by the end of April 2024. Additionally, Safe Work Australia will collaborate with the Australasian Parliamentary Counsel’s Committee to ensure timely implementation of these measures.

The outcomes of the WHS Meeting of Ministers reflect a collective commitment to prioritizing workplace safety and mitigating risks associated with exposure to respirable crystalline silica. By implementing these measures, the aim of this is to create safer and healthier work environments for all.

Click the link below to read the full version.

In an exciting development, Buildxact has unveiled a major update in their project accounting capability: 2-way integration with Xero. This important new feature is designed to streamline the bookkeeping process, eliminating the need for manual double-entry of invoices from suppliers and significantly reducing errors and processing time.

Nadia Viljoen, Client Director in Xact Accounting's Bookkeeping division, shared her keen enthusiasm for the recent integration, remarking:

Daniel Wilkinson, Head of CFO Advisory at Xact Accounting echos Nadia's enthusiasm, stating:

The recently introduced two-way integration streamlines the transmission of crucial accounting data between Buildxact and Xero, allowing for the seamless visibility of original documents like receipts and invoices in both platforms.

We are thrilled to witness the technological advancements that are enhancing processes for builders worldwide.

Australian users are encouraged to delve into Buildxact's help center for comprehensive information on how to harness and maximize the capabilities of this new feature.

Get in touch with the team at Xact Accounting if you’d like to find out more about bookkeeping and CFO Advisory Services.

Bretts trade and Brisbane Fastener stores will be closed for stocktake on the following dates:

Brendale - Friday 23/02/2024 all day
Browns Plains - Friday 02/02/2024 from midday
Caboolture - Friday 9/02/2024 from midday
Chermside - Friday 01/03/2024 from midday and Saturday 02/03/2024 all day
Coorparoo - Friday 16/02/2024 from midday, 17/02/2024 all day

I am pleased to announce, that we have recently signed a contract to purchase Hervey Bay Roof Trusses (HBRT), settling on the 1st of February, 2024. HBRT has been servicing the Wide Bay district successfully for over 30 years. As the name suggests, they specialise in manufacturing high quality timber trusses and frames.

Why are we buying HBRT?
We are already sending frames & trusses to Hervey Bay for existing Brisbane customers and these customers have indicated the Wide Bay district is set for continued growth for the foreseeable future. HBRT currently do not sell any building materials and the site has the potential to allow us to set up a Bretts Trade store to help complement the range.

What happens next?
It will be business as usual for the time being, as we have no plans of changing the Hervey Bay Roof Trusses brand, which is synonymous with quality frames & trusses and all staff will be retained on their existing agreements. Kim & Julie Bensein & Bob Sorensen have agreed to stay on while we bring the two businesses together, all working with us up until the end of March, so customers, suppliers and staff alike, should notice no difference. Nathan Bensein will remain a full time employee with all other HBRT staff.

In the longer term, we hope to integrate our Brisbane frame & truss business with Hervey Bay Roof Trusses to help us better service both markets. For the time being HBRT will remain a Mitek plant and Bretts will be Pryda.

In the coming weeks we will reach out to all HBRT partners to make sure there is a smooth transition from Kim & Bob to Bretts ownership. Rest assured we have no plans to change the business model, apart from adding a complementary range of building materials.

As a reminder, Bretts is 100% owned and operated by the Nutting families and remains fiercely independent, dedicated to ensuring our customers have access to a dedicated family owned Timber and Building supplies specialist. We see this acquisition as a really positive move that should help take HBRT onto bigger and better things and create exciting opportunities for all customers, staff & suppliers as we grow and expand the business.

If you have any queries regarding the sale, please talk directly with your usual Hervey Bay Roof Trusses or Bretts point of contact.

Thanks to everyone who attended our Friday trade breakfasts during 2023, we are taking a short break and will resume on Friday, February 2nd, 2024. Subscribe to our Newsletter and we'll send a reminder.

What a year 2023 has been? It seems to be not only one of the quickest in memory, but also one of the strangest, as we all expected the industry to collapse in a heap. But then it didn’t. Well maybe just a little bit. We endured all the familiar challenges we come to expect in the building industry, but then we’ve added more speed bumps in the form of unprecedented consecutive interest rate hikes, further affordability issues on both trades and materials and then topped it all off with global uncertainties stemming from tensions in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Despite these hurdles, Bretts has proudly celebrated significant achievements in 2023, including our 105th anniversary. This milestone is a testament to Bretts’ enduring legacy and growth, as evidenced by our acquisition of Allkind Joinery and the expansion of our Brisbane Fasteners network across traditional Bretts Trade Stores.

I’d like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of our customers. Your continued support has been instrumental in our success this year. As we approach Christmas, we are fully committed to ensuring timely delivery of materials, helping you wrap up your projects before the holiday break. For those working through, Chermside will be open as per the schedule below.

Closed: Public holidays only
Open: 22 Dec - 6:00am to 2:00pm
Open: 27 Dec to 29 Jan - 7:00 am to 3:00 pm
Open: Sat. 30th Dec - 7:30 am to 1:00 pm

I’d like to wish you all a safe and Merry Christmas and we look forward to doing it all again in 2024.

I am pleased to announce that we have recently signed a contract to purchase ALLKIND Joinery, settling on the 1st of August, 2023. ALLKIND has been operating successfully for over 50 years ago and has been owner-operated for the past 20 years by industry icons, Richard Travers & Gerard Wilson. As the name suggests, they specialise in manufacturing high quality timber joinery.

I am pleased to announce that we have recently signed a contract to purchase ALLKIND Joinery, settling on the 1st of August, 2023. ALLKIND has been operating successfully for over 50 years ago and has been owner-operated for the past 20 years by industry icons, Richard Travers & Gerard Wilson. As the name suggests, they specialise in manufacturing high quality timber joinery.

Temporary Full Expensing is a tax incentive that allows eligible businesses to claim an immediate deduction for the full cost of eligible depreciating assets, including vehicles, in the year they are purchased and installed ready for use. This tax incentive was introduced by the Australian government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to help support businesses.

However, this tax incentive is ending on June 30th, 2023, so time is running out to take advantage of this opportunity. If you purchase the same Toyota Hilux in the 2023/24 financial year, your eligible tax deduction would drop to $14,247, and your company tax benefit would drop to $3,562. This means that buying the vehicle this financial year would result in an extra tax benefit of $10,685.

While the tax benefits of Temporary Full Expensing can be significant, it’s important to make purchasing decisions based on your business needs, not just potential tax benefits. Consider factors such as your budget, cash flow, and business requirements when deciding whether to purchase new assets.

Keep in mind also that in order to claim the deduction, you must have taken possession of the asset, not just ordered it. This means that if there are any delays in delivery, you may miss out on the opportunity to claim the deduction.

Temporary Loss Carry Back Arrangements

In addition to the Temporary Full Expensing tax incentive, the Temporary Loss Carry Back arrangements are also ending soon. These arrangements allow eligible companies to carry back tax losses from the 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22 or 2022-23 income years to offset previously taxed profits in years later than 2018-19. This means that eligible businesses can apply tax losses against taxed profits in a previous year, generating a refundable tax offset in the year in which the loss is made.

However, the tax refund will be available on election by eligible businesses only when they lodge their tax returns for the 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 income years. The amount of the tax refund will be limited by requiring that the amount carried back is not more than the earlier taxed profits, and that the carry back does not generate a franking account deficit.

Businesses must consider both Temporary Full Expensing and Temporary Loss Carry Back arrangements when making capital purchases in the near future. As both tax incentives are ending soon, it’s essential to act fast and make informed decisions based on your business needs and financial situation. A conversation with your finance broker and accountant could help provide clarity and simplify the decision-making process.

Get in touch with the team at Xact Accounting if you’d like to find out more about whether Temporary Full Expensing and Temporary Loss Carry Back Arrangements are a good option for you.

Orange Sky are a registered charity with a simple formula; to provide a platform for every day Australians to connect through a regular laundry and shower service. The focus is on creating a safe, positive and supportive environment for people who are too often ignored or who feel disconnected from the community.

Bretts has chosen Orange Sky as our designated charity for all significant fundraising efforts and to kick start that support, we will donate 1% of all sales made on May 17th to support the work of Orange Sky. So please get behind Bretts to help support this most noble of causes.

Check out these talented Nudgee College students who are getting hands-on experience in construction as part of their carpentry vocational class! They're building some impressive cubby houses using materials supplied by Bretts trade. These up and comers are definitely ones to watch in the building industry.

When is it required?

The QBCC MFR Report is required in a range of situations, these include:

• When you apply for, or upgrade to, a Category 1 or above licence.
• If your Net Tangible Assets (NTA) position decreases by more than 20% or 30% (depending on your licence category)
• If you exceed your Maximum Allowable Turnover (MAT) by more than 10%
• In addition, the QBCC may request that you prepare an MFR Report at any time if they have grounds for concern about your financial circumstances.

You are not ordinarily required to present a new MFR Report if you want to downgrade from Category 1-7 to a Self-Certifying (SC1 or SC2) license. However, QBCC may still request an MFR in this case. BUT be careful when downgrading, where you are relying on a Deed of Covenant and Assurance for the existing Category Licence, as an alternative approach may be required.

Who prepares the MFR Report?

As QBCC relies on the financial information outlined in the MFR Report to determine your eligibility for a licence, the financial information it contains must be accurate and comply with the QBCC regulations. As such, the report can only be prepared by a qualified accountant.

To be considered qualified, your accountant must:

• Be an independent, external party (not your immediate family member, employee, executive officer, investor, shareholder, or partner)
• Meet the requirements of a qualified accountant outlined in the ASIC Corporations (Qualified Accountant) Instrument 2016/786, or
• Be a Registered Company Auditor, and
• Hold a current public practising certificate from the Association of Taxation and Management Accountants or National Tax and Accountants Association, Certified Practising Accountants, or Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand
• Your chosen Accountant must apply the relevant Australian Accounting Standards and QBCC Regulations that govern the information in the MFR Report. They must also affix their signature on the document and complete a declaration confirming compliance with QBCC MFR Regulations.

Not all certified accountants can prepare an MFR Report for licensees. Accountants can be excluded by QBCC if they:

• Have provided false or misleading information to a licensed contractor or the QBCC
• Failed to comply with the MFR reporting requirements
• Did not comply with a requirement in a previous exclusion notice
• Excluded accountants are prohibited from preparing an MFR Report for three (3) years.

To ensure that your accountant is not prohibited from preparing an MFR Report, check out the register of excluded accountants on the QBCC page.

Meeting your Minimum Financial Requirements can be tricky! There are some key things to consider when compiling your MFR Report that licensees must be wary of. The most common issue we see relates to Family Trusts and how assets are recognised (or not recognised as is the case with Trusts) by the QBCC. As a result, it is critical that licensees use an accountant that specialises in the building industry. Failure to comply with these specific requirements could result in having your license suspended or cancelled!

In addition, From 1 July 2022 MFR Reports must be prepared with General Purpose Financial Statements (GPFS), not Special Purpose Financial Statements – requiring a significantly more complex and costly approach to the preparation of financial statements.

Important Reminders

• The MFR Report cannot show a deficit in net tangible assets.
• It should be submitted along with the accountant’s prepared and signed financial statements.
• The accountant signing the Financial Statements cannot be the same person signing the MFR report. The MFR is essentially like a mini audit, so requires a secondary qualified accountant to sign.
• It must be no older than four (4) months from the end of the financial reporting period being relied on and the date it is signed by your accountant and you as the licensee.
• Financial statements must be General Purpose Financial Statements (GPFS), not Special Purpose Financial Statements.
• The QBCC will not accept the MFR Report for an application or change of maximum revenue if it is signed more than 30 days before they receive it.

Hardie™ Oblique™ Cladding evokes a striking, contemporary aesthetic with wide grooves and bespoke design flexibility.

Hardie™ Oblique™ Cladding is a durable 14mm fibre cement shiplap board available in 200mm and 300mm widths. It’s the only Hardie™ exterior cladding with a slanted groove edge, delivering depth to walls through highlights and shadows. The two sizes offer multiple installation options and can be mixed and matched to create standout, one-of-a kind facades. The Hardie™ Castellated Battens simplify the vertical installation. With no need for specialist installers, this system provides an efficient way of creating a linear vertical look, while reducing the number of trades onsite.

Hardie™ Oblique™ Cladding adheres to bushfire attack level requirements to BAL 40. Fire Rating Level of up to 60 minutes when used with Hardie™ Smart Fire & Acoustic Wall Systems.

The 2750mm and 4200mm length boards are primed and ready to paint. Similar in appearance to standing seam metal cladding, it’s an easy-to-install fibre cement solution.

It’s hard to believe that Christmas is literally just around the corner, so it’s time once again for me to thank each and every one of you for all your help throughout the year.

So thank you everyone - we literally couldn’t have done it without you.

On reflection, it was another turbulent, but highly successful year for Bretts, this being our 104th year since my Great Uncles started Bretts back in 1918. If you will recall, we began the year with the devastating floods that affected Brisbane and Northern NSW so badly, then we quickly moved into World War III territory as Vlad the Nutcase decided to invade Ukraine. That set the path for more product shortages, hyperinflation of shipping costs and then inevitably more price rises & delays for building products. At one point the Truss Plant was quoting 9 month lead times, illustrating how ridiculous things had become.

Just when we thought things couldn’t get any worse, the RBA decided to put interest rates up to help slow the economy down, which had the terrific result of jacking up the prices on literally everything. Unemployment has been sitting at all time record lows, making it almost impossible to hire anyone for any position in any industry. In spite of all that, we have managed to hire some great new people, particularly in our Modular housing division which continues to grow bigger and better each month. In fact we just picked up an order for $1.5 million of WheelHouses to be supplied by March, which should set the path for what will hopefully be another profitable year for Bretts in 2023.

So on the eve of another Christmas break, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you again for all your help and in many cases, friendship throughout 2022 and wish you all a very Merry and Safe Christmas. You’ve all deserved a good break, so please down the tools, forget about work and spend some well deserved time with family and friends over Christmas. I look forward to doing it all again with you next year!

Bill Nutting

Trade Division Appointments
Matt Hatzl has been appointed as Browns Plains Site Manager.
Jason Turner, currently group Sales Manager has been appointed to the role of Site Manager at Caboolture.
These roles will be effective from the 1st of January. Jason Turner will continue to manage the Bretts SalesTeam until a replacement is found.

Manufacturing Division Appointments
Alistair Seaton, currently the Production Manager has been appointed to the role of Modular Manager.
Darren Harris will continue to work in the Modular division focussing on supporting us in the technical side of the business.
Dominic Kurtz formerly the Chersmide trade store manager, was receny appointed Frame & Manager.

Iver door hardware kits

Bretts purchase Brisbane Fasteners.