Accounting for Lawn Mowing Contractors

The lawn mowing industry is such a competitive environment in which many new lawn mowing contractors in the business don’t last longer than two years. For one, anyone thinks they can mow lawns, but then running a lawn mowing business is not as easy as you think it is. Aside from the physically demanding work, the weather can also severely impact on your productivity and requires flexible work scheduling.

People who are looking for a career change and want to buy into a lawn mowing franchise are often bitterly disappointed when they find that the profits are not as high as they thought. However, you can easily avoid this pitfall by asking your accountant to help you understand the business financials of your new venture before you take the big step.

We know that managing contractors, staff, and a myriad of other things, which are required to liaise with clients, can make for a very long day indeed. No wonder that many don’t give the bookkeeping and accounting side of their business the attention it needs to run a highly profitable business.

However, like any other business owner, a lawn mowing contractor also needs to keep up with their accounting, bookkeeping and administration duties. You need to have the cashflow to pay your providers, workers and contractors and meet all other financial obligations… and if you don’t have your financial house in order, you may inadvertently run into trouble.

While GST, BAS and tax payments often represent some of the largest financial obligations for lawn mowing contractors, many end up paying too much tax and may even incur fines for non-compliance.

Straight Talk to Fast Track Your Business

Your business needs solid foundations, just like a home. There could be nooks and crannies that require special attention during the building process. However, mostly you can use standard practices to get a home to lock-up, and so it is with running a business.

Here at Straight Talk Accounting & Tax, we have created simple processes to help lawn mowing contractors not just to manage their tax obligations. We specialise in making it easy for lawn mowing contractors to manage their cashflow, estimates and invoicing to maximise their profits and build their business.

It’s Easy When You Know How

When you follow our processes step-by-step, you’ll also find that you will free up time by establishing accounting and job management systems you can use ‘on-the-go’ that allow you to make use of idle time you have on most days when you’re travelling to and from jobs, waiting at the counter to be served, or for the client to get there before you can move on.

We also help you pick the right accounting software that matches your business needs and bookkeeping skills. Poor record keeping of financial transactions is one of the biggest spanners in the works of keeping your business profitable and reducing your tax obligations. That’s why we take it even one step further and actually teach you how to use the accounting or bookkeeping software.

Taking the Helicopter View

That’s not all we do, we also provide strategic advice and practical business solutions that could give you a serious competitive advantage in your industry. If you want to boost your profits to build your business we can offer you the experience, technical tax knowledge and most importantly, an intimate understanding of the lawn mowing industry to help you establish and work with your numbers while minimising risk and reducing your tax burden.

Together we can work through best and worst case scenarios of your business profitability and look at your 5 critical business numbers that show where your business is at. This will show you what works and what is not profitable in your business right now. Armed with this solid information, you will then be able to make sensible business decisions based on real data, rather than making a stab in the dark. If you want to take it one step further, we can also help you benchmark your business against your competition and chart a course for you to grow your business safely with minimal risk.

What Our Services Include

The list below will give you an overview of the range of accounting, taxation and business advice services we can provide:

  • Tools including Checklist and Templates for a Business Plan, Cash Flow Budget
  • Advice and Assistance with getting Your Business Structure right
  • Tax Registrations including ABN, TFN, GST, WorkCover etc.
  • Preparation of Business Plans, Cash Flow Forecasts and Profit Projections
  • Accounting Software Selection and Training – Bookkeeping, Invoicing, Quotes & Payroll
  • Preparation and Analysis of Financial Statements
  • Preparation of Finance Applications
  • Bookkeeping and Payroll Services
  • Tax Planning Strategies
  • Wealth Creation Strategies and Financial Planning Services
  • Industry Benchmarking and KPI Management
  • Vehicle & Equipment Finance (Chattel Mortgage & Lease)
  • Monitoring and Controlling Labour and Sub-Contractor Costs
  • Advice & Assistance with Pricing and Claiming Motor Vehicle Expenses
  • Recession Survival Strategies
  • Business & Risk Insurances (Income Protection, Life Insurance etc.)
  • Business Succession Planning

Making it Count

In business, numbers always do the talking, but you have to know how to interpret them and how and where to obtain them in the first place. However, numbers alone don’t give the full picture. You have your aspirations and responsibilities as a person or head of the family, life is what happens in and around business. We know that the lawn mowing industry has inherent risks and it is important to look at how you can address them, be that through creating the proper business structure or putting in place the strategies required to protect your assets.

If you are concerned about working out how you can put a dollar away for a rainy day, then we can help you with that, too. We have a team of trusted experts in the areas of financing, insurance, financial planning, Self-Managed Superannuation Funds, mortgage brokers, and legal advice that we can call on if you need it.

To fast track the success of your lawn mowing business and leave your competitors behind, contact us today. We’ll get back to you promptly to start the conversation. If you want more and get a taste before you commit, we are offering a FREE ‘Tax Review and Profit Booster Session’. This is a one-on-one 60 minute consultation where we look at your last 3 years of tax returns and identify strategies you can run with immediately to make a start in the right direction.

To arrange your FREE session, please call us on (07) 3399 8844 and book your complimentary consultation with Straight Talk Accounting & Tax.