VES Insights, your go-to newsletter for the latest in bookkeeping, automation, AI, Xero tips, and essential ATO updates to keep you informed and on track. From simplifying your bookkeeping to harnessing the power of automation and AI, our newsletter is packed with valuable tools and reminders to help you stay ahead. Card Surcharges End on 1 October 2026: Common Questions Answered Card surcharges ended on 1 October, but plenty of questions remain. Can you still charge a public

From 1 October 2026, a surcharge can no longer be added when a customer pays by eftpos, Mastercard or Visa. For many businesses, the switch itself is small. Most of the thinking sits in the questions around it: what the cost looks like now, what can still be charged, and what's worth checking on the day. The cost of taking card payment stays with the business Removing the surcharge takes the fee off the customer's receipt. The cost of accepting the card is still there, and fr

On 1 October, the ATO announced it would stop accepting credit card payments after 30 November 2026. The decision followed the Reserve Bank's ban on card surcharges, with the ATO saying it wouldn't be appropriate to pass the cost of card fees on to the community. After concerns from small businesses about the short notice, the government announced funding on 9 October to delay the change. Card payments to the ATO are now expected to continue until 30 June 2027. What this mean

Few weeks ago, ATO officers visited more than 25 hospitality businesses in Melbourne's CBD. News like this can prompt a reasonable question: if the ATO asked, would our records tell a clear story? What happened On 22 and 23 September 2026, the ATO made unannounced visits to fast-food outlets, restaurants and cafes in the CBD as part of Operation Tonberry. According to reports of the ATO's announcement, the visits followed community tip-offs, with more than 2,500 hospitality t

VES Insights, your go-to newsletter for the latest in bookkeeping, automation, AI, Xero tips, and essential ATO updates to keep you informed and on track. From simplifying your bookkeeping to harnessing the power of automation and AI, our newsletter is packed with valuable tools and reminders to help you stay ahead. Your Most Asked Payday Super Questions A month into Payday Super, the same handful of questions keep coming up: how the approvals work, how quickly super needs to

Since Payday Super started on 1 July 2026, one question has come up more than any other, so we're answering it first. The rest are the questions employers ask us most often, with a bit more detail on each. Why am I being asked to approve super payments so often now? This is the one we hear most. Under the old quarterly system, you might have approved super four times a year. Now that super follows each payday, that same approval happens every pay run, so if you pay weekly, yo

For years, planning a larger equipment purchase came with a nagging side question: will the $20,000 instant asset write-off still be there by the time we buy? The threshold was set one year at a time, often confirmed close to the deadline, which made it hard to plan with any real certainty. That part is now settled. In August 2026, Parliament passed legislation making the $20,000 instant asset write-off permanent for small businesses from 1 July 2026. Here's what that changes

If you employ staff, you may have seen that the government's Paid Parental Leave scheme changed again on 1 July 2026. The headline is more leave for families, which is welcome news, and it raises a fair question for employers: what, if anything, do you need to do differently? The short answer is less than you might expect. Most of the change sits with Services Australia and the ATO, not with you. There are a few things worth checking, so here's what lands on your desk. What c

VES Insights, your go-to newsletter for the latest in bookkeeping, automation, AI, Xero tips, and essential ATO updates to keep you informed and on track. From simplifying your bookkeeping to harnessing the power of automation and AI, our newsletter is packed with valuable tools and reminders to help you stay ahead. Payday Super Has Started: What the ATO's First-Year Approach Really Means for Your Business The ATO's first year of Payday Super is forgiving for employers who pa

The pay rise landed on 1 July 2026, and if you employ staff, you've likely updated your payroll and moved on. It's worth a second look, because “the increase” is two different numbers, and which one applies depends on how each person is paid. The Fair Work Commission lifted modern award minimum rates by 4.75% and the national minimum wage by close to 6%, both from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026. Payroll software will have updated the headline rates