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

Payday Super began on 1 July 2026, and a lot of employers are asking the same practical question. If a super payment lands a few days late while we get our systems sorted, are we in trouble? And is it alright to keep paying quarterly for a bit longer? The ATO has said the first year of Payday Super is a facilitative period for employers who are genuinely making the move and fixing problems quickly. What it is not is an extra window to keep paying quarterly. The difference com

When the card surcharge ban was announced, we wrote about what it would mean for businesses. It's now close enough to be worth a second look. From 1 October 2026, surcharges on most card payments end, and that's roughly two months away. If you currently add a card fee at the checkout, this is a good time to have your plan in place rather than sorting it out in the last week of September. A quick refresher on what's changing From 1 October 2026, you won't be able to add a surc

Most small business owners have heard the term. Very few have thought much about it. It sounds like an accounting technicality. Something that gets set up once when you start using Xero or MYOB, and then quietly sits there in the background doing whatever it does. Here is the thing though. Your chart of accounts is not a background detail. It is the structure that determines whether your financial reports tell you anything useful or just confirm that money came in and money w