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

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