IPitch Articles Archive
Startup Profile: mHITs
By Gareth Rose on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
mHITs Limited is a startup company based in ACT and specialising in Mobile Payment technology. They also span the Media & Entertainment, Telecommunications, Marketing & Advertising sectors. They are currently Experiencing Growth.
IPitch: What problem is your business or idea trying to solve?
mHITs: Making payments using your mobile phone – SIMPLY! (no smart phones, apps or SIM toolkits, just simple SMS payments)
IPitch: How long have you been in business for?
mHITs: mHITs was founded in 2004 (6 years), but total business experience is 25+ years
IPitch: Who are the founders and what are their backgrounds?
mHITs:
Harold Dimpel – Founder
Harold Dimpel is the founder and CEO of mHITs Limited. A serial entrepreneur, Harold has experience in the ICT industry across a broad range of sectors. This includes mobile data communications, mobile content service provisioning, application development, Internet Service Provision, Television, GPS telematics, location based technologies and fibre optic telecommunications systems. He is an active and respected member of the Australian mobile community and has recently presented at the Mobile Enterprise Growth Alliance (MEGA) industry education program.
See also http://au.linkedin.com/in/harolddimpel
IPitch: How much traction do you have in the market?
mHITs: We are moving from beta to commercial rollout in next 12 months. Our technology is being exported to developing countries (to service the so-called unbanked or people who do not have bank accounts). We are currently developing an export strategy and are in the early stages of exploring new export markets. Long term, it is possible that we might achieve greater traction in export markets (payments for the unbanked) than in our home market of Australia.
IPitch: What’s the end goal / exit strategy for your business?
mHITs: Goal is to be profitable! Preferred exit is a trade sale or IPO.
IPitch: Are you looking to raise money? What does an ideal investor look like to you?
mHITs: Yes. Investment range: Small V/C ($0.5M – 1M) or Angel(s) ($100 – $200k per share parcel).
While we receive regular investment inquiries, we find that over time, our ideal investor profile has changed. Several years ago, we were more reliant on investment than we are now. While we are willing to consider small investment parcels, ideally we are looking for more strategic investment, which will take us to the next level of growth. Ironically, as we grow and generate revenues, our dependence on investment has somewhat decreased
IPitch: What is the biggest setback or challenge the business has faced (and how did you get through it)?
mHITs : Biggest setback/challenge: Getting stuffed around by and wasting a lot of time chasing “potential investors” who don’t deliver. There are a lot of “wannabe Angel Investors” when it comes to parting with case, get scared at the last minute. We have found that most of these “investors” don’t understand our model and its potential or perceives it as too high risk – Australian investors are generally gutless – they all want low-risk deals.
Our solution was to develop a corporate structure that allows small investors to purchase shares without sacrificing too much equity. This pool of smaller shareholders created a momentum and an important level of physiological support and backing for the business. One investor putting in $10k of real cash speaks louder than an Angel or V/C “promising” to put in $250k.
We have learnt that “the value of advice is usually inversely proportionate to the price you pay for it”. The best advice we have received has been free and it has been often as a result of “throw-away” comments from individuals that have spurred on a whole new line of thinking and strategy.
Finally, be aware of “big gorilla investors”. If you need a huge sum of money to get your start-off the ground then you might have to include one. Often they want to protect their investment by controlling strategy. They often also have great advise so you need to balance this carefully. If you have a good, competent management team already, try and focus on investment which does not have a lot of strings attached – even if it means accepting less money. Better still – if you can – “boot strap” your start-up by funding through revenue from an initial customer or sale.
IPitch: Have the founders had any Startups in the past (either successes or failures)?
mHITs: Yes. 1 x profitable business – still operating and profitable.
3 x start-ups including mHITs. All three still operating and at various stages of growth.
1 x buy in and subsequent successful exit via a trade sale.
IPitch: Have you come across any resources that you think are just awesome, and you’d like to share with other Australian Startups. If so, what are they?
mHITs:
• ABC New Inventors (this kicked us off domestically)
• Low cost domestic and International networking – LinkedIn
• International market research – TradeStart/Austrade
• Mobile Mondays (Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane)
NOTE – I would avoid seeking help from lawyers and accountants for business/start-up advice. While their detailed knowledge might be necessary in some cases for certain things, by their very nature, they are generally NOT risk takers and unlikely to share your vision for the start-up.
For ICT related start-ups, if funds are tight, don’t be diverted by developing a complex and costly IP strategy as this can hold you back from launching your product and achieving first mover advantage. In practice, having market share and revenue is of more value than IP protection. Once in the market, your IP is somewhat secured by default anyway (you cannot patent something that is in the public domain already).
IPitch: Is there an opportunity you’re looking for to bring your Startup to the next level? If so, what is it?
mHITs:
1st preference: Partners/Sales opportunities
2nd preference: joint-venture partners
3rd preference: Investors
Our biggest break would be signing a big deal. This would generate improved cash flows which would assist us to continue growing. Further investment would accelerate this process but might not be absolutely necessary, although it would be graciously received!
Startup Profile: Freally
By Gareth Rose on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010
Freally.com is a platform for giving away and receiving free items, in order to promote recycling and save the planet!
IPitch: What problem is your business or idea trying to solve?
Freally: Freally.com is a platform for giving away and receiving free items. We promote recycling and a green environment by encouraging our users to post items they no longer need. The primary objective of Freally is to reduce the amount of landfill and rubbish in the world! And thereby, make the world a cleaner place.
At the same time, we want to offer this service using the latest Web technologies, making the process the simplest and most user-friendly.
IPitch: How long have you been in business for?
Freally: We had 5 months of plan & development and 1 month of alpha testing, and we have been on our public beta testing currently for 3 months.
IPitch: Who are the founders and what are their backgrounds?
Freally:
Eric Bae
The founder, Eric Bae is a software engineer with a PhD in Computer Science (data mining and knowledge discovery) from the University of Melbourne. He has 5 years of industry experience and has been passionate about Internet & Web start-ups for more than 4 years.
Xiangwei Meng
Co-founder Xiangwei Meng is a software engineer currently working at a financial services research centre heavily involved in stock and capital markets.
IPitch: How much traction do you have in the market?
Freally: At our current public beta testing, we have registered users from almost 100 countries around the world. These users visit Freally often on a daily basis. Currently, we receive around 2 or 3 posted items per day on average. This is not much and we are working hard to market and promote Freally.com to a wider base of users around the world.
The most amount of traffic is derived from Australia. However, the second most traffic has been coming from South American region, which is quite interesting. In order to handle such a demand, we have launched Freally in Portuguese for catering for these users.
Our traction number is not so impressive for now and this is one critical area we are focusing on at the moment.
IPitch: What’s the end goal / exit strategy for your business?
Freally: The ultimate objective is to be the #1 site for promoting recycling and having the best features to provide such service. Since our users exchange items within their local areas only, our primary business model would be targeting local-specific business to advertise at an affordable rate.
Another possible exit route would be an acquisition by recycling management firms or businesses that are focused on environment and sustainability.
IPitch: Are you looking to raise money?
Freally: Yes, we are looking for investors who can help us market and promote Freally.com to local areas and also to expand world wide. Such an exposure can help us implement our business model and to start generating revenue.
IPitch: What does an ideal investor look like to you?
Freally: An ideal investor for us would be one who understands and is keenly interested in the concept of Freally. We expect the investor to understand the concern for the environment and the market potential it has where sites like Freally.com can not only create a successful business, but work to help our environment become sustainable. We would want a partnership where guidance and directions are provided, at the same time, provide flexibilities to develop and improve the current product according to our skill sets.
IPitch: Personally, (for the directors or employees) what challenges have you faced in establishing and running a startup?
Freally: I’ve found that finding and receiving business advice and mentorship from other entrepreneurs in Australia rather difficult. There is possibly not sufficient government support or many opportunities for different entrepreneurs to meet together. Such opportunities exist widely in US and Europe.
IPitch: Have you come across any resources that you think are just awesome, and you’d like to share with other Australian Startups. If so, what are they?
Freally: OpenCoffee - Entrepreneur meetups that occur every fortnight in Sydney.
IPitch: Is there an opportunity you’re looking for to bring your Startup to the next level? If so, what is it?
Freally: Yes. We are always on the lookout for investors, partners and others who want to join and help Freally grow together.
Startup Profile: Platform46
By Gareth Rose on Wednesday, August 18th, 2010
Platform46 provides a real-time notification & collaboration framework, integrating an organisation’s IT applications with the employees preferred communication device – whether that is the Intranet, mail client, or mobile device.
IPitch: What problem is your business or idea trying to solve?
Platform46: A common flaw of organisations is that they cannot tell who the most productive people are, and often the employee’s don’t know either. Even an improvement of a few percent can make a huge difference. With Platform46 a company can break down previous Silo’s. In addition, staff can view everything that is happening about particular customers, employee’s, projects, and business units at a click of a button – anytime, anywhere.
IPitch: How long have you been in business for?
Platform46: Platform46 was founded in May 2009
IPitch: Who are the founders and what are their backgrounds?
Platform46:
Tim Ayling – CEO
Previously VP Asia-Pac Entrust Inc. Tim has an MSc in Secure E-Commerce & is undergoing an MBA from AGSM. He has global experience having worked in the software industry in Australia, Asia, UK, Scandinavia & South Africa.
Richard Atkinson – CTO
Richard has 12 years experience managing web projects and software development teams. He was the Web Technologies Manager at the Reserve Bank of Australia for 10 years.
IPitch How much traction do you have in the market? Have you had any ‘big wins’ so far?
Platform46: We have been concentrating on building a partner network. We are currently deploying over ten partners for their own use, with a view to them reselling to their customers. We’re not able to talk about our big wins at this stage, but happy to do under an NDA!
IPitch: What’s the end goal / exit strategy for your business?
Platform46: We’re looking firstly to build a successful money-making company. The end-goal is to either IPO or, more likely, be acquired by a company who can take our technology and take their solutions to a new level.
IPitch: Are you looking to raise money?
Platform46: The short answer is “Yes!” We are currently seeking approximately $250,000 of investment to enable us to drive the growth we need in a very fast-paced market. At this point we have enough capital to continue what we’re doing, but we are very keen to expand outside of Australia, especially the UK & US – even potentially Asia.
IPitch: What does an ideal investor look like to you?
Platform46: The ideal investor is someone who “gets” what we’re doing, and can add value outside of the money. Experience in foreign markets, for example, would be of huge value to us, especially given that’s where we want to be heading in 2011.
IPitch: Personally, (for the directors or employees) what challenges have you faced in establishing and running a Startup?
Platform46: Fund-raising was certainly a challenge, though we closed our first round of $200,000 in January. The most common obstacle in the sales cycle has been the fact that we are a startup, and hence we can be perceived as a risk. This is another reason to have our partners use the software for free – giving us immediate users.
IPitch: Have you come across any resources that you think are just awesome, and you’d like to share with other Australian Startups. If so, what are they?
Platform46: Well I’m no accountant, but I find SAASU hugely impressive. Free for twenty transactions a month – I tell everyone about them, including friends of mine who run their own 1-man bands. Zoho CRM is pretty good too, for startups… I’m not sure how it would scale as the team grows, but it’s free for three users & anything that’s free at startup level is a good thing
IPitch: Is there an opportunity you’re looking for to bring your Startup to the next level? If so, what is it?
Platform46: We are looking at two avenues to take our business to the next level:
1. OEM partners, where established software vendors white-label our software as a notification add-on to their products
2. New resellers, especially in the CRM & ERP markets
Startup Profile: Handle Your Own PR
By Gareth Rose on Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
Handle Your Own PR’ is a Do it Yourself PR alternative for small businesses who can’t afford agency fees.
IPitch: What problem is your business trying to solve?
Handle Your Own PR: We had a PR business that specialised in small businesses, start ups and entrepreneurs. Over the years we realised there were lost of businesses that had a great new product or service, they needed publicity and the media would probably love their idea, but they simply couldn’t afford agency fees. We decided to offer an online DIY PR alternative where we offer free advice as to how to run a PR campaign as well as selling downloadable media contact lists and offering a press release writing service.
IPitch: How long have you been in business for?
Handle Your Own PR: We launched the site www.handleyourownpr.com.au in March 2009 but it was a very simple site at that stage. Over the last 12 months we have reinvested in the site and have had a new design, extensive CMS and a data management system put in place. The site was effectively relaunched in March 2010.
IPitch: Who are the founders and what are their backgrounds?
Handle Your Own PR: HYOPR was created by Simone Heydon and Jules Brooke in Melbourne and later joined by Rod Brandenburg and Larry Hedges. Rod is the ex CFO of Webjet and Atex and Larry Hedges is the ex-Chairman and founding partner of www.brewtopia.com.au.
Jules Brooke
Jules spent ten years in advertising sales (press) before moving into the graphic design industry where she was a founding partner in a successful graphic design company before going on to hold senior management positions in Australia (Sydney and Melbourne) and in London.
Now she is an entrepreneur. Jules set up the ‘traditional’ PR agency, Handle Communications in 2003 and was joined by Simone in 2005. After many years working with small clients, the two women set up Handle Your Own PR in 2009 for people who need PR but may not have the funds to employ an agency and are happy to do the hard work themselves.
Simone Heydon
Simone began her career working at DDB Needham on many ‘below the line’ projects including sales promotion, sampling and events for companies like Cadbury Schweppes, Bertolli, Cottees and The Australian Dairy Corporation.
In 1998 Simone joined Communicado Marketing Communications. For four years she managed sales promotions, point of sale and marketing material production and public relations campaigns for blue chip companies. Simone became a partner at Handle Communications in 2005 and works across all clients and facets of the business.
IPitch: How much traction do you have in the market?
Handle Your Own PR: We have definitely made some noise in the market place. Our PR experience has allowed us to ‘PR the DIY PR business’ quite a bit. We’ve had a lot of exposure in business press over the last year.
The site is now live and trading successfully with sales in its first four months ahead of expectations. We have approx 50 lists available with an average of 20 – 25 contacts per list. We are looking to build this inventory. We have minimal fixed costs other than site and list maintenance and have already achieved No 1 Google position on the search term DIY PR and are growing in other key word categories.
The most exciting development has been our launch in the US. The HandleYourOwnPR.com site went live a couple of weeks ago. We have found a great business partner in the States, Jennifer Finke, who is running the US arm. This in turn allows us to sell US media lists to Australians and Aussie lists to Americans. We are very excited about the potential growth of this business. We are looking at expanding to the UK next and are in negotiations with a potential partner.
In 2011 we hope to increase the number of international partners, and we are looking to expand into Canada, South Africa and perhaps India.
IPitch: What’s the end goal / exit strategy for your business?
Handle Your Own PR: Our clear intention is to build up a global business that will be bought out by either a large PR firm (this model picks up those businesses that it is not cost effective to service) or some other business in a media-related field. The HYOPR model provides pretty much passive/hands free income as long as the site is marketed and the media contacts are kept up to date. It would be easy for it to be transferred to another owner.
IPitch: Are you looking to raise money?
Handle Your Own PR: Yes. We need funds to develop the website further, help us with global expansion and pay marketing and social media agency fees.
IPitch: What does an ideal investor look like to you?
Handle Your Own PR: Our investor will ideally love the business concept and offer advice if requested but otherwise they leave us to get on with the job of building the business. Media or IT background would be a positive but is not necessary. The opportunities are extensive as the model is rolled out globally.
IPitch: What is the biggest lesson you’ve learnt OR ‘one piece of advice’ – you have about running a Startup?
Handle Your Own PR: You need to have a passion and determination for the business that will drive you when things aren’t turning out the way you expect. The journey will often twist and turn in totally unexpected and unpredictable ways but if you have your eye firmly focused on the end goal, you will get there in the end. There may also be people who don’t like your idea or think it won’t work and you have to ignore them and keep persevering!
IPitch: Have you come across any resources that you think are just awesome, and you’d like to share with other Australian Startups. If so, what are they?
Handle Your Own PR: Well, obviously we would like to suggest www.handleyourownpr.com.au for people wanting cost effective marketing! We also LOVE www.sourcebottle.com.au where the media post requests for interview subjects or products to review (and it’s free!). I highly recommend involvement with www.pitchclub.com and www.thehive.org.au for entrepreneurial networking and investor pitching opportunities in the flesh. And of course, ipitch!
IPitch: Is there an opportunity you’re looking for to bring your Startup to the next level?
Handle Your Own PR: We need an investor. We are seeking $150,000 - $250,000 in exchange for 10 – 20% of the business. Based on current forecasts the business has a 5 year NPV of over $7 million based on a 20% return and thus the investment is currently discounted significantly. The cash raised is to be used to accelerate off and online marketing and PR of the business, development of further list inventory and costs associated with the completion of the international agreements.
Upon signing an NDA a complete business plan including financial forecasts can be provided to facilitate further discussions.
Check out Handle Your Own PR’s IPitch profile and follow them here
Startup Profile: ODI Modular Computers
By Gareth Rose on Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
ODI-MC (O’Dwyer Innovations – Modular Computers) is a subsidiary of O’Dwyer Innovations and was incorporated in March 2010. It has the purpose of creating a next-generation Modular Computer platform that will allow end-users to easily construct and upgrade computing and home entertainment devices using stackable modules. Read more
Bootstrapping a startup for under $1,000 - Technology, Cloud Hosting & Sweat Equity
By Guest Author on Thursday, May 6th, 2010
This is a guest article from an iPitch member, Jason Kotchoff. He is Co-Founder of FinancialModelTraining.com, which offers online financial modelling courses for careers in Finance & Banking.
So every programmer with a touch of entrepreneur in them has heard how easy it is to bootstrap a startup from their garage, grow it out real quick and hand it over to google for a cool billion (nice job Chad & Steve). The truth is, for every guy who made it big (and I have met quite a few of them), there are loads and loads of us out there devoting countless hours to projects that will and do fail.
Luckily, trying and failing doesn’t cost much more than the sweat equity involved these days and if you have the right skillset and a great idea, there’s no reason you can’t shift quadrants and build it yourself on the cheap!
Thanks to maturing web frameworks like Ruby on Rails and cheap hosting like EC2, my most recent venture (shameless plug - FinancialModelTraining.com), has an actual financial cost of launching that could be broken down as: Read more
Startups are far less risky than traditional employment
By Todd Sullivan on Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
This is a guest article from an iPitch member, Todd Sullivan. He is Co-Founder of Globetrooper.com, a social platform for people wanting to travel the globe together.
There are countless studies, debates and blog posts that suggest it takes a large risk appetite to even consider launching a startup. To the average person, it seems completely irrational to leave a stable job for the remote chance of entrepreneurial success. Yet, despite these observations, the startup scene is alive and flourishing (just look at the popularity of iPitch). So why do entrepreneurs continue to take these seemingly excessive risks?
Risk is subjective; we don’t all value the same risk factors equally. For example, many people wouldn’t travel to Afghanistan due to the ensuing war. But others, rightly or wrongly, couldn’t bare to pass up the opportunity because they see a nation of invaluable lessons and cultural treasures. We could write an entire book debating the two viewpoints, but that would be futile because we’d be debating the essence of human nature.
The same goes for startups. There’s no denying that leaving stable employment places pressure on income. But just like the previous analogy, people place different levels of importance on different risk factors. Some are terrified by the potential loss of income, while others can’t bear the thought of passing up opportunity. And that was certainly my experience.
After conceiving the concept of a social travel platform, I never once hesitated for lack of employment or income. But that doesn’t mean I had a large appetite for risk. Quite the contrary, I was more risk averse than ever. But my focus wasn’t on what might go wrong, it was on the risk of not making the most of what was standing right in front of me.
And that’s the clincher, you simply cannot buy back time. No matter how likely or unlikely you are to succeed, time spent is time spent forever. That’s why I wholeheartedly believe startups are less risky than traditional employment. Because even if it goes so badly that you need to search the streets for food and shelter, at least you’ll know you tried. Which is something you’ll never be able to say otherwise. And for me, the risk of that is much more terrifying than the risk of losing an esoteric job title.
Todd will continue to share his startup experience as Globetrooper.com matures. This is his fourth business venture, but first product-only startup. He previously worked with other startup founders as a private equiteer and software engineer.
Where to Cowork Around Australia
By Rachel Youens on Monday, December 7th, 2009
Sure one day you’ll have an awesome office with ping pong tables and bean bag chairs and lofted cubicles, but if you’re at the beginning of you startup journey, it’s a good chance that your office and your home are one and the same. Working solo in a web business can be a lonely endeavor and you trade the benefits of gossip and camaraderie for the ability to work in your underwear. MediaScope-owner Denise Shrivell has loved how online business has allowed her to spend more time at home with her children but says the hardest times have been the highs and the lows when you want someone to celebrate or commiserate with and all you have is a house cat or a three-year-old. No man is an island, even when it comes to work, and more and more coworking spaces are opening up around the world that solve the problem of solitude, often with the added benefit of providing a professional meeting place for your clients and office supplies like copiers and fax machines.
98Riley
Open for just under a year, as of December 2009, this space near Hyde Park in Sydney has a great collection of big-name residents including MitchelLake, Pollenizer and mobile marketing company mogeneration. Space rental runs from a flat $350 ( a special until the end February 2010) to drop in for coffee, bandwidth and power to $650 for a monthly desk rental. You can read Pollenizer’s Phil Morle’s introduction to the space and the idea behind it here.
It appears mogeneration and Pollenizer are indeed working out of the same office but not the 98Riley spot. We’ll find out for sure if they are still offering some sort of coworking experience and what has become of 98Riley. Check for updates.
Jelly
The Jelly concept was born in New York in 2006 and has spread (get it…jelly..spread?) around the world since, creating an awesome international co-working experience for travelers. There are jelly co-working events in six Australian cities with some of the nation’s creative and active business people helping to host them. These informal gatherings range from locations like coffee houses to living rooms and there is frequently an RSVP so that the organizers knows how many to expect. Click here to find the dates, times and RSVPs for the Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Gold Coast, Central Coast NSW, Brisbane. You can read one attendees review of a Sydney Jelly here.
Hackerspace
This Sydney coworking group is as much for hobbyists as it is for workers and focuses more on tangible electronics, photography, 3d printing and other crafts. These spaces bring together a group to share tools, equipment and expertise, not to mention a workspace for those who may not have the luxury of a garage or workshop. This group meets on Saturdays at 662 Princes Highway, Kogarah and invite you to follow along with member’s projects on their blog.
Open Hub
This Melbourne coworking space, located in the heart of downtown, celebrated its second birthday in October 2009. Prices range from $120 to be a roaming member that pops in occasionally to $600 for 24/7 access, a desk, storage, meeting rooms and more.
Inspire9
This Melbourne co-working spot is offered by web development agency Inspire9. They have opened space for freelancers and self-employed complete with coffee, coke fridges and wifi. The company is currently offering the space just outside the city in Richmond for free but asking for small donations.
Coworking Canberra
This space is just about to open after two years of effort. The plan is to use part of Response Driven Marketing’s office space to create a coworking area with affordable space for freelancers and founders. As of December 2009, the cost model was still being worked out for the space but they are accepting expressions of interest as they hash out the final details.
Tips for Australians Traveling On Business in The US
By Rachel Youens on Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
Traveling seems easy enough, you buy a ticket, book a room and go. But if you’re trying to do it on the cheap while still keeping that professional image or are planning to be on the go for weeks or months at a time it can become a drag. Here are some tips we have gathered from international Australian businesses like mobile marketing company QMcodes that will help make your travel through the US smoother.
• Use Craigslist to find a place to stay: Although Craigslist isn’t very popular in Australia, it’s extremely popular in the US. If you need to be in a city just long enough to make it too expensive to stay in a hotel or not quite long enough to warrant taking out a lease on a flat (you should say apartment there, btw) Craigslist should be your first stop. Especially with the downturn of the economy, many people rent out rooms in their homes or entire flats while they are away so you can get a great price on a place for a week or more, complete with kitchen, linens and possibly a few new local friends. Other useful sites for finding cheap accommodations include Hotwire.com, priceline.com, couchsurfing.com and airbandb.com
• Get a Boingo account: America is quickly changing from a patchwork of wireless to a tightly woven blanket and Boingo allows you to hop from spot to spot using cheap wireless around the US. Boingo accounts work at McDonalds, Starbucks (the only place you might find a decent American coffee anyhow), Marriotts and Sheratons among hundreds of other locations. For under $10 you can get a month’s worth of internet from Boingo and the account is good regardless of what state you’re in, so it’s ideal if you are planning a trip that takes you to multiple states. Download the Boingo app to help you find Boingo locations near you.
Read more
Time Running Out For Small Biz Equipment Tax Break
By Rachel Youens on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
Christmas is coming early for you developer who has been begging for a faster computer. The Small Business and General Business Tax Break was introduced as an investment allowance a year ago, to boost business investment during the global financial crisis. It has been extended in this year’s Budget to allow small businesses (those turning over less than $2 million) to claim an extra 50% tax deduction on eligible assets bought by 31 December 2009, over last year’s 30%. You must spend more than $1,000 per capital asset to be eligible for the deduction. You do not have to apply to get this deduction, simply to purchase before the new year and prepare to deduct it on your tax return under the Business and Professional schedule.
As the deadline for eligible purchases draws closer, the Australian Tax Office has developed some online information materials to help explain the business tax break to businesses. You can save a little money on consulting with your lawyer about the specifics of the tax break by going over this entry from Australian law firm Moore Stephens containing all the most common questions asked by their clients.
