Business

City of Sydney – fit for now and the future

The City of Sydney is supporting business and residents while cementing Sydney’s place as a regional powerhouse. A record budget of nearly $2 billion over the next decade will provide the infrastructure necessary to support economic and population growth while attracting trade, tourism and high-value jobs. This investment is on top of the round-the-clock services delivered every day to meet the needs of over one million people who visit the City each day. “The City of Sydney is ‘fit for the future’ and has the scale and capacity to ensure Sydney continues to deliver its potential as a thriving, business-friendly and liveable global city,” Lord Mayor Clover Moore said. “The City has more than 400 infrastructure projects planned for the next 10 years. These will generate tens of millions of dollars in new contracts for businesses of all sizes and support around 2,000 new jobs a year. “This comes on top of the $3.9 billion worth of residential and commercial developments we have recently approved, including two new residential buildings in the heart of the city that will be over 230m tall.” “This enormous combination of public and private investment is a vote of confidence in the City of Sydney.” The Independent Pricing and regulatory Tribunal (IPAR) is currently assessing the City’s response to the NSW Government’s ‘Fit for the Future’ program. Members of the public are also able to tell IPART what they think of their councils between now and July 31. Through prudent financial management and forward planning, the City of Sydney has the scale and capacity to meet Sydney’s current and future needs. The NSW Treasury Corporation, TCorp, rates the City’s Financial Sustainability as ‘Strong’ with a positive outlook – the only one of 152 NSW Councils to receive this rating. The City is leading its own […]

Unleashed Software-as-a-Service extends QuickBooks Online with comprehensive, online inventory management

SYDNEY – Unleashed Software, the inventory management software-as-a-service (SaaS) developer, has announced an integration with Intuit’s QuickBooks Online business and financial management software to increase the value of cloud-based inventory management systems for medium-sized organisations. The integration enables clients using Unleashed to share customer, supplier, inventory and delivery information with QuickBooks Online to gain real-time insights into their businesses. “By being able to add our inventory management capabilities to their QuickBooks Online account, clients can enjoy enterprise-level functionality previously only available with larger ERP systems,” said Gareth Berry, Chief Executive Officer, Unleashed Software. “Now that we are part of Intuit’s ecosystem, medium-sized businesses can gain comprehensive inventory, procurement, production and sales management capabilities, which combine with QuickBooks Online for a holistic view of business processes. “Customers can now view, monitor, and change asset information across multiple platforms whether they are in the office or on the road, while also administering financial data,” Berry said. “Also, because everything is stored in the cloud, up-to-date information is available in real time for accurate visibility across all channels.” Unleashed connects to a nominated QuickBooks Online company account with a seamless integration, sharing crucial data on customers and suppliers, purchases, sales and stock journal, credits and returns. For example, users can review stock in multiple warehouses across multiple locations at any time, and track the movement of inventory as it happens. From there, they can ensure appropriate accounts are paid or compensated. “We’re delighted that Unleashed is leveraging the power of the QuickBooks Online platform to deliver an integration that provides customers with deep insights into their business performance,” said Avi Golan, Vice President and General Manager, Intuit Developer Group. “This is just the latest example of how Intuit is turning QuickBooks Online into the leading platform for cloud-based small business management solutions and […]

World safety leaders converge on Safety First

The Safety First Conference & Expo will present world-leading safety experts in high level Premium Forums running throughout its four days – May 26 – 29 – in Melbourne this year. More than a dozen speakers, including Griffith University’s Professor Sidney Dekker and DuPont Sustainable Solutions’ Dr Rod Gutierrez have confirmed they are bringing new research, strategies and real-world advice to share with safety professionals via the Premium Forum events. Alternating with free, open briefings taking place throughout the Safety First Conference, the three Premium Forums are intimate sessions on core themes: Safety Leaders Skills, Human Factors for Safety Leaders and Psychological Injury. Key to the Premium Forums will be the opportunity to ask questions of each speaker. Anthony Reed, Event Director for Safety First comments, “One of the real benefits of the Premium Forums is the opportunity to benchmark your practices against best practices and achievements in the industry. Each of the sessions has been designed to give you high level ideas and strategies – and because they’re taking place behind closed doors, you will have a rare opportunity to quiz industry leaders about what they – and you can – do differently to influence safety outcomes.” The Premium Forums include: Premium Forum A – Safety Leaders Skills Pro Tuesday 26 May 1.30pm – 4.00pm Participants will discuss advanced skills including: • Exploring behaviours that can unintentionally boost risk in the workplace • Communicating in ways that help create a culture of safety • Measuring your success as a safety leader A highlight at this event will be speaker Dr Angelica Vecchio-Sadus, HSE Manager, CSIRO Manufacturing Flagship is one of Australia’s top women in health and safety. Her presentation will cover different indicators of success you can use at various stages of the journey – such as measuring lead […]

How to keep the cash rolling in

As most business owners know, cash flow is the lifeblood of any business. Andrew Graham, national head of business solutions, RSM Bird Cameron, said, “It doesn’t matter what line of business you are in, if you are waiting for payment from customers then you can’t pay your suppliers for more products to sell. “It is critical that business owners have strategies in place to manage cash flow and ensure there is enough cash in the business to maintain it, and look at ways to grow.” Twelve ways to improve cash flow 1. Consider giving discounts for payments upfront. Some businesses will have a discount window of a month that customers must pay within to receive the discount. This is easier to enforce than a penalty for late payment and is more attractive to customers. 2. Take deposits on products where possible. This ensures that some cash flow is generated upfront and also assists in locking the customers in to completing the transaction 3. Take as long as you can to pay your bills without incurring a late fee. If a supplier gives 30 days, then take the full 30 so that the cash remains in your business for as long as possible. Pay regular suppliers before others as early payments can generate goodwill and improve the likelihood of obtaining credit and hold off on other for the full payment term. 4. Invest surplus funds in a high-interest-bearing account or other financial vehicle. There’s no point having idle money in a business, but just make sure you can get your hands on it quickly if the need arises. 5. Create a cash flow forecast. Know when the money should come in, when it is likely to come in and when you will have to pay it out. Knowledge is power as […]