The current $20,000 instant asset write-off is set to end on 30 June 2026.

If no extension is announced, it is expected to drop back to just $1,000 per asset.

That’s not a minor adjustment.
It fundamentally changes how and when businesses invest.

What the Instant Asset Write-Off Actually Allows

Under the current rules, eligible small businesses can:

• Immediately deduct assets costing less than $20,000
• Apply the threshold per asset, not in total
• Claim multiple purchases
• Access the deduction in the year the asset is installed and ready for use

That final point is critical.

It’s not about when you buy the asset.
It’s about when it is operational.

Where Businesses Get This Wrong

A common mistake is assuming that purchasing before 30 June is enough.

It isn’t.

If the asset is not installed and ready for use by 30 June 2026, the deduction may not apply under the current threshold.

This is where timing becomes more important than intention.

Why This Matters More Than Tax

The instant asset write-off is often seen as a tax benefit.

In reality, it is a cash flow timing tool.

Bringing forward a deduction means:

• Lower taxable income now
• Improved short-term cash flow
• Faster recovery of investment cost

After June 2026, that same asset may need to be depreciated over several years.

Same purchase.
Very different financial impact.

What Smart Businesses Are Doing Now

The businesses getting value from this are not rushing out to spend.

They are reviewing planned investments and asking:

• What were we already going to invest in?
• Does bringing this forward improve our position?
• Will this asset actually drive efficiency or growth?

This is not about buying for tax.

It is about aligning timing with strategy.

The Right Question to Ask

The wrong question is:

“What can I buy before 30 June?”

The better question is:

“What were we planning to invest in over the next 12–18 months, and does it make sense to act earlier?”

Final Thought

Decisions like this sit at the intersection of tax, cash flow, and strategy.

Handled well, they can improve your position.

Handled poorly, they simply accelerate spending without improving outcomes.

Need Help Modelling This Properly?

If you are considering bringing forward asset purchases, it is worth modelling the impact properly.

Not just the tax outcome, but the cash flow and business impact as a whole.

Wayne Wanders is an experienced Business Advisor and Outsourced CFO who can help to scale and grow your business profitably. 

Contact Wayne on wayne@arealcfo.com.au or 0412 227 052.

Click on the below buttons to access other free Resources developed by Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO to help your business scale and grow profitably

Want a confidential discussion on your business situation, help with your grant application or to learn more about my Outsourced CFO Services, simply email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052

The Reserve Bank of Australia is cutting interchange fees and banning surcharges, but the real impact on business margins is often misunderstood.

The End of “Pass-Through” Card Fees

For years, many Australian businesses have treated card fees as a pass-through cost.

Customer pays by card → fee gets added → business stays whole.
Simple.

But recent changes from the Reserve Bank of Australia are about to fundamentally reset that model.

From 1 October 2026, two things happen at once:

• Interchange fees are cut significantly, with the interchange component dropping from around 0.8% → 0.3%
• Card surcharges are banned

This changes how many businesses manage pricing, margins, and profitability.

What Are Merchant Fees in Australia?

Breaking Down the Typical 1.8% Merchant Fee

Let’s start with the headline number most businesses recognise:

“I pay about 1.8% in merchant or card fees in Australia.”

That 1.8% isn’t one fee, it’s a bundle:

• ~0.8% interchange fees (set within the payments system)
• ~1.0% made up of card network fees (e.g. Visa, Mastercard) and your provider’s margin

How the RBA Interchange Fee Changes Impact Your Costs

In simple terms, your total cost does fall.

Using the example above:
1.8% → ~1.3% (if interchange savings are fully passed through)

So yes, your costs reduce by around 0.5%.

But that’s only half the story.

The Hidden Impact of the Credit Card Surcharge Ban

Why Lower Fees Don’t Always Mean Higher Profit

If you were already absorbing merchant fees:
👉 Good outcome, your costs fall and your margin improves.

But if you were passing on credit card surcharges:

• 👉 Your costs drop 0.5%
• 👉 Your revenue drops 1.8%

That’s a net negative impact on margin.

Example: How the Surcharge Ban Affects a $100 Sale

Old vs New Payment Economics

Let’s say you sell something for $100.

Old world (with surcharge):

• Customer pays: $101.80
• You receive: $100

New world (no surcharge):

You now have two choices.

Option 1: Absorb the cost

• Customer pays: $100
• You receive: ~$98.60–$98.80

Option 2: Adjust pricing

• Customer pays: ~$101–$102
• You maintain your margin

How to Reduce Merchant Fees in Australia

If you’re currently passing on merchant fees, you need to act, not drift.

1. Review Your Payment Provider

Many businesses haven’t focused on their merchant rate because:

“It was always passed on anyway.”

That mindset no longer works.

2. Reduce Your Underlying Payment Costs

Start with:

• Least-cost routing (debit over credit)
• Lower-cost providers
• Alternative payment methods like PayID and Osko

3. Rethink Your Pricing Strategy

You have two options:

• Do nothing → your margins fall
• Adjust pricing → recover some or all of the cost

But make it a conscious decision.

What Businesses Should Do Before October 2026

• Review your merchant fee structure
• Understand your payment mix (debit vs credit)
• Model the impact on margins
• Decide how you will adjust pricing

The Bottom Line on RBA Card Fee Changes

Yes, merchant fees in Australia are coming down.

But the bigger shift is this:

You’re losing the ability to pass them on.

What was once a neutral cost is now a direct margin decision.

Ignore it, and you will feel it.
Manage it, and you can come out ahead.

Next Steps

If you want to review your current merchant costs, speak to a provider like Shabaas Pay (full disclosure: a business I work with).

If you want help working through what this means for your pricing and margins, feel free to reach out.

Wayne Wanders is an experienced Business Advisor and Outsourced CFO who can help to scale and grow your business profitably. 

Contact Wayne on wayne@arealcfo.com.au or 0412 227 052.

Click on the below buttons to access other free Resources developed by Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO to help your business scale and grow profitably

Want a confidential discussion on your business situation, help with your grant application or to learn more about my Outsourced CFO Services, simply email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052

A chairman brought me into a business for one reason:

The CEO knew the product inside out…
But had very little cash flow management experience.

So we built a simple cloud-based cash flow forecast the whole leadership team could see and use.

And everything changed.

Now:
💰 He knew exactly when he could pay people
⚠️ He knew when pressure was coming
⏱️ He knew when to move early instead of react late

🔍 It even picked up when the bookkeeper hadn’t billed some clients

No guesswork. No surprises.

He ran the business off the model.

Even more importantly, it changed how they made decisions.

When their cash buffer approached ~$200k:
🚀 They didn’t wait
💡 They raised capital early

When projections showed it happening again:
📊 They were already preparing the next raise

That was the difference.

Cash flow forecasting wasn’t about the numbers.
It was about timing decisions before they became problems.

Most businesses didn’t fail because they ran out of cash.

They failed because they saw it too late.

If you don’t have this level of visibility, you’re guessing.

If you want help building a model like this → reach out.

Wayne Wanders is an experienced Business Advisor and Outsourced CFO who can help to scale and grow your business profitably. 

Contact Wayne on wayne@arealcfo.com.au or 0412 227 052.

Click on the below buttons to access other free Resources developed by Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO to help your business scale and grow profitably

Want a confidential discussion on your business situation, help with your grant application or to learn more about my Outsourced CFO Services, simply email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052

Most hiring decisions don’t fail because the role was wrong.

They fail because the timing and expectations were wrong.

On paper, it often looks fine.
Revenue is growing. The team is stretched. There is enough cash in the bank.

So, the hire feels justified.

But two questions matter more than anything.

📍 Can your business actually afford to hire this employee from a cash flow perspective
📍 What does success look like for this hire

What Does It Really Cost to Hire an Employee?

It is never just salary.

A $100k employee is usually closer to $120k to $140k once you include superannuation, payroll tax, tools, systems, and the reality that productivity is lower in the early months.

Most of that cost hits before you see the return.

This is where many hiring decisions create pressure on cash flow.

Define What Success Looks Like Before You Hire

Before hiring a new employee, you need to define what success actually looks like.

Not “help the team” or “support growth”.

Clear outcomes.

📍 What is this person responsible for
📍 What do they need to deliver
📍 When should you start seeing results

That might mean generating a defined amount of revenue within six months, freeing up time to focus on sales, or removing a bottleneck that is slowing the business down.

If you cannot define success clearly, you cannot measure whether the hire is working.

When Will the New Employee Pay for Themselves?

This is the question most businesses skip.

You need to understand how long it will take for the hire to generate or support cash coming into the business.

In many cases, the timeline looks like this.

📍 Hire starts today
📍 Productive in 2 months
📍 Work invoiced in month 3
📍 Cash lands in month 4 or 5

That creates a gap of several months where the business is funding the cost before seeing any return.

This is where cash flow pressure builds.

How Hiring Impacts Your Cash Flow

Hiring a new employee affects cash flow immediately.

Costs increase from day one, while revenue or efficiency gains take time.

Before making a decision, you need to map your expected cash flow over the next 90 to 180 days.

Look at what cash is currently available, what payments are already committed, and when income is realistically expected to come in.

Then add the impact of the new hire.

If cash becomes tight at any point, not just overall, the business is exposed.

Because most businesses do not fail due to lack of profit.

They fail because they run out of cash at a specific point in time.

Final Thought

Hiring an employee is not just a growth decision.

It is a cash flow decision.

If your business can support the timing gap and you are clear on what success looks like, hiring can accelerate growth.

If not, it can create pressure very quickly.

If you are thinking about hiring and are unsure how it will impact your cash flow, this is usually where we start with clients, mapping the numbers and defining what success needs to look like before the decision is made.

Wayne Wanders is an experienced Business Advisor and Outsourced CFO who can help to scale and grow your business profitably. 

Contact Wayne on wayne@arealcfo.com.au or 0412 227 052.

Click on the below buttons to access other free Resources developed by Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO to help your business scale and grow profitably

Want a confidential discussion on your business situation, help with your grant application or to learn more about my Outsourced CFO Services, simply email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052

Not because they don’t understand it.

Because it doesn’t feel urgent.

The Problem Isn’t Payday Super

It’s July 2026.

That’s when two systems collide:

📅 April–June super is due
💸 Super starts being paid with every payroll

You pay super twice. Almost at once.

Why This Will Catch People

Most businesses haven’t actually set that cash aside.

They’ve relied on the timing gap.

July removes it.

💨 Cash leaves faster than expected.

What To Do Now

📊 Build a real cash flow forecast
🧪 Model July as a spike, not a normal month
🏦 Start holding super in cash now

Bottom Line

This isn’t about compliance.

It’s about cash timing.

And most businesses won’t see the problem…

Until July hits.

Need Help?

If you’re not 100% clear what July looks like for your cash…

Now is the time to fix it.

I help businesses build practical cash flow forecasts that show exactly when pressure hits, and what to do about it.

💬 Want some help to map this out reach out (contact details below).

Wayne Wanders is an experienced Business Advisor and Outsourced CFO who can help to scale and grow your business profitably. 

Contact Wayne on wayne@arealcfo.com.au or 0412 227 052.

Click on the below buttons to access other free Resources developed by Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO to help your business scale and grow profitably

Want a confidential discussion on your business situation, help with your grant application or to learn more about my Outsourced CFO Services, simply email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052

I had a client hit hard during the Global Financial Crisis.

Revenue dropped.
Business confidence disappeared.
Activity slowed almost overnight.

By the time I got involved:

They had over $300k in tax debt (ATO + payroll tax).

Not a strategy problem.
A cash problem.

So we did something simple.

📅 Every Friday at 10am
📊 One cash flow conversation
🔍 Focus: the next 4 weeks only

Each week we asked:
👉 Can we pay staff?
👉 Can we meet tax obligations?
👉 If not, what needs to be renegotiated now?

No guessing.
No hoping.
Just decisions.

Week by week, they:
✔️ Stabilised cash
✔️ Negotiated with the ATO
✔️ Paid down the debt
✔️ Stayed alive

Today, the business still exists.

Without that forecast and discipline?

❌ Likely liquidation
❌ Directors personally liable
❌ Business gone
❌ Personal assets at risk

Cash flow forecasting isn’t about reports.
It’s about survival decisions before it’s too late.

If you don’t have a clear view of the next 4–8 weeks, you’re flying blind.

I help businesses build simple, practical cash flow forecasts that drive decisions (not spreadsheets).

Send me a message if you want to put one in place.

Wayne Wanders is an experienced Business Advisor and Outsourced CFO who can help to scale and grow your business profitably. 

Contact Wayne on wayne@arealcfo.com.au or 0412 227 052.

Click on the below buttons to access other free Resources developed by Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO to help your business scale and grow profitably

Want a confidential discussion on your business situation, help with your grant application or to learn more about my Outsourced CFO Services, simply email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052

You wouldn’t see a team at this weekend’s Formula 1 in Melbourne start a race without knowing exactly how much fuel they need to finish.

In business, cash is your fuel.
But many business owners are still racing without knowing how much is left in the tank.

Do you know:

• how long your cash will last?
• when pressure points are coming?
• what decisions today mean for cash in three or six months?

If you want to build a simple cashflow forecast to see how much cash is really in your tank, send me a message.

Contact Wayne on wayne@arealcfo.com.au or 0412 227 052.

Click on the below buttons to access other free Resources developed by Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO to help your business scale and grow profitably

Want a confidential discussion on your business situation, help with your grant application or to learn more about my Outsourced CFO Services, simply email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052

When business owners talk about what keeps them awake at night, they usually talk about costs.

Wages feel too high.
Suppliers keep pushing prices up.
Overheads slowly creep higher.

But in my experience, the biggest drain on a business is not found in the profit and loss statement.

Financial uncertainty is the most expensive number in your business.

Why Financial Uncertainty Costs More Than High Expenses

High costs are visible. You can see them, measure them, and usually take action.

Financial uncertainty is different. It shows up in the decisions you delay or make without confidence.

When you do not know what your cash position will be next month, you hesitate to hire.
When you are unsure which customers are profitable, you discount to win work.
When you do not trust your numbers, you delay investing or invest at the wrong time.

This is why financial uncertainty becomes more expensive than wages, rent, or supplier costs. Every uncertain decision carries a hidden cost.

How Financial Uncertainty Quietly Damages Businesses

Financial uncertainty rarely creates one obvious problem. Instead, it causes a series of small, compounding issues:

• Missed opportunities because decisions are delayed
• Reactive choices driven by fear rather than strategy
• Over-reliance on gut feel instead of financial insight
• Stress and fatigue that eventually lead to poor judgement

I regularly work with profitable businesses that still feel like they are struggling. The issue is not revenue or margins. It is a lack of clarity around cash flow and timing.

This is why I often say The Most Expensive Number in Your Business Is Uncertainty.

Costs Can Be Controlled. Financial Uncertainty Cannot Be Ignored.

A business with a high-cost base but strong financial visibility can still make confident decisions.

A business with low costs but high financial uncertainty cannot.

That is why two businesses with similar revenue and margins can feel completely different to run. One owner feels in control. The other feels like they are constantly reacting.

The difference is not the numbers themselves.
It is certainty.

Reducing Financial Uncertainty Starts With Better Questions

More reports do not automatically create clarity.

Reducing financial uncertainty comes from being able to confidently answer questions like:

• How much cash will the business have in 30, 60, and 90 days?
• Which customers and services actually generate cash?
• What happens to cash flow if sales slow or costs increase?
• How much can the business safely invest or pay out?

When you can answer these questions, decisions become faster, calmer, and far more effective.

Why a CFO Mindset Reduces Financial Uncertainty

An outsourced CFO is not there to simply report on last month’s numbers.

Their role is to reduce financial uncertainty.

By turning historical data into forward-looking insight.
By testing decisions before they are made.
By focusing on timing and cash flow, not just totals.

From a CFO perspective, financial uncertainty is the most expensive number in your business because it clouds judgement, confidence, and momentum.

Final Thought

You can survive high costs.
You can recover from a bad quarter.

But ongoing financial uncertainty quietly erodes value from your business every day.

If you want to reduce the most expensive number in your business and replace it with clarity and confidence, start by improving your financial visibility.

If you would like help turning your numbers into certainty, get in touch

Contact Wayne on wayne@arealcfo.com.au or 0412 227 052.

Click on the below buttons to access other free Resources developed by Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO to help your business scale and grow profitably

Want a confidential discussion on your business situation, help with your grant application or to learn more about my Outsourced CFO Services, simply email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052

Many business owners assume that if revenue is going up, the business must be doing well.
In reality, that assumption causes more financial stress than almost any other.

Revenue growth feels positive.
More customers. More activity. Bigger numbers.

But profitable growth is what determines whether a business becomes stronger or more fragile over time.

I see this pattern repeatedly:

• Revenue is rising
• The team is busier than ever
• Cash is tighter
• Stress is higher
• Decisions feel reactive, not deliberate

On paper, the business is growing.
Operationally and financially, it is under more pressure than before.

What Revenue Growth Actually Measures

Revenue growth focuses on the top line.
It tells you how much you are selling, not how well the business is performing.

It often ignores:

• Cost to acquire customers
• Delivery costs
• Working capital strain
• Cash timing
• Operational capacity

A business can grow revenue rapidly while quietly eroding margin and cash.

What Profitable Growth Looks At Instead

Profitable growth asks a different set of questions:

• Which customers generate real profit?
• Which products or services carry sustainable margin?
• What growth can be funded without creating cash strain?
• Where should growth be slowed, reshaped, or even stopped

Profitable growth is not about growing slower.
It is about growing with intent and control.

Why This Distinction Matters

Businesses that chase revenue often experience:

• Cash flow stress
• Constant firefighting
• Overworked teams
• Reduced owner confidence

Businesses that design for profitable growth build:

• Stronger margins
• Predictable cash flow
• Better decision-making
• A business that supports the owner, not the other way around

Growth should reduce pressure as the business scales, not amplify it.

If your revenue is increasing but the business feels harder to run, that is a signal worth paying attention to.

If you want to understand the difference in your business and what to do about it, reach out.

Contact Wayne on wayne@arealcfo.com.au or 0412 227 052.

Click on the below buttons to access other free Resources developed by Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO to help your business scale and grow profitably

Want a confidential discussion on your business situation, help with your grant application or to learn more about my Outsourced CFO Services, simply email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052

Getting paid on time isn’t about chasing harder — it’s about making it easier for your customer to pay you.

Here are four simple changes you can make to your invoices that can significantly speed up payment.

1. Always include a reference number

Many customers, especially larger businesses and government departments require a reference number such as a purchase order, job number, agreement ID or booking reference.

Too often, this gets missed because the accounting or sales system doesn’t capture it properly.

When that reference is missing, your invoice often stalls while someone tries to work out who approved the work in the first place. That delay can easily add weeks.

👉 If a reference number was agreed, make sure it appears clearly on every invoice.

2. Make your invoice easy to understand

This is more important than most businesses realise.

Sometimes it’s as simple as the description. The customer ordered a “widget”, but your system lists it as “wodget” — or worse, “14538X34ZT”. That small mismatch can stop payment while someone checks what it actually relates to.

In larger organisations, it gets more complex. If your product or service spans multiple departments, a single lump-sum invoice often won’t get approved. No one wants to sign off on costs they can’t verify.

👉 In these cases, issue separate invoices per department.

If one approver is away, it won’t delay the entire payment.

And on larger jobs, it’s worth asking:

“What do you need to see on the invoice to get this approved quickly?”

If your system can’t do it, create a customised invoice outside the system. The time spent is usually repaid many times over.

3. Don’t send incorrect invoices

This sounds obvious, but it happens far too often.

The most common issue? The wrong company name.

Once details are wrong, the invoice gets questioned, returned, or parked — and payment is delayed.

👉 Getting the basics right builds confidence and keeps the process moving.

4. Use an actual due date (not just “30 days”)

“Invoiced: Due 30 days” sounds fine — until you see what actually happens.

If a manager sits on the invoice for 25 days before approving it, accounts payable often restart the clock from when they receive it.  That can quietly turn 30 days into 55.

👉 Instead, include a clear due date.

When accounts receive an already-approved invoice that’s nearly due, it’s far more likely to be paid promptly.

The bottom line

If you want to get paid faster, make it easier for your customer to:

• approve the invoice, and
• pass it quickly to accounts payable.

Small changes in how you invoice can make a big difference to your cash flow.

Contact Wayne on wayne@arealcfo.com.au or 0412 227 052.

Click on the below buttons to access other free Resources developed by Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO to help your business scale and grow profitably

Want a confidential discussion on your business situation, help with your grant application or to learn more about my Outsourced CFO Services, simply email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052