[LINK] private question for off list - consulting

[Tom Worthington]

On 06/12/13 11:24, Robert Brockway wrote:

> (1) A lot of small businesses would try to save money ...

I gave up trying to provide services to small business, as they were
unable, or unwilling, to pay. Even larger businesses seem to be more
willing to pay a lawyer to take their computer supplier to court, after
the project goes wrong, than hire experts to do it right.

> (2) Late payment was a real problem ...

I found lawyers to be the worst late payers and government agencies the
most prompt.

> (3) I spent a lot of time writing quotes. ...

I charge in increments of one day of work, with a minimum of one day.

> (4) General IT consulting like this can be problematic. ...

It helps to remind the customer your time costs money. If they want
you to attend a meeting, then make it clear that will cost them. I find 
this saves a lot of time wasting meetings.

> On 06/12/13 11:43, Roger Clarke wrote: Personally, I'd say 'insource
> your book-keeping', but 'outsource the accounting and tax' ...

I use Saasu.com to do my bookkeeping myself and the BAS returns. My
accountant then download the transactions to do the annual accounts and 
tax returns (and correct my mistakes). The annual accounts and tax 
return are then easy, as all the hard parts are done quarterly for the GST.

> For a business like this, I'd use cash accounting ...

Yes, I load the statement from my company bank account into the
accounting package, add extra details and make sure the accounts agree
with the bank statement. Also I check I have documentation for each 
transaction.

> Oh yes, and incorporation does make it look better, and makes
> insurance easier ...

Being a member of a professional body covered by Professional Standards
Legislation (such as ACS "Certified Professional") helps.


-- 
Tom Worthington FACS CP, TomW Communications Pty Ltd. t: 0419496150
The Higher Education Whisperer http://blog.highereducationwhisperer.com/
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Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Research School of Computer Science,
Australian National University http://cs.anu.edu.au/courses/COMP7310/