From 1 July 2022, there are several changes to superannuation laws that you may be able to take advantage of.

Changes to voluntary contributions

If you are aged between 67 and 74, you will be able to make voluntary contributions into your superannuation without needing to meet the work test. Before 1 July 2022, if you were over the age of 67 you were required to work in gainful employment for at least 40 hours over 30 consecutive days in order to make a voluntary contribution.

The work test is only applicable from 1 July 2022, if you intend to claim a tax deduction for a voluntary contribution.

Bring-forward of non-concessional contributions

From 1 July 2022, you may be able to bring-forward 3 years’ worth of non-concessional contributions up to the age of 75.

If you are 74 years of age on 1 July 2022, and have a total superannuation balance of less than $1.48 million, your non-concessional contribution limit is $330,000 using the bring-forward rule.

Downsizer contributions

If you are over the age of 60 and you sell your family home, you may be able to make a downsizer contribution of $300,000 per person. Before 1 July 2022, the age limit was 65.

Certain eligibility requirements apply, such as owning the main residence for 10 years and making the contribution within 90 days of settlement.

Superannuation guarantee

The superannuation guarantee rate will increase from 10% to 10.5% for earnings after 1 July 2022. This rate is legislated to consistently rise up to 12% for the 2025–26 income year.

First home super saver scheme

From 1 July 2022, the maximum amount of contributions that can be released from your superannuation under the first home super saver scheme (FHSSS) will increase from $30,000 to $50,000. The increase will apply to withdrawal requests from 1 July 2022.

The yearly limit that an individual can apply to withdraw remains the same at $15,000 per year. To be eligible to access the FHSSS, these contributions must be voluntary contributions.

Any of these changes may greatly benefit your ability to grow your retirement savings, and we would be delighted to work with you in this matter.

So, whatu2019s the best way to stay in control of the budgets youu2019ve set? And how can you manage your cashflow position to make sure thereu2019s always enough cash to fund the project?

Understand the costs of each project

Starting a project without fully understanding how much it will cost is a no-no. To keep on top of costs, overheads, staff expenses and general spending, you need at least a ballpark figure for this expenditure. In an ideal world, youu2019ll want to be as precise as possible with these costs.

Run through the project from start to finish and highlight every point where there will be costs to incur. It might be the cost of your raw materials. It may be the cost of buying new equipment. It could be the payroll costs for the people actively working on the project. Break everything down and come up with a total expense for the project. This is your starting point.

Set your budget and track it over time

Once you know your baseline cost for the project, you and your team should decide on the amount of funds to allocate to the budget. Your baseline cost is a starting point, but donu2019t forget to include extra for specific contingencies. What if the project overruns? What if your raw material costs go sky high? What if you need more people to get the job over the line?

Agree on a clear budget and set up your finance system to track spending against this budget. With a cloud accounting system at the heart of the business, itu2019s very easy to create a budget and then record and track your spending over time.

Keep a close eye on budgets and project cashflow

One of the big things to remember is that a budget is not a static thing. Youu2019ll obviously aim to stick to your initial costs, but prices and availability will affect the total spend over time. Because of this, itu2019s vital to not just write the budget and then forget about it.

Keep a close eye on your budget performance and the cashflow for each project. Being able to review this performance, in real time, should help you avoid overspending, or running out of cash for the project. And when the cash in the kitty is getting low, you can get proactive and look at ways to top up the budget, or rein in spending in other areas of the project.

Take action to maintain your positive cashflow position

Balancing the cashflow scales on a project isnu2019t easy. But when you spot that thereu2019s a potential hole in the budget, the important thing is to do something about it, pronto!

Running any project with your fingers crossed that u2018it will all work out in the endu2019 is a recipe for disaster. And with such detailed budget reports and cashflow forecasts available with todayu2019s finance apps, thereu2019s really no need to be disorganised about your spending.

Think about:

• Setting up key metrics for each project, to measure spending, cashflow and progress
• Run worst-case and best-case cashflow scenarios, so youu2019re prepared for anything
• Regularly reviewing your spending and looking for areas to make savings
• Taking on finance facilities to plug any cashflow holes as they appear.

If youu2019re thinking about scaling up your established startup, please do get in touch. Weu2019ll help you build solid, workable budgets that can be easily tracked through your accounting system.