I worked for Findex, then WHK, up until 2012. I am not an accountant; rather, I hold a rural science degree from UNE. Since 1992, I have supported farm business operators with various technical and finance services. Currently, I operate my own business, ASPIRE agri.
On our family farm, we completed succession early on and had the tough conversations upfront. This approach is now benefiting with strong relationships between partners and their respective families.
Bookkeeping and reporting requirements for the ATO takes a significant amount of time. Requirements overlook the fact that small business do not have full-time, dedicated bookkeepers and administration staff. As a program designed specifically for agriculture, Phoenix does as much as possible to reduce the time taken and to simplify the tasks.
With a career in rural finance for over three decades, I have used Xero – a program marketed as easy to use – and found it to be overpriced and limited in capabilities, particularly having issues with some basic functions such as preparing a BAS. For another business, I use QuickBooks as it is cheap, however in doing so, lament the fact that it is very quirky and not intuitive to operate.
If you’d like to find out more about the Rice family’s succession planning journey, read our Nurturing Tomorrow’s Future: Tips for Successful Farm Succession Planning blog.
