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Monthly Archives

February 2021

2020 was a mad year – but I am so proud of what the BGL Team achieved…

By BGL UpdateNo Comments

2020 was a mad year.

I think we are all happy it is behind us.

But, during 2020, I was really proud of what the BGL Team achieved.

Let me first look at the CAS 360 Team.

There were 17 software releases with over 400 new features released.

Just think about that – 1 software release every 3 weeks and over 1 new feature every day of the year!

Second, let’s look at Simple Fund 360.

There were 42 major software releases with 100’s of new features released. These include:

  • Simple Fund 360 – 15 releases
  • Simple Fund  360 Workpapers – 2 release
  • Simple Invest 360 – 7 releases
  • Simple Fund Mobile – 4 releases
  • GuestTrack by BGL – 12 releases

And these are just the major releases!

Apart from the work of these 2 teams, the Training and Documentation Team were tasked with updating the documentation and training materials for both products. These guys did an amazing job keeping up with the speed of development of the CAS 360 and Simple Fund 360 product teams.

And last, but not least, let’s include the fantastic work of the BGL IT Team. The BGL IT Team released myBGL and a huge amount of internal development during the year. This team also made numerous software releases of both myBGL and to other internal systems.

Not a bad effort from 3 of the sensational teams at BGL.

Working from home the Teams proved they are consummate professionals.

I am so proud of what was achieved in a very difficult year. I am so proud of each and every one of you!

 

The future of BGL’s Simple Fund Desktop

By BGL Update, Homepage, NewsNo Comments

Below is an email I sent to Simple Fund Desktop clients today.

If this affects you, please speak to your BGL account manager

************************************************************************

I am writing to advise you of the future of your BGL Simple Fund Desktop software.

As you would be aware, there will be a number of significant changes to superannuation law in the 2021 calendar year. These changes include indexation of the pension cap of $1.6m, Superstream Rollovers and the ability to have 6 members in an SMSF.

BGL has made the decision to not make these changes to Simple Fund Desktop and therefore 30 June 2021 will be the last tax release of Simple Fund Desktop.

BGL launched Simple Fund Desktop in 1997. This software has had an incredible life but eventually all good things must come to an end.

BGL will continue to support Simple Fund Desktop clients. No date for the cessation of support has been set and we know it will take a while for all clients to move to Simple Fund 360.

What’s next?

Simple Fund 360 is the natural move for Simple Fund Desktop clients. Migration is seamless and ALL data and reports are migrated from Simple Fund Desktop to Simple Fund 360, meaning you do not lose ANY of your valuable data.

To prepare for your transition to Simple Fund 360, it’s best to start early by:

  1. Reaching out to your Account Manager
  2. Preparing your funds for migration
  3. Signing up to Simple Fund 360
  4. Setting up your data feeds

My Account Management and Client Success Team are here to help make your move absolutely seamless. I have asked them to reach out to you in the coming weeks to help you get started but if you would like to contact us, please call on 1300 654 401.

Finally, let me thank you for being a Simple Fund Desktop client. For many of you, I know Simple Fund Desktop has been a part of your lives for a very long time. I hope Simple Fund 360 will help you continue this remarkable experience

BGL very concerned about Total Balance Cap indexation

By BGL Update, Homepage, Industry, NewsNo Comments

BGL is very concerned about the practical implementation of the indexation of the Total Balance Cap.

“It’s simply too complicated” said BGL’s Managing Director, Ron Lesh. “Indexing the $1.6m cap to $1.7m is not the problem – it’s the partial indexation where a person has already commenced a pension that is crazy.”

“There are 2 real problems with partial indexation.

1. Potentially every person can now have a different total balance cap, and
2. Access to ATO total balance cap data is not readily available.

This makes these changes a nightmare for SMSF advisers” says Lesh. “The ATO and Treasury have known for 2 + years that this will be a problem but have done nothing about it. BGL and many others have been asking for API access to ATO total balance cap data, but our requests have been ignored – it’s simply not good enough.”

“Something needs to be done – and fast”

“The Government needs to find a solution to this – fast” added Lesh. “The simplest is to remove partial indexation and increase the total balance cap for everyone to $1.7m. This removes the complexity and is fairer than some of the other solutions. Why should the date a person commences a pension determine how much that pension should be? Clearly this is unfair”

“BGL needs to implement these changes in our market leading Simple Fund 360 SMSF admin software by 1 July 2021. Implementing partial indexation without access to ATO total balance cap data is going to result in many errors” noted Lesh. “Something needs to be done – and fast”.

BGL has over 6,000 clients representing over 200,000 SMSFs using it’s multi award winning Simple Fund 360 SMSF admin software. “It would be really nice if the government took into account the practical implementation issues of the legislation and made changes to help accountants who have already beared the brunt of the work around JobKeeper of the past 12 months” Lesh said.

24 lessons for 24 years

By BGL UpdateNo Comments

Today I turn 24 years of age at BGL!

Yes, more than 1/2 of my life! And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

As I reflect on my time, I would like to share with you my 24 lessons for 24 years.

To my BGL family members, clients, community + friends, I celebrate you today.

Excited by that which is ahead.

24 lessons for 24 years

1

True leadership is rare and BGL has what I would consider one of the best!

2

Belief is the greatest gift you can give someone.

3

Servanthood and humility are the foundations of leadership.

4

A leader’s role is to mitigate and eliminate fear and free your people for greatness.

5

Words have the power to inspire or destroy.

6

Set the stage, draw the curtain, marvel and celebrate the accomplishments of people.

7

Being candid with someone is the basis of trust and respect.

8

Relationships are the platform for trust and engagement. Trust does not just happen. It is earned.

9

Pull your competitors tail every now and again. It’s good fun.

10

When the crap hits the fan, dust yourself off, stare failure in the mirror. Don’t bow down to it or be intimidated by it. Failure doesn’t determine destiny.

11

Winning alone means your accomplishments are selfish.

12

Make every touch point with your clients, community and people remarkable.

13

Sacrifice is the foundation of success and growing people.

14

Listening is the greatest form of respect you can show to someone.

15

Culture doesn’t just happen. It requires a daily commitment of time and effort.

16

Connect people to the greater good by aligning them to the why.

17

Deliver to market products and services that astound your audience.

18

Wisdom comes from living, observing, learning, trying, failing and winning.

19

A lived experience is the great enabler and pathway to opportunity.

20

People matter. Make people feel special, connected, loved and heard. Genuinely love people.

21

Honour and never forget those that have invested in you to make you who are today. Honour them by doing the same with someone else.

22

Sorry shouldn't be the hardest word.

23

Passion, values, integrity cannot be taught. They are instilled in your DNA.

24

Nothing is permanent.

CAS 360 Software Update Release February 2021

By BGL Update, CAS 360, Homepage, Product UpdatesNo Comments

Hello everyone and welcome to 2021!

For the first release of 2021, the CAS 360 team have worked on some great new features.

Adding a new Company

When adding a new company to CAS 360, you can now import the basic company information directly from ASIC.

If you toggle on the ‘Import from ASIC?’ CAS 360 will conduct a real time search of the ASIC register and find the company for you.

Clicking on import, will add the company to your CAS 360 company list, and also import the basic company information (Company Name, Number, Company type and class).

Trust Documents

CAS 360 is the best place to manage all of the trusts that your firm looks after, with industry leading trust features.

In this update, we add more documentation for trusts.

When preparing unitholder transactions, if there is an allotment transaction, CAS 360 will now prepare a unit allotment journal, and for unit transfers CA360 will now prepare a unit transfer journal.

New Trust registers have also been added, with a new Register of Trust Relationships, which will show all of the position holders in the trust. Also, a new Register of Trust Events has been added, which will show all event transactions that have taken place inside the trust.

New Contacts screens

This update sees a huge change in the way contact data is entered into CAS 360. We have added new fields and grouped a number of key data fields.

We have added support for ‘Other Names’ which include ‘Casual Name’ a long time requested feature, soon this casual name will be appearing on documents such as letters.

We have also added a whole heap of new contact fields, including identification numbers, and company number types for company contacts. 

New Health Check for Company Details and Holding Company

For New Zealand Companies we have expanded the health check to now include General Company Details and Holding company information.

CAS 360 will now check this information every day with the NZ Companies Office and alert you if there have been any changes.

Live Checks (checking when inside the company) has also been added for Company Details and Holding Companies.

If you would like to view the full release notes for February 2021 please click here to visit the BGL Community.

See you next update!

Warren