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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

ASIC announce changes to Form 484 and 370

By BGL Update, CAS 360, Homepage, IndustryNo Comments

As a part of the new Treasury Laws Amendment (Combating Illegal Phoenixing) Bill 2020 there will be 2 law changes taking effect on February 18 2021. 

Ceasing last remaining Director

From 18 February 2021, companies will no longer be able to cease the last remaining director on ASIC records.

To enforce this, lodgements submitted using a Form 484 Change to company details, or Form 370 Notification by officeholder of resignation or retirement, to cease the last appointed director without replacing that appointment will be rejected.

There are some exceptions to this, including if:

  • the last director is deceased
  • the company is being wound up or under external administration; and
  • the officeholder never consented to the appointment

Changes that you will see in CAS 360

CAS 360 already had a block on resigning the last remaining director via a form 484, a similar block will be added to the form 370.

We will also add new messaging alerting the users when they are trying to cease the last remaining director.

Director Late Lodgements

There are significant changes for late lodgements of director cessations. 

From February 18 2021, if a director’s cessation date is notified to ASIC more than 28 days after the effective date then the effective date will be overridden and replaced with the lodgement date. Late fees still apply to the Change of company details form in this scenario. 

Example 

John Smith is a director of ABC Industries Pty Ltd. 

John Smith resigns as a director on 1 April 2020; however, the Form 484 is lodged to ASIC on 1 November 2020. 

On ASIC’s records, the resignation date will be 1 November 2020. The standard late fees will still apply. 

Changes that you will see in CAS 360

When lodging a document in CAS 360 that is going to receive a late fee. 

CAS 360 will always alert you. A new warning will now appear of officer cessation transactions that are later that 28 days to advise the user that the cessation date will be replaced with the lodgement date.

Important Changes to GuestTrack powered by BGL – our QR code check-in app

By BGL Update, Homepage, TechnologyNo Comments

GuestTrack started as an initiative by BGL to help our clients (Accountants) help their clients (Small Businesses) track guests in a COVID-19 environment. As industry leading software developers, GuestTrack was something we released quickly to relieve some stress for our community.

Today, GuestTrack is spectacular market leading guest check-in tool and as we now enter a new normal, we are introducing subscription options so we can recover some of our running costs. These changes come into affect for existing GuestTrack users on Monday 1 February 2021.

All current GuestTrack clients continue to receive a FREE subscription.

GuestTrack Subscription Free Basic Enterprise Not-for-profit*
Pricing Free $9 + GST per month Contact Us Free
Inclusions
Google Ads ✔️ ❌ ❌ ❌
Unlimited Check-ins/outs ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Unlimited QR Codes ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Customisable Form ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
56 Day Data Retention ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Email & SMS Notifications ❌ ❌ ✔️ ❌
Phone, ID & Face Verification ❌ ❌ ✔️ ❌
CRM, Booking & API Integration ❌ ❌ ✔️ ❌
AI Analysis & Data Prediction ❌ ❌ ✔️ ❌

* To be eligible for the Not-for-profit GuestTrack Subscription, you must satisfy one of the following requirements: (1) Your registered email ends with .gov.au (2) Your organisation is listed on the ACNC.

Visit the GuestTrack Pricing Page

Reminder: BGL cannot sell, share or profit from any of the personal data collected by GuestTrack as it is encrypted, and we simply do not have access to it. The data is owned by the GuestTrack account owner (business using GuestTrack) and no one else can decrypt or access this data. GuestTrack Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy

Early release of super makes a difference

By BGL Update, Homepage, IndustryNo Comments

This has been a tumultuous year for BGL, our clients and the superannuation industry.

During the year, the government introduced another super early release scheme – this time in response to COVID-19.

I have asked our friends at mProjections to do a couple of calculations to demonstrate the impact of a withdrawal and how to engineer a higher retirement. Please check these out.

Example 1

Phillippa, 29, worked in the hospitality industry with 2 jobs, total income (pre Covid) of around $55,000pa, pre-tax. She is single and had built up a Super balance of $25,000.

Shortly after loosing one of those jobs, she withdrew $8,000 without thinking about the consequences to super. Her Super had been invested in a typical ‘Balanced’ Investment Option with 65% in growth assets.

Using the mProjections Report, Philippa moved her post-withdrawal balance to a High Growth Investment Option (85% in growth assets). She saw that, before withdrawal, she would have $55,194 pa annual retirement income for 25 years, but with a move to High-Growth – without additional contributions – she would enjoy a $57,415 projection. Most importantly, her upside for a considerable improvement in retirement spending would increase.

 

Example 2

Jonathan works as an electrician in the western suburbs of Sydney and had his hours reduced to 20 hours per week for 3 months. He decided to withdraw $8,500. Using figures in our Report, he saw how to increase his $79,747 tax-free pre-withdrawal retirement projection by moving the balance of his fund to a High Growth Investment Option and a consequent retirement income projection of $82,442.

He also noted the greater likelihood of upside. ‘Low’ here is 15% of assets in growth.

 

If you would like to prepare an mProjections report for your clients, check out their website.

 

From the desk of the BGL Managing Director | 2020 in Review

By BGL Update, HomepageNo Comments

We are nearly at the end of 2020, and what a year it has been. It is certainly not a year I want to remember and the sooner we get (in my opinion) to 2021 the better.

BGL has a lot to be thankful for this year. Your support of my team and I has been fantastic and we all really appreciate it.

Working from home, Zoom meetings, doom and gloom from our media, has made our lives difficult. The winding back of restrictions, especially in Victoria, is well overdue.

We decided to close the BGL office for 3 weeks from 21 December 2020 to 8 January 2021 (inclusive). My team needs this time to refresh and recover from what has been a tough year. Very few have had any time off during the year.

I am looking forward to 2021 and the gradual opening up of Australian business. I feel very sad for so many small businesses that are not able to reopen. As a small business owner, my heart goes out to each and every one of them.

For BGL, 2021 will be very exciting. With the release of our 3rd cloud product Simple Invest 360 and some amazing developments coming from our product teams, 2021 will provide a heap of opportunities for clients and our Team.

I would like to sincerely thank the BGL Team that has grown to over 170 through 2020. The work you do and the service you provide our clients is invaluable.

Last, I would like to thank each and every one of YOU for being BGL clients in 2020. I hope we have lived up to your expectations.

Please have a safe and happy festive season and a prosperous 2021!

BGL welcomes SMSF Association Cost of Operating an SMSF Report

By BGL Update, Homepage, IndustryNo Comments

BGL welcomes the release of the Rice Warner SMSF cost of operating an SMSF report prepared for the SMSF Association.

“It’s great to see a proper analysis of SMSF cost and return data” said BGL’s Managing Director, Ron Lesh. “And knowing the vast majority of the data came from BGL’s Simple Fund 360 clients makes me even more proud.”

“The report shows the cost of running an SMSF highlighting that larger balance SMSFs cost less to operate than any other type of superannuation fund or account” noted Lesh. “And for smaller balances, SMSFs are comparable with APRA regulated funds”

The report data was sourced from BGL’s Simple Fund 360 and Super Concepts SuperMate software. “It is great to see 2 industry software companies working with Rice Warner to provide the data required to prepare the report at no cost to the SMSFA” added Lesh. “It is unfortunate that not all industry software companies chose to participate”.

“The other data I also found fascinating was the table on Page 21 of the Report showing investment returns for the last 14 years “says Lesh. “From 2005 to 2018, for 9 of the 14 years returns shown in the table, SMSFs performed better than APRA regulated funds”

“Clearly this shows ASIC’s SMSFs are not for everyone flyer was absolute rubbish” stated Lesh. “I said this flyer was misleading and did not fairly represent the cost of running an SMSF. The Rice Warner report validates my statements and furthermore shows that SMSFs with a balance of less than $500,000 are clearly cost competitive with APRA funds dispelling statements made in the December 2018 Productivity Commission report”

BGL is dismayed by Treasury’s proposed 45 day SMSF accounts rule!

By BGL Update, Homepage, IndustryNo Comments

BGL is dismayed at Treasury’s proposed 45 day SMSF accounts rule.

“It’s just dumb” said BGL’s Managing Director, Ron Lesh. “Why do SMSFs need to prepare their financial statements 45 days before their lodgement date? It just makes no sense”

In a draft amendment to the The Treasury Laws Amendment (Miscellaneous and Technical Amendments) Regulations 2020 it is proposed to insert a new regulation 8.02AA into the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994 to require accounts and statements for SMSFs to be prepared at least 45 days before the annual return is required to be lodged.

“I am trying to understand why this is necessary or where this has come from” asked Lesh. “It will not improve SMSF reporting, it will not improve SMSF audits, it will not improve SMSF annual return lodgements – so why has it been proposed?”

“In fact, in my view it could do the opposite. It could put SMSF trustees in a position where they need to backdate accounts – for no reason or benefit” noted Lesh.

“The SMSF industry has clearly said this change is unnecessary and that it would simply be an additional burden on SMSF trustees, administrators and auditors” says Lesh. “I thought post COVID-19 we were trying to cut unnecessary red tape rather than add more regulations to an already incredibly over-regulated industry.”

“I hope Treasury is listening” stated Lesh. “I do not know who came up with this dumb idea, but one would suspect it was someone who has no experience in the real world. A clear statement from Treasury or the Government this change will be dropped is needed now before it causes more angst in the SMSF industry that has already suffered through a year of extreme stress.”

GuestTrack helps over 4,000 businesses with its powerful guest check-in solution

By BGL Update, Homepage, TechnologyNo Comments

In June 2020, BGL Corporate Solutions, Australia’s leading supplier of SMSF administration and ASIC corporate compliance solutions, launched GuestTrack – a free QR code driven, browser-based application to help businesses collect and store guest data.

“GuestTrack makes it really easy for businesses and organisations of all shapes and sizes to keep a secure, digital visitors log” said BGL’s Managing Director, Ron Lesh. “This app is fast and easy for guests to use therefore providing a sensational customer check-in experience.”

Since its release just 4 months ago, GuestTrack now supports over 4,000 organisations across Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Philippines and the USA with a satisfaction rate of 99.85% and over 2.24 million guest check-ins.

All data collected by GuestTrack is encrypted to the highest security standard with Amazon Web Services (AWS) Key Management Service (KMS). KMS is designed so no one, including the BGL and AWS teams, can decrypt or access the data. 

“The BGL team continues to work hard to further develop this amazing app, recently adding new features including the ability for users to create custom form fields, unlimited QR Codes and much more – all to create a seamless and engaging check-in experience for guests.” continued Lesh. “What started out as an initiative to help our clients’ clients, has turned out to be a spectacular tool. As we enter the new normal, apps like GuestTrack will be a key feature in all organisations for years to come.”

Learn more and sign up FREE today at guesttrack.com.au!

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