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APIs should be free!

By Homepage, In the MediaNo Comments

This is an opinion piece

I think charging for APIs that allow clients to access THEIR data is wrong.

It’s becoming a trend – a bit like buying disparate businesses – companies desperate for revenue decide to charge for access to their APIs. We are seeing more and more of this these days.

APIs for those who don’t know are gateways into your data. They are used by multiple software businesses to connect your apps together.

BGL made a decision on Day 1 of our cloud products that we would not charge for our API. We have reasonably simple rules around who can use the API – but the determining factor of whether the access is available is decided by authorisation from our clients. We authorise the connection – the client authorises access.

I find it interesting however some software companies think they are entitled to a share of revenue earned by the business accessing their API. How ridiculous! The data belongs to the client. The client is being charged a fee for the service provided. And now the client is being asked (and in the end the client will pay for this) to pay for the same data twice. What a racket. It’s almost an exhortation!

So if you are in our industry and your supplier decides to charge your connections (auditors, document providers, other services) for access to their API, please come and talk to us. We are happy to convert your data for FREE and even give you 6 months free to move to our solutions.

June 2, 2021
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The benefits of transitioning to Simple Fund 360 are invaluable! – Bedford story

By Case Study, Homepage, Industry, Simple Fund 360No Comments

”The intuitive and easy to use interface has led to processing efficiency. Especially for complex funds with lots of transactions, the processing time has reduced by more than half, which is incredible.

About Bedford

Bedford CA is a highly skilled and proactive firm of professional accountants and business advisors with over 70 years of history behind them.

The team at Bedford CA pride themselves on their proactive, personalised service to their clients. They partner with their clients to set goals and develop strategies to achieve them, from start up to retirement, as well as managing their client’s compliance requirements effectively every year.

About Diana Porta

Diana Porta, client manager at Bedford, is an experienced, knowledgeable, pro-active and engaging accountant with proven skills in Tax Preparation, SelfManaged Superannuation Funds, Auditing and Business Process Improvement.

Diana holds a Bachelor of Business and Commerce from University of Western Sydney, where she was awarded the 2010 Dean’s Medal. She is also a Chartered Accountant through the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and is currently working towards her Masters in Economics and Finance through Sydney University.

The Challenge

Inefficient and difficult to use software

Prior to making the transition to Simple Fund 360, Bedford CA legacy systems were hard to manage – everything from digital usability to simple fund processing was difficult.

“Our previous super fund software was not very intuitive and after investing a considerable amount of time and money, there were still inefficiencies in processing super funds across the firm.”

The team at Bedford CA knew they needed a much simpler solution– and they found that in Simple Fund 360.

Why Simple Fund 360

Intuitive, innovative software that adds value to our firm and clients

“We really wanted to move to a leading software provider that demonstrates a commitment to continuous improvements to their product. Other key considerations included: If the software features were intuitive and easy to use? If the reports were easy to understand? And most importantly, if the new software would add value to our firm and our clients?”

The Solution

An intelligent, automated solution - Simple Fund 360

“We were a bit worried about the transition to Simple Fund 360, but the process was very easy. The BGL team imported all the data from our previous software and generated all the documents to set up bank and broker feeds”.

“Now, with the bank and broker feeds up and running, we are able to obtain a lot of information from directly within the software, which has considerably reduced the volume of queries to clients”.

“Processing transactions and year-end adjustments is also really easy and BGL’s Online Help is a great resource for information on processing corporate actions and matching transactions”.

Using Simple Fund 360’s Matching Rules Screen, Bedford’s CA team can now easily view, create and manage funds’ transaction matching rules – which determines the logic Simple Fund 360 uses to automatically code transactions that feed into funds through bank feeds, CSV or other file uploads.

“My favourite time saving features in Simple Fund 360 are the “Drag and Drop” file import feature and the “Transaction Matching – Create New Rule’’ feature. I love being able to “Drag and Drop” csv files into the file import feature and by “Creating Rules” in the Matching Rules Screen, most of the work is done for the current and future years”.

“Finally, the BGL Support Team has been quick and responsive to any issues we have faced so far, and the Simple Fund 360 Product Development Team is continually adding new helpful features”. 

The Results

Our processing time has reduced by more than half and now we can focus on what really matters - our clients!

“The benefits of transitioning to Simple Fund 360 are invaluable.”

“As we continue to automate as much as we can, not only are we saving time on processing, but we’re also streamlining other internal procedures. This helps us to keep a competitive price structure for our clients.”

“Now we can focus on what really matters – our relationships with our clients and assisting them with their compliance.”

May 6, 2021
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ASIC finally admits SMSF fact sheet was – WRONG!

By Homepage, In the Media, Industry, UncategorisedNo Comments

I have said many times that ASIC’s “Are SMSFs for you?” fact sheet was wrong. The use of ATO data to produce a document that was clearly misleading my view was ridiculous.

Well finally the ASIC Chair has now admitted to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics that it failed when this so called fact (I would call it factless) sheet was published.

BGL has been saying based on data for over 200,000 SMSFs the cost of running an SMSF is somewhere between $2,000 and $3,000. It can be higher and it can be lower – it depends – but it is certainly it is NOT the $13,900 published in ASIC’s factless sheet.

I could say “I told you so” but I won’t!

Check out the article below for more info.

https://www.smsfadviser.com/news/19866-asic-admits-failures-in-smsf-operating-costs-fact-sheet

PS: Love Tim Wilson’s comments….

April 1, 2021
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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

February 15, 2021
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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.

February 11, 2021
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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

February 4, 2021
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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.

January 29, 2021
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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

January 28, 2021
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