After this long in business, we have a lot of great stories. Here are just a handful of true stories (with names and some personal identifying details changed for client privacy reasons). If you would like to share your story with us, please get in touch.
HIS FIANCE WOULDN'T MARRY HIM UNLESS HE GOT HIS TAX RETURNS ACCOUNTS WERE IN ORDER!
John moved to Australia from New Zealand in the ’90s when he was just 17 and found work in the construction industry cash in hand. John moved around the country following the work having many adventures along the way. He travelled light seeing the country ready to move on when jobs came to an end. Then one day, 18 years later, Johns life changed…. He met the woman of his dreams. After a year or two, the relationship had blossomed to the point when John decided to get down on one knee to propose to Sarah. She said yes but that she wouldn’t marry John unless he became up to date with his taxes.
John had never lodged a tax return. After 20 years of going job to job with a permanent address and travelling light, his records weren’t exactly in order. He approached a few accounting firms who turned him down or gave un-affordable prices.
A bit disheartened by chance caught up with a close friend and mentioned the challenge he was facing, in particular in finding an accountant so he could become up to date with his tax returns to marry his fiance. His friend happened to be one of our clients so recommended Poniris and co to him.
John came in to see us. We took John on and got to work. As you know in 20 years there are a lot of changes – taxes, claimable items, benefits, thresholds, some of the companies he worked for had gone out of business, changed name, merged with other companies. Well, there was a lot of letter writing to find old records, statutory declarations, negotiations with the ATO, etc.
It was a big task, but in the end, we got John up to date with his taxes and shortly after that John went on to marry the love of his life.
AFTER SEVERAL IGNORED LETTERS FROM THE ATO. THINGS WERE GETTING PRETTY SERIOUS
A couple of years ago a partnership of three, running a big logistics business received a letter from the ATO asking for some overdue tax paperwork to be lodged. This letter was set aside and ignored amongst the day to day hustle of running the business. Additional follow-up letters from the ATO were also ignored. The situation escalated from important into very serious when the letters included the real possibility of going to court with potential jail time.
It was at this stage, the partners took notice and started approaching some big accounting firms who either turned them down or provided unaffordable fee/time frames to do the work. Then through a recommendation of a friend, they came to us. We took them on as clients, worked through the demands, got their records in order and lodged with the ATO.
The result still included a fine from the ATO; however, the main thing was that the business got its accounts in order and potential jail time avoided.
Whether it be Objections, Audits, Amendments, Obtaining a private ruling, Setting up repayment terms there are many ways we can help people with the ATO. Whatever you do, don’t ignore the letters from the ATO.
DOROTHY'S VISA TYPE WAS RETIRED PART WAY THROUGH HER STUDIES BY THE DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION. WE HELPED HER SATISFY THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE NEW VISA BY HAVING HER ACCOUNTS IN ORDER
Dorothy came to Australia to study a few years ago. Everything was going well until she was a little bit past the halfway point through her degree when she received some troublesome news. The particular Visa which she had arrived in Australia was about to be retired by the Department of Immigration. Dorothy was facing a choice:
Go home having wasted time, money, effort and the friends she had made
or
Swap to a new visa which would involve a lot of paperwork and chasing down various documents as well as having certified accounts in order.
or
Continue if nothing had happened, ignoring the situation to stay on illegally, potentially being caught and thrown out of the country.
Luckily, Dorothy chose the second option and found us through a recommendation from a friend. We helped her by working with the Immigration Department to organise the relevant tax and account documents for her application.
Dorothy was accepted for the new visa and was able to continue studying and finish her degree.
Although we are certified Tax Agents, we don't operate the same way that many big accountant firms do. Traditional large tax accountant firms are often very regimented with procedures, many levels of people and use seasonal staff. Poniris and co is a small firm of accountants we here year round and as such are able to have personal connections with our clients.
For our regular clients we typically we have a good conversation once a year, catch up on what has been happening and any specific details and lodge the return. As a result when you do your accounts with us, we are there for you when things change with relevant advice for you.
Other than this website that allows us to have company emails, allow bookings and to share relevant information, we don't pay for advertising. You won't see advertisements for Poniris and co in magazines, newspaper, on the tv etc. Instead, we believe in doing great work for our clients who in turn recommend us to their family members and closest friends when they are looking for good accountants.
There is one certainty in life - things do not stay the same. As life progresses, many things change - from elected governments changing tax laws, rebates, benefits, technology etc.
Peoples peoples lives change too - you start single, find a partner get married (or not), have pets (or not), have children (or not), adopt children (or not) buy a house or rental properties (or not), start a business, change business structures, travel overseas, move overseas, move to Australia. The opportunities are almost endless. Many things happen along the way, and what was the best for your accounts in one phase is quite likely not optimal for the next phase. As a client of Poniris and co, we are here to help you work out what set up is best.
We enjoy helping people do the things they want to do.
While our office is located in Mortdale in Sydney, we have clients in throughout Australia - some whom we have never even met! We also help our clients who are travelling the world meet their obligations whilst they are away. So if you are planning to travel talk to us about how and what you need to do to stay in control while you are away.
