Simple Invest 360 free, live webinar series!

By BGL Update, Simple Invest 360No Comments

Last month BGL launched Simple Invest 360, an intelligent cloud-based software to help accountants streamline CGT compliance administration for Trusts, Companies and Individuals. 

One of the primary drivers behind the decision to develop Simple Invest 360 came from BGL clients; those who were looking for a non-super investment solution which provides the same level of automation and artificial intelligence as our cloud SMSF administration software, Simple Fund 360. 

Simple Invest 360 provides a comprehensive portfolio solution with smart CGT to handle all different investment asset types in one unified solution. Be it listed or unlisted securities, ETFs, property trusts, wrap accounts, crypto currencies or direct property, Simple Invest 360 can handle it all. The software automates all tedious CGT record-keeping as well as providing simple and financial and tax reporting saving time and money no matter what the tax structure – trusts, companies or partnerships or individuals. 

All existing BGL clients have been provided the opportunity to trial 5 entities on Simple Invest 360 for free until 31 August 2021. 

To access the free trial, Simple Fund 360 clients can simply login to their Simple Fund 360 software and select “Add New Entity” from the Entity Workflow screen (click here to learn more). For all other existing BGL clients, please contact your BGL Account Manager. 

Attend our free, live webinar series!

To learn more about Simple Invest 360, follow the links below to register for our free, live webinars.

Can’t make it to the live webinars? Register anyway to get the recordings.

Why did BGL develop
Simple Invest 360?

Presented by BGL’s Founder and Managing Director Ron Lesh and the Head of Simple Fund 360, Matt Crofts.

Monday 26th July at 10:30 AEST

Register Now

Simple Invest 360 accounting
and tax features

Presented by Simple Invest 360 Product Manager Andrew Paszko alongside Simple Invest 360 Business Analyst, Andrew Perera.

Wednesday 11th August at 11.30 AEST

Register Now

Simple Invest 360 for
accountants and planners

Presented by Simple Invest 360 Product Manager Andrew Paszko and the Head of Simple Fund 360, Matt Crofts.

Wednesday 25th August at 10.30 AEST

Register Now
July 20, 2021
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BGL Launches SMSF Auditor Panel

By BGL Update, Simple Fund 360No Comments

BGL is proud to announce the launch of the BGL SMSF Auditors Panel.

The BGL SMSF Auditors Panel will feature BGL client firms and specialist SMSF Auditors who either use the BGL API to access Simple Fund 360 data or who log into Simple Fund 360 to complete audits. The BGL Auditors Panel can be found on the BGL website or through links within Simple Fund 360.

“We often get requests for recommendations of SMSF Auditors who are integrated with Simple Fund 360. So, we have decided to relaunch and rebrand our Auditors List as the BGL SMSF Auditors Panel.” says BGL Managing Director Ron Lesh. “We invite all our clients who perform SMSF audits to join!”

“Most importantly – being listed and accessing the list is FREE!” add Lesh. “That’s right, BGL is providing this list FREE for auditors to list and FREE for clients to access“.

Over the next few weeks, our clients will also see enhanced functionality for the “Send to Audit” function in Simple Fund 360. This too will be available FREE to all firms listed on the BGL Auditors Panel.  

For more information on the SMSF Auditors Panel or to be included in our list, visit www.bglcorp.com/marketplace/auditors-list

July 14, 2021
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End of an era – Simple Fund Desktop team releases final tax update

By BGL Update, Simple Fund 360No Comments

On 8 July 2021, the BGL Team released the last tax update for Simple Fund Desktop. While no date for the end of Simple Fund Desktop software support has been set, this signals the upcoming end of product life for Simple Fund Desktop.

“It’s the end of an era at BGL” said BGL’s Managing Director, Ron Lesh. “Simple Fund Desktop was the market leading product for its time and even today has some sensational features many years ahead of their time.”

Launched in 1997, Simple Fund Desktop changed the game when it came to SMSF administration, offering an alternative to completing calculations in Excel and very manual and cumbersome processing and report generation through general ledger software.

However, with a number of significant changes to superannuation law in 2021, BGL made the difficult decision not to implement these changes in Simple Fund Desktop. Instead, focusing its resources and development on its award-winning cloud solution, Simple Fund 360.

“I want to thank the hundreds of people who have worked on Simple Fund Desktop at BGL over the past 24 years” says Lesh. “We should all be very proud of our achievements in paving the way for today’s SMSF administration software.”

“I also want to take this opportunity to thank the thousands of clients that put their trust in us and allowed us to come on their SMSF administration journey. We hope that we made your lives just a little bit easier and we hope we can continue to do so with Simple Fund 360” added Lesh.

BGL currently has large numbers of Simple Fund Desktop clients making the transition to Simple Fund 360 with great results. The process is simple, automated and complete ensuring all your valuable data and documents move to Simple Fund 360.

To learn about the benefits of Simple Fund 360 or find out just how easy it is to migrate from Simple Fund Desktop, reach out to your Account Manager today.

You can also check out the below resources:

July 13, 2021
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Lockdowns truly suck

By Homepage, In the MediaNo Comments

Lockdowns affect our entire country. They hurt every sector.

Really disappointing to hear and see people in Victoria and in other parts of the country taking swipes at those in lockdown which are taking place in NSW and across Australia. Those who are should have a good hard look at themselves.

What we have been through in Victoria over the last 12 months is not something I would wish upon anyone. We should be the last to applaud lockdowns given our experience and taste for the devastation they cause. Ron Lesh and I speak often about such matters. The toll is heartbreaking and real.

How short are our memories? How quickly we forget that over the past 15 months, we in Victoria have been locked down for over 170 days with restrictions right through and with us today.

We would have gladly exchanged place with our friends in Sydney to experience the freedom they had at the drop of a hat.

Are we not one Nation? One, people? One hurts, we all hurt?

Lockdowns affect our entire country. They hurt every sector. They hurt people emotionally, financially, socially and physically. No one wins in lockdowns. They are draconian and crippling on all fronts. The hit on mental health is far-reaching, affecting generations to follow well beyond the life of this virus.

The leaders across our states have a lot to give account for and we should all be questioning the harsh, disproportionate measures. The last thing we should be doing is heralding lockdown as great leadership. It is not!

The biggest threat to our country is not the VIRUS. The biggest threat is that we have forgotten what it means to be truly Australian.

July 1, 2021
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Working from home: My observations. For your consideration.

By Culture, HomepageOne Comment

The last 14 months have changed the way we work. With many of us forced to work from home. We have had to adjust by force.

While many employees claim how amazing the arrangement is, cracks are appearing and we are to be concerned.

While in many cases yes productivity has increased, my view is that true engagement has decreased. The glue that keeps people together and helps organisations build great culture has taken a hit and it is a threat to our organisations and people.

On the people front, we have much to be concerned about. The risk of losing team members has never been higher. Firstly as a result of people shortage. Secondly, people are isolated, disconnected and more vulnerable to being poached. Thirdly, they have missed out on much training and development, which takes place professionally and in learning from and in working with their peers. Many are simply just doing their jobs, the same thing day in and day out. Bit by bit, as their skill set remains stagnant, they are becoming detached and concerned about their career advancement.

People’s mental health has taken a hit. In Melbourne, the latest lockdown, while not long, was the hardest. While finally stepping into a sense of normality our freedoms were once again taken from us. Many are suffering. Many in silence. Much of this has been heightened by isolation, fear, the erosion of a sense of belonging and comradery that keeps people engaged, interested and connected.

Human engagement is so important on many fronts. As leaders, our role is to set the vision for the team and to excite and inspire your team towards it. This cannot be done virtually. Social aspect aside, human engagement also allows us to get a better gauge of where people are truly at. Observation is such an important part of encouraging and building a culture of wellbeing.

I am all for a balanced working arrangement. One where there is flexibility that provides a healthy balance of working from home. One that includes enough touchpoints with their peers and the greater team to ensure they are connected and where culture can continue to be built. Human touch has never been more important and failure to encourage it will cost us both the short and long term.

June 25, 2021
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Bank Data Automation with Simple Fund 360

By Industry, Simple Fund 360No Comments

Looking to get more out of your Simple Fund 360 software but not sure where to start?

From my experience, the most important step is to have a plan, and break it down into stages of automation (Bank, share, wrap). Also, be mindful that adding on Bank or Share data is not necessary for every client. 

Start with a plan

Ensure you have account details in the software – these will have transferred across from Simple Fund Desktop if they were input there, if not, they can be input in Simple Fund 360. By entering them in, you can see if the account is supported, and also track to keep an eye on if/when this status changes. 

Decide if feeds are needed

Once account details are in the software and you are able to determine whether or not the feed is supported. The next step is to decide if the fund needs to have bank feeds set up. 

If you know it’s a fund that has one or two monthly transactions, let’s say interest or rental payment, feeds probably aren’t a necessary addition. 

The feeds are great when you have multiple transactions occurring throughout the year, even multiple bank accounts (keep in mind a bank data pack, when added to a fund, allows unlimited accounts to be set up using one pack). In no time at all, you will also notice that when a client does a lot of interbank transactions, these will start to match off against each other automatically. 

Another great benefit of having the bank feeds is the ability to generate an info request at the start of a compliance job, that covers everything that has occurred in the fund for the year rather than having to potentially ask for bank statements, then process those only to have to go back to the client and request invoices, or further details on deposits/withdrawals, etc. With the bank feed, you have visibility over this information before you have even made contact with them. 

As an accountant, I found that I was generally able to complete 75-95% of the processing of a compliance job before we had even sent an info request out the door. 

How to set up

Once you have determined that a fund needs bank feeds, you will need to generate an authority form. This will need to be signed by the client and then returned to you to provide to BGL. Having had experience with this process, I can’t recommend enough, providing this to the client when you are either meeting with them face to face, or when you are providing them with other documents for signing. The rate of return we had when including this authority form with a collation pack was much higher than when it was sent as a stand-alone email. 

Now, with Westpac accounts, you will need the client to log in and authorise the feed, there is no form. However, if you align this with a client meeting, you can step them through this process. 

Another method to consider if you are not getting the client ‘buy in’ that you had hoped for is to outline in the client engagement/fee quote that additional fees may need to be charged for data entry. This was another tool we used to discuss with clients the reason we were implementing this change. 

Once the bank feeds were set up for the funds we looked after, the ability to review and provide current information to clients became a breeze, also as I mentioned earlier, the completeness in which an info request could be sent at the start of a compliance job was far, far more efficient – as we only had to go to the client once for the required information, rather than drafting the initial info request blind and hoping that everything was included.  

So from here, the first step is to review your funds, ensure you have bank account details set up in the software to check to see if the account is supported, then look to see which funds are suitable for feeds. Once this has been determined, consider the timing on when you will send out your forms. This could be a project to look at before we tick over to the next financial year, which would mean a full year of data in the fund. 

Remember you can check your usage levels for Bank Data packs either in the Feed Management Screen or using MyBGL if you have access. If you do need to purchase Bank Data packs or add additional packs, this can be done via MyBGL.

If you didn’t get the chance to catch the Bank Data Feeds Automation with Simple Fund 360 webinar, check it out.

June 22, 2021
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CAS 360 Software Update Release June 2021

By BGL Update, CAS 360No Comments

There is no other way to describe this release… It’s a whopper! In CAS 360 Version 65 we bring a heap of new features across Australia and New Zealand while completing our Open Beta feature set for CAS 360 Singapore.

Custom Sender Email Address

You can now use a specific email address when sending emails from CAS 360!

Since the launch of CAS 360 all emails have been sent from [email protected], now you have the ability to use your own email address to have the emails sent from. 

The feature does require some setup and we have provided a help article here >>>

The feature does also have a once-off setup cost of $550 inc GST.

New Document Listing Report

You can now export a listing of all Documents inside CAS 360 at the click of a button!

This export will allow you to download a .csv file, once you have opened the file in MS Excel you will be able to use all the powerful filtering and sorting features in MS Excel to create the document listing report of your dreams.

Trust Distributions

We know it’s that time of year so we have developed a number of new features for discretionary trust distributions to help you complete this work quickly and efficiently!

Specify order – For all three distributions types ‘$’, ‘%’ and ‘Free Text’ distributions you can specify an order on each income component, this order will then be used when preparing the distribution resolution. 

In addition to this, you can now add the same beneficiary twice, when they are receiving two amounts for the same income type. The ‘Free Text’ field has been expanded, and more merge fields have been added so you can make the distribution resolutions look perfect. 

Also if the distributions don’t change from year to year, we have now added the ability to copy a previous distribution. Simply open ‘Review Distributions’ and click ‘Copy’.

Document Review

You can now set who the email is sent from when the document has been through a review!

A new drop-down menu has been added to the email settings screen allowing the user to set the sender as the ‘preparer’ of the documents or as the ‘reviewer’ of the documents.

Dividend Enhancements

Two new improvements to preparing dividends in CAS 360 with the implementation of a new decimal places drop down and the ability to ‘set all TFNs as provided’.

We have also added ‘Manager’ to the selectable options in the Company Selection screen columns, added Trust Deeds to the Trust Documents screen, improved the UI for all system messages and now we will show the user name of the user when overwriting company data with ASIC information.

June 18, 2021
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Simple Invest 360, our investment portfolio platform, is now available!

By News, Product Updates, Simple Invest 360No Comments

Today we announce the launch of Simple Invest 360, our intelligent cloud-based software to help accountants streamline CGT compliance administration for Trusts, Companies and Individuals.

This exciting NEW product wraps several disparate investments and CGT based tools under one unified solution. We are automating the tedious process of CGT record-keeping and Financial Reporting. In layman’s terms, Simple Invest 360 saves an accountant time no matter what the tax structure: Trust, Company, or Sole Proprietor. Simple Invest 360 uses the same proven and award-winning smart engine that powers Simple Fund 360, the No. 1 SMSF solution.

Simple Invest 360 achieves time savings by leveraging automated corporate actions, smart machine learning categorisation and integrated accounting work papers.

Many clients go to their accountants for tax advice only to find out that they may have already made a mistake with major investment decisions. Primarily, this happens because people did not keep or could not explain to the accountant their multiple asset classes and tax structures. Simple Invest 360 solves this problem, with the Client, Accountant, and Planner, now working entirely in the cloud on daily automated wealth positions.

Simple Invest 360 transpires into spending less time on the preparation and thereby reducing costs. Accountants can spend more time on other matters & increase fees, as when your clients are making better investment decisions, they will value the advice. With more value delivered, clients are less likely to switch accountants. Reduced preparation and switching costs enable more time to acquire new customers for those looking to expand their services.

”Early on we knew that we had to move fast while really listening to what the client’s end goal was. Having open and honest communication not only between ourselves but also with our beta clients meant that we were able to understand at a deeper level how to solve the issue of not only providing the client with a robust CGT engine for tracking their investments, but also a seamless year end workflow which makes allocating accounting profit and tax to beneficiaries a breeze.

Andrew Paszko - Simple Invest 360 Product Manager

But don’t take my word, here’s what our beta clients are telling us about why they love using Simple Invest 360:

“

Makes it easy to track shares and dividends, especially when clients may not supply all of the documentation you can reconstruct history. Quickly do CGT calcs and reports.

Amber Williams, Trident Business Group
“

Easy to use cloud base software with smart transactions matching, great for keeping CGT records. "Live" portfolio reports and review function to keep you up to date with your current investments, projected CGT and tax planning.

Olga Petrovskaya, Sinclair Wilson

The Simple Invest 360 team led by Andrew Paszko started with just a single developer: Yang Huang, and a software tester: Mario Blagejovic. From the get-go, the small group were laser-focused on only combining value-added features while staying close to the customer.

Once the plans were drawn up and a challenging roadmap set by myself and Ron Lesh, the Simple Invest 360 team combined forces with the larger Simple Fund 360 team to working collectively through 2020 & 2021 on the new project. Critically, the Simple Fund 360 teams provided valuable advice and experience to the younger team. The additional resources were needed to decouple some of the SMSF related functions and deal with the complexity of multiple tax structures to support Trusts, Companies, and Sole Proprietors.

The newer Simple Invest 360 team had the added challenges of Melbourne 2020 and 2021 lockdowns and needed to form good bonds as a second Software Developer, Nathan Mitchell, and new Business Analyst, Andrew Perera, completed the team. While the Simple Fund 360 team still had to deliver major compliance changes including TBAR, Superstream and COVID early release. Despite the added challenges, both teams hit every milestone. In many cases, earlier than planned.

With the early Beta Launch of Simple Invest 360 last October, valuable feedback from our beta clients was delivered into today’s successful product launch two weeks ahead of schedule.

Now the good news. All current Simple Fund 360 clients from today have free access to 5 entities until the 31st of August 2021. No catches, no drawn-out signup process. Simply login using your existing Simple Fund 360 credentials and add a New Entity. Choose from a Trust, Company or Individual and get started today. For all other BGL clients or new to BGL clients, contact your account manager on 1300 654 401 or navigate our website and enjoy the same free trial.

Learn more about Simple Invest 360 >>>

June 15, 2021
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Mental Health: No judgment. No shame. No bias. Just listen.

By Culture, In the Media, No Drama with Tramma, WellnessOne Comment

The last 14 months have been tough. The impact is widespread. The effect on people’s personal and emotional wellbeing has been enormous. It is not something you can just throw money at and hope it goes away.

Mental health is a topic that I am passionate about. Having the support of Ron Lesh to pursues this accreditation is something that I am very grateful for. When I undertook the MH First Aid course, one of the great takeaways was that my role is not to diagnose but to simply come alongside people and point them in the right direction. This was empowering and showed WE can ALL make a difference. People often ask me how we in Victoria are faring in lockdown. Personally, while frustrated and limited at times, overall, I am doing okay. I have an amazing role and blessed to be a part of an incredible business. For this I am grateful. I do however have my days and to counteract this I do my best to live my life with the greatest level of normality. I regularly touch base with those most important to me. I do my best to watch my self-talk, exercising, taking breaks, get fresh air, limit my time on the media, create tasks and projects to keep me occupied.

However, my mind is NEVER far from those that are not doing well. The reality is that millions of people and across this state are suffering emotionally, mentally and financially. Businesses and lives touched devastating ways. Let’s add to this loneliness, lack of access to health care, 3 previous lockdowns, fear-mongering media and language, separation, home-schooling and the list goes on and on and we are pretty much beyond the tipping point of a mental health tsunami.

To back my observations, I read an interesting article in The Age on Saturday 5 June titled – “‘I can’t be bothered’: Victorians battling ‘compounding fatigue’ of lockdowns” by Wendy Tuohy, where Rhonda Andrew’s CEO of Barrington Centre, a corporate and wellbeing service provider, provided some very interesting data.

From 27 May to 3 June:

  •  82% ⬆️ in demand for support
  • 40% ⬆️ family conflict
  •  55% ⬆️ workplace issues
  •  82% ⬆️ mental health requests

The sentiment in this state from many that I speak to is that the idea of “We have done this before, we will do it again” or “We have got this”, simply does not cut it.

Many are tired. Many have no more to give. Many just want to get on with our lives and live. This is the reality that we as business leaders, managers and people across this state MUST acknowledge, work with and help navigate people through.

Each of us is touched by what is going on. And if we personally are not, then someone we know is. These lockdowns hurt and it is more important to be on the lookout for each other than ever before.

Please, if you are struggling, please do reach out. It is okay to not be okay. There are times where you will be trapped in thoughts of negativity or feelings of hopelessness. The reality is that it is hard not to be. It is normal. However, do your best to not stay in that space too long. If you do however find these thoughts and feelings lingering, take action. Speak to someone. Call your doctor. Early intervention works.

Make sure to look out for others also. Look for signs that they may be struggling. Be on the lookout for things like withdrawing behaviour, social media activity contrary to their normal behaviour, slow to or no response to messages, negative language, letting go of their appearance or hygiene. Pretty much, any behaviour outside of their normal selves is a window for you to ask the question “R UO K?” or “I have noticed this, is all ok?” Believe, it can make all the difference.

Be informed and across the resources like R UO OK?, Beyond Blue, and Headspace, to name a few. There are many great tools available to not only better understand mental health but to come alongside, and help others along their journey.

Finally, I cannot help but emphasise that you are not alone. Don’t be afraid to put your hand up and say you need help. On the other hand, if you are doing okay, don’t be afraid to extend a hand and reach out to someone that you know is not and let them know you are there for them.

No judgment. No shame. No bias. Just listen.

Just genuinely care!

We can all make a difference.

 

 

Reference: Wendy Tuohy | The Age

June 8, 2021
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Trust Distribution with CAS 360

By CAS 360, IndustryNo Comments

Trust Distribution with CAS 360

As 30 June quickly approaches, we enter the familiar and sometimes frantic phase of the year where tax planning becomes front & centre. 

Reviewing family groups, company performance, and projecting how they might end the year, enables firms with the opportunity to plan, and ensure their clients are in the best tax position possible. 

But did you know that you could be generating all your Trust Distribution statements from CAS 360?

Recently we ran a webinar on the benefits of managing your Trusts in the software. The ability to generate unit registers, unit certificates, capture trust events, and most importantly for this time of year, generate your distribution statements and declaration of distribution. 

In order to get your trusts into CAS 360, you have the option of manually setting them up, however, if you’re also managing the corporate trustee for the trust in CAS 360, the beneficiary details, addresses etc, will already be in your software, so it will make adding these details a breeze. 

Alternatively, we have a template that can be downloaded, you then provide us with the details for all your trusts, and we will complete a bulk import into CAS 360 for you.  

The document templates are customisable also, so once your trusts are in, you are able to download the template and adjust as necessary, personalising the content and the experience for your clients. 

Dividend statements can also be prepared from within CAS 360, another wonderful tool to be utilising at this time of year if you have companies declaring year-end dividends. 

With both of these options, you can also enable the use of Digital signing, using either DocuSign or Adobe sign, both integrated with CAS 360.

If you didn’t get the chance to catch the Trust Distribution with CAS 360 webinar, check it out >>>

June 8, 2021
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