Unicorns, Vegemite & Christmas Leave
Things that should be on your radar this month 👀
- You better watch out, and not make people cry…Christmas is just around the corner - and if you require your staff to take annual leave over Christmas, you need to tell them.
- Employment Hero cap raise breaks 2023 Aussie funding records - increase in investor confidence coming back? Employment Hero is now a double unicorn!
- Missing receipts? This guy lost out on nearly $50,000 in reimbursements. A healthy reminder to always keep a copy!
- Enjoy your Vegemite on toast? The spread wasn’t always a household name. It took perseverance and grit to achieve its breakfast stardom.
- Using ChatGPT for everything? Work created by AI can’t be protected by copyright…
The highs 📈 and lows 📉 of small business life
📉 This past month, we were thrown a last-minute curveball…we were getting evicted from our office space and had <3 weeks' notice. As Liam was away, the frantic search was left to Amy. “I’d felt quite settled in the office, and it was working well. The change came out of the blue, and I had to figure out where we’d go quickly. It was quite stressful at the time.”
📈 On the flip side of the office space saga, we sublet a space from the same people we were with before. “What we have now is a great deal - it’s 3x as big as the previous office and we can do more customisation here. We’ve got our own dedicated space within a co-working environment, so it can be quite social.” This is a good reminder that change can initially be stressful but ultimately can result in better outcomes.
Our tech this month
🦄In the spirit of AI, we’ve checked out Unicorn Platform, an easy-to-create website builder for small businesses.
✍️If you’re looking for creative AI prompts, check out Google’s TextFX, a tool built for ‘rappers, writers and wordsmiths’. We might not be any of those, but had some fun.
💰We recently discovered Build Memo, built specifically for business fundraising, with a Notion style. We haven’t tried it yet, but are itching to give it a whirl.
Productivity hack 👩💻
We’ve received some great questions from some of our clients (keep them coming!) and feedback on some simple tips that have made Xero easier for our clients. We want to share our latest Xero hack that’ll save you time. Let us know what other hacks you’ve discovered in Xero we should feature!
If you need to send reports, financial approvals or anything from Xero to your board or client, you can send them a URL link to the relevant page. They need to be logged in to Xero, but it saves the time you’d otherwise spend helping them navigate to the page you’re referencing. This is an excellent hack for those unfamiliar with Xero who might need more hand-holding.
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We’re always happy to answer any questions, so hit reply and let us know what’s on your mind, what you’d like to hear from us in the future, and if there are any niggling accounting questions.
Stay updated with us on LinkedIn for some handy tips each month.
That's just our two pennies' worth.
– Liam and Amy, co-founders of Project Alfred
(changing the way people think about accounting)
Recent issues
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Liam is participating in Movember and raising money for Beyond Blue to support their efforts in mental health awareness and support. Every donation made on Liam’s fundraising page will be matched by Project Alfred - so if you can afford it, we’d love you to contribute. … And a reminder: every donation is tax deductible!
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Christmas is around the corner, so notify your staff about leave requirements if you’re shutting down. We dive into the Australian funding scene with Employment Hero's impressive cap raise, making them a double unicorn. Learn from a costly lesson about keeping receipts, discover the inspiring journey of Vegemite and find out why work created by AI can't be copyrighted.
How one business has monetised ‘the meeting that could’ve been an email’, a business that has pivoted its offering as a result of the higher cost of living, a significant payroll underpayment issue making the news and the first ‘real’ holiday Liam has taken since starting Project Alfred.
How Barbie & the Matilda's have sparked equal pay discussions, small business grants in QLD, how Australia harnesses students' entrepreneurial spirits, marketing tech we're using, and our August highlights as we celebrate our 2nd birthday.
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