Three tech recs that (immediately) made our lives easier
Things that should be on your radar this month 👀
1. A report from SBE Australia has found that only 0.7% of venture capital funding in Australia went to female-led businesses in the 2022 financial year. In response, two of the country’s largest VC firms have added women to their boards, meaning they’ll only be vastly outnumbered instead of completely unrepresented.
2. Struggling to hire right now? You’ll be glad to know that unanimous support for a more streamlined migration system at the Jobs and Skills Summit will likely give you a larger pool of applicants.
3. ASIC is getting serious about cryptocurrency regulation, hiring a team of experts to help answer questions about the future of digital currencies in Australia.
4. A study by Xero has found that more than half of all invoices are paid late, and it’s costing Aussie businesses more than $1b a year. Make sure to factor this in when thinking about your cash flow. Our top tips? Take full advantage of payment platforms that make it easy for people to pay you, and set up automatic late payment reminders in your Xero account.
5. If you’re finding it difficult to get your staff back to the office full time, make sure you truly understand the implications of what you’re asking them. Your employees have discovered both the real cost and opportunity cost of commuting, so if you’re blind to that you’ll lose them.
Get your knowledge out there with these tech recs
🪐 Gamma: Spending too much time mucking around formatting docs and decks? Enter Gamma, an app that looks after formatting so you can focus on content.
⬛️ Oakywood desk mat: We’re stretching the concept of ‘tech’ here, but this mat makes using other accessories like our mouse and keyboard a dream.
🔒 Practice Protect: This cybersecurity app says it’s for accountants, but really anyone can use it. It’s essentially a password manager, except with the (massive) added benefit of a full cyber security team at your fingertips if something goes wrong.
The highs 📈 and lows 📉 of small business life
📈 We went to Sydney earlier this month for Xerocon, and we can’t stress enough how much of an excellent time we had. If you’d told us in our 20s that music festivals would be replaced with accounting technology conferences, we’d have laughed in your face. But conferences like this really are a highlight of the job; we always have a great time catching up with clients, meeting new people, and hearing from the best in the biz. We’re already looking forward to the next one.
📉 As much as conferences are an important part of working in our industry, they really throw the schedule out. Even after planning our workload around the trip to Sydney, the week after Xerocon was all hands on deck. Playing catchup is never a great feeling, so we make sure we’re not on the back foot for long by building flexibility into our workload. This way we're able to accommodate busy weeks without impacting timelines too much.
Productivity hacks 👩💻
- Study after study has shown that a clean desk makes it easier to focus. We get it, clearing your desk regularly might seem a little pedantic to some – but those few minutes of cleaning could have a huge impact on your productivity throughout the day. Clean up dishes as soon as you’re done with them, throw rubbish in the bin straight away, and put documents away promptly. That way, next time you’re trying to focus, you’ll have fewer excuses to break concentration.
- And on that note, remember that you’re allowed to treat yo’self with fun desk organisation tools. We spend enough time at our desks (some would say too much) to not curate a space we enjoy. Check out this list of gear to make sure everything you need is always nearby without having a cluttered workspace.
- If you’re struggling to keep on top of your cash flow right now, you’re not alone. There’s a lot of uncertainty around, so making sure you’re ready for anything is important. Check out our three practical tips for keeping on top of your cash flow.
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Things are feeling pretty good at the moment! Business at Project Alfred is really starting to pick up, and we’ve been loving getting to know all our new clients and deepening the relationships we built in our first year in business.
Heaps of people who subscribe to this newsletter are our friends or clients (and many are both now), so we just wanted to say: thank you! We’re really passionate about helping businesses succeed, and it feels like our community is feeding that sentiment back to us. We’re having a blast, and it’s all thanks to you.
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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As their public dispute goes nuclear, we’re diving into the fistfight between Employment Hero and Hostplus. We'll also examine the trials and tribulations of Australian SMES grappling with payroll errors, uncover the truth behind cashback rewards, celebrate Australia’s first tech unicorn in two years, and examine some of the latest startups that have raised money this month.
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We look at Hatch, a Gen Z jobs marketplace that has secured $7 million in seed funding to expand nationally, using AI to match candidates with roles based on skills and values. Plus, discover how Taylor Swift's concert at the MCG broke Melbourne's internet, insights on gender pay gaps from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, and the latest advancements in AI with OpenAI's new system, Sora, generating short videos from text prompts.
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We’ve started the year at break-neck speed, onboarding two exciting new clients, growing the Project Alfred team, getting frustrated at the Australian government’s proposed changes to sophisticated investors, reading about Atlassian’s WFH 1000 days progress and exploring new startup blogs.
In our final 2023 newsletter we look at when to pay attention to your brand, the resurgence of startup funding, rebates for Sydney startups looking for office space and some potential relief on the cost of living.
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.
What direct-to-consumer startups can learn from Barbie, the Twitter rebrand that’s left question marks over our heads, tech to make travelling for work a breeze, our tip for surviving the second half of the year, and much more.
Some good economic news (finally), the hot new website everyone is talking about (ours, obviously), tried and tested website tech we swear by, a list of 20 small business EOFY tax tips, and much more.
An excellent opinion piece about why work from home is a good thing for society (despite what Elon Musk thinks), a desk setup that’ll make your colleagues green with envy, the TLDR on the PwC tax scandal, some EOFY spending advice we know some people need to hear, and much more.
There’s been a spike in company insolvencies that the AFR is describing as a “zombie apocalypse”, advice from HR experts on how to promote work-life balance in your team, a Slack feature we don’t think gets enough airtime, a monitor stand we’re drooling over, and much more.
The TLDR on the banking drama and how it could affect your business, exciting AI tools to keep your eye on this year, the businesses where the UK’s four-day workweek trial didn’t work, our non-negotiables when flying for work, and more.
Apps to boost your sleep skills (these do more than just fix dark circles under your eyes), mindset shifts to stop you feeling like you’re burning both cash and energy, and how to get excited about the next quarter.
An important reminder about what AI can and can’t do for your business, more reasons you should go paperless (and a stack of great resources to show you how), a workday lunch tip to get you away from your desk, advice on setting effective goals for business growth, and much more.
Our thoughts on work-life balance, projections for the tech industry in 2023, some AI tools (or toys) to play with over the break, highs and lows of the year that was, and more.
Tips for making the most of December (T-minus 21 working days ‘til Christmas 🤯), a step-by-step guide to registering for your company director ID, one of our favourite tech recs of 2022, an important cause close to our hearts that we’d love you to support (scroll to the end to find out how), and more.
How to protect your business from cybercrime, apps to build a connection with your colleagues and customers, the science behind the perfect productivity playlist, and more
Three tech recs that’ll make your life 10x easier, the impact of late invoices on your cash flow, the pros and cons of going to a conference, a massive shout out to our community, and more.
The technology shaping Australia’s future, Slack shortcuts we can’t live without, and tech recs to help you share your knowledge online.
Tips for hiring in a tough labour market, an ominous shift in pricing strategy for subscription models, and tech recs to help you grow your team.
Some new economic policies coming in on July 1, tech recs to help you celebrate (or survive) EOFY, and some tips for cultivating a growth mindset next financial year.
Some tips to help you focus, proposed policies on the horizon after the election, the crash of a not-so-stable stablecoin, a big debate we had on LinkedIn, and some tech recs that anyone who’s into design will love.
Did ASIC actually just kill off 'finfluencing’, ideas for designing your perfect work week, tech recs to level up virtual meetings and a sneak peek into the tech stack we use here at Project Alfred!
Tech recs and productivity hacks to help hybrid workplaces get the best of both worlds, our thoughts on the latest Federal Budget hot off the press and an audio book we’re loving right now.
High Court rulings around being an employee or an independent contractor, funding for Covid-affected businesses, great news about mental health support for small business owners, some new favourite tech finds, the Super Bowl…and we’re hiring!
22 things you should do to help your business in 2022, what records you need to keep and what you can let go of in the new year, why eating a frog is the best way to start your day, and some of our highs and lows from the last month.
How to stay on the ATO’s nice list this Christmas, our how-to guide for director IDs, small business trends for 2022, how to work smarter not harder, and some of our own recent business highs and lows.