< Back to Resources

Preparing for Private Practice

19 August 2020 | Health

For many health professionals, having their own private practice or buying into an established practice is a career goal. Are you considering making the move?

In the same way health professionals develop a clinical treatment plan for patients, you should have a structured and professional financial plan to shape your financial future, with regular check-ups along the way to ensure you stay on track. And not just one plan, but we’ll ensure you have a backup plan – so critical for those times that the unexpected happens.

Kennas have decades of specific experience as one-stop advisors for many Central Queensland health professionals. Our experience can be your advantage too. We come alongside you, with thorough preparation and planning that will contribute significantly to your long-term financial success.

We’ve prepared a checklist of key factors to frame your thinking well before making any definite decisions to get started.

Key factors

Structuring your business

If you’re setting up a business, or taking on a significant expansion, these are the questions you might be asking.

  1. What structure should I use and how do I set this up?
  2. Do I need an ABN and GST and how do I apply for these?
  3. Can I pay my spouse a wage and is there a benefit in doing this?
  4. How do I employ other staff, including setting up workers insurance, superannuation and how much do I pay them?

Making accounting and tax planning easy

We understand that you won’t want to be spending too much time on administration and accounting, so setting up automations and efficient operations structures are vital. You should consider these factors.

  1. What accounting system should I use?
  2. How will I take care of regular reporting requirements like GST and business activity statements?
  3. What is the most tax effective operating structure for my practice?
  4. What can I claim as tax deductions?
  5. How should I purchase a vehicle and what tax deductions can I get?
  6. How can I maximise my superannuation contributions?

Managing my cash flow

For any business, effective cash flow planning can be the ‘make or break’ factor. It’s essential to understand how you can make cash flow work for you. Here are some starter questions to consider.

  1. How much should I put aside for income tax?
  2. When is my income tax payable?
  3. What are the best ways to manage employee cash and tax liabilities? 

Growing my wealth

You don’t get into private practice without long term goals and dreams and Kennas want to help these come to life for you. We’ll help you plan, realise and protect your wealth at every step. These are a few planning questions that will set some groundwork to reach those goals.

  1. How do I get the best superannuation fund returns, and what else should I invest in?
  2. How can I plan for retirement to ensure I’ll have what my family and I need?
  3. Do I need life and income protection insurance, and how much is enough?
  4. How can I help my family protect their wealth if I pass away?
  5. Do I need to update my will when I start my own practice?

 

Don’t let this list overwhelm you! When you’re ready, Kennas can take you through every factor to help make your journey successful. If you’re already set up and running in private practice, we can train you and your staff on the best way to make your finances work for you, or we can take care of your financial, tax and management reporting. Our holistic approach saves our health professional clients time, money and worry, and allows you to focus on what you do best – treating patients.

Call Kennas at your convenience to set up a time to discuss your plans or needs with our health professional specialists. We know you’re busy, so we are flexible to work around your demanding schedule, and we’ll have the answers for your situation.

Call us today on (07) 4924 9100
or submit an enquiry below