Emma Ingleton, Assistant Accountant and Xero Certified Adviser
Carrick Aland Assistant Accountant Emma Ingleton is on a mission to help make our region’s businesses more efficient and streamlined.
She should know – before accounting beckoned, Emma gained firsthand experience working in a small business. If it hadn’t been for a patient financial adviser taking Emma under her wing, she might’ve been talking with us about motorbikes!
“I was working at the Dalby Moto motorbike shop and doing some bookkeeping,” says Emma. “The financial adviser was teaching me a lot and I decided I liked working with numbers so I progressed it further.”
Joining Carrick Aland in 2010, Emma learned her new profession from the ground up and is now a Xero Certified Adviser and a member of Jenny Lambley’s team. These days, she works with a range of businesses and not-for-profit organisations on their bookkeeping, typically BAS, data entry and payroll.
With Single Touch Payroll starting for all employers from 1 July, Emma believes there are very good reasons why businesses should use Xero to become STP compliant.
“I just enjoy helping small businesses to be more streamlined,” says Emma. “Helping them to work in ‘the cloud’, either as an upgrade or as a new user, goes hand in hand with the ATO’s new Single Touch Payroll reporting requirements.”
“It’s pleasing to see their payroll and general data input become more organised with better bank coding or setting rules in Xero. Cloud technology opens up efficiencies that can’t be achieved manually and means they run smoother so they’re ready to go at tax time.”
Once a small business gets used to doing their books in the cloud, Emma is also on hand if further help is needed.
“There is so much a business can do with cloud accounting and it’s not just the ATO pushing us to report electronically,” says Emma. “STP is high profile at the moment but business owners can utilise their real-time data to also do some meaningful tax planning.”
“As well as the ATO, the banks are also going electronic by moving to online banking, offering apps and getting rid of cheques. We recently helped a business client to operate ‘in the cloud’ and they’ve taken off with it so that they are fully online now and abolished cheques. A big part of our role was being there to take them through each step and reassuring them,” Emma added.
Being at Carrick Aland is the right place for Emma to help businesses.
“We’re great with small businesses and the intergenerational family perspective,” says Emma. “We really cater for family clients, including our rural families, and we know we have an important part to play in helping out our community and supporting community initiatives.”
For now Emma has her sights set on the end of the financial year.
“All business owners definitely should think about having an estimate done to determine their tax position for the 2019 year and then come and talk to us about new technology, especially how it relates to Single Touch Payroll, as we’re always happy to help.”
Emma, who was born in Longreach and moved to Dalby as a youngster, is currently a part-time member of our team whilst she raises her young family. In her spare time, she enjoys family adventures with her husband and kids or relaxing with a good book.
