We focus on overcoming the three main barriers to research effectiveness by:

1) defining the real question
2) delivering genuine insight to answer that question and;
3) providing clear growth paths.

Who do you do research for?
Fiftyfive5 works with clients over a diverse array of industries. Some of our clients include Lion Nathan, Commonwealth Bank, News Limited, Fonterra and CommSec, among many others.

What services does Cornerstone perform for your business?
Cornerstone looks after all our bookkeeping, account preparation and financial management reporting.

How has your business benefited from outsourcing this work to Cornerstone?
The main benefit of outsourcing to Cornerstone, and it’s a big one, is that it allows us to get on and do what we are good at.

We have peace of mind about not making mistakes in our account keeping and we always know where we stand from a cash flow perspective due to their debtor management. We also benefit greatly from their proactive alerts about our business; if things are going off the rails in any particular area they let us know so that we can respond accordingly.

What do you do with the time you have saved because of Cornerstone?
We focus all our attention on our clients without having to worry about the administrative burdens of bookwork and account keeping, allowing our business to run more efficiently.

Visit 4Design.com.au to find out more about this remarkable Australian business.

What type of business is 4design?
4design is a company that takes a good product idea and turns it into a commercially viable real product through best practises in Industrial Design, Engineering, Testing and Production. We have a small and experienced team of designers, engineers and production managers who have been pulled together from some of the most successful companies working on a range of different products. We have a broad experience having developed products across a range of fields from Medical, Mining, Telecommunications, Consumer, Street Furniture, New Technology and many others.

Who do you design for?
Our client list is extremely diverse. We work with large OEM companies as a support arm to there in-house resource or complete end-to-end solutions for other medium sized businesses without an in-house R&D facility, to those entrepreneurs that aspire to produce the next successful product. Some of our clients include Electrolux, Sunbeam, Sony, Jands, Infostream, Atcor Medical, Hub Street Furniture and Transport NSW just to name a few.

What services does Cornerstone perform for your business?
Cornerstone looks after all of our accounting & financial duties including the day to day running of the business, BAS, tax, wages, subcontractor payments, contracts, lease payments, Superanuation and constantly chasing payments from outstanding debtors. They are also always willing to help on any general business issues that crop up.

How has your business benefited from outsourcing this work to Cornerstone?
Out sourcing to Cornerstone has allowed us to focus on what we do best…Product design. We have the confidence that the financial side of the business is being constantly monitored each week to ensure we stay on top of our financial obligations.

We have had a couple of employees come and go infrequently from Cornerstone but it is reassuring to know that the professional systems have been setup by Cornerstone such that someone can always come in and take over where the last person left off. These systems are a critical part to the sustainability of our businesses future. In saying this we have found the Cornerstone team to be very reliable and stable over the last 8 years of our business.

What do you do with the time you have saved because of Cornerstone?
With the time we save with Cornerstone we are able to focus on winning new business and focus on providing an exceptional design and production service to our existing clients.

Introducing our NEW e-newsletter

Hello and welcome to Cornerstone Group’s new e-newsletter.

Our newsletter will seek to keep you up to date with all the latest developments in Australian bookkeeping, management accounting and superannuation. We’ll also share insights on how changes will affect your business.

In this month’s issue we remind our clients about the upcoming end of Quarter 1, so if Q1 BAS and Super contributions are not on your radar yet please continue reading below.

Regards,

Tim Hoopmann
Director

Quarter 1 ends on September 30th

It’s hard to believe but we are almost at the end of the first quarter of the 2011/12 financial year.

This means it’s time to get your BAS and Superannuation contributions organised.

Your BAS is due on 28th October.

Don’t be alarmed if you’re not ready. Cornerstone Group can extend the deadline until 11th November because we lodge your statement electronically.

Work closely with your Cornerstone bookkeeper to ensure they have all your receipts, statements and paperwork so we can meet this deadline.

Require financial reports more regularly than quarterly?
Email info@cornerstone-group.com.au or call the office on 9386 1427.

Super Contributions are due on 28th October.

It’s important that you pay the minimum super contributions for the quarter by this date. If you don’t pay on time you be required to pay the super guarantee charge and we will lodge a Superannuation guarantee charge statement on your behalf by 28th November, 2011. The super guarantee charge is not tax deductible.

Superannuation Clearing House

The Australian government is now offering a free superannuation clearing house service to small businesses with less than 20 employees. The new service is designed to reduce red tape.

Your Cornerstone bookeeper will discuss setting up this service for you when they prepare your superannuation this quarter.

If you have any questions regarding BAS and Superannuation for Quarter 1, please don’t hesitate to email us: info@cornerstone-group.com.au.

When we started our business three years ago, we were two joiners trying to get more work in the door.

We didn’t have time to deal with all the hassles of our books and making sure we got our Business Activity Statement (BAS) in every quarter.

One of our partners started doing the books so we could spend more time on the business. This was OK for a time, but as business grew, managing the books became very time consuming.
Another tradesperson told us about Cornerstone Group and we called them in for a chat. It was a relief that they understood how our business worked.

The system Cornerstone Group set up for us was simple, flexible and hassle-free. We send them our expense receipts, sales invoices and bank statements every month and they provide us with a monthly report of our position, as well as lodging the BAS every quarter.

Cornerstone Group rates are competitive and they do much more than just bookkeeping, which is an added advantage. Cornerstone Group has saved us a lot of money by doing our books properly, and it’s another expense that is deductible.

Three years later and the business is still growing. Cornerstone Group now manage our entire back end, giving us a monthly report on our sales and expenses, doing all the wages, lodging the BAS each month and much more.

It’s a service we can’t do without and they are very trustworthy. Cornerstone Group has really helped us grow our business because it has let us get on with doing what we do best. We are happy to tell you how Cornerstone Group has helped us.

While our name is changing we will still be delivering the same trusted bookkeeping services and more.

Cornerstone Group will be assisting you to build solid foundations in your business
through:

• bookkeeping services managed by our team of qualified professionals
• management accounting services allowing you to make informed business decisions
• management consulting services helping your business improve its performance
• preferred partners to assist you with every aspect of your business

Cornerstone Group looks forward to working together with your business.

The corner house is an Italian Restaurant and cocktail bar in Bondi.

“Cornerstone has helped me get on top of my mountains of paperwork, and organised the normally chaotic side of my business.”

OurDeal is an online shopping business that offers daily deals on restaurants, concert tickets, fitness sessions, and more at discount prices.

“Cornerstone has allowed me to focus on growing my business, rather than being drowned in paperwork and bookkeeping.”

Bright Red Boots is a marketing firm that specializes in Try-vertising with clients such as McDonald’s and Coca-Cola.

“Cornerstone has helped me manage my cash flow and provided me with great advice on how to run by business efficiently”

Devotion Digital is a marketing and brand agency that provides digital, marketing, and brand strategy for various businesses with clients such as Telstra and IBM.

Fiftyfive5 is a marketing research business that utilizes marketing strategy, consulting, and research to develop opportunities for growth for various businesses.

“The mistake that most start-ups make is not getting the administrative and book keeping side of the business right from day one. Being able to leverage off the experience and knowledge of Cornerstone minimised complexity, helped us get all of the right processes in place and saved us both time and money, which in turn freed us up to focus on our clients and building the business.”