Albany Accountants - Smith Thornton Accountants

It's been a big month of celebrating! And here's to three more of the best. 🤩🤩🤩

30 years in business takes a pretty special team! 👏

We're proud to have built a workplace that values expertise, collaboration and genuine care for our clients.

Here's to the people who make Smith Thornton what it is today and every day. 🥂

Jenny Feast Photography

Competitor pricing is useful information, but it should not be your entire pricing strategy.

Too many businesses focus on matching or beating competitor prices without properly understanding their own margins, cash flow requirements, and operating costs.

The goal is not simply to be cheaper. The goal is to build a profitable and sustainable business.

Many business owners spend years building their business but never properly step back to consider what would happen if they were suddenly unable to manage it.

Who would make decisions? Who understands the financial position of the business? Would the right people know what needs to happen next?

Contingency planning is not about expecting the worst. It is about reducing risk, protecting the business, and creating greater certainty for the people who rely on it.

One of the most common misunderstandings we see with the instant asset write off is the assumption that the business use percentage determines eligibility.

It does not.

To qualify, the full cost of the asset itself must be under the $20,000 threshold, even if only part of the asset is used for business purposes. This often catches business owners out, particularly with vehicles and higher value equipment.

If the asset exceeds the threshold, it will generally need to be added to the small business pool and depreciated over time instead.

Understanding the rules before committing to a purchase can help avoid disappointment and unnecessary cash flow pressure later.

One of the biggest pricing mistakes businesses make is setting prices based on what feels reasonable to them rather than what their market actually values.

A price sensitive market requires a very different strategy from a premium or niche market.

Good pricing is not just about covering costs. It is about understanding customer perception, positioning, and value.

It started with two blokes who backed themselves and backed Albany. In 1996, Simon and Dean opened their doors, and yes, the building actually burnt down that same year. But they didn't. 🔥😅

They rebuilt, they grew, and one by one the right people joined them. Rebecca came on board as a partner, then Amy and Ryan.

30 years on and Smith Thornton is still here, still local, and still the firm that Albany businesses and farmers trust with the important stuff.

You can see some of how the story unfolded in these photos.

Every strong business is built on more than revenue and profit.

Some assets never appear on your balance sheet yet create enormous long-term value.

Things like trusted relationships, sharper judgement, better risk recognition and the ability to stay disciplined with time and resources. These are hard to measure, yet they often make the difference between a business that keeps growing and one that plateaus.

These qualities build slowly, but they compound.
Every year you stay in the game, the returns on these invisible assets increase.

At Smith Thornton, we help owners recognise where these strengths already exist and where they can be strengthened so the business becomes more resilient, more profitable and easier to run over time.

Many business owners spend years focused on revenue, growth, and keeping the business moving without ever clearly defining what they actually want the business to provide personally.

What is your ideal take home figure? What would the business need to look like to achieve it? Would it require stronger margins, better pricing, improved efficiency, different staffing, or more accountability around goals?

The businesses that make the biggest progress are usually working towards clearly defined outcomes rather than just staying busy.

Good business advisory is not just about the numbers. It is about understanding what you are actually trying to build and creating a strategy to support it.

🙌 30 years wouldn’t be possible without the people behind it. 🙌

To our incredible clients, thank you for your trust.

To our dedicated team, thank you for your hard work and passion.

We’re proud of what we’ve built together and grateful for every relationship along the way.