LMC Logo

Latest News

How a registered trade mark can grow your sales and your business

Did you know that in 2022 almost 30% of all Australian businesses with a registered trade mark were in Victoria?

.

Your brand is often the first thing your customers see when interacting with your business, and by registering a trade mark for it, you have peace of mind that your brand is legally protected.

In addition, a business with a registered trade mark is 13% more likely to achieve high turnover growth, according to a study by IP Australia.

Despite the positive data, less than 4% of Australian small businesses have a registered trade mark.

What is a trade mark?

A registered trade mark legally protects your business’s unique brand, products or services, and helps customers distinguish your products or services in the market.

Those without a registered trade mark may be missing out on these potential benefits:

  • after filing for an intellectual property (IP) right, such as a registered trade mark, small to medium enterprises (SMEs) are 16% more likely to experience high employment growth compared to businesses with no recent IP filings, according to research by IP Australia
  • for businesses launching products, each additional registered trade mark is linked to an 8% revenue increase per employee
  • applying for a trade mark is linked to an increase in start-up valuation
  • SMEs that own IP rights on average employ 3.5 times as many people as their peers with no IP rights and pay a higher median wage.

But what about the businesses that don’t check their branding? Checking the availability of your brand name or logo can be important to avoid infringing a competitor’s registered trade mark. By not checking, businesses can run the risk of needing to rebrand and may face litigation, and the associated costs. Check out the numbers below.

 
Case study – Fat Duck vs Heston Blumenthal

The Fat Duck restaurant opened in Sydney in 2011. Shortly after opening, the restaurant was required to relinquish their name and rebrand.

This rebranding was a result of celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal filing an application for trade mark protection. Intending to reserve and protect the name for his chain of fine dining restaurants, Heston’s company filed a claim in the Federal Court of Australia and won, having filed all the requirements for the trade mark rights.

The Fat Duck restaurant was required to rebrand their business, demonstrating that if you haven’t protected your name or logo against competitors, you may run the risk of losing the rights to it.

Case Study – SEO Shark

SEO Shark is a digital marketing agency that specialises in search engine optimisation (SEO).

In conversation with IP Australia, SEO Shark® explained that “as competition grew, we knew in order to protect and differentiate the brand from other businesses we needed to trade mark the name. The SEO Shark trade mark is our identity, the way we show who we are to customers and this is something we don’t want another business to replicate. We now have the name and logo of SEO Shark registered, meaning we can prevent other businesses in Australia using our trade marks.”

Their advice for other businesses looking to protect their brand is to understand the time and costs involved in applying for a trade mark. They may not be as much as you think! The cost of a trade mark is often assumed to  be beyond the budget of a small business, but in total, the cost of protecting SEO Shark® was about $600 for ten years’ protection.

Case study – Tutu by You

Tutu by You was launched in 2020 by business partners and cousins, Steph Young and Emily Murray. They wanted to create a brand for kids, and something that would bring much joy and happiness to the world. Their strategy for IP protection was to protect what they could, with an emphasis on making sure they used the right type of protection.

Emily told IP Australia, “Protecting our IP is so important because it’s everything, right? We’ve worked so hard on this. We’ve only launched six months ago, but we’ve been working on this for two and a half years. There were moments where we thought, ‘Do we really need to spend that money to get that protected? Is anyone going to care about us? Are they really going to try and rip us off?’ You just don’t know. It’s a risk. You’ve got to take it.”

Tutu by You wanted to protect their business name using a trade mark, and their unique ‘sparkle band’ using a design right. They now feel confident in taking their products to market across all platforms because of their IP protection.

To read the full case study visit IP Australia’s website.

How can you check and register a trade mark?

The new, free pilot TM Checker tool makes it easier for small businesses to check if a trade mark is available. An initial check only takes a few minutes, then you can apply to register for a trade mark using the tool for as little as $330.

Registering your trade mark gives you:

  • a business asset: the more successful your business becomes, the more valuable your trade mark becomes.
  • the legal right to place the ® symbol next to your trade mark
  • exclusive rights to use your trade mark in Australia
  • the ability to legally deter others from using your trade mark
  • the ability to sell your trade mark, or license it for others to use.

Small business owner Deborah had this to say about TM Checker:

Remember that a registered trade mark can be used to protect anything that identifies your business such as a brand name, logo, distinctive phrase, letter, number, colour, sound, smell, shape, picture, movement, aspect of packaging or a combination of these.

Latest News

Louise McNeich

Louise is a CPA with a Masters in Professional Accounting and a diploma of Financial Planning. Louise has been in Public Practice for 21 years and has been the principal of LMC since 2012. With a focus on small business support services and self-managed super funds, Louise is passionate about helping small businesses achieve their potential through good cashflow management and strategies for success. Louise and her family enjoy the space and tranquility of the Noosa hinterland with a small acreage block complete with dogs, chickens, geese, ducks and donkeys!

Lesley Joyce

Lesley is our individual taxation specialist and has over 23 years experience in preparing individual and small business returns. Lesley loves country music and line dancing and having recently relocated closer to the coast, enjoys a walk along the beach. Lesley is a proud Nana to her 14 grandchildren.

SuzAnne King

Suzanne is our Client Service Coordinator. She has worked in accounting practices for 20+ years and has expert knowledge in all things relating to Corporate Compliance. She is an active local community volunteer. In her leisure time she enjoys wandering in ancient places and reading biographies.

Kristie Virgo

Kristie has recently joined LMC Financial Group in Office Administration and Reception. She has run her own interior design small business for 20 years and when she is not at LMC she continues to work with clients on the Sunshine Coast. Our new office space has been designed by Kristie and Louise and brings a fresh warm approach to accounting in Cooroy.

Kelly Waldron

Kelly has qualifications in accounting and bookkeeping and has over 20 years’ experience in these areas. Kelly is a local to the beautiful sunshine coast and town of Cooroy and is ready to help with all your accounting and bookkeeping needs, nothing is too difficult. Kelly loves spending time with her family and everything the Sunshine Coast offers, we do really live in paradise.

Jemma Gibbs

Jemma is local to Cooroy embarking on a new career journey with the LMC team. Working as a bookkeeper for her husband's lawncare business for the past 6 years and undertaking formal education in accounting and bookkeeping has inspired her to take the leap into a new industry after 15 years in HR and Administration. With a big, close-knit family, her weekends are spent with family and friends enjoying all the wonderful places the coast has to offer.

Business Taxation Services

No client too big or too small. At LMC Accounting we make sure we get to know your business, so that we can offer you sound financial and accounting advice and the best service possible, taking care of your tax obligations in a timely and efficient manner.

Business Activity Statements

Preparation and lodgement of Business Activity Statements (BAS) and Instalment Activity Statements (IAS). We can assist you with your quarterly, monthly or annual returns, reviewing your information, calculating your GST and PAYG tax liability and electronically lodging your BAS and IAS statements.

GST Advice

Getting the right advice on GST and tax is critical to your business. Work with one of our highly experienced and qualified agents and let us assist you in meeting your business taxation obligations.

Business Structure

What is the most appropriate business structure for you? We can advise you on the best structure to suit your financial needs. LMC Financial will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each available business structure and help you to decide which business structure best suits your business model.

Business Setup

Starting a new business and not sure where to go or what to do first? We offer Proactive Strategies Business Setup and GST/ABN registration services.

Onsite Visits

LMC Accounting can visit your business and assist you with the most up to date accounting software options making your record keeping more streamlined for when it comes to reporting time.

Not For Profit

We offer bookkeeping and annual reporting assistance for Not for Profit organisations.

Tax Planning

Forward planning and prior preparation is key! Contact us today and give yourself the opportunity to minimise tax before the 30th of June!

Contact us today to discuss how we can work together: (07) 5447 0067 or email us at admin@noosaaccounting.com.au

Small Business Support

Bookkeeping

All small businesses must be built on a strong foundation of record-keeping. Without accurate information about business income and expenses, it is not possible to effectively plan, grow or sell a business.

We offer many options to suit various budgets and various sized businesses. We use all major accounting software providers so if you have a preference, that is fine too.

Cloud-based accounting software is a great way of keeping your business records up to date, easily accessible and at an affordable price – talk to us about your options today.

Tax & Reporting

Every small business has tax and reporting obligations every year, every quarter and even every month or week (think Single Touch Payroll!).

We can make sure your compliance is up to date and your reporting obligations are met in full and on time. Stress less and focus more on your business while we do what we do best – accounting!

We also provide comprehensive tax planning analysis so we can assist you to effectively plan for any tax issues.

Profit Planning

It is important to have good bookkeeping processes in place and be compliant with tax office obligations, but you also need to know if your small business is or will be profitable. Otherwise what is the point!

Let us help you examine where your business is at and create a Profit Plan to clearly identify your income goals, realistic expenditure items and potential profit-making opportunities as well as highlight any financial hurdles that may be in your way.

Profit Strategies

It is time to create real profit in your small business, real cash in a real bank account that you can spend without feeling guilty!

Knowing where your money is going and how much you actually have to spend at any point in time is a game-changer when it comes to creating real profit. We can assist you to put the processes in place to effectively manage your cashflow once and for all so that you never have to worry about that next BAS payment or super liability and at the same time, build real profit into your business.

Put your Profit First, not last and you will ensure that your business works for you not the other way around.

Growth & Equity

Your business is an asset and if you can ensure that your small business asset has value then you have an asset you can sell.

Imagine someone paying you for your business that you may have built from the ground up? All that time, money and energy is now being returned to you because you have created value in your business.

Learn how to create that value, ensure you have the processes in place so that you can spend time on your business not in your business and watch your business grow.

Contact us today to discuss how we can work together: (07) 5447 0067 or email us at admin@noosaaccounting.com.au

Self Managed Super Funds

Let us help with your Super Fund

Let LMC Accounting and Financial Services, Noosa, help you to decide if a self managed super fund is right for you and your financial circumstances. Setting up a DIY super fund can be a really straightforward process but it needs to be set up properly right from the start.

Do you want to simplify your Super Fund but don’t quite know where to begin. With support from us at LMC Accounting we can help you to make this happen, saving you unnecessary stress, time and money.

At LMC Accounting we make sure you understand all of your Self Managed Super Funds options and obligations as well as advice regarding rules, regulations and investments.

Have you thought about your retirement years? Are you concerned you may not have done enough preparation to live comfortably in your twilight years? The sooner you put plans in place, the greater benefits you will have in the long run.

We offer reasonable rates and efficient service coupled with the best advice. Contact us to find out how we can help you with your Super Fund requirements and planning for your future.

Contact us today to discuss how we can work together: (07) 5447 0067 or email us at admin@noosaaccounting.com.au

Personal Tax

We can help you with your individual tax returns including advice and assistance with:

  1. Work-related deductions
  2. Rental properties including short-stay rentals
  3. Investment income reporting including dividends and managed funds
  4. Capital gains including real estate, shares and crypto!
  5. Foreign income
  6. Non-resident tax matters
  7. Super contributions

Contact us today to discuss how we can work together: (07) 5447 0067 or email us at admin@noosaaccounting.com.au

Tax Diary

General Calculators

 

Accounting Videos

Secure File Transfer

Secure File Transfer is a facility that allows the safe and secure exchange of confidential files or documents between you and us.

Email is very convenient in our business world, there is no doubting that. However email messages and attachments can be intercepted by third parties, putting your privacy and identity at risk if used to send confidential files or documents. Secure File Transfer eliminates this risk.

Login to Secure File Transfer, or contact us if you require a username and password.

Terms & Conditions

Welcome to noosaaccounting.com.au. Before you begin using the service you must agree to these Terms of Use.

1. noosaaccounting.com.au is managed by LMC Accounting and Financial Services. noosaaccounting.com.au is hosted on noosaaccounting.com.au which is managed by Louise McNeich.

2. Your use of noosaaccounting.com.au is deemed to be your acceptance of these Terms of Use. Please read them carefully.

LAWFUL PURPOSES

3. You agree to use noosaaccounting.com.au only for lawful purposes, and in a manner that does not infringe the rights of or restrict or inhibit the use and enjoyment of noosaaccounting.com.au by any third party. This includes conduct which is unlawful or which may harass or cause distress or inconvenience to any person, the transmission of obscene or offensive content or disruption to noosaaccounting.com.au.

4. You must not post or transmit via noosaaccounting.com.au any unlawful, defamatory, obscene, offensive or scandalous material, or any material that constitutes or encourages conduct that would contravene any law.

DISCLAIMER

5. Your use of noosaaccounting.com.au does not:

6. noosaaccounting.com.au is not a substitute for independent professional advice and you should obtain any appropriate professional advice relevant to Your particular circumstances.

CONTENT

7. Comments on noosaaccounting.com.au are provided by, and are the responsibility of, the person or people who made such postings. We do not endorse, support, or guarantee the truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of any the comments posted on noosaaccounting.com.au or endorse any of the opinions expressed.

8. We take reasonable care in linking to other websites but we have no direct control over the content presented in those websites or the availability of those websites.

9. We make no representation that the material on any linked websites does not infringe the intellectual property rights or any other rights of any person. We do not authorise the reproduction of such material.

10. We do not endorse or recommend any links to external websites, or third party content, including products and services offered by, from or through those websites or their content.

11. With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms and where otherwise noted, material presented onnoosaaccounting.com.au is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia licence.

SECURITY

12. The development and management of noosaaccounting.com.au is coordinated by us, however some interactions with noosaaccounting.com.au occur on systems under the control of third parties.

13. The Department of Finance and Deregulation is responsible for the security of information while it is collected by, stored on or passing through the noosaaccounting.com.au system.

14. We strive to protect comments and information you provide on noosaaccounting.com.au. We will use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that your comments and information are not compromised. However, we cannot guarantee that no Harmful Code will enter noosaaccounting.com.au. You should be aware of the risks associated with using websites.

15. We recommend that you use appropriate and up-to-date firewall and anti-virus software to protect your computer systems.

PRIVACY

16. For more information about how we protect your privacy and personal information, please contact us.

17. In order to participate in, and contribute to, noosaaccounting.com.au you may be required to register and provide an email address.

18. We will only use and disclose your personal information to a person, body or other Agency:

GENERAL

19. These Terms of Use are governed by the laws of the Australian Capital Territory, Australia and you agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Australian Capital Territory.

20. If any of these Terms of Use are held to be invalid, unenforceable or illegal for any reason, the remaining Terms of Use will continue in full force.

21. These Terms of Use do not negate any Terms or Conditions that apply to your use of any other government website.

22. We may revise these Terms and Conditions from time to time.

23. Please contact us if you have any questions, problems or feedback regarding our site.

DEFINITIONS

Harmful Code – Any form of harmful surreptitious code or other contaminants, including viruses, bugs, trojan horses, spyware or adware.

You and Your means the user of this website and noosaaccounting.com.au.

Our, Us and We means the Commonwealth of Australia represented by LMC Accounting and Financial Services.