Do you spend all year contemplating the wonders of the universe through your personal lens, but crash-land back to earth whenever the 30th of June rolls around?
We are the accountants you wish you met years ago.
Love your professional photography business but hate the numbers? We take on your pain so you can focus on your portraiture.
Whether you’re an in-demand wedding photographer, shooting editorial for magazines, or teaching photography classes to budding young artistes; we intimately understand your dreams and struggles because we lived - and are still living! - in your same creative world.
Making a living from being creative is hard. Let us make the tax part easy.
Accounting for photographers
Bookkeeping for photographers
Business and tax advice all year round
Let us AMPLIFY your business and SIMPLIFY your life!
Properly maintained bookkeeping is a pain in the butt. BUT it’s also the starting point for useful insights into how things are really going in your photography business.
Are you wondering if your portable background can hold out for another corporate gig? Salivating over the thought of a Sigma 85mm lens upgrade? Not sure if you can afford to bring in a second shooter for that big wedding?
When we keep your books tidy, we get an understanding of your actual “spendable cash” situation.
Leave the bookkeeping to us, Xero, and ReceiptBank. You go do fun photo stuff.
After all, you didn’t fight tooth and nail to be crushing it in photography just to be your own accountant, right?
Trying to calculate your employees’ leave entitlements and weekly pay packets without knowing the ins and outs is like trying to get correct exposure without understanding the relationship between aperture, iso, and shutter speed.
You learnt all that stuff to get off auto mode and take controlled photos. But, wouldn’t it be amazing if you could just flick your accounts to automatic?
We’re the auto settings of payroll. Let us show you how we keep all the hard stuff in the background and just deliver timely, crystal-focused accounts.
Like all proper artists we don’t put our name on gear we wouldn’t use. Here at Amplify 11 we recommend Xero because it’s the software we use to run our business. Think of it as the Lightroom of accounting.
It’s collaborative like Google Docs, so we even get to see what you see, and make sure you don’t mess up.
A new piece of software is like a new camera. You’ll recognise some principles quickly, but it can be a bit of a learning curve. That’s why we offer full implementation, set-up, and training to ease you into Xero.
Master it once and regret it never!
Now you’re set up and your studio is open. So let’s throw a little light on the subject.
This is the secret to great photos - and business: illuminating everything correctly. Let’s crank up those strobes, sync our speedlights, and get lit.
You know it. We know it. It doesn’t matter how great you are at post-processing or how many presets you throw at it; if the original image is poorly lit or incorrectly exposed in-camera, it’s never going to be a masterpiece.
That’s why we make sure everything in your business is 100% in focus before we deliver you the final snapshot of where you are at.
For us, that means gathering up your sales receipts, expense accounts, and invoices; and making sure they are meticulously accounted for and classified. Perfect, pristine, precise imagery in.
Then let’s do a bit of retouching. We’ll move your prepaid expenses into the correct financial period. We’ll set you up with a fixed asset register to categorise, track and properly depreciate the tools of your trade - whether those are studio lights, cameras, or an industrial warehouse to shoot cars in.
Finally, we’ll export everything out. Hi-res, razor sharp, and ready for print. You finally have a full and proper set of business accounts.
You’ve always known photography wasn’t just a phase. You’ve been making a living off it for years. Now you’ll have the records to stick it to anyone who tells you “photography is just clicking a button” and to get a real job!
We’ve got the image and done a little repair work. It’s all looking good. Now let’s find some highlights and emphasise them
If you try to dodge, you will burn.
Traditional accountants call this “tax compliance” - we call it, “Keeping you out of jail!”
As a business you’re required by the ATO and ASIC to file a tax return and prepare financial statements every. Single. Year.
We make sure what needs to happen will happen, sure. But you never half-ass it, and neither do we.
We give you complete, valuable insight into the financial state of your business.
Now you can make smart decisions that make you more money with your photography!
This is another tax obligation that we take care of and manage for you on a quarterly basis.
We will carry out an audit of ALL your transactions for the period.
We’ll check that your purchase GST has been claimed where it can be.
And keep you out of trouble by making sure you haven’t accidentally claimed it where you shouldn’t have.
In between trying to remember where you put that beauty dish and coordinating the stylist and model to turn up on location at the right time; the knowledge of a huge tax bill at the end of the year can easily become overwhelming.
At Amplify 11 we know how this can get in the way of you being your best creative self.
Our tax planning service gives you light guidance throughout the financial year, followed up by turning all the strobes to high speed three months before it ends.
No more leaving it to the last minute. Now you’ve got year round control of your financial obligations. All while eliminating that tax anxiety that keeps you up at night.
Because at Amplify 11, we’re all about freeing you up to work your photographic magic.
The correct business structure is crucial for tax and succession planning.
This sounds *yawn* until you realise that it influences the amount of tax you pay and how much ends up in your pocket!
AND makes it easy for you to add (or remove!) assistants, collaborators, or business members.
You know things move super quick in our industry. You need to stay focused and sharp.
This is stuff we understand and can help with, because we are you!
Budgeting: Making sure you don’t overspend
Forecasting: Estimating your future expenses
Point and shoot doesn’t work here. Let us help you with your business prospects based on your actual numbers. No more guessology.
Using your current incoming and outgoing cash, we can help you work out if by this time next year you’ll have the funds to do a complete remodel of your studio space - or just enough to buy some new AAs for your speedlight.
You’d never hire a studio and or model without knowing what you were going in to shoot.
That’s a recipe for blowing out your costs in no time and having nothing to show for it.
Business is much the same. You need a plan before you begin the next phase of your project.
And we’re your assistants holding reflectors, moving lights, and leaving you to do the most important thing - take the pictures.
If you’re ready to add a team of creative accountants to your creative business so you can Amplify profits and simplify paperwork, contact us now
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