Accounting for Horse Trainers & Jockeys

As all thoroughbred horse trainers and jockeys know, the racing game is a challenging yet potentially rewarding business. While the Spring Carnival is all glamour and glitz, the sport of kings provides very little respite for trainers and jockeys with racing now seven days a week. In fact, the only holiday a lot of jockeys get is an enforced holiday courtesy of the stewards!

The dawn training sessions combined with night racing and extensive travel are a recipe for exhaustion and the financial returns for many trainers and jockeys generally don’t match the hours and effort. Unfortunately a Black Caviar or Maykbe Diva are hard to find and it's no surprise to find many horse trainers and breeders struggle to cope with their bookkeeping and taxation responsibilities. While GST, BAS and tax payments often represent some of the largest financial obligations for a trainer or breeder, many end up paying too much tax, incur fines for non-compliance and struggle to get finance because their records are not up to date.

Having an accountant who has an intimate understanding of thoroughbred racing can put your business in the box seat. Our Principal, Gary Daish is a passionate owner and breeder and member of the VRC. Whenever possible he attends meetings to watch his horses race and he understands the industry, the issues and has a stable of clients including trainers, breeders, jockeys and owners from all around Australia.

We understand what is involved in running a successful thoroughbred racing business. Apart from the usual small business compliance issues of GST, BAS, PAYG and superannuation, we can assist you with managing your cash flow and help you obtain finance for your horse truck or vehicle. We’ll structure the finance for maximum tax effect, recommend the most appropriate accounting software to minimise the cost of compliance and help you to manage your payroll.

THINKING OF STARTING A HORSE RACING BUSINESS?

As business start-up specialists we have helped dozens of trainers, breeders and jockeys make a start in business. We offer you a range of financial services and have developed a number of practical tools to help you make the right opening moves in your business. Our start up expense checklist will help you identify all your establishment costs including gear, equipment, IT expenses and marketing costs. These figures drop into a cash flow budget template to produce a forecast profit and loss for your first year of trading. We can also help you compile your business, marketing and financial plans using our range of templates.

If you need finance for your vehicle (chattel mortgage or lease) we can assist you through one of our affiliate partners who also provide access to fleet pricing on new cars that could potentially save you thousands of dollars. That’s just the beginning because as accountants we can do some financial modelling and prepare some ‘what if’ scenarios to identify your best and worst case profit scenarios. For jockeys, our Motor Vehicle Tax Guide is a must read because it explains the various options of how you can claim your car expenses.

We offer you an extensive range of accounting, taxation and business coaching services including:

Start-Up Business Advice for Thoroughbred Horse Trainers, Breeders and Jockeys
Tools including the Start-Up Expense Checklist and Templates for a Business Plan and Cash Flow Budget
Advice and Assistance with the Establishment of Your Business and Tax Structure
Registrations for ABN, TFN, GST, WorkCover etc.
Preparation of Business Plans, Cash Flow Forecasts and Profit Projections
Accounting Software Selection and Training – Bookkeeping, Invoicing & Payroll
Preparation and Analysis of Financial Statements
Preparation of Finance Applications
Bookkeeping and Payroll Services
Tax Planning Strategies
Assistance with your Marketing including your Branding, Corporate Brochure etc.
Advice and Assistance with your Website Development, Content and Search Engine Optimization
Business & Risk Insurances (Income Protection, Life Insurance etc.)
Wealth Creation Strategies and Financial Planning Services
Industry Benchmarking and KPI Management
Vehicle & Equipment Finance (Chattel Mortgage & Lease)
Monitoring and Controlling Labour and Sub-Contractor Costs
Advice & Assistance with Pricing your Services and Claiming Motor Vehicle Expenses
Recession Survival Strategies
Advice regarding Employee Relations and Workplace Laws
Business Succession Planning

We specialise in family run businesses and training gallopers in Australia is certainly a family business with so many second and third generation participants. Contact us today on (03) 8371 0001 to discuss how we can help you build a better and more profitable racing business.

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Accounting for Horse Trainers & Jockeys

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